June 2022 - STAGING Maverick

Welcome to the Hotel California… sorry, Hyde Park!

Leave a Comment / Live events, News / Rochelle Mills

It was The Eagles turn to fly through the London park, capturing hearts and minds as they played, but it was an inspiring day even before they took to the stage with a large country contingent dominating proceedings. Patrick Droney, who had never played London before today, opened the main stage with an already sizeable crowd present. He told me how he was just happy to be here, his excitement noticeable as he spoke. He won over some new fans with his performance whilst The Wandering Hearts, over on the Rainbow stage, with their sublime harmonies held the audience in the palm of their hand. Following Droney on the main stage was the powerhouse vocalist Cam. Her country storytelling went down a treat with the Hyde Park crowd. She mainly played songs from her last record ‘The Otherside’, her voice effortlessly belting the words out and connecting with those present as she sung through ‘Diane’ and ‘Forgetting You’. She interacted with the crowd as she spoke about the connection between her song ‘Changes’ and Harry Styles before launching in to the rendition which features on that album. You couldn’t fault her voice in ‘Til There’s Nothing Left’ whilst the audience adored singing along to ‘Burning House’. It was the turn of Little Big Town next who had prepared a slightly more mainstream set to what was anticipated. Their energy levels were off the scale as they performed their new single ‘Hell Yeah’, Jimi’s vocals in particular were phenomenal, the best I’ve ever heard from him as he belted out some tunes. They primarily let the music do the talking as they played song after song. ‘Better Man’ went down well with the London audience as it connected with their hearts after Karen’s heartfelt delivery as lead. They generated a party atmosphere with clever drinking song ‘Wine, Beer, Whisky’ whilst the whole park passionately sang along to ‘Girl Crush’. They concluded on the signature anthem ‘Boondocks’ as the crowd erupted into rapturous applause. The headliners, The Eagles, left everyone speechless with their energy and ambition to put on a great show. A gasp echoed round as Vince Gill took the lead on ‘New Kid in Town’, the excitement building throughout. Gill performed well and was received warmly by the London crowd. Joe Walsh’s guitar solos were mesmerising whilst special guests, Deacon Frey and John McEnroe really connected with the audience as they joined the Eagles. As they celebrated 50 years of success, they reflected by going back in time and playing their earliest hits such as ‘Best of my Love’ – their first number one. Humour punctuated the set which included ‘Tequila Sunrise’ and ‘Take it East’. But it was ‘Hotel California’ which really got the crowd going, singing at the top of their lungs. They concluded with ‘Already Gone’, the fans singing and dancing to the final note. They may be ageing but they are legends within their own right. They still have so much energy, love and passion for the music they create and it was a show that had it all!

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BST Hyde Park returns in style!

Leave a Comment / News / Rochelle Mills

BST Hyde Park has returned in style with Sir Elton John curating the line-up on day one and finishing off with a two and a half hour hit-filled set. With the sun beating down on revellers as they arrived in Hyde Park, Juanita Euka was lighting up the Birdcage stage as she opened proceedings at BST Hyde Park 2022 with a smile on her face. It will be a busy few days in London as The Rolling Stones, The Eagles and Adele are all set to grace the stage in Hyde Park but day 1 will struggle to be topped. There was an energy and atmosphere around the park that was infectious and it started with the artists, each one gave it their all. All who played on the Birdcage stage to the Rainbow and Great Oak stage was hand chosen by Elton and have featured on his apple music show previously. A stand out for me, was an intriguing character by the name of Tom A Smith who was sandwiched in between Euka and Tom Heaton on the Birdcage stage. Smith, just 18 years old, though not country, had some really strong storytelling lyrics in his songs and his band was a tight knit group. It was clear he was buzzing to be there as he opened the set with ‘Could I Live With Being Fake’. Following on from him was Tom Heaton who led everyone in a Taylor Swift cover of ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ whilst Gabriels drew quite the crowd over at the main stage. However the main attraction, after meeting with the artists he selected came on stage to a rammed Hyde Park. Instantly they abandoned their blankets and their churros and were on their feet, swaying and singing their hearts out as the legendary musician began to rattle through hit after hit. ‘Tiny Dancer’ appeared early on in his set, the crowd really finding their voice for the chorus before ‘Rocket man’ continued in fine voice. He could tug on your heartstrings too as ‘Someone Saved My Life Tonight’ and ‘Candle in the Wind’ also featured, a couple of classics in Elton’s repertoire that he executed flawlessly and the fans went wild for. He paid a touching tribute to George Michael before launching into ‘Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me’, the song he sang with Michael, and took to number one, back in 1991. In his encore he shared ‘Cold Heart’ followed by ‘Your Song’ which he introduced as his latest hit and his first hit. Whatever music speaks to you, I think everyone can appreciate and admire Elton’s talent. It was a fabulous show on what was a well organised line up. Later on this weekend, The Eagles, Little Big Town, Alison Krauss, Cam and Morgan Wade will all take to the stage at BST.

