May 2020

Fast rising American country trio Lockeland have released their first single in three months in the shape of Made For Mornings. You can listen to the song here. The track follows in the footsteps of Keep Us Young – which was released in February – and sees the group experiment with a slightly rockier sound, though the harmonies which are making the group a household name are very much out in force. Speaking to Maverick, the trio – made up of Mark Vikingstad, Kyndon Oakes and Michael Boris – explained how the song came from an unlikely place, though a place that works perfectly with the song and also opened up on the meaning of the track. “The inspiration for our new single, came out of a place where mornings start for many people, Starbucks,” the group said. “The Made For Mornings title was on a poster advertising a breakfast sandwich, to which we saw that and said, ‘that’s a song.’ “The three of us along with Renn Anderson, sat down and began to write the story of a night life partier, who without warning, stumbles upon a love that is deep and genuine. “The shallowness of his party lifestyle fades away as he finds a sense of renewal in the warmth of a coffee cup with her, instead of cocktails at the bar. “We hope that our fans feel the passion, emotion and energy of this song just as much as we do.” Last year, Lockeland made their UK debut with appearances at both Millport Country Music Festival and The Long Road Festival, while they also found time to complete a quick tour in-between the two events.

Chris Lane has reminded everyone what it’s like to witness live music by sharing a rendition of Take Back Home Girl  from his headline tour in Chicago. You can see the video, featuring the vocal talents of MacKenzie Porter, below. [wpdevart_youtube]9xyoiDcpg88[/wpdevart_youtube] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, all live gigs are currently cancelled, postponed or generally on hold and there has been a lot of yearning for live music, so Lane’s glimpse into The Big, Big Plans Tour is a welcome relief. Speaking to Taste of Country,  Lane explained that the song has been colossal for both him and his career and that he loved having Porter with him to fill in for Tori Kelly’s part of the song, while he is also immensely grateful of the impact that the track has had with his fans. “Take Back Home Girl has been such a huge song for my career and I’m reminded of that every night that I get to sing it on stage,” Lane said. “The Big, Big Plans Tour was a lot of fun and I enjoyed having MacKenzie Porter jump in for Tori Kelly’s part of the collab every night. “It’s fun to see the crowd react so well to that song, and I’m thankful that it impacted the fans the same way that it did me.” Last year, Chris Lane made a memorable appearance in the UK as he supported Brad Paisley at The O2 Arena in London.

Charley Crockett has announced that his next album, ‘Welcome to Hard Times’, will be released on July 31 via Thirty Tigers. You can pre-order the album here. The album was produced by Mark Neill and saw Crockett work with Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys and Pat McLaughlin, with the album’s title track being the lead single for the record. Speaking about the album, Crockett said that the main inspiration came from when he was required to undergo life-saving heart surgery after a routine check-up identified that he had Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, with the scar on his body reminding him that he is far from invincible. “I look at that scar and all I can think about is the limited amount of time I’ve got left, I wanted to make an album that would try to reclaim the conversation about country music.” Crockett said, “My entering country music has been controversial to say the least but I believe country fans have more eclectic tastes than they are given credit for. “My country music is inspired by what I played in the subway car so I could eat, in the French Quarter in ragtag bands. I sat in pastures on farms across this country putting it all together into my own sound. I don’t like labels, but if that ain’t country I don’t know what is. “This record is for the folks who feel like everything’s fixed. If you think you’re playing a rigged game, you’re right. If it seems like all the cards are marked in advance, they are. But you still gotta roll the dice, even when you know they’re loaded. “ Last year, Charley Crockett was touring in the UK and also performed at The Long Road Festival.

The likes of Andrew Millsaps, Daniel Kemish and Douglas Berti will be performing live streams on the Electro-Voice Facebook page as part of the #EVOpenMic Series. You can find that here. With musicians unable to perform due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, Electro-Voice wanted to give musicians worldwide  a platform to perform and tapped into the very popular streaming from a controlled environment approach. Given that a number of artists from a variety of different genres use EV products, a casting call for musicians went out with no restriction on musical genre and of the 18 that were selected, a number are involved with country, Americana and folk. In total, 18 concerts will be held (one for each artist) and as well as that, each musician will be paid $300 and will also receive one Electro-Voice EVOLVE 30M column system and two Electro-Voice performance mics. The schedule for performances for relevant artists is as follows, though if you are unable to catch a performance live, the stream will be available for a limited time: May 28: Joni Sheila (Belgium, Singer-Songwriter) – 6pm GMT Douglas Berti (Brazil, Country & Folk) – 10pm GMT May 29: Marvin Dee Band (Netherlands, Americana Rock) – 6pm GMT May 30: Daniel Kemish (UK, Americana) – 7pm GMT SenoritAwesome! (US, Americana) – 8pm GMT Andrew Millsaps (US, Country) – 1am GMT

