August 2019

There will be new music from Luke Combs sooner than expected as the artist has announced that his second album will be available on November 8. Combs hasn’t long released his ‘The Prequel’ EP, but it seems he’s very much in a creative phase and the as of yet untitled new album will be a follow-up to Combs’ hugely successful debut record, ‘This One’s For You’. So far, 2019 has been a huge success for Combs as ‘This One’s For You’ is currently the most streamed country music album of the year and all five singles from ‘The Prequel’ EP all charted on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs – the first time this has happened since Johnny Cash did so in 1959. In addition, Beer Never Broke My Heart, the lead single from the EP, recently went to No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay Chart, marking Combs’ sixth consecutive No. 1, which is a first. As of yet, there are no other details about the record, with more information to be announced at a later time.  

TJ Walker has released his new single Long Game from his upcoming debut of the same name and the accompanying video for the song. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]ztqOEV7bfPw[/wpdevart_youtube] Speaking about the song, Walker stated that it is a story within a story and that the solo that exists within the song is one of Walker’s favourites from the upcoming record. “It’s a story within a story: a father tells a tale of the problems he’s experienced  owning a luxury car,” Walker said. “At first the song appears to be about the car, but I like a song to have a story with a twist. As the story plays out, it becomes clear there’s more than meets the eye. “The story of luxury car ownership may be a metaphorical one, as the son’s beautiful, expensive and high-maintenance fiancée enters the scene. What’s more, the guitar solo in this song is one of my favourites on the album.” The album itself will be available for all on November 15.

Scotty McCreery will be performing in the UK for the first time ever this October, with dates at Bush Hall and Manchester Academy 3 pencilled in. The former American Idol winner has had a rapid ascension in the music world, with four US No. 1 albums as well as a number of chart topping singles under his belt, but has yet to appear on UK shores. That will now be changing as for Country Music Week, McCreery will be extending his small European tour in order to accommodate the UK, with two shows scheduled towards the end of October. General sale for the UK dates starts August 9 at 9am, with a pre-sale for C2C attendees on  August 7 – also at 9am. There is also a Manchester venue pre-sale on August 8 at 9am. Tickets for the shows in Europe are on-sale now. Scotty McCreery will be playing: October 23 – PrivatClub, Berlin, Germany October 24 – Heliosstraße 37, Cologne, Germany October 26 – Bush Hall, London, England October 27 – Manchester Academy 3, Manchester, England

Brantley Gilbert has revealed that his first studio album in three years, ‘Fire & Brimstone’, will be released on October 4. You can pre-order the record here. ‘Fire & Brimstone’ marks Gilbert’s fifth studio album and will have features with Lindsay Ell, Colt Ford, Alison Krauss, Jamey Johnson and both Willie and Lukas Nelson, with 15 songs on the record, as well as current US top 15 single What Happens in a Small Town. Speaking about the recording process of the album, Gilbert said that he is now at a point in his career where he is willing to let the music itself guide where he wants things to go and believes that he has grown up a lot from a musical perspective as a result of it. “I know it sounds crazy, but never did I once bring a lyric sheet into the studio with me,” Gilbert said. “I feel like I am at this stage in my career where I am confident enough to let the music take me where it’s meant to go, no matter how down and dirty that might be. There is no doubt that this is the album that allowed me to grow up musically.” The track listing for ‘Fire & Brimstone’ is: 1. Fire’t Up – (Written by Brantley Gilbert, Brandon Day, Justin Weaver) 2. Not Like Us – ( Gilbert, Rhett Akins, Brock Berryhill, Amy Wadge) 3. Welcome To Hazeville feat. Colt Ford, Lukas Nelson and Willie Nelson – (Gilbert, Rodney Clawson, Andrew DeRoberts, Colt Ford) 4. What Happens In A Small Town feat. Lindsay Ell – (Gilbert, Akins, Berryhill, Josh Dunne) 5. She Ain’t Home – (Gilbert, Brian Davis, Weaver) 6. Lost Soul’s Prayer – (Gilbert, DeRoberts) 7. Tough Town – (Gilbert, Blake Chaffin, DeRoberts, Josh Phillips) 8. Fire & Brimstone feat. Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss – (Gilbert) 9. Laid Back Ride – (Gilbert) 10. Bad Boy – (Gilbert, DeRoberts, Phillips) 11. New Money – (Gilbert, Akins, Berryhill, Day) 12. Breaks Down – (Gilbert, Jaida Dreyer, Josh Mirenda,  Weaver) 13. Man Of Steel – (Gilbert,  Berryhill, Cole Taylor) 14. Never Gonna Be Alone – (Gilbert, Berryhill, Erik Dylan) 15. Man That Hung The Moon – (Gilbert)

