2019

Rob Mayes has released a brand new track in the shape of Grandpa’s Hands, which follows the release of the ‘Closer’ EP he released in September. You can watch the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]aU8-pUHddLI[/wpdevart_youtube] Speaking about the track, the actor/artist said that th song was inspired by his grandparents and that it was fitting that the song was released when it was, given the personal significance of the timing. “I wanted to write a very personal song about my grandparents,” Mayes said. “My grandmothers raised me while my folks were working. They taught me love and patience and to do what makes you happy. My grandfathers taught me strength and loyalty and the beauty of honing one’s craft. My mum’s dad was a woodworker. My dad’s dad played guitar and banjo. They together taught me the importance of family. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think of them. I’m so grateful I had as much time with them as I did. Not everyone can be that lucky. I thought it was fitting to release the song on my birthday weekend, without them, I wouldn’t even be here.” Mayes’ acting is also very prominent at present and will feature in the upcoming film ‘Soldier’s Heart’ alongside Val Kilmer.

The CMA Songwriters Series returns to London C2C for 2020 on March 12, with Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose, Jaren Johnston and Niko Moon taking part. Tickets go on sale at 10am on November 22. In what has become something of a staple of C2C, the Songwriters Series brings together five artists and they perform ‘in the round’ – taking it in turns to perform a song each and explaining the history and story behind the song. Last year, Cam and Jimmie Allen performed  at the event – which takes place at indigo at The O2 – and many C2C attendees believe that the songwriters series is the highlight of the festival, with the likes of Maren Morris, Luke Combs, Kristian Bush, Brandy Clark and Chris Young also having performed at the songwriters series in the past. Speaking in the aftermath of the announcement, Milly Olykan – CMA Vice President, International Relations and Development – said that it is an event that the CMA very much looks forward to and is pleased to see the impact that it has made on the UK audience. “Each year we look forward to the CMA Songwriters Series on the eve of C2C,” said Olykan. “The show has become very special to the UK fans and to the artists and songwriters who have experienced it. There’s no doubt we’re going to see the magic happen once more with these hit writers on stage together.”

Scottish trio Traveller have released their new album ‘Blank Page’, which is now available on streaming platforms everywhere. The group – made up of Gerry Sheridan, Brian Socha and Simon Usher – have previously released singles Old Stories, Running and Traveller from the album, with fans getting plenty of opportunity to see what the record will sound like. To celebrate the album launch, the trio have released Us as their next single, the fourth from the 12 song record, which can be heard here. The Americana/country group cite Keith Urban and REM as influences and the album has been self-released.

Rising Welsh artist Shannon Hynes has shared the first piece of music from her upcoming EP in the shape of Off Guard. You can listen to the track here. The EP, which is set to be released sometime in spring, represents a debut record for Hynes, who has previously released singles such as I’m Not Pretty and Someone to Drink With. Off Guard is also the first new music that Hynes has released since December 2018. Speaking about the new song, Hynes said that it represents a new sound for her and that she is full of immense pride that this is the song that will be starting the new era. “Off Guard is a bit of a different sound for me – a bigger sound, you could say,” Hynes said. “In true country music style, it is a step by step story and I’m so proud and excited that this is the lead single of my new project.” Hynes, who is London based, is very much on the live circuit and will be supporting Lucy Blu at her London headline date at The Water Rats on November 26.

