July 2019

Upcoming brother and sister duo The Luck – made up of Max and Esmay – released their debut album ‘Ready to Run’ in July and spoke to Maverick about the remarkable way it came to fruition You will be hard pressed to find a story as unique as The Luck’s. It’s simply insane and for a band starting out on their debut album, it’s possibly one of the best stories others in that situation can read. After performing at the iconic venue The Troubadour, Max and Esmay Luck were approached by a man named Paul Broucek, who told them that he’d always wanted to work with a London duo when it came to the music side of things, even though he was more experienced when it came to working on films. As such, Broucek – who is Head of Music at Warner Brothers Pictures and has worked on films such as Lord of the Rings amongst other things – produced their album. This meant that the duo got to record out in LA at some amazing studios with some top level professionals and made t he very most of the opportunity to work in areas of space that music they grew up admiring was made. “I was recording piano on Prince’s’ piano in Castle Records studio A!” Max exclaims. “It was just such a magical experience – I can’t explain it really, but coming from London and then going to all these incredible studios working with these amazing engineers…it was such a learning experience for Esmay and I to both go and work with such high quality people. “Holding On and bits of other tracks as well were recorded in Studio D at The Village Recorders and one of our biggest influences is Fleetwood Mac – they basically built that room for Fleetwood Mac to record ‘Tusk’ in, so just being in that space making our music was great,” Esmay adds. “It’s the best feeling in the world – just so humbling and wild.” Songs from a deep place A lot of the songs from The Luck are very deep, meaningful and open, which is far from out of the ordinary when it comes to country music, but considering that the two are siblings, it would be understandable if this was harder. You wouldn’t want your friends being hurt, let alone a sibling. This – in theory – could prove problematic as Esmay sings about heartbreak on the album, however, the dynamic between them has allowed them to be closer than ever in some regards. “There’s a lot of raw emotion that goes into song writing and you can’t fake it,” Max says. “When you write a song, it’s got to come from a real place. I know that for Esmay, it’s a cathartic process. I try not to do the whole break-up thing too often, but Esmay has definitely been through her fair share of ups and downs in that perspective over the years and it’s been amazing to be able to help through the experiences she’s gone through. “It’s nice that I can put a lyrical or a chord based hug around her shoulders and say, ‘alright, let’s frame this’ and I’ll try and help her bring a lot of the arrangements to life.” “I wonder if that’s why a lot of our music is positive and I wonder if it is because often we are having conversations with each other and you always try to pick the other person up, so, rather than our songs kind of dwelling on a negative emotion, we are always trying to turn it round,” Esmay adds. “In conversation, that’s what we are trying to do with each other anyway, so it kind of just leads directly into the themes of the songs I guess – and the way that they develop.” Looking forwards The duo are very much gearing up for their album release date and some special things that’ll come along the way – such as a warm-up show – but they do also have plans to get out on the road not long after. “We’re hoping to be able to go on tour in the Autumn,” Max says. “We’ve already started looking at some dates and we’re really excited for the launch show – that’s our major push. We are going to try and have such a massive party.” [Update – launch show took place on July 25 with Roisin O’Hagan as support] “We’re making a free give-away for everyone that comes,” Esmay adds. “It’s a real moment for us so we want to mark it as something special and we hope that a lot of our fans will come down and celebrate with us.” The future certainly looks very good for the duo and who knows, maybe their cinematic path to success will continue in true Hollywood style. Album Review: ‘Ready to Run’ – The Luck Zoe Deighton-Smythe The Luck make a sweet, moving sound in their latest album. Caressing harmonies combined with catchy chords, ‘Ready to Run’ has a good beat with nice variety. Ranging from cheerful chants to melancholy themes, each song has its own flow and vitality. With a similar sound to Fleetwood Mac, the sibling duo’s voices complement each other very well, showing true depth of talent. Starting out with the albums titular song, you can already tell that the pair are conveying the significance of freedom and hope – its folksy and pleasing but the rest of the songs really show off their incredible song-writing ability. Place in the Sun is a particular highlight, with entrancing lyrics and beautiful chords, which then leads nicely into the upbeat and captivating Vertigo. Dealing with happiness after heartbreak and trying to find the silver lining in life, ‘Ready to Run’ is both peaceful and feisty – it has a sincere, relatable message for listeners and remains simplistic but profound at its core. Uplifting and freeing, ‘Ready to Run’ is a good listen. www.theluckmusic.com

