September 2019

TJ Walker has released another single from his upcoming album ‘The Long Game’ in the shape of Cowboy Outta Me, complete with a video. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]6RThZbHzFCA[/wpdevart_youtube] Speaking about the song, Walker – who himself heralds from West Sussex – said that the feedback that he got from the people he played it to convinced him to release it as a single, while he also opened up on the meaning behind the track and why it has all the hallmarks of a song that he’d want to listen to on his own accord. “When I finished the song, it felt right and I liked the sound and the words, but it seemed too simple an idea somehow,” Walker said. “It’s impossible to be a fair judge of your own creation, so I played it to a few people. Everyone I played it to loved it, several people even admitting, ‘I’m not a fan of Country music, but I like that song!’ “It was unusual in that it was a song that came from me sitting down and deciding to write a song. I started with the simple idea of including all of the elements of my favourite country songs. The words started to paint the picture of being in the middle of nowhere, back to nature… like a cowboy on the range! Once I got that picture in my head, the idea took on a life of its own. “It’s a love song at heart, but like all my favourite Country songs, it’s got a cowboy in it!” ‘The Long Game’ by TJ Walker is set for release on November 15.

The rumour mill can rest easy now as Lady Antebellum have confirmed that their much discussed upcoming album ‘Ocean’ will be released on November 15. You can pre-order the record here. For months, fans and critics have speculated for months now that a new album has been in the works for Lady A – who are made up of Charles Kelly, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood – and now the news has been confirmed. Celebrated producer Dann Huff is the man behind the buttons for the record, in what is his first time working with the trio. Previously released singles What If I Never Get Over You and Pictures will both feature on the album. Speaking about what is Lady Antebellum’s eighth studio album, both Haywood and Scott offered an insight into the album and as Haywood praised Huff’s contribution, Scott opened up on some of the meaning behind the album. “There’s this theme of returning to the core of who we are—as writers, vocalists and people—that came out in each of these songs,” Haywood said. “Our time in the studio with Dann had an excitement that felt like we were making our first album all over again.” “It’s such a cinematic and theatrical melody that really tied together our standpoint of this record as a whole,” adds Scott. “’Ocean’ stands for all of the things that we think and feel when we hear the word. Its parallel with those feelings much like the songs about barely keeping your head above water and others that make you feel like everything is smooth sailing.” Earlier this year, Lady Antebellum headlined C2C 2019 in the UK, performing at London’s O2 Arena, Glasgow’s SSE Hydro Arena and Dublin’s 3Arena, while the group are also up for a CMA Award, being nominated for Vocal Group of the Year.

At The Long Road Festival, Maverick had a chat with Twinnie, who told us about her upcoming album plans and how she’s feeling with music at present How is your album prep coming along? Really good. I’ve got to go back out in mid September for a week or ten days and finish a couple of vocals and then after that it will be pretty much done. I’m still writing though because I’m doing an EP to come out specifically in America that we are going to take to country radio with my label over there, so that’s amazing. It’s kind of all go! The album is coming out in February, it’s called ‘Hollywood Gypsy’ and yeah, I’m really proud of it, it’s been such a labour of love and all these songs are like my babies. I’ve just been trying to get everything right and I think it took me a little bit of time to decide because I write so much. I’m really nervous about it and very scared, but hopefully there are a lot of songs that I played at Long Road that will be on the album. How important it was having the label rally around you like they have? I know how other artists feel about their labels and you hear horror stories all the time, but honestly Alistair Norbury, who signed me, is the Head of BMG UK and I have to say everybody works so hard and they are like a family orientated business. I feel like I’m always heard and yeah, I love everyone on my team and I love the fact that I’ve got a team in America that I absolutely adore and that everyone is just wanting to make this album go and reach as many people as possible. It’s been a busy festival season for you this year, what shows stood out for you? This one here at Long Road was an amazing one, actually. I also did C2C at the BBC Radio 2 stage and that for me was a very ‘I’m so grateful’ moment. I had my first headline gig back in May, which was awesome and we sold that out and that was kind of a marker for me. I don’t know 20 people, let alone 300 people to come and see me, so to sell it out was such an incentive, an encouragement and a massive beacon of light to keep going and to tell me that I’m on the right track. Have you got any plans for your album launch show yet? I want to do something grand to show people that I appreciate their support. Whatever we do, it will be very fitting I think. It will be very me. You’ll turn up and be like, ‘that’s Twinnie, she’s done a Twinnie!’