The 2019 CMA Awards took place last night (November 13), with Garth Brooks, Luke Combs and Maren Morris taking home key awards. For the seventh time in his career, Brooks won Entertainer of the Year, while Combs won Male Vocalist of the Year as well as Song of the Year for Beautiful Crazy. There was some minor controversy as Combs picked up Male Vocalist, with it seeming like the crowd were booing – however, it later transpired that they were probably shouting “Luke”. Meanwhile, Morris took home the gong for Album of the Year, while Kacey Musgraves was awarded Female Vocalist of the Year – making 2019 incredibly remarkable for her given her Grammy success earlier this year. Elsewhere, Dan + Shay won Duo of the Year for the first time in their career, Old Dominion won Vocal Group of the Year, Ashley McBryde won New Artist of the Year and Blake Shelton won Single of the Year for God’s Country – which he also performed on the night. It was also announced before the ceremony that Jenee Fleenor won Musician of the Year – the first ever woman to be nominated for the award, let alone to win it – which followed the earlier announcements of Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus winning Musical Event of the Year for Old Town Road (Remix) and Musgraves winning Music Video of the Year for Rainbow. Hosted by Carrie Underwood, Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire, the 53rd incarnation of the CMA Awards was designed to celebrate the impact women have made in the genre on country music’s biggest night and it opened with a staggering 10 minute medley that featured a number of high profile artists. Underwood, Parton, Reba, Jennifer Nettles, Kimberly Schlapman, Karen Fairchild, Tanya Tucker, Gretchen Wilson, Crystal Gayle, Terri Clark, Sara Evans and Martina McBride all joined forces at various different points to sing a number of female led songs in an empowering statement. The newer guard of female country artists also had their say on the stage – after Kelsea Ballerini sang homecoming queen?, Lindsay Ell joined her on the small stage to start covering Girl Crush by Little Big Town, before Runaway June, Ashley McBryde, Maddie & Tae and Carly Pearce finished the song off on the main stage. Reba, Underwood and Parton also performed individually on the night – Reba blowing everyone away by singing Fancy, Underwood performing her new single Drinking Alone and Parton joins forces with King & Country for God Only Knows and Zach Williams for There Was Jesus, before finishing her segment with a full choir for Faith. There were a number of collaborations on the night as well – P!nk and Chris Stapleton for Love Me Anyway, Kacey Musgraves and Willie Nelson for Rainbow Connection, Lady Antebellum and Halsey for What If I Never Get Over You and Graveyard, Brooks and Shelton for Dive Bar, Brooks & Dunn and Brothers Osborne for Hard Workin’ Man and Dierks Bentley and Sheryl Crow brought Chris Janson, Joe Walsh and John Osborne on stage to perform Kris Kristofferson’s Me & Bobby McGee. Also on the night, Dan + Shay performed Speechless, Old Dominion played One Man Band, Morris sung Girl, Keith Urban played We Were, Eric Church sang Some of It, Miranda Lambert nailed It’ll All Come Out in the Wash, Thomas Rhett sang Remember You Young and Luke Combs performed Beer Never Broke My Heart. The list of winners in full are: Entertainer of the Year – Garth Brooks Male Vocalist of the Year – Luke Combs Female Vocalist of the Year – Kacey Musgraves Album of the Year – ‘GIRL’ by Maren Morris Vocal Group of the Year – Old Dominion Duo of the Year – Dan + Shay Song of the Year – Beautiful Crazy by Luke Combs New Artist of the Year – Ashley McBryde Single of the Year – God’s Country by Blake Shelton Musician of the Year – Jenee Fleenor Musical Event of the Year – Old Town Road (Remix) by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus Music Video of the Year – Rainbow by Kacey Musgraves  

Lil Nas X’s remix of Old Town Road featuring Billy Ray Cyrus has won a CMA Award for Musical Event of the Year ahead of tonight’s awards. Duo Maddie & Tae revealed the news on ‘Good Morning America’ from downtown Nashville, while the pair also announced that Kacey Musgraves’ Rainbow has won Music Video of the Year. Old Town Road spent a colossal 19 weeks as US Number One – a new US record – in the wake of the song controversially being removed from the Billboard Country charts. The song was performed by Cyrus and Lil Nas X at the Nissan Stadium for CMA Fest 2019 and on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, after Cyrus’ daughter Miley invited the two onto the stage midway through her performance. The CMA Awards – now in its 53rd incarnation – will be taking place later on tonight (November 13) at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, with Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton co-presenting this year’s awards.  

