July 2020

Award-winning duo Ferris & Sylvester have released the brand new single ‘I Should Be On A Train’, the title track of their forthcoming EP out October 2nd via LAB Records. The song premiered on Bob Harris’ Radio 2 show who said, “I’m a big fan of Ferris & Sylvester [they have] dynamic and brilliant music,” this was followed by a video premiere with American Songwriter Magazine. Written, recorded and produced by Ferris & Sylvester, ‘I Should Be On A Train’ is an explosive blues ballad, which follows the musings of a woman planning her escape, but not having the courage to leave the one she loves. It was originally written in the back of a tour bus between Prague and Vienna in February, but the tune came to life and took on a new meaning in their studio this spring. The dreamy video has been captured on Super 8 film and pairs lockdown footage of Ferris & Sylvester in idyllic countryside, while also intertwining clips from their last headline show before the Covid-19 shutdown at Paradiso, Amsterdam. ‘I Should Be On A Train’ opens the band’s much anticipated EP of the same name, which will be out digitally as well as on limited edition 12″ vinyl, now available to pre-order here. About the recordings Ferris & Sylvester say, “The world is adapting to a new reality, and we’ve been determined to adapt with it and get creative. It can be difficult in isolation to know how to move forward. People are lonely, overwhelmed and yearning to connect. We were busy writing for future projects, trying to map out the next chapters. But we decided it was more important to give what we can now. All we know is we are happiest when sharing our music and we hope this brings joy to people.” Working in the face of adversity, Ferris & Sylvester have used the past months as inspiration for new music, learning new instruments and production techniques and building their online connection with fans. In May, the band released the beautiful ‘Everyone Is Home’, described by Clash Magazine as “the duo’s very own isolation anthem”, which also features on the I Should Be On A Train EP. The heartfelt lyrics recognise the loneliness in the uncertain times yet also celebrate the togetherness, bravery and resilience that has come with it. During lockdown, Ferris & Sylvester have hosted successful weekly live streams, and raised money to help local venues stay in business via the Music Venue Trust, of which they are patrons. The duo played a very special fundraiser for the Spiritual Bar in London, a legendary music space and very special to the pair, as it is where they first met and cut their teeth on stage together. The upcoming new five-track EP captures Ferris & Sylvester’s unique blend of blues, Americana and folk, whilst also seeing them expand on their sound. ‘Knock You Down’ features wistful psychedelic touches, while the groove-laden riffs of ‘Good Man’ are intertwined with Ravi Shankar influences. The EP closes with a cover The Beatles’ ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’, inspired by their lockdown livestreams where they shared a new cover every week with their fans. The I Should Be On A Train EP finds Ferris & Sylvester thriving in the world’s state of transition, taking the opportunity to explore new territories, spurred on by the success of the past and looking forward to the future. Ferris & Sylvester have made a distinct mark on the live scene both in the UK and across the Atlantic. This is set to continue in 2021 as they have announced their largest headline shows for next year. The band will tour the UK throughout February and March, with a London headline show at Lafayette on March 1st. The band will then head off for a six date tour across the US and Canada. Tickets are available here and full tour dates can be found below: UK HEADLINE TOUR DATES FEBRUARY 25th – Exeter, Cavern 26th – Nottingham, Metronome 28th – Brighton, Green Door Store MARCH 1st – London, Lafayette 3rd – Manchester, Night & Day 4th – Leeds, Hyde Park Book Club 6th – Glasgow US & CANADA HEADLINE TOUR DATES MARCH 25th – Los Angeles, Hotel Café 27th – Chicago, Martyr’s 30th – Nashville, High Watt APRIL 1st – Washington DC, Songbyrd 2nd – New York City, Rockwood Music Hall 3rd – Toronto, Drake Hotel I SHOULD BE ON A TRAIN EP TRACK LISTING I Should Be On A Train Knock You Down Everyone Is Home Good Man With A Little Help From My Friends   Follow us on social media and share this post! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram See more news here.