The Wandering Hearts have added another cover to their collection by taking on When The Party’s Over by teen prodigy Billie Eilish. You can see the cover below. [wpdevart_youtube]z5955CaYrxM[/wpdevart_youtube] The take on the 17-year-old’s single represents the group’s second major cover in the space of a few months, with the trio also covering Nothing Breaks Like a Heart by Miley Cyrus and Mark Ronson fairly recently. Speaking in a statement, the band explained their decision to cover When The Party’s Over and their admiration for Eilish, while also saying that they’ve been doing covers in-between working hard on their second album. “We are huge fans of Billie Eilish and her debut album and this song just captured our hearts,” the band said. “We had great fun down at Middle Farm Studios reimagining this beautiful song and working with the talented Maddie and Will on strings.” “We’ve loved working on these songs in the studio in-between sessions for our new album. We’ve had a really special time working on the arrangements and hope that shines through in what you hear”. The rise of The Wandering Hearts has been nothing short of exceptional, with the group going from strength to strength to strength over the past two years, while standout gigs at C2C, CMA Fest and the Grand Ole Opry have boosted their reputation on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

With preparations already well underway for the landmark 10th anniversary of Lewitt in 2020, the Austrian audio pioneer is gearing up to celebrate with the launch of a ground-breaking new flagship microphone. Intended to become the company’s boldest launch to date, the as-yet unnamed microphone is being developed under the working title ‘Project Pinnacle’. But while the microphone won’t be unveiled until The NAMM Show in January 2020, Lewitt is now inviting everyone with a passion for sound to play a crucial role in its development thanks to a specially developed online tool. Best of all, participants will be entered into a draw to win one of the flagship microphones as a special anniversary gift from the company to its global family of end-users. All Lewitt  microphones are developed with input from a circle of the world’s most respected recording engineers, who not only field-test new products before launch but actually help to shape their tonal characteristics. For the launch of its new flagship, Lewitt has gone one step further with a website-based survey that allows audio enthusiasts at every level to get involved in the creation of a new microphone classic. Designed to take just five minutes to complete, the survey asks visitors to compare and evaluate a number of audio samples, all of which will ultimately contribute to the new flagship’s characteristics and features. The Lewitt sound survey ends on 30th of August 2019. A grand prize draw will then take place at The NAMM Show during the official unveiling of Project Pinnacle, with a live-stream on Lewitt’s social media channels to ensure everyone has a chance to find out if they are the lucky winner. “From January onwards, 2020 will be a year of celebration for Lewitt, and we’re planning to start as we mean to go on with our most significant product launch yet,” commented Roman Perschon, founder and CEO of Lewitt. “Most importantly, we want everyone who cares about audio to be part of our celebrations. “Lewitt was founded on the principle of making the highest quality microphones accessible to everyone – now we want to democratise the design process as well. I’m very excited to hear the results and I can’t wait to reveal our new flagship.” To take part in the sound survey and stand a chance of winning Lewitt’s new flagship microphone, simply visit https://lewitt.link/sound

Four-day passes for CMA Fest 2020 will be available for the general public to obtain on August 2 at 4pm UK time (10am Nashville time). Tickets will be available here. The colossal country music festival will be taking place in Nashville one again from June 4-7, spanning four days and highlighting the very best that country music has to offer. The four-day passes for CMA Fest 2020 include admission to each of the Nissan Stadium’s four nightly shows, four-day admission to Xfinity Fan Fair X, meet-and-greet opportunities inside Xfinity Fan Fair X and free access to daytime and nighttime shuttles. CMA Fest 2019 featured more than 300 acts performing on 11 official stages and hosted visitors from all around the globe. Each year, hundreds of artists performing at CMA Fest donate their time and talent so a portion of ticket proceeds can directly help enrich and sustain music education programs across the country through CMA’s nonprofit arm, the CMA Foundation.