Morgan Evans has shared the first piece of music post ‘Things That We Drink To’ in the shape of Diamonds, which is a song about his wife, Kelsea Ballerini. You can listen to the song here. For the first time in his career, Evans used a live band to record the song, which he co-wrote with Chris Destefano and Evan ‘Kidd’ Bogart in Nashville. Speaking about the track, Evans explained that it’s a very deep meaning song about Ballerini and that he called the shots when it came to picking who played what when it came to the session recording. “I wrote Diamonds for my wife and I’m so stoked to release it as a single,” Evans said.“It’s a fun love song, but deeper than that it celebrates that journey from lost to found you feel when you meet that person and everything changes forever. “I handpicked my dream band for the session and I can hear each of their personalities in the record. It just sounds really fresh to me, I’m really proud of that and I can’t wait to start playing it live.” Evans is currently embarking on a world tour and has also been pencilled in to headline CMC Rocks 2020 alongside Miranda Lambert and Kip Moore.

The British Country Music Association (BCMA) had their awards ceremony on November 9, with Remember Monday, Ward Thomas and Jade Helliwell picking up notable recognition. Helliwell picked up two awards on the night – one for UK Video of the Year for Drive and one for UK Song of the Year for Stormchaser – while Ward Thomas took home UK Album of the Year for ‘Restless Minds’. Remember Monday won the coveted UK Horizon Award, while Stevie O’Connor claimed the UK Entertainer of the Year Award. Elsewhere, Gasoline & Matches won UK Duo of the Year and Kezia Gill won UK Female Vocalist. In addition to UK acts, there was an international aspect as well, with Luke Combs winning International Album of the Year for ‘The Prequel’ and American Young winning International Touring Act. Baylen Leonard was also recognised by being given the UK Services to Industry Award, while the BCMA Breakthrough Artist Award was given to Twinnie. The full list of winners are: UK Horizon Award – Remember Monday UK Duo of the Year – Gasoline & Matches UK Album of the Year – ‘Restless Minds’ by Ward Thomas UK Musician of the Year – Luke Thomas UK Video of the Year – Drive by Jade Helliwell UK Male Vocalist – Gary Quinn UK Group of the Year – The Wandering Hearts UK Song of the Year – Stormchaser by Jade Helliwell UK Female Vocalist – Kezia Gill UK Entertainer of the Year – Stevie O’Connor Best Original UK Festival – Buckle & Boots UK Services to Industry Award – Baylen Leonard Breakthrough Artist Award – Twinnie International Touring Act – American Young International Song of the Year – Blessed  by Lewis Brice International Album of the Year – ‘The Prequel’ by Luke Combs International Services to Industry – Milly Olykan

Katy Hurt has released the latest track from her ‘Unfinished Business’ EP in the form of the self-titled track from the five-track record. You can watch the lyric video below. [wpdevart_youtube]3simw2b2ctM[/wpdevart_youtube] The song follows in the footsteps of See Ya Later, Revved Up and Natchez, as Hurt seeks to finish what has been a remarkable 2019 in emphatic fashion. Speaking about the song, Hurt said that when she got to work with her guitarist, Gab Zsapka, the song basically tumbled out and that the more she performs the song, the more she realised it came from her musicianship. “This song was the first time I ever allowed myself to be truly honest in my writing,” Hurt said. “When Gab and I sat down it was almost like the song flowed out. There are people I love that I feel are ‘Unfinished Business’, that I want to spend more time with, but I also want my audience to know that without their support I wouldn’t be able to do what I love. “The more I’ve played it live, the more I realised that it also came from the musician side of me too. Every time we play it live, it becomes clearer to me that the audience is my unfinished business: they are the ones I want to see again and keeping bringing on my journey as I grow as an artist. I always start the song by thanking them for their support and it’s become a really important part of my set.” Hurt is currently on tour around the UK, with all remaining dates and tickets available here.