Ward Thomas are back with the first taste of brilliant new music from their infectious forthcoming studio album ‘Invitation’ – out October 2ndon WTW Music through eastwest. ‘Sweet Time’ arrives today and lays down an impressive marker. A graduation in sound and a newfound maturity makes for a profound step up. The track opens the album in style, injecting an exciting pace from the get go, with Haim-like guitar work and bursting with youthful energy. Listen to ‘Sweet Time’ HERE Largely produced by Jonathan Quarmby (Lewis Capaldi, Tom Walker, Finley Quaye), and mostly recorded in lockdown from their Hampshire cottage, ’Invitation’ is a coaxing doorway for all into an exciting new chapter as the fog of a global pandemic begins to lift. There’s palpable energy by the bucket load, and many of its songs benefit from a coming of age for sisters Catherine and Lizzy and a new found voice sees them diversify their sound. The girls say; “2020 has been a year full of learning, which we feel has changed our approach to this album. We recorded a lot of it from our cottage, and working remotely came with its share of challenges, but also new opportunities. Although recorded during uncertain times, the record feels like an invitation to a more positive time; to a more open and exciting new chapter. We named it after a lyric in the song ‘Open Your Mind’ because the album feels like an invitation – whether it be figuratively, an invitation to self-reflect, or physically, to a time when we can all party again.” ‘Meant To Be Me’ delivers a new twist on their country roots showcasing a wonderful pop sound mixed with clever use of mandolin, whilst ‘Dear Me’ briefly strips away the music, making for a stunning Imogen Heap-style near acapella performance. There’s also a strong James Bond-esque candidate in ‘My Favourite Poison’, and even their more traditional country-pop tracks have found a new level, with the brilliant ‘Wait Up’ and previously released ‘Hold Space’. Other highlights include the strikingly rhythmic ‘Don’t Be A Stranger’ and epic ‘Someday’. As bonus tracks the album also includes a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s iconic track ‘Landslide’, their feature with James Blunt on the brilliant ‘Halfway’ from his 2019-released Top 3 album ‘Once Upon A Mind’, and a jaw dropping live performance of The Killers’ ‘Human’ with Jack Savoretti at his huge Wembley Arena headline show last year. The girls will also embark on an intimate “Invitation” acoustic tour, which was rescheduled due to Covid-19, for April next year. The 16-date run will include two dates at London’s Union Chapel on the 26th & 27th. 2020 may have been a year of global ups and downs so far, but as one door closes, another opens. Enter an exciting new chapter for Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas. UK TOUR DATES (tickets on-sale HERE) April Fri 9th                           LIVERPOOL, Grand Theatre Sat 10th                        LINCOLN, Engine Shed Sun 11th                       BARROW, Forum Theatre Mon 12th                      LEEDS, City Varieties Tue 13th                       NORWICH, Epic Studios Thu 15th                       GLASGOW, Mackintosh Church Fri 16th                         EDINBURGH, Queen’s Hall Sun 18th                       LEAMINGTON SPA, Assembly Mon 19th                      BOURNEMOUTH, O2 Academy Tue 20th                       WOKING, New Victoria Theatre Wed 21st                      SOUTHEND, Palace Theatre Fri 23rd                         BRIGHTON, St George’s Sat 24th                        BATH, Forum Sun 25th                       MANCHESTER, RNCM Theatre Mon 26th                      LONDON, Union Chapel Tue 27th                       LONDON, Union Chapel ‘Invitation’ – Track Listing 1.         Sweet Time 2.         Don’t Be A Stranger 3.         Open Your Mind 4.         Someday 5.         Meant To Be Me 6.         Dear Me 7.         Hold Space 8.         Wait Up 9.         My Favourite Poison 10.       Painted Legacy 11.       If There Were Words 12.       Halfway(with James Blunt) 13.       Human(Live from Wembley Arena with Jack Savoretti) 14.       Landslide Pre-Order the album HERE.   Follow us on social media and share this post! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram See more news here.