Upcoming UK artist TJ Walker has announced that he will release his debut album ‘The Long Game’ on November 15, with a single release coming in August. Walker is a multi-instrumentalist who specialises in country and Americana and played all of the instruments on the 10-track album himself, taking influence from the likes of The Band, Brothers Osborne, Little Feat, Jason Isbell and Lowell George on the record. Speaking about the album, Walker explained how he tries to keep his songs as entertaining as possible in a number of different ways, while also opening up on the instrumental side of things. “I’ve done my best to make the songs thought-provoking, interesting and funny, combined with exciting playing and production,” Walker said. “I like songs to have a story or a twist, or both. I think of them as a small window through which you can watch a scene play out in somebody’s life: that, combined with the right musical backdrop for the scene, is what makes Country and Americana music so powerful. “On ‘The Long Game’, I’ve played all the instruments myself, using the technology to allow me to not just layer-up parts in isolation, but playing and reacting to the other instruments as if it were a live band playing together in a room — like a time- lapsed jam-session.” On August 9, Walker will release Long Game as the album’s lead single, with a video to come with it.

Elles Bailey has released a new track in the shape of Deeper, which represents the latest single to be taken from her second album, ‘Road I Call Home’. You can watch the video for the track below. [wpdevart_youtube]ymJJvAgdrys[/wpdevart_youtube] Speaking about the track, Bailey claimed that it is potentially her favourite on her second record and has been kicking around for close to two years now, while explaining that the track itself completely transformed in the studio. “I think Deeper is my favourite track on ‘Road I Call Home’,” Bailey said. It was written with Dan Demay and Daryll Burgess, who co-wrote Same Flame with me on ‘Wildfire’. “I’ve written a lot with Dan and Daryl and I love that we write something completely different every time we get together. Deeper was always a favourite of mine right from the beginning when it was written in September 2017 and I knew it was gonna go on the record. “It lived as a piano voice note for eight months, however in the studio it came alive and just became something so much better than I imagined. I’m so happy we decided to put horns on it too – it just oozes with soul.” 2019 has been an exceptionally busy year for Elles Bailey and doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon, with the artist pencilled in for a host of live dates between now and December, including an appearance at Millport Country Music Festival, gigs in Europe and America and UK tour to close off the year. Tickets for all gigs are available here.

The most divisive country song of the year in Old Town Road by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus has made American history by lasting 17 weeks as US No. 1. The much talked about track has now overtaken both One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men and Despacito by Luis Forsi & Daddy Yankee ft Justin Bieber, both of which lasted 16 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard 100. Old Town Road was infamously taken out of the Billboard Country charts upon its initial release – with many suggesting racism was the reason for the removal – before Cyrus lent his vocals to it for a remixed version to try and get it back into the country charts. While it didn’t go back into the country charts, the song has grown into something far bigger than can possibly have been imagined and live performances have now taken place on the main stage at both CMA Fest and Glastonbury.

Miranda Lambert has released solo music for the first time in almost three years, with the Pistol Annie unveiling the track It All Comes Out in the Wash. You can listen to the song here. Co-written with The Love Junkies (Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose), the track is the first batch of music Lambert has released under her own name since double album ‘The Weight of These Wings’ was released in November 2016. Speaking about the song, Lambert explained the backstory of the song and that it is about reminding yourself that while you may be tested with rough times in life, things do eventually get better. “When we were little, our moms would say ‘let’s not worry about a stain’ – everyone goes through times in life that are difficult and has moments that they wish would pass,” said Lambert. “This song is a mix of scenarios that we have all either been a part of or have seen and is a fun reminder that hard times do eventually pass.” Lambert will hit the road in the US for the Roadside Bars & Pink Guitars Tour this autumn, with special guests Maren Morris and Elle King, as well as Pistol Annies, Tenille Townes, Ashley McBryde and Caylee Hammack on various dates.

