Exclusives Archives - Page 10 of 47

Billy Bragg: A long-awaited retrospective

Leave a Comment / Exclusives / Rebecca Morpeth-Spayne

Some might say that Billy Bragg is an odd choice for our Blast From The Past section, after all, he remains an accomplished performer who continues to give audiences not just something to sing along to, but something to think about. As an artist/activist, Bragg – the so-called ‘Bard of Barking’ – has consistently been a bastion of the UK left wing political scene. Starting off in the punk scene that tore through Britain in the 1970s, Bragg keeps the anti-authoritarian, anti-fascist spirit of punk alive to this day – even if he doesn’t write in the music genre anymore. Watching a performance by Bragg (if you’re lucky enough to catch him) is an emotional experience, whether you agree with his views or not. It’s nigh impossible to mention Bragg without his impact on UK music, just take the example of his very own curated stage at Glastonbury Festival – aptly called the ‘Left Field’ stage. In 2023, Bragg released a compilation album, ‘The Roaring Forty (1983-2023)’, which kicks off with perhaps his most well-known track, ‘A New England’. Itself released with his first album in 1983, the track wasn’t a hit for Bragg, but was for English singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl two years later. The song only had two verses and MacColl thought it was too short, so Bragg wrote another one for her version, it would eventually reach number seven in the UK charts and number eight in Ireland. It would be the start of something long lasting, something great, something that would set Billy Bragg on track to be a British institution. After parting ways with his first band, Riff Raff with Wiggy, Bragg bleached his hair and started busking on the streets with just an electric guitar – a solo vocal with an electric guitar would become a distinct Bragg sound, instantly recognisable to any English person. The release of Bragg’s first album is a story within itself, with many clues that give shape to who Bragg is now. At first, Bragg wanted his song ‘The Milkman Of Human Kindness’ played on radio, so when he was listening to legendary John Peel on BBC Radio One and Peel mentioned he was hungry, Bragg ran over to the studio and presented the host with a mushroom biryani in exchange for the song being spun over the airwaves. The track was played – albeit at the wrong speed – and Peel insisted that he would have played the track anyway. Later on that same year, Bragg’s label was acquired by Virgin Records and the rights to ‘Life’s A Riot with Spy vs. Spy’ (a reference to a comic strip at the time) were given to Go! Discs. The price for the CD was fixed at £2.99, a low cost even in the 1980s, so that it would be affordable. Bragg’s second album, ‘Brewing Up With Billy Bragg’ was released just a year later. As with every Bragg record, Bragg wrote every song – which now would consist of a mixture of vignettes of unrequited love and protest songs. Always the prolific artist, Bragg released another album two years later. ‘Talking With The Taxman About Poetry’ is a name taken from a poem by Russian futurist poet and playwright Vladimir Mayakovsky, who was equal parts satirical and revolutionary, much like Bragg himself and featured a more beefed up instrumental, with Bragg’s usual guitar-only backing giving way to backing vocals – provided by Kirsty MacColl, no less – piano and even some (gasp) percussion. Bragg’s third album is best known for being Bragg’s first official recording of ‘There Is Power In A Union’. The song is a left-wing anthem, written by Joe Hill in 1913 and is sang at protests by workers all over the world. Bragg’s version differs from the original, where Hill sings to the tune of the 1899 hymn ‘There Is Power In The Blood’, staunch atheist Bragg sings it to the tune of ‘Battle Cry Of Freedom’, which itself was written by American George Frederick Root during the American Civil War. Bragg’s ability to reference, both lyrically and musically, his predecessors in protest music, poetry and art is a remarkable staple in his career. A close listen to an anthology of Bragg’s is to get an education in the class struggle and left-wing art. To read more exclusive articles and latest news, see our last issue here. Never miss a story… Follow us on: Instagram: @Maverick.mag Twitter: @Maverick_mag Facebook: Maverick Magazine Media Contact Hannah Larvin, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Blackberry Smoke: From Georgia to the world and beyond

