2019

Danni Nicholls THE MELTED MORNING Self-released ***** “An incredibly well-crafted album with depth and originality for each composition” Danni Nicholls is renowned for her grace and elegance in music and ‘The Melted Morning’ epitomises this beautiful style on a whole new level. An incredibly well-crafted album with depth and originality for each composition, Nicholls is delicate in delivery but fierce in spirit. Her vocals are similar to the talents of k.d. lang and Linda Ronstadt – equally gorgeous artists that provide poetry behind their buoyant vocals. With her echoing voice whimsically moving around each track, her imagery remains firmly planted within the world of Americana while also providing profundity in her outlook on love, fear and the power of human connection. Nicholls has written a stunning piece of work that does a remarkable job of merging light with dark. From a soothing but upbeat performance in Losing It to a passionate and poignant rendition in Unwanted, Nicholls captures the classic trope of country music by exposing real-life experiences and the complexities of human emotion and makes it into something wonderfully timeless. A really stunning piece of musical work – Danni Nicholls is an artist full of soul and wisdom. Zoe Deighton-Smythe www.danninicholls.com

The Long Road Festival have announced their second edition in emphatic style after revealing that Kip Moore and Josh Turner will be headlining. The three-day event, which runs from September 6-8, will mark the first ever time that Turner has played on UK soil and he will be closing the festival on the Sunday. Moore, who is very much at the forefront of the genre, will be headlining the Saturday. In addition to Moore and Turner in the first wave announcements, Asleep At The Wheel will be making their first full-band appearance in the UK for over a decade, while LANCO, Morgan Evans, Lainey Wilson, The Steel Woods and Rhiannon Giddens will also be appearing. There are a number of upcoming UK country and Americana artists on the bill as well, including the likes of Liv Austen, Katy Hurt, Jake Morrell and CoCo and The Butterfields. Tickets start at £40 for the day, £90 for a no camping weekend pass and £110 for a camping weekend pass. These can be purchased via The Long Road Festival website. The lineup so far is: Rhinestone County  Kip Moore Josh Turner LANCO Morgan Evans Eric Paslay Thompson Square Lainey Wilson Jaime Wyatt Liv Austen Crossroad County  Rhiannon Giddens with Francesco Turrisi Asleep at the Wheel John Paul White Sam Outlaw The Steel Woods Sunny Ozell CoCo and The Butterfields The Cactus Blossoms Katy Hurt Matt the Electrician Leslie Stevens The Hanging Stars Robert Chaney Peter Bruntnell Fair Country  Charlie Crockett Sam Lewis Ags Connolly Jake Morrell Amy Speace

Fresh from another hugely successful weekend in the UK, Country to Country (C2C) have announced the dates for their eighth festival, which will be held between March 13-15. Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and Chris Stapleton headlined the 2019 edition of the festival, which took place at London’s O2 Arena, Glasgow’s SSE Hydro Arena and Dublin’s 3Arena. No names have been revealed as of yet and won’t be for some time, but early bird tickets will be available for purchase at 10am on March 15. 2019’s edition of C2C saw over 70,000 country music fans flock to the three cities, further proving that the UK’s affection for country music is growing at a rapid pace. Tickets will be available from AXS, Ticketmaster and Gigs and Tours.

Back to the UK after a three year spell, Brett Eldredge is ready to take C2C by storm ahead of his Main Stage appearances in London, Glasgow and Dublin So Brett, how are you feeling for C2C? Yeah, I feel great about this. It feels like my first day at school or something! I’ve never played to this level in the UK or the Europe – we’ve played some big clubs here, but it’s so good to see how big country’s grown here and to be a part of that and to be singing in front of 20,000 people with new fans and new energy is just so exciting. It’s been three years since you were last in the UK, what can we expect from the show? Well I’ve figured myself out a lot more since last time! Last night I walked by KOKO and thinking about how many miles I’ve travelled since the last time I was here and how many hundreds of shows I’ve played. I feel like my live shows were really special then, but I was really finding and honing in on my craft and I think that a place like this makes me inspired to try new things even more and to have different moments in the show because there’s a very high level of respect here for the music and I love that. I’m going to bring the biggest musical moments I possibly can up there out on stage. Are there any surprises we should look out for this weekend? That’s a good question…I’m always planning surprises! I don’t have a specific one yet, but I’ve actually surprised myself at shows recently as I’m going way more off the cuff than I used to and I try to feel the crowd out a little bit more. Sometimes I switch the song order up a little bit if I feel people want to be a bit more upbeat, or if everybody’s really feeling emotional, I’m gonna go deeper. I really like that. I don’t know where it’s going to go, but I like that I don’t know where it’s going to go – I just know it’s going to be an incredible show as I’ve been waiting so long to play C2C.