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New Single from The County Affair Ahead of Festival Dates

Leave a Comment / News / Rochelle Mills

‘Beach’ is the new single from Americana duo The County Affair, released on 17th June 2022 on X & Y Records The single follows The County Affair’s 2021 debut album Off The Grid, recorded at Abbey Road Studios with veteran producer Tom Nichol, which has since racked up over 100,000 downloads and over 250,000 video views to-date. The County Affair story was 30-years in the making for childhood best friends Kevin Brennan and Tony Regan. The pair met in Nottingham in the 1970s, travelling together on the same school bus each day. They talked endlessly about music and the ‘country rock’ and ‘outlaw country’ sounds that were emerging from the US at the time. “Our school friends were listening to The Clash or The Police,” says Kevin. “But Tony and I were much more interested in checking out Joe Ely, Waylon Kennings and Gram Parsons.” As teenagers, the pair gigged together extensively thanks to Kevin’s Dad having an Irish Showband, for which there was huge demand in the ‘70s and ‘80s. In their early twenties, Kevin and Tony decided to go travelling across America. Spending extended periods performing gigs in Texas, they soon became a household name within the wider Irish community, receiving glowing reviews from local press and radio. Eventually landing in the thriving music scene of San Francisco, Tony and Kevin became sought after by venues across the city, sometimes playing up to four sets a night, four nights a week. It wasn’t long before they were approached to sign to management and turn professional, but with post-graduate jobs waiting for both of them in the UK they both decided it was time to go home. 30 years later, married with families and successful careers under their belt, the duo decided in 2020 that the time was right to address what felt like unfinished business. Kevin had been penning his own songs over the past decade and sent the demos to Tony, who tweaked the vocal and lyrical arrangements, adding chords here and there. Before they knew it, The County Affair was born. Having made a few tracks available on Spotify, veteran songwriter-producer Tom Nichols heard Kevin on the radio talking about The County Affair. Tom liked what he heard and looked the band up. Kevin says, “Tom got in touch and very kindly offered to take us under his wings. We then went to Abbey Road studios to make what would become Off The Grid.” Their new single nearly didn’t make it onto the album, though. “We’d actually finished the album,” Kevin explains. “I just sent Tom a demo of Beach, which is about love and a car crash – the perfect country combination – and he loved it so much that he insisted we work it up and put it on the album.” Having recently completed a 20-date UK tour with Ward Thomas and performed at County 2 Country earlier this year at the O2 London, The County Affair will perform alongside the likes of Van Morrison and The Waterboys at Black Deer Festival later this weekend, and at September’s British Country Music Festival. In addition, The County Affair will release a live album recorded at London’s Union Chapel on 15th July.

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Jimmy Webb delivers a masterclass in Manchester!

Leave a Comment / Live events, News / Rochelle Mills

Before the show began, a fellow audience member remarked that he didn’t think a Jimmy Webb show would attract many young people like myself, and though my presence probably did lower the average age of the crowd, Webb put on a performance that every music fan would enjoy and any musician could learn from. The night began with Ashley Campbell and Thor Jensen. I know Ashley’s music well and have always enjoyed her performances but Thor was a new artist to me and the pair have just begun performing as a duo. Tentatively, they performed a selection of covers and each others past solo work, their voices gelled well together and they built up a relaxed rapport with the audience. I must add the audience was the politest crowd I’ve ever had the pleasure of being a part of. Having loved Ashley’s music and her dad’s before her, I am keen to see what she can do as part of this duo. Speaking with the pair after, it seems they have big plans for records and subsequent tours (which include the UK) and with their individual talents uniting as one, I think they will go a long way! Sat at his grand piano, Webb had a relaxed demeanor as he opened his set with ‘The Highwayman’. Upon it’s conclusion, he turned to face the audience slightly. What ensued was two hours of Jimmy Webb telling us the stories behind some of his biggest hits, he went off on more than a few tangents as his tales were punctuated by the songs. He played ‘Galveston’ the way he had written it and compared it to the way Glen Campbell had interpreted it, laughing and joking as he retold the story. There were political moments too and the crowd appreciated his honesty and values. He spoke of his childhood too and how he learnt to arrange before performing an arrangement of Billy Joel’s ‘Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)’. He also gave an insight into the music industry as he told of his dismay that Kanye West had used ‘Do What You Gotta Do’ in his song ‘Famous’ without asking for Webb’s permission. Concluding with ‘Wichita Lineman’ followed by ‘MacArthur Park’, Jimmy Webb put on a truly magical evening which featured hit after hit and some of the funniest stories of how his life and career panned out. For any music fan, particularly those keen to make music, no matter what age or what genre, that show was a real masterclass!

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