March 2020

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real have unveiled the video for their latest single Movie In My Mind, which is taken from their upcoming album ‘Naked Garden’. You can watch the video below and pre-order the album here. [wpdevart_youtube]lu7xVZ2rnHE[/wpdevart_youtube] So far, the band have shared Civilized Hell (Alternate Version) and Couldn’t Break Your Heart from the 15-song album, which contains 10 original songs and five alternate versions of songs that appeared on the group’s most recent release, ‘Turn Off The News (Build a Garden)’. The upcoming album – due for release on March 27 – is to be produced by Promise of the Real and John Alagia and is set to be quite minimalistic in terms of general production, providing a more intimate feel. 2019 was a very good year for Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, with a headline date at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London and a very well received set on the Park Stage at Glastonbury 2019 just two of the highlights of that 12 month period. ‘Turn Off The News (Build a Garden)’ was also critically acclaimed by many, including the UK Americana Music Association and ourselves at Maverick, which has further fuelled anticipation for what is to come on ‘Naked Garden’.

The C2C organisers will be releasing a statement on March 27 that directly relates to the postponed 2020 event and everything that comes with that. C2C 2020 was set to take place between March 13-15 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was postponed on the eve of the festival. An initial statement advised ticket holders to keep hold of what they had rather than seek a refund as it seemed that rescheduled dates were being looked at, but we now have a concrete statement in relation to what comes next. “We’d like to thank every ticket holder for their patience at this time,” the statement read. “As you can imagine we were devastated that the festival could not take place. We have been working tirelessly to rectify the situation. “We’re now in a position where things are looking much clearer to us in regards to C2C and with the final pieces moving into place, we will be making a follow-up announcement on Friday.” C2C 2020 was set to be headlined by Luke Combs, Darius Rucker and Eric Church, while Brett Young, Tanya Tucker, Jordan Davis, The Cadillac Three, Eric Paslay, Tenille Townes, Abby Anderson, Old Country Medicine Show, Charles Esten, Runaway June and Old Dominion – who were later replaced by The Shires – were due to perform on the Main Stage.

The ACM Awards have been rescheduled to September 16 as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic that is sweeping the world. The awards, which are set to be hosted by reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year Keith Urban, were initially set to be hosted on April 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, but the outbreak has forced the hand of the organisers to find an alternative date later on this year. When it eventually takes place, Thomas Rhett and Maren Morris are both set for a busy night in Las Vegas as both have five nominations each at the showpiece event. Rhett has been nominated for Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for ‘Center Point Road’ and Video of the Year for Remember You Young, while Morris is up for Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for ‘GIRL’, Group of the Year for her role in The Highwomen and Musical Event of the Year for her featuring role on Miranda Lambert’s Fooled Around and Fell in Love. Due to how ACM Awards work however, if an artist is a producer for an Album of the Year nominee, it technically counts as two awards as producers get one too – hence why both have five nominations.

Willie Nelson has taken the decision to delay his forthcoming album ‘First Rose of Spring’ until July 3 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. You can pre-order the album here. Initially, the album from Nelson was due to be released on April 24, but has now been shelved until July – presumably as a direct result of the pandemic, which has forced a number of other artists to push back their record releases and postpone their tours. So far, Nelson has released two songs from the record in his Chris Stapleton cover of Our Song and the title track and the record would’ve been his first since he won Best Country Solo Performance for Ride Me Back Home at the 2020 Grammy Awards. The tracklisting for ‘First Rose of Spring’ by Willie Nelson is: 1. First Rose of Spring – (Randy Houser, Allen Shamblin, Mark Beeson) 2. Blue Star – (Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon) 3. I’ll Break Out Again Tonight – (Sanger ‘Whitey’ Shafer, Doodle Owens) 4. Don’t Let The Old Man In – (Toby Keith) 5. Just Bummin’ Around – (Pete Graves) 6. Our Song – (Chris Stapleton) 7. We Are the Cowboys – (Billy Joe Shaver) 8. Stealing Home (Marla Cannon-Goodman, Casey Beathard, Don Sampson) 9. I’m The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised – (Wayne Kemp, Bobby Borchers, Mack Vickery) 10. Love Just Laughed –(Nelson, Cannon) 11. Yesterday When I Was Young (Hier Encore) – (Charles Aznavour, Herbert Kretzmer)

The Shires have been unsuccessful in their quest to achieve a career first UK Number One album as Niall Horan pipped them to the punch. The duo – made up of Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes – were leading the former One Direction man in the midweek charts with their fourth record ‘Good Years’, but a late surge saw Horan pull away and claim his first UK Number One album with ‘Heartbreak Weather’. In the end, The Shires came third – with Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent’ clinging onto second spot after 44 weeks in the album charts – meaning that their career peak in the UK Album Charts remains at number three, which is where ‘My Universe’ and ‘Accidentally on Purpose’ both charted. However, it is almost certain that the duo will pick up their fourth UK Country Number One album, given the position in which ‘Good Years’ finished on a national scale. Prior to C2C being postponed, the duo were set to become the first British act to be billed as a Main Stage act following Old Dominion’s cancellation, while they are also scheduled to go out on an extensive UK tour. Given the current pandemic though, it seems only a matter of time until the group have to reschedule their dates as their tour is set to start at the end of April.  

The country music world has been rocked after iconic artist Kenny Rogers passed away at the age of 81 from natural causes. Rogers had a hugely successful career, winning six CMA Awards and three Grammy Awards in an illustrious life that lasted 60 years and saw him claim 24  Number One songs. Some of those singles are hailed as some of the best country tracks of all time, including the likes of Lucille, The Gambler and his duet with Dolly Parton, Islands in the Stream. In 2013, Rogers performed the legend slot at Glastonbury Festival and his song The Gambler, which was used as something of an anthem for England’s 2007 rugby World Cup campaign, was performed twice. Later on that year, Rogers was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame while the Texas born artist was also inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017. His family confirmed the news and speaking in a statement, they hailed the impact that Rogers had left on the not only the genre of country music, but for American music as a whole. “Kenny Rogers left an indelible mark on the history of American music,” the statement read. “His songs have endeared music lovers and touched the lives of millions around the world.