Sam Williams will be making his Grand Ole Opry debut on October 9 after Cam surprised him on her European tour by inviting him on stage. Williams – who is the son of Hank Williams Jnr and therefore the grandson of Hank Williams Snr – has been supporting Cam on her ‘Oh, The Places We’ll Go!’ tour, which has included a date at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire. During a gig in Berlin, Germany, Cam took the opportunity to bring Williams out for a duet and it was at that point she invited him to perform at the iconic Nashville venue for the very first time. Speaking to ‘Wide Open Country’ after the performance, Williams said that it didn’t quite sink in at first, but when it finally did, he was overcome with emotion and got in touch with just about everyone in his contact book. “The moment Cam asked me, I was too focused on our last night singing together and it almost didn’t even register in my brain,” Williams said. “After singing Jolene, I came off stage and balled like a baby. I pressed an emergency exit button side stage, frantically trying to FaceTime everyone I knew. This happening is truly historic and I am so excited.” Sam Williams supported Cam all around Europe and performed in capital cities such as London, Amsterdam, Paris, Belfast and Berlin.

At The Long Road Festival, Maverick sat down with Sunny Ozell, who told us about her new album preparations and how her UK tour went. The Long Road rounded off your UK tour, how did it go for you? It was lovely – it was really, really fun. Too short, though. Was that just down to timing? Yeah, the thing about festivals in the UK for out of the country artists is that they can really prove to be like an anchor that you then fill the other dates around. These summer festivals are a great way to get a band over, you know. You’ve been playing new songs in your set, how have they gone down with the audience? Really well! I mean, they have also gone down well with me, which is good because I haven’t really played them that much. I just finished a record in May and it was a very kind of incubated process, so to actually take the tunes out into the wild is so fun. That album is due to come out in early 2020, how are preparations going for that? Yeah, good! It’s actually a very two-stage kind of thing, making a record. You make the record and then you figure out a way to present it to people in a way that they can hopefully understand what you are trying to say, which includes everything from images to video. Can you share any other additional details? The title of the record is ‘Overnight Lows’ and it’s very much about insomnia, the good things that go down at night and the not so good things. It’s kind of a nocturnal looking record. You’ve called in some serious talent for recording the album, how did that come about? I guess I have just stuck around long enough, I guess. 10 years ago, the field was really big and I’ve just kind of stayed at it. Suddenly, I’m in the room with people that are heroes and people like Jay Bellerose, the drummer, who I’ve been listening to for 20 years and here he is on my record. That must be quite rewarding for you personally? When the people that influenced you are now your peers, it is astonishing and to be perfectly blunt, in itself that is success to me. If you can pick a dream band if you like, who would you have? That’s a big one! I will kind of give you a round the back door answer to this, as the first record that I bought as a kid where I actually wanted to look up the liner notes and say, ‘wait a second, who is that person playing the drums?’ was ‘The Rhythm of the Saints’ by Paul Simon. That’s when I started learning the names, of not just the artist on the record, but the band. I’ve always been curious about who the personnel is on the records, so I think Paul Simon’s band from Graceland onwards was pretty f***ing spectacular. Richard Tee on keys, Vincent Nguini as guitarist and Steve Gadd on drums. Next year when the album comes out, can we expect you back? Absolutely! I’ll probably be back again sometime in the autumn. We’re looking at October, November time – something like that. Sunny Ozell’s latest single, ‘Driving Highways’ was released on September 13 and can be listened to here