Country Alt Americana Singer Songwriter Andy Penkow is living his musical dream with a wild heart, positive and free – like wildflowers. Andy’s new single ‘Wildflowers’ will brighten up anyone’s day. “I wrote this song a few years back, I was heading to Parkes NSW for a gig and I was blown away by the fields of wildflowers on the side of the road. So I wrote this song in a motel at Parkes. A few years later I wrote a song called Wild-Hearts… but I couldn’t quite get it right. Fast forward to now I pulled both songs apart and wildflowers was born”.… Andy Andy Penkow’s debut album ‘Sad Love Songs’ was released in December 2018. His debut single ‘Drowning in the Whiskey’, released early 2019, was embraced by the Australian country music scene peaking at #10 on the Country Songs Top 40 Australian Airplay Chart and reaching a respectable #20.  Andy’s new EP “Chasing the Sun” was produced by ARIA and Golden Guitar winning producer and artist Shane Nicholson, the first single “Chasing the Sun” peaked at #16 on the Australian country radio airplay charts and #13 on the official Tasmanian top 40 charts. This week CMT Australia have added Andy’s beautiful music video ‘Wildflowers’, which is  directed by Jay Seeney of Blacklist productions.   Follow us on social media and share this post! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram See more news here.

Country music trio, Lockeland has released their official video in support of the chart rising single, “Made for Mornings” with a worldwide television exclusive by The Heartland Network and an international premiere on Lyric Magazine in the UK. The energetic and fun nature of the trio is captured in the footage which was created by Center Street Recording Studios and the song was mixed by Robert Williams. Watch the live-in-studio official video on Lockeland’s YouTube channel here. “Filming this live, in-studio video for “Made For Mornings” was an incredible experience. The relaxed, yet professional atmosphere at Center Street Recording Studios enabled us to perform with ease. We are fortunate to work with some of Nashville’s best all-star musicians,” shared Lockeland. “These musicians are not just “hired guns” to us, but they’re also some of our closest friends. Which we believe added to the energy, joy and chemistry of the video.” The upbeat tune with passion and emotion that promises to get stuck in your head was recorded by on the rise Country music trio who have impeccable harmonies. Lockeland’s individual talents compliment each other instinctively resulting in a well polished, three-part harmony sound accompanied in the recording studio with Robert Williams (director/lead guitar), John Mason (bass), Kyle Pudenz (mandolin) and Eddy Dunlap (steel guitar.) “Made for Mornings” is the modern day love song. The ‘party type’ meets his ‘sunrise morning girl’ and his life changes for the better. It’s a song that we hope encourages people to expect the unexpected and to hold on to the idea that love is a powerful force of change. The music, written by Renn Anderson, Kyndon Oakes, Mark Vikingstad and Michael Boris, was the trio’s first single for 2020. “Made For Mornings” is available for streaming and downloads on all major digital music platforms here. Stay current with everything Lockeland on their website: lockelandband.com as well as follow and connect on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with videos available on their official YouTube channel. Lockeland music is available for streaming and download on all digital platforms Apple Music/Itunes, Spotify, Google Play, Pandora Music and Amazon Music.   Follow us on social media and share this post! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram See more news here.

