2019

UK artist Becky Lawrence has shared her first piece of music since her 2017 EP ‘What It Takes’ in the shape of her latest single Now. You can listen to the track here. The Isle of Man born artist, now residing in the south-west of England, has been keeping busy this year with frequent gigs, but has marked the two-year anniversary of ‘What It Takes’ being released by dropping Now on the same date. Speaking about the song, Lawrence said that it one of the most open tracks that she has penned in her career and that it represents a change in her persona, as well as adding some insight into the overall meaning of the song. “From the heart, in the moment – this is one of the most honest tracks I have written to date,” Lawrence said. “I wanted this song to stand out from the others I have previously released and signify a change not only in my music style, but in myself. “I wanted to focus on reminding everyone that sometimes you need to just stop, take a breath and appreciate where you are right in that present moment, Now.” Looking ahead to 2020, Lawrence already has some dates booked in the diary in terms of live performances, while the addition of new music is very likely to lead to more dates being announced. Becky Lawrence is playing: June 12 – The Tap Beer & Spirits House, Derby, England September 5 – Country Music Festival at Tuckers Grave, Wiltshire, England

Una Healy has announced her comeback with a stripped down cover of N-Trance’s Set You Free, while original track Wild Grasses will be released on December 26. You can listen to Healy’s cover here. Healy has largely spent her year writing new music in addition to presenting the Saturday morning show on radio station Country Hits, but has now given fans a glimpse of what she’s been working on. The first piece of new music is a cover of 90s club classic Set You Free, which has been slowed down and stripped back. This is done deliberately, with Healy wanting to convey the meaning of the song in her eyes to everyone else – especially at this time of the year. “I stripped the song down completely to bring out the deep emotion behind the song and bring to life what it means to me,” Healy said. “The song reminds me of the unconditional love that surrounds us in all areas of our lives, not necessarily in a romantic sense, but the love of family and friends that keeps us strong through all of life’s adversities. “Leading up to Christmas, it’s a message that I personally need to remind myself and hope everyone can find comfort in”. As for Wild Grasses, the song was written with Eric Brazilian and is seemingly written about staying in touch with people who have departed, with Healy explaining how it was constructed. “I had a melody in my head for weeks and met with Eric and started humming it and the first words just came out and it flowed from there,” Healy added. “It has a real celtic folk sound to it too. It is a very comforting song for anyone who has lost someone close to know that their spirit will always be there with them.”

American act Midland have been forced to postpone their UK tour that was due to start on December 4 following a serious medical emergency relating to the recent birth of lead singer Mark Wystrach’s child. As is to be expected following a personal matter such as this, details are being kept to a total minimum while the band understandably focus on the matter at hand, with Wystrach promising to share information as and when it becomes available. In a statement, the band stated that they are all “incredibly saddened to delay their tour,” however they are “working hard to reschedule for 2020.” Midland were due to play four dates in the UK – the O2 Ritz in Manchester, the O2 Institute in Birmingham, The Leadmill in Sheffield and the iconic Roundhouse in London. It’s worth noting that the tour hasn’t been cancelled and presumably, tickets will still be valid for the rescheduled show as and when they spring up. Refund details will also be released in due course for those who will be unable to attend to new dates. Midland – made up of Wystrach, Jess Carson and Cameron Duddy – were set to return to the UK following a tour earlier on this year, which saw them headline O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London amongst other venues. The group were also nominated for Vocal Group of the Year and New Artist of the Year at the recent CMA Awards, losing out to Old Dominion and Ashley McBryde respectively. Also this year, the trio released their second album ‘Let It Roll’, which hit the shelves on August 23.

