January 2023

Kenny Foster had a busy year last year as he released his second album and went out on tour, including some festival appearances here in the UK. He is a hard-working, energetic musician who is a joy to watch and listen to. I was excited to catch up with him to delve deeper into this latest project.    Can you tell me a little bit about who you’ve been working with on the album?    I worked with Mitch Dane. He was an engineer/producer with one of my very favourite bands growing up, called Jars of Clay. They were just a really interesting group of guys that really cared about saying things. I loved that, sonically, they just kept evolving over and over again. Mitch has all this vintage gear, and he has this lovely studio called Sputnik sounds and I just kept going back there. I brought in all of my favourite songwriters. There’s two guys that are all over this record, Chris Rafetto and Brendan Cooney and the three of us have just really found this triad of mutual respect and kind of filling each other’s gaps of songwriting prowess. Sierra Hall is this amazing writer, artist and mandolin player and I had her come and play, she was a delight to have along with my friend, Josh Smith, who played dobro and there’s a really beautiful moment on the record, where the two of them interchange solos and then play on top of each other and it’s my favourite part. I also wrote with a Hall of Famer, Marcus Hummon on a track and Kirsti Manna who’s famous for Blake Shelton’s ‘Austin’. It was just a very easy, very organic way of putting together a record that I think encapsulates something that I’ve wanted to say for a long time.     Can you tell me the story behind ‘Dreams Change’?    I think that was a day where Brendan came in with an idea. Brendan is from Massachusetts. Chris is from North Carolina and I’m from Missouri, which are all very different places. So it’s interesting that the three of us were very music loving suburban kids. Where country music has been sitting for the past 10 years or so, is very, like, southern bonfire tailgate and that was none of our experience. We had wonderful midwestern American upbringings but it’s very far from southern country. Brendan had the line, ‘Dreams change and people do too.’ Many of us have these ideas growing up, we’re trying on different suits of what we might become. I think we need to remove the stigma from people who are chasing a dream and remove the stigma from those whose dream was very simple.   READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF MAVERICK AVAILABLE HERE! Media Contact: Zoe Hodges, Editor Email: editor@maverick-country.com  

What happens when you combine the Mother Church of Country Music with the home of Rock & Roll? You end up with an incredible new Rock & Roll Hall of Fame exhibit at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. The multi-year partnership will see more interactive exhibits being on display at Ryman’s re-developed vestibule space. Both entities share many commonalities in their history and approach to recognizing the best artists and bands that music has to offer. The Ryman Auditorium has seen 130 years of Country Music history whilst the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (based in Cleveland, Ohio USA) has honored over 100 Rock & Roll inductees over the years and features their instruments, memorabilia, and wardrobes. Many of these artists have a foot in each genre of music including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and recently Dolly Parton. The new exhibit will feature an outfit worn by the late Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters, Eric Clapton’s Blackie Fender Stratocaster guitar, Elvis Presley’s sued coat and Joan Jett’s red latex halter top. Earlier in 2022 the Ryman was officially certified as a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark joining the company of eleven other locations around the country including Austin City Limits. Besides impressive exhibits the Ryman will also be featuring more Roc & Roll Hall of Fame members performances in the future. Check the events calendar to see who is playing the Ryman during your upcoming visit to town as shows frequently sellout. There is no extra fee to view the Rock Hall at the Ryman exhibit as it is included in the daytime tour admission tickets. Visitors are also allowed to attend the Soul of Nashville immersive theatre with other Star exhibits and have a souvenir photo taken on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium. Both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Ryman strive to educate visitors on the importance of music and how it brings us all together as one people. As a local Nashvillian I am thrilled to see this partnership between the two institutions and hope to see even more collaborations in the future. It has not been determined how long this current Rock Hall at the Ryman exhibit will last, although I am certain they will change out the artifacts and artists featured on a regular basis. This provides another great reason to put a visit to the Ryman Auditorium on the top of your must visit list when coming to the Music City.  Nashville, and the Ryman, have become more than a Country Music mecca as they have embraced all styles and genres of music and artists. This perpetuates the melting pot of music that the city and Ryman Auditorium have consistently been known for. Rock Hall at the Ryman exhibit is open to view now at the Ryman Auditorium. www.ryman.com 