Heartthrob singer/songwriter Noah Schnacky delivers chivalry and optimism on his debut self-titled EP, out now via Big Machine Records. Penning each of the seven tracks and recording with esteemed, producer Dann Huff, the collection highlights the vulnerable “Comeback,” irresistible “Feels Like Love” and wistful “I’ll Be The One.” Listen here: https://BM.lnk.to/NoahSchnackyEPPR “After over 4 years of working on my music, it feels amazing to finally get to share it with the world.  I’m excited to step into this new season,” shared Noah. Sentiments amplified throughout, “Meet the Man” captivates the listener as powerfully crafted lyrics bring an awareness to the important role that a father can play in a daughter’s life. Listen to the story behind his latest track here and watch the lyric video now. Track List “Meet The Man” |Noah Schnacky, Jake Rose, Jordan Schmidt “Feels Like Love” |Noah Schnacky, Ross Copperman, Matt Rogers “Comeback”|Noah Schnacky, JT Harding, Lindsay Rimes “Maybe We Will” |Noah Schnacky, John Harding, Ilya Toshinskiy “I’ll Be The One”|Noah Schnacky, Seth Ennis, Jordan Schmidt “Hello Beautiful” |Noah Schnacky, Zachary Hall, Jodi Marr, Johnny Reid “Where’d You Go” |Noah Schnacky, Mark Holman, Tommy Lee James At just 23 years old, Noah has had a life-changing year. The fast-rising newcomer amassed a vigorous grassroots core with a modern Country sound immersed in bright melodies and lyrics both intensely personal and relatable. Big Machine Label Group President/CEO Scott Borchetta took notice as Noah’s self-released “Hello Beautiful” garnered over one million streams in just eight days. Follow up “Maybe We Will” sustained the earlier success, this time collectively accumulating over 65 million streams. For the latest updates, visit noahschnacky.com/ or anchor into his journey on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.   Follow us on social media and share this post! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram See more news here.

Lindsay Ell has released her uplifting new song ‘ReadY to love’ – from her forthcoming album heart theory – out August 14th on BMG/BBR Music Group, and available to pre-order now – listen here / visualiser here. It follows the release of three tracks from the album so far – ‘make you’, ‘i don’t lovE you’ & ‘wAnt me back’. ‘ReadY to love’ arrives as an uplifting closer, and second song in the acceptance stage of the album, which takes listeners through Ell’s personal experience of the seven stages of grief, a reflection of her determination to use her platform to help other sexual trauma survivors. Of the track, Ell explains; “When I wrote this song, I knew it was the one we had to end the record with.  It’s truly a song of acceptance and a vow to myself to look forward.  I was in a healthy place where I had reconciled my past and understood that it did not define me, and this song is me greeting the world with open arms ready for that next chapter in life. Knowing now that I am living my story, and I want to continue to empower people to tell their stories. Writing this record and starting the Make You Movement have been such pivotal moments to me in living out my story and believing in the healing power of music.” In conjunction with the release of her previous track ‘make you’ earlier this month, Ell launched the Make You Movement, a charitable fund whose mission is to help organisations that support at-risk youth, domestic abuse and sexual assault survivors by provided funds on an as-needed basis. More info HERE. heart theory track listing (with writers) a journey through the seven stages of grief shock “Hits me” (Lindsay Ell, Tyler Hubbard, Corey Crowder) denial “how good” (Lindsay Ell, Brandy Clark) “i don’t lovE you” (Adam Hambrick, Melissa Fuller, Neil Medley) anger “wAnt me back” (Lindsay Ell, Kane Brown, Matt McGinn, Lindsay Rimes) “get oveR you” (Lindsay Ell, Gordie Sampson, Kelly Archer) “wrong girl” (Lindsay Ell, Steph Jones, Matt McGinn, Luke Niccoli) bargaining “body language of a breakup” (Lindsay Ell, Laura Veltz, Sam Ellis) depression “good on you” (Lindsay Ell, Sam Ellis, Micah Premnath) testing “The oTHEr side” (Lindsay Ell, Jessie Jo Dillon, Matt McGinn) “gO to” (Lindsay Ell, Nicolle Gaylon, Jordan Reynolds) acceptance “make you” (Lindsay Ell, Brandy Clark) “ReadY to love” (Lindsay Ell, Jessie Jo Dillon, Matt McGinn, Joey Hyde) For more information visit: www.LindsayEll.com.