Old Dominion have announced that their third album – which will be self-titled – will be released on October 25, just after they embark on their UK tour. The self-titled album is the follow-up to the CMA and ACM award winning band’s critically acclaimed second album, ‘Happy Endings’ and also sees the group co-produce a record for the first time, with Shane McAnally joining them behind the buttons. Hit single Make It Sweet was the first official taster of the record, which has now gone on to rack up a combined 1.5 billion streams from both audio and video outlets. The song also topped the Billboard Country Airplay charts. The group – made up of Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Whit Sellers, Geoff Sprung and Brad Tursi – will be in the UK  a few days before the album launch, with five date pencilled in. Old Dominion will be playing: October 10 – Eventim Apollo, London, England October 12 – Waterfront Hall Auditorium, Belfast, Northern Ireland October 14 – Albert Hall, Manchester, England October 15 – O2 Academy Birmingham, Birmingham, England October 16 – O2 Academy Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland

Rising Nashville based star Kassi Ashton has unveiled the video for her latest single Field Party, which marks her third single of 2019 so far. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]OUpfdcL7-Xg[/wpdevart_youtube] Much is expected from Ashton, who made her debut in the Nissan Stadium at CMA Fest 2019, in the country music world and 2019 has been a remarkably busy year for her, with a tour in America supporting Maren Morris to come in September. So far, Ashton has been drip feeding singles to the music world since her arrival on the scene and it is still unclear if she plans on releasing an EP or an album in the near future. Speaking about the video, Ashton explained that it was shot in real time and wanted a visual representation of people from all corners of the world and of all cultures to be shown as one celebrating and having fun. “We all celebrate the same,” Ashton said. “We all want to be with people we love, get loose without judgement and be happy. That’s what I wanted – the trippiest field party that anyone has ever seen, with people of all colours, styles, and backgrounds celebrating each other. So that’s what we did. “We actually had a party and filmed it. There was beer in my hair and the fun you see wasn’t staged. We might even do it again next year and invite y’all. My Queen Kristin Barlowe did it again.” The video was directed by Kirstin Barlowe, whom Ashton worked with when it came to the videos for Violins and Pretty Shiny Things – her two previous singles this year.

Chris Country listeners are set to enjoy a new voice in July as iHeartRadio’s Nashville-based multi-media personality Bobby Bones brings his top-rated, weekly Country Top 30 with Bobby Bones program to the station’s schedule. Every weekend on the Premiere Networks-syndicated program, Bones and his co-hosts Amy Brown and Lunchbox share conversations with country music’s hottest artists, while playing America’s biggest songs. The show is heard on more than 200 stations across the US and Canada, and is now “crossing the pond,” with Chris Country being the first station outside North America to add the weekly show to its lineup. Also joining Chris Country is Women of iHeartCountry, an hour-long weekend program hosted by Bones and Brown. Each week on the show, they spotlight music from both established female country music artists and promising up-and-comers. Also syndicated by Premiere Networks, the program airs on nearly 140 iHeartRadio stations in the US, in addition to stations in Canada. Bones said, “country music has never been more in demand and we’re excited to help share the music and stories coming out of Nashville with the UK fans every week.” Adding further comment, Brown said, “I couldn’t be happier that Chris Country will be sharing Women of iHeartCountry with UK listeners – it’s so important that stations support female artists and voices.” Chris Country’s new weekend schedule began on July 6 and also included new UK additions, including Scott Phillips, Mikey Faulkner and Liam Scott. Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40 continues to be broadcast on Saturday mornings and the station, which launched in 2013, can be heard on DAB+ across much of the UK.