Leave a Comment / Exclusives / Rebecca Morpeth-Spayne

In the heart of Georgia, amidst the sweltering heat and the rich history of the South, Blackberry Smoke emerged as a beacon of musical authenticity over two decades ago. With their upcoming album ‘Be Right Here’ set to release on February 16th, the band continues to captivate audiences worldwide, blending elements of rock, country, and Americana into a sound uniquely their own. Originating from Atlanta in 2001, Blackberry Smoke quickly garnered attention for their soul-stirring performances and heavy guitar lines. The band’s members, Charlie Starr, Paul Jackson, Richard Turner, Brandon Still, and Brit Turner, embody the spirit of Georgia through their music. From raucous rock anthems to introspective ballads, each song tells a story deeply intertwined with the landscapes and experiences of their home state. For now, we meet the band in Duke’s Highgate ahead of an intimate acoustic set by Starr and Jackson. It seems like nothing to them to perform, even in venues where they are almost toe-to-toe with the audience. By the end of the set, it’s clear to see why. The bar is packed, it’s almost impossible to move for the sheer amount of people, let alone get a drink. The crowd hoots at every introduction, sings along faithfully to every song they know and even the bands new releases are met with ear-bursting cheers. “We don’t ever go out and see bands at home anymore, but we still have tonnes of friends who play in and around town [Georgia]. But it’s different than it was when we started this band, which was 24 year ago.”. Starr tells us, it’s the truth, the band are ever on tour, making music and finding time to spend at home is increasingly hard. One of the band’s greatest strengths lies in their ability to seamlessly blend genres, creating a sound that defies categorisation. “The Southern US, that’s where all music coalesced, so we’ve never given any though to what we are either as far as putting a label on it. But we play what feels good, what feels natural to us, if we played something that felt unnatural, we’d be a shitty punk band,”, Jackson jokes, “I don’t think we would be a very good punk band,”, retorts Starr. The band are still as close knit as they ever were, describing their squabbles as “fighting between brothers” and it’s easy to see how. After spending 24 years working and travelling together, Blackberry Smoke are still as strong as ever, musically and personally. To read more exclusive articles and latest news, see our last issue here. Never miss a story… Follow us on: Instagram: @Maverick.mag Twitter: @Maverick_mag Facebook: Maverick Magazine Media Contact Hannah Larvin, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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‘Hadestown’ writer Anaïs Mitchell: weaver of dreams

Leave a Comment / Exclusives / Rebecca Morpeth-Spayne

In the chill of a Vermont winter, amidst the triumphs of family life and the creative whirlwind of her career, Anaïs Mitchell invites us into her world (or should that be underworld?). “My older kid just ‘levelled up’ to a new belt in taekwondo this morning. My little one is getting over a stomach flu. There’s a cat sitting on my table.” Mitchell starts off painting the scene, it’s a theme throughout her work. The fine details on each portrait – be it a song or an entire musical – lead to an understanding of the significance behind the larger work. Like a camera zoom, it’s clear from the off that Mitchell is detail-orientated: “I think the heart and soul of writing is imagery, detail, stuff that enters through the body and the subconscious and unconscious mind,” she says deeper into the conversation. Mitchell’s work is a testament to her ability to look at words artistically, to use them to create a full tapestry and to humanise every subject she approaches. It started with Greek mythology. Mitchell admits that Classics wasn’t her main interest, but the idea of them is so pervasive that it penetrates the universal consciousness, “they’re [Greek myths] like the Bible in that way,”, it’s a truth that becomes ever clearer the more you talk to people about ‘Hadestown’. Describe it as a musical and people will often roll their eyes, but mention that it’s a retelling of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and it reignites the imagination, tell someone the music itself flits between blues, jazz and folk and even more people will turn their ears towards it. Maybe that’s the secret behind Mitchell’s eight Tony Awards and one Grammy Award, all of which she received for writing ‘Hadestown’. The first time Mitchell met the myth she would later transform was as a child, “the illustrated D’Aulaire’s ‘Book of Greek Myths’”, she says, “I remember hearing the Cohen brothers say something about how they’d made ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ without ever once reading the Odyssey… that they were able to do it because the Greek myths, the images, the stories, live in the culture and in our consciousness whether we study them or not.”. With sepia tones, political commentary and a soundtrack made of folk music, it’s not hard to tell that the film inspired Mitchell. Where ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ delves into race and capitalism, ‘Hadestown’ takes on climate change and working-class uprisings. It was in 2016 that the song ‘Why We Build The Wall’ became overtly political, even the Society for Classical Studies’ Claire Catenaccio wrote a paper analysing the importance of the track in Trump’s America, comparing the song to a protest anthem and discussing how subsequent productions of the musical have chosen to frame the song in light of its new significance. Mitchell herself is uncertain about the idea of songwriting being prophetic: “Maybe you just pointed out one of those thematic things that’s obvious from the outside, but hard for the writer to see. But…I feel like songs and dreams come from a similar place.”. Mitchell’s belief adds to her level of evasive mystique, she admits to the dual nature of songwriting, “it’s funny how I feel like I understand songwriting so deeply and also not at all…”, as so often with great artists, Mitchell’s inspiration seemingly comes from a divine place that is illusive to even her. She says that “the chorus of ‘Wait For Me’ dropped out of the sky and into the driver’s seat. It came with some long-lost verses that seemed to be about the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. It’s a love story, a coming of age story and it’s also inherently political.”. That inherent politics was never aimed at the prophetic wall-building tale but remained a stiff commentary on love in the gutter, the ‘love conquers all’ myth is reborn, remade and remoulded to make a musical that slithers its way into a class commentary. To read more exclusive articles and latest news, see our last issue here. Never miss a story… Follow us on: Instagram: @Maverick.mag Twitter: @Maverick_mag Facebook: Maverick Magazine Media Contact Hannah Larvin, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Exclusive: Beyond the ‘Smoky Mountains’ with Conner Smith