Robert Vincent has shared the video for his most recent single This Town, which is his first release since he released ‘I’ll Make the Most of My Sins’ in 2017. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]cIN400JakjI[/wpdevart_youtube] Liverpool resident Vincent – who won the inaugural Emerging Artist Award from Bob Harris at the UK Americana Awards – has been busy writing new music in the aftermath of releasing ‘I’ll Make the Most of My Sins’ and has now signed with the label Thirty Tigers. Speaking about the song, Vincent said that the video represents part of his childhood as he wanted to try and capture that in detail, while also offered an insight into the style of music that will be featured on his new album. “The underlying sentiment to This Town’s video is that of my childhood,” Vincent said. “I was keen to capture some of where I grew up as part of the narrative, but also where life had taken me. “I’ve spent time in the US towns and cities, Nashville and Memphis, mainly and more recently Texas, Lubbock home of Buddy Holly, who as a musician has been an inspiring chapter in my life. So, we used some of these locations as a backdrop for This Town. I have been connected to these places by music, history and films, even before I had visited. “I wanted to use The Plaza cinema, a beautiful Art Deco building built in 1939 situated just outside of Liverpool, in my hometown of Crosby. It was an important part of the video, because it was my escape as a child. I used to go alone, avoiding my friends interrupting the films. “That building meant as much to me as anything from my childhood, more than iconic films and first dates I had there. I added my son to the video to illustrate how I felt about those more laid back days. The innocence of those times compared to now is a world apart, but is something I seek and try to paint within the music on my upcoming new album”. Vincent is currently on tour and has a handful of dates left in 2019, including dates in Scotland, a London gig and a final performance of the year in his home city of Liverpool. Robert Vincent is playing: November 29 – The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen, Scotland November 30 – Wee Bear Cafe, Angus, Scotland December 1 – Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, Scotland December 2 – String Theory, Hawick, Scotland December 6 – Mycenae House, London, England December 13 – Heaven’s Gate, Liverpool, England

The Cadillac Three have released the next single from their upcoming album ‘Country Fuzz’ in the shape of Slow Rollin’, which also has a video. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]LHnBbBvXZoM[/wpdevart_youtube] The group, who have been announced for C2C 2020 as a Main Stage act, will be releasing their fourth album on February 7 and Slow Rollin’ is the second single to be released from the upcoming record, following in the footsteps of Crackin’ Cold Ones with the Boys. Speaking about the album, frontman Jaren Johnston has said that the album is has been in the works for a quarter of a decade, while also stating that the album name epitomises the band’s sound on both the record and in general. “We’ve spent the last two-and-a-half years working on this album,” Johnston said. “But our sound even since high school has always been the epitome of Country Fuzz – Country, rock and just a little bit of funk.” In addition to playing C2C 2020 in the UK, the trio – made up of Johnston, Neil Mason and Kelby Ray – will be doing C2C in both Germany and the Netherlands, playing in Berlin and Amsterdam respectively. Their UK performances at C2C will see them perform on the night that Eric Church is headlining, which is coincidental as the two have toured together on several occasions down the years. The Cadillac Three are playing: March 6 – Verti Music Hall, Berlin, Germany March 8 – AFAC Live, Amsterdam, Netherlands March 13 – O2 Arena, London, England March 14 – SSE Hydro Arena, Glasgow, Scotland March 15 – 3Arena, Dublin, Republic of Ireland

Ward Thomas have announced a second date at the Union Chapel in London after selling out the first date in remarkably quick fashion. The twin duo are going on an intimate tour around the UK starting in April 2020, where it’ll just be them and an acoustic guitar. The tour is being called the ‘Unfiltered’ tour and comes hot on the heels of Ward Thomas’ recent third album, ‘Restless Minds’, which was released in February 2019. Earlier this year, the twins did embark on a UK tour in direct support for the album, which saw them headline O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in April and in addition to that, the twins won the Global Artist CMA Award  at C2C 2019 and were also brought out to perform with Brad Paisley at his recent gig at The O2 Arena, with the two joining Paisley on Whisky Lullaby. Tickets are also selling well across the nation, with the date in Glasgow also selling out. Ward Thomas will be playing: April 24 – Grand Central, Liverpool, England April 25 – Mackintosh Church, Glasgow, Scotland* April 26 – Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Scotland April 27 – RNCM Concert Hall, Manchester, England April 29 – Forum, Bath, England April 30 – City Varieties, Leeds, England May 1 – Forum Theatre, Barrow, England May 2 – Engine Shed, Lincoln, England May 4 – Union Chapel, London, England May 5 – O2 Academy Bournemouth, Bournemouth, England May 6 – Assembly, Leamington, England May 7 – Union Chapel, London, England* May 9 – St Georges, Brighton, England May 10 – Palace Theatre, Southend, England May 11 – Epic Studios, Norwich, England May 13 – New Vic Theatre, Woking, England * denotes sold out show For more Ward Thomas news, click here.