Kristin Chenoweth has teamed up with country music royalty on her upcoming new album ‘For the Girls’, with Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire lending their vocal talents to the record. The record is set for release on September 27. For Chenoweth’s seventh studio album, she pays tribute to a number of female artists that have influenced her throughout her life, covering the likes of Barbra Streisand, Eva Cassidy, Patsy Clyne, Linda Ronstadt and Carole King among others. Parton features on a Chenoweth original in I Will Always Love You, while McEntire sings on a cover of Peggy Lee’s I’m a Woman with Jennifer Hudson. Also featuring on the album is pop sensation Ariana Grande, who features with Chenoweth on a cover of Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me. Speaking about the record, Chenoweth explained that she wanted to create something that not only be a homage to her heroes, but to also release something that females could really get stuck into. “I really wanted to pay homage to all the women singers who have influenced me over the years,” Chenoweth said. “I wanted to make something that men could also enjoy, but this is by the girls and for the girls. These songs have all stood the test of time, and most of them are songs that I grew up listening to. “It was a little intimidating, because people like Judy, Barbra and Dolly are the people who made me want to be a singer in the first place. I wanted to pay homage to these women and do them proud, but I also wanted to put my own stamp on it. And I think I was able to do that.” ‘For the Girls’ can be pre-ordered here.

Runaway June have made history in America by becoming the first female trio since Dixie Chicks to chart in the top five on the US Mediabase Country chart. The trio – made up of Naomi Cooke, Hannah Mulholland and Jennifer Wayne – released their debut album ‘Blue Roses’ in June 2019, with lead single Buy My Own Drinks being released in August 2018. The song has repeatedly grown in popularity and now becomes the first song since Dixie Chicks’ Travelin’ Soldier in 2003 to break into the top five – marking the first time for all three of Runaway June that they have had a song chart in that coveted position. In addition to the news, Runaway June will also be appearing on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ on October 3 as the group continue to go from strength to strength.  

Ahead of his first ever trip to the UK and Ireland, Joe Nichols sat down with Maverick and told us what we can expect from his shows and just how excited he is to be playing in front of audiences here How are you feeling about coming to the UK and Ireland for the very first time? I’m very excited. Everything I’ve heard about the country fans over there has given me a lot of reason for excitement. I’m a traditional country fan myself and I hear that the fans over there are traditional country fans, so it’s kind of a natural fit and I’m looking forward to it. I’m also looking forward to seeing parts of London and the rest of the UK that I’ve always wanted to see. How come it’s taken you so long to get over here? Man, that’s a good question. There’s been a few times where we’ve had what looked like promising opportunities to go over and play – whether it be putting new music out and needing a promo or a new album – for one reason or other, it just hasn’t worked out timing wise and it’s kind of been like that for 17 years. I look back at all the albums we put out and the time that it’s taken to make the album and then the promotion for the first year of the album being out there and I think all those albums have just kind of bled into the next. We’ve just kind of found ourselves being in one of those two places, whether in the studio nonstop or promo mode nonstop, so I haven’t had the opportunity. But here I am coming in a situation where I’m touring heavy and in the studio, but not really pressed for time, so we were able to carve out a little bit of time to go over and try and build a fanbase in the UK, or at least play for the fanbase in the UK. What are you personally expecting from your trip? My expectations are kind of up in the air and I love that. I heard everybody is into the album cuts – so not just songs that are highly visible on the radio or television, as people actually buy the music and the package and listen to the albums front to back. We might get an album cut request or two per show and that’s exciting to me. I’m just excited to be able to be on my toes a little bit and play songs I don’t normally get to play in the shows. What can the UK audience expect from a Joe Nichols show? It will be a stripped down acoustic show with a more storyteller environment, which I’m excited about because I love that the crowd listens – like I really love that. There is an energy that comes with playing a full band show, with the energy and the noise being loud and all that sort of stuff, but really, I’m a really big fan of playing music that matters in front of people that are listening. That to me is really important, so to hear that’s kind of the way the fans are in the UK is really exciting to me. I can talk a little bit, share a little bit of the story behind the song and the little things that I want to be writing about in the song – all the little bitty details that I really pay attention to. To have a crowd that also plays attention to that is exciting for me. Sticking on that acoustic note, recently you released both Yeah and Sunny and 75 as acoustic versions – what was your reasoning behind that? I wanted to give everybody an idea of what we will be like, as far as the shows in the UK go. It’s not over produced or slicked up like you’d hear on the radio, it’s just me and my guitar player playing like it’s going to be at the shows. Joe Nichols will be playing: September 23 – Thekla, Bristol, England September 24 – Night & Day Cafe, Manchester, England* September 26 – St. Pancras Old Church, London, England September 27 – Bodega, Nottingham, England September 29 – INEC, Killarney, Republic of Ireland *sold out Tickets are available here and Pip Hall will be the support act for the tour.