Una Healy has released her beautiful new track Until You. The song is available to stream and download on all major digital partners and can be listened to here. View the accompanying lyric video here.  The stunning song was written by Una and Fred Abbott, Harleymoon Kemp, Sara Eker and Nick Southwood, who between them have worked with the likes of Cee-Lo, Adam Levine and Catherine McGrath. The Irish singer-songwriter shows her incredible range in the emotive track and this is her first new music release of 2020.  Speaking of the track, Una says “Until You is a twist on the classic love song, inspired by my own experience in past relationships. Relationships are more complicated than what you’re sold in the films or on radio, they go far beyond just falling in love and breaking up. Until You is written from the stage of acceptance, which happens much later on and takes time and perspective. It’s about that moment when you realise that all relationships, whether good, bad, successful or destructive are important moments in our journeys of personal growth. Everything happens for a reason and is there to teach us a lesson.” In addition to her music, Una continues to host the Saturday breakfast show on Bauer’s ‘Country Hits’ radio station and has recently guest hosted the lunchtime show at RTE Radio 1, the flagship show of the Irish national broadcaster. Una also recently collaborated with Irish Women In Harmony for Safe Ireland domestic abuse charity, scoring a Top 10 hit on the Irish charts last month. Away from entertainment, Una has developed and designed her own range of shoes, entitled ‘Una Healy Original Collection’, available online. Find out more here.  Una released her debut solo album, The Waiting Game, in 2017, and has since worked with some of the world’s most acclaimed songwriters and producers, including Grammy winner Amy Wadge and Ben Earle from The Shires. Una found fame as one fifth of successful girl band The Saturdays who sold over 5 million records worldwide and racked up 13 Top 10 singles and 5 Top 10 albums in just 6 years. Watcht he video here.   Follow us on social media and share this post! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram See more news here.  

Taylor Swift has surprised fans by announcing the release of her eighth studio album, which she recorded during lockdown. The album is called Folklore. The pop star, 30, said Folklore will be released on Thursday at midnight US eastern time (Friday at 5am BST). As the world went into lockdown to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, Swift did what she does best – wrote and recorded an entire album. She said in the past she would have “overthought” when to release the 16-track record, but that the uncertainty of the world at the moment reminded her “nothing is guaranteed”. In a series of Instagram posts, accompanied by a collage of black and white photos of Swift alone in a wood, she wrote: “Most of the things I had planned this summer didn’t end up happening, but there is something I hadn’t planned on that DID happen. “And that thing is my 8th studio album, Folklore. Surprise. “Tonight at midnight I’ll be releasing my entire brand new album of songs I’ve poured all of my whims, dreams, fears, and musings into. “I wrote and recorded this music in isolation but got to collaborate with some musical heroes of mine.” She said Aaron Dessner from rock band The National co-wrote or produced 11 of the songs, indie folk band Bon Iver co-wrote and sang on one track, William Bowery co-wrote two, and her long-time collaborator Jack Antonoff also worked on the album – all remotely. Dessner posted one of Swift’s pictures and said she approached him in late April when he had been isolating with his family and “writing a ton of music”, which he shared with her. Within a few hours, he said, Swift sent him a voice memo with a fully written version of a song. “The momentum never really stopped,” he said. “She is one of the most talented, hardworking and deeply caring artists I’ve ever encountered. There’s a palpable humanity and warmth and raw emotion in these songs.” Swift added: “My gut is telling me that if you make something you love, you should just put it out into the world. That’s the side of uncertainty I can get on board with. Love you guys so much.” The singer also shared a track list for the album, including The Last Great American Dynasty, Exile and Mad Woman. She said deluxe editions, which will only be available on CD or vinyl for a week, will include a bonus track called The Lakes. There will be eight editions, each with different covers that can only be bought from taylorswift.com. The music video for one of the songs, Cardigan, will also be released on Thursday night. Swift said she wrote and directed it, adding: “The entire shoot was overseen by a medical inspector, everyone wore masks, stayed away from each other, and I even did my own hair, makeup and styling.”   Follow us on social media and share this post! Twitter, Facebook, Instagram See more news here.