Thomas Rhett has released not one, but two Christmas songs in the shape of Christmas in the Country – an original – and a cover of The Christmas Song. You can listen to both songs here. 2019 has been a hugely productive year for Rhett, who only released his fourth studio album ‘Center Point Road’ at the end of May, which has gone on to be nominated for both CMA Awards (Album of the Year) and Grammy Awards (Best Country Album). On the back of that success, Rhett has now opted to delve into Christmas music and worked with David Garcia, Ashley Gorley and Chris Tomlin for the writing of Christmas in the Country, before deciding to cover the classic The Christmas Song, which was famously covered by Nat King Cole. Speaking about the songs, Rhett said that the festive period is the time of the year he most looks forward to, while also adding that his wife Lauren has been hoping that he makes Christmas music for quite some time. “Christmas is hands-down my favourite time of year,” Rhett said. “We have so many Christmas traditions in our family that include a lot of festive music, but I’ve never recorded anything myself. “Lauren has wanted me to make some Christmas music for a long time, so this year felt like the right time to finally take a stab at writing something and to put my own twist on one of the all-time classics.” Though nothing is confirmed, it seems possible that Thomas Rhett will be back in the UK next year to tour ‘Center Point Road’, with his last appearance this side of the Atlantic being in 2018 when Rhett headlined the Eventim Apollo in London.

Logan Mize has offered fans a glimpse into his live shows by giving a performance of I Ain’t Gotta Grow Up the special treatment. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]NtwdnH0P4JA[/wpdevart_youtube] The footage was taken from Mize’s recent European tour,  specifically focussing on his dates at Bush Hall in London as part of Country Music Week and the Night & Day Cafe in Manchester and will act as the music video for the song, which was only released a few weeks ago. 2019 has seen Logan Mize regularly jet across the Atlantic Ocean to perform in the UK, with the artist performing multiple sets at C2C 2019, a main stage slot at The Long Road Festival and two European tours – including a headline UK tour that needed to be increased in size due to demand. At both of his festival shows, Mize brought his full band with him to give everyone the full live experience, but Mize is also known to perform with just his acoustic guitar, in order to give fans a much more intimate performance. As well as making an impact in the UK, Mize’s reputation in America continues to grow on a daily basis, with his single Better Off Gone continuing to gain traction. At time of writing, the song is currently sitting on 47 million streams on Spotify alone. Given that I Ain’t Gotta Grow Up has been released, it certainly seems as if the US artist is gearing up for a release of some kind in 2020 – but whether that’s an EP or an album remains to be seen for now.

The 2019 American Music Awards (AMAs) proved to be very fruitful for Carrie Underwood and Dan + Shay, with the pair both going home with two awards. Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney were up for Favourite Country Duo or Group, Favourite Country Song for Speechless and Favourite Country Album for their self-titled album – winning Favourite Country Duo or Group and Favourite Country Song. Meanwhile, Underwood was also nominated for Favourite Country Album for ‘Cry Pretty’ – which she won – and Favourite Female Country Artist, which she also won ahead of Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris. The other outright country award on the night was for Favourite Male Country Artist and was picked up by Kane Brown, pipping Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett to the award. The night very much belonged to Taylor Swift though, with the 12-time CMA Award winning artist – now very much a mega popstar – taking home five awards (Artist of the Year, Favourite Music Video (You Need to Calm Down), Favourite Female Pop/Rock Artist, Favourite Pop/Rock Album (‘Lover’) and Favourite Adult Contemporary Artist) in addition to being crowned AMA Artist of the Decade. Elsewhere at the American Music Awards, Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus took home the award for Favourite Rap/Hip-Hop Song for Old Town Road (Remix).