Lainey Wilson surprised her fans and the country music world as a whole on September 13, as she released a new four-track EP in ‘Redneck Hollywood’. You can listen to the EP here. The EP marks Wilson’s first release under Broken Bow Records and was produced by Jay Joyce, who has also sat behind the buttons for Eric Church, Little Big Town and Keith Urban. Wilson has just completed her third visit to the United Kingdom and in that time, she performed at The Long Road Festival on the main stage, appeared on BBC Radio 4 and supported Josh Turner on his first ever UK shows. Speaking about the EP, Wilson said that the EP offers listeners a unique insight into what Wilson believes is her story and the encounters that have moulded her into what she is today. “This project gives a snapshot of my story and moments in my life that have led me to exactly where I am today—growing up in northeast Louisiana, the word ‘redneck’ was a way of life,” Wilson said. “It’s a word outsiders would use to describe us and a word we’d proudly call ourselves. “I’m a proud Louisianan, and always will be, but from a very early age I’ve had stars in my eyes for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and I’d like to think that little twinkle helped propel me toward following my dreams and continues to keep me reaching further.” Next up for Wilson is her first ever US radio tour, as she takes her first single to country radio.

Northern Irish act The Rising returned to London at The Water Rats for a triumphant show on September 12, with support coming from Roisin O’Hagan and Hannah Paris on the night. First up on the bill was Roisin O’Hagan, with the Essex based singer/songwriter playing a selection of old and new songs for those in attendance, including some she had never played in a live environment before. The new songs went down very well with the audience, who were hanging on her every word for her 45 minute set, while the old songs were also well received. O’Hagan was performing completely solo and was typically very comfortable on stage, with her strong vocals – combined with her slick guitar playing skills – making for a very impressive showing as she completed the first of her two London support slots in three days. The night then went from one Essex girl to another on stage as Hannah Paris stepped up, complete with a full band as she brought on a cajon player and another guitarist. Paris has had a very productive 2019 thus far and the trio ran like a well oiled machine on stage, as she also gave the audience glimpses of her upcoming releases. It was also clear that involvement was something very much on Paris’ mind for the night, as she brought her dad up to play harmonica on two songs midway through her set, before inviting up two audience members to play the tambourine on her set closer. Paris came off stage to a huge round of applause and it was clear that the crowd liked what they saw and heard. It was then time for the headline act in The Rising, who were operating as a duo (Chantelle McAteer on vocals and Chris Logan on acoustic) rather than with a full band on the night, but it was clear from the off that this wouldn’t hamper their set in any way. McAteer’s vocals were stunning and Logan’s guitar playing fused with them perfectly, as the duo rattled through their back catalogue in emphatic fashion. In addition to their own songs, the duo also performed a brilliant cover of Bruce Springsteen’s I’m On Fire, which sounded tremendous. The duo will now head to Leamington to perform at a festival there, but on this showing, those in attendance will certainly be in for a treat.