Leave a Comment / Exclusives / Rebecca Morpeth-Spayne

Conner Smith is in his Nashville home. He’s waiting for his album ‘Smoky Mountains’ to be released into the world. “It’s really exciting,” he tells me, “I think it’s exciting and nerve-wracking and the anticipation and the mix between confidence and doubt is probably the same as any artist going through something so vulnerable as releasing an album.”. There’s a part of me that wants to reassure him that yes, doubt, confidence, and nervous excitement are all part of releasing your debut album, but I wouldn’t know. Despite voicing his anxiety, Smith is as calm and collected as ever, as if he can notice the emotion without giving it away, it’s the sign of a good performer. Smith is used to it; he’s been performing since 13 and was a baseball prodigy from a young age too, playing in the Little League World Series. It helps that his mother, Jennifer Vickery Smith, was an entertainment editor, so Smith feels at home (although he is physically at home) during our interview, despite having just flown in from New York. “It’s the last week of ‘This Creek Will Rise’ tour, but we conveniently booked it (the end of the tour) on the same day as the album release.” Smith smiles, knowing that these things are planned years in advance in the world of country music and that there really are no coincidences. He talks about his excitement to perform on the day of the release of ‘Smoky Mountains’ in his hometown, Nashville. “I love Nashville. I still live here, my family lives here and I don’t imagine I’ll ever move. But growing up in Nashville, you’re definitely around the creativity and beauty of this town that is so centered around country music and storytelling. When I was six years old, that was the only dream I ever had was to write country songs, tell stories and try to become the best songwriter I could be. I would go to a bunch of writers rounds all the time. When I was 16, I ended up signing a publishing deal with a guy named Ashley Gorley and Zach Crowell, who are the greatest songwriters. Then, I signed with Big Machine when I was 18.” It sounds like Smith had it all figured out from a young age, first, establish yourself as a songwriter, then (when he was old enough), pursue the recording contract. The gap in his CV so far is that Smith didn’t go to university (yet). He calls his brand of country ‘college songs’, he uses the phrase as a catch-all for the music that revolves around the ages of 18-21, typically university age. For Smith, the nomenclature is less about going to study and more about the age you strike out alone, discover new things and really find out who you are. I ask whether he thinks that ‘Smoky Mountains’ will be a post-college album or if it’s a continuation of the theme, he answers: “I feel like I’ve been able to take my fans on a journey of my life a little bit. Now, the goal is to grow up for the music, to grow up with it. I think it [‘Smoky Mountains’] is a growing-up record