Prior to a super busy few days for the group, Runaway June took time out of their schedule to let us know what they have in store for C2C How are you feeling about C2C? Naomi Cooke: We came over last year to write with some BMG writers here and that was such a fun experience, but we haven’t performed yet. We’ve been dying to! Hannah Mulholland: We’re excited to see the fans because we’ve heard the best things about the crowds here, so this will be the first time we’re experiencing the crowds. You’re playing five times over the weekend, which is remarkable – how did that come about? Hannah: I don’t know! There are some that I don’t even know if we’re going to be able to get there – we have one at 9 and one at 9:30 or something, so I hope we get to five shows, but we’ll see! Naomi: This is not a place that we’ll be able to come often so we want to take advantage of being here and do as much as we can. Hopefully we haven’t overstepped and hopefully we’ll make it to every show! Hannah: It’s exciting that we can play that many times, it’s a really good feeling. Were you shocked to be headlining the Spotlight Stage? Jennifer Wayne: Yeah!! We’re shocked to headline any stage, over the years you play so many types of stages and tents where there’s nobody in them and you just go through all of the rounds. To be at the point where we’re headlining any stage is just an amazing feeling. Naomi: It feels really good, we’ve really been on the grind for years – and we still are – but it’s always an honour to see that we’re headlining. We always feel like, ‘oh my God, are we ready for this? Like, this is a lot of responsibility!’ but it’s exciting. To be doing that here in the UK feels really kind of surreal.    

As part of our chat with cover star – and C2C 2019 headliner – Keith Urban, we asked him a few quick fire questions about several different things. 2018 was a sensational year for you with ‘Graffiti U’ being released to critical acclaim and then winning Entertainer of the Year at the CMA Awards – how have you coped with all the adulation sent your way? I mean, firstly that whole CMA moment was quite surreal – and as you can clearly see in the playback, I was completely stunned when Lionel Richie called my name. On the album front, the response from people all over has been way beyond what I could’ve hoped for…and now getting to come to the U.K and play live feels exhilarating. It had been 13 years since you last won Entertainer of the Year and you joined an elite category of musicians who had won it twice – just how important is that award for you? You know, all I ever had my sights set on was making my own music and hoping they’d play it on the radio and hoping people would wanna come to hear those songs live, but some shiny hardware given to ya feels bloody damn nice too! I love playing and touring. That fire and passion is just as strong in me now as it’s ever been. It seemed likely that you’d have a release with Post Malone out in mid-January – what happened to that? Post and I played together for an Elvis special marking the anniversary of his 1968 television show (aired on Feb 17). I first heard Post on his Stoney album and all I can say is that it spoke to me. I really wanted to do something with him and the Elvis thing was it. We met for the first time that day, said hi, grabbed our guitars and started running the song right there on the set with the band. It was crazy how it clicked immediately. Post has such a  musical depth – I knew that’s what was speaking to me right from the beginning. Country, hip-hop, R&B, soul…it’s all in there and so much more. I f****** love that dude. You’ve only got a handful of tour dates after C2C before your 2019 is finished, what’re your plans for when you come off tour? Ha, I got so many plates spinning in the air this year, I reckon I could get a gig with Cirqe De Soleil! A full feature with Keith Urban is available in the latest issue of Maverick (March/April 2019)

Ashley McBryde has revealed that she will be heading on her biggest UKand Ireland  headline tour to date at the end of September and start of October. The American ‘Girl Going Nowhere’ star will be playing four dates on a brief visit this side of the Atlantic, which have been announced ahead of her Main Stage appearance at C2C 2019 this weekend. McBryde’s last trip to the UK was hugely successful as her headline gig had to be upgraded to Islington Assembly Hall due to demand, while she also supported recent CMA New Artist of the Year winner Luke Combs on his UK tour. Tickets go on sale at 9am on March 8 and can be purchased here. Ashley McBryde will be playing: September 27 – O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London, England September 29 – Manchester Academy 2, Manchester, England September 30 – Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow, Scotland October 1 – Dublin Academy, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

Seven-time Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood will be returning to the UK for a five-date arena tour at the back end of June and start of July. Underwood’s last UK appearances were when she headlined C2C 2016, though the 2005 ‘American Idol’ winner was last pencilled in to headline The Long Road Festival last September, but had to cancel due to illness. The five dates will make up part of Underwood’s ‘Cry Pretty Tour’ and she will be supported by UK act The Shires throughout the duration of the brief tour. One thing Underwood has done is ensure that £1 of every ticket sold goes to the Danita’s Children charity, which provide a safe haven for abandoned and vulnerable children in Haiti. Tickets go on sale at 9am UK time on March 7. Carrie Underwood will be playing: June 28 – Birmingham Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England June 30 – Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales July 2 – The SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow, Scotland July 3 – Manchester Arena, Manchester, England July 4 – The SSE Wembley Arena, London, England