Up and coming UK artist Becky Lawrence has released her third single in five months in the shape of Empty Friendships, which was recorded  in lockdown. You can listen to the song here. Empty Friendships, the title coming from a writing session with fellow rising UK artist Charlotte Young, was co-written with her long time guitarist David Griffin, who also produced the track. Speaking about the song itself, which – as the name suggests – is about the friendships in life that are hollow, Lawrence believes that it is a track that most people can find common ground with as identifying those who really matter in your life is a very important thing to do. “It’s a song that I think most people can relate to,” Lawrence said. “As you go through life, you start to realise who those true friends are and the ones that, unfortunately, you have to say goodbye to.” Becky Lawrence, who hails from the Isle of Man originally but is now London based, has been busy releasing singles recently and Empty Friendships comes hot on the heels of Wasted On You (February 2020) and Now (December 2019). The lockdown has clearly not hampered Lawrence’s creativity, with the artist continuing to work with other UK acts such as the aforementioned Young in addition to Louise Parker, as she continues to work on her next project.

Jaime Wyatt will be releasing her much anticipated ‘Neon Cross’ project in the UK on August 21, which is her debut release on New West Records. You can pre order/pre save the album here. The album, which is released in America on Friday (May 29), is her follow-up to debut album ‘Felony Blues’ and saw the artist work with Shooter Jennings, who produced the record in its entirety and features on Hurt So Bad. Speaking about working with Jennings, Wyatt said that the way Jennings understands music and the feel for what is beneath the song drew him to her, while also noticing strong similarities between Jennings and his father Waylon. “What really sold me on Shooter is that he understands grooves — he gets how to instruct a band to build a groove that is so powerful underneath a song,” Wyatt said. “And it’s crazy because that’s what Waylon [Jennings, Shooter’s father] did. “He always had these rad country songs with these super-weird, funky rock ‘n’ roll grooves under them. He would take things to interesting and unexpected places. Shooter has that same instinct.” The track listing for ‘Neon Cross’ by Jaime Wyatt is: 1. Sweet Mess 2. Neon Cross 3. L I V I N 4. Make Something Outta Me 5. By Your Side 6. Just A Woman (ft. Jessi Colter) 7. Goodbye Queen 8. Mercy 9. Rattlesnake Girl 10. Hurt So Bad (ft. Shooter Jennings) 11. Demon Tied to a Chair in my Brain

Rising UK artist Shannon Hynes has released her new single Country Words, which she has described herself as “an ode to the women of country music.” You can listen to the song here. The single comes three months after Hynes’ last release, which was Comfort, while it is also the third track that the Welsh artist has shared in the last six months, with Off Guard coming in November. It is expected that all three appear on her upcoming debut EP. Speaking about the song, Hynes explained that it emerged from a place of frustration and given that she doesn’t consider herself to be a confrontational person, she channelled some of her heroes and put her feelings into song form. “Country Words is a no frills, exactly what it says on the tin song,” Hynes explains. “I was having trouble with someone I was working with at the time, myself not generally being a forthright person when it comes to situations such as this, so I turned to songwriting. “It got me thinking back to some of the classic, incredibly strong, sassy songs that the likes of Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn released back in the day, most notably and a favourite of mine Fist City. Country Words is my take.” To celebrate the release of the track, Shannon Hynes has also brought out some dedicated merchandise for Country Words, which you can find here.

The Wandering Hearts have announced that their much anticipated second album will be self-titled and will be released on August 14. The video for lead single on the album, Over Your Body, can be seen below and you can pre-order the album here. [wpdevart_youtube]97d0VgLSshs[/wpdevart_youtube] The trio – made up of Tara Wilcox, Chess Whiffin and AJ Dean-Revington – shot onto the scene with their debut effort ‘Wild Silence’ in 2018 and have gone from strength to strength ever since, receiving critical acclaim along the way. Speaking about the new album, the trio said that the early writing sessions for the album saw them open up on their personal experiences, notably love, death, fear and life and while taking these themes head on was challenging, the group believe it has made them closer than ever. “Tackling some of these topics can feel very heavy, especially when times seem equally tough and asking for help is sometimes hard,” The Wandering Hearts said in a statement. “However, knowing that we’re stronger together than apart is the key. “Hope has become the core of what this record stands for and what it means to us. Never losing hope that we can at any moment change the outcome of our future.” The record was produced by Simone Felice and David Baron, while the vast majority of the album was put together at the pair’s mountain top studio near Woodstock, New York. Upon the release of their debut album, The Wandering Hearts very quickly won Bob Harris’ Emerging Artist Award at the UK Americana Awards and their rise also carried over to America, where they became the first band to play both the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium in the same week.