The wait is almost over!  Country to Country; Europe’s biggest country music festival is back for it 10-year celebration at The O2, London. With just a few weeks to go; Country to Country is pleased to announce the final wave of incredible artists appearing at this year’s festival.  Featuring multiple performances per day by artists from all over the UK, Europe and the US, C2C once more provides an incredible opportunity for fans of country to discover and support new artists. Country to Country will officially kick off at midday on Friday when the Town Square opens, and the first artists take to the festival stages, with doors on Saturday and Sunday opening at 10.00am. The Town Square has some exciting changes for 2023, with a brand-new dedicated performance space and bar – The Barrelhouse at The Town Square. All the favourite C2C stalls will return, so fans can enjoy a variety of market traders, food stands, sponsor activations, cocktails, craft beers and more. New programming will give festival goers the chance to party in the Town Square even longer – look out for more news on that soon. All visitors to The O2 can access the free stages which are Big Entrance Stage, Icon Stage and The Wayside (formerly the Garden Stage). C2C ticket holders will also have access to BBC Radio 2 Stage (at Indigo at The O2) and The Saloon (All Bar One). The latter will be presented by Apple Music’s global live-streaming radio station Apple Music Country by day and will feature exciting interviews hosted by The Country Chart Show’s Nada and country entertainment between sets. The Bluebird Cafe returns to C2C and once again we will welcome guests to the intimate O2 Blueroom at The O2, on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th March. This seated show takes the form of a ‘songwriter’s round’; with each artist taking it in turns to talk about their relationship with The Bluebird Cafe, their songwriting and the stories behind their music. The line up over the three shows includes Adam Doleac, Alyssa Bonagura, Amanda Shires, Catie Offerman, Drake Milligan, Hannah Ellis, Jeff Cohen, Madeline Edwards and Randall King. Tickets go on general onsale Friday 3rd February at 10am via https://c2c-countrytocountry.com. Inside the arena, C2C hosts the taste-making Spotlight Stage which sees performances in between main stage sets. This year fans will see intimate performances from Amanda Shires, Ashley Cooke, Corey Kent, Drake Milligan, Elvie Shane, Kameron Marlowe, MacKenzie Porter, Madeline Edwards and Sam Williams. These newly announced artists join world-renowned superstars Zac Brown Band, Thomas Rhett and Lady A plus Nashville’s hottest artists Midland, Jordan Davis, Old Crow Medicine Show, Lainey Wilson and Mitchell Tenpenny alongside prolific performers Lindsay Ell and Matt Stell. Also confirmed are the powerhouse artists for CMA Presents Introducing Nashville – which introduces for the first time Tyler Braden, Caylee Hammack and Alana Springsteen to UK fans. The unstoppable Breland will open C2C on the Friday night and will co-host the festival across the weekend with the legendary Bob Harris OBE.

Chris Janson serves as country music’s pulse point. Whether it’s the set-me-free feel good of “Buy Me A Boat,” a 2016 ACM Single of the Year nominee, or the cautioning sister’s-keeper ballad “Drunk Girl,” a 2018 CMA Song of the Year nominee, few artists tap into the tides that pull everyday people like the Missouri-born, hell-raising performer with a heart of gold and collaborative touch that’s co-written and played on songs for Tim McGraw, Eric Church, Cody Johnson, and Hank Williams Jr., to name a few.   Beyond the certified gold and multi-platinum #1s, Janson is a big believer in mixing things up— and pushing to new vistas. With “All I Need Is You,” the rambling single that embraces all things good ole boy but acknowledges it’s nothing compared to the woman he loves, Janson drops his Big Machine debut, out now via BMLG Records in partnership with his own Harpeth 60 Records— LISTEN HERE.   Working with Oscar-nominated and GRAMMY-winning producer Julian Raymond (Glen Campbell, Cheap Trick, Insane Clown Posse), Janson’s easy baritone sweeps through 30A, a blue clear lake, a brand-new truck, a winning lottery ticket, his kid’s ball team, and the Gulf of Mexico as he unravels what really matters in the breezy song co-written with Ashley Gorley, Brad Clawson, and Mitch Oglesby.   “There are so many things we all want,” says the harmonica-playing virtuoso. “We’ve all gotten caught up in the biggest buck of the season, the newest Chevrolet, or whatever’s caught our eye— and that’s half the fun of living. But when you strip it back, when you look at what really matters, it comes down to that one ride-or-die person who believes in you and your dream, no matter what happens. I’m blessed because my person is my wife, my manager, and my best friend.”   Executive produced by Janson and Scott Borchetta, “All I Need Is You” employs the best of Nashville’s musical community. Award-winning electric guitarist Tom Bukovac and the legendary Paul Franklin on steel populate a band that also includes Sam Hunter (electric guitar), George Doering (acoustic guitar), Jimmie Lee Sloas (bass), Tim Lauer (Keyboards), Victor Indrizzo (drums), and Blake Bollinger (vocals). Kristen Wilkinson was the string contractor; Lauer orchestrated the string parts. Noted rock engineer Chris Lord-Alge also mixed the track.   “Fun songs feel good, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t great musicianship underneath,” says the Bass Pro Shop brand ambassador. “Working with Scott and Julian, they understand how seriously I take the music and the writing, and they believe in bringing the best of the best into the studio. Recording this was a blast— and there’s so much more music coming this year!”   Beyond joining the team at the Big Machine Label Group, Janson has taken his maximum good-time live talents to United Talent Agency. Beyond his focus on conservation efforts and outdoor life, Janson will be expanding his reach as both a concert draw and an advocate for protecting the natural world for hunters, anglers, and future generations.   “I’ve been able to achieve things I never would’ve imagined,” the proud member of the Grand Ole Opry says. “To have my signature black hat raise nearly a million dollars at Bass Pro Shops and be able give those proceeds to the Harpeth Conservancy, Hunters for the Hungry, and Tennessee Riverkeeper, and tour with my heroes? It’s why I keep reaching— and why when I sing ‘All I Need Is You,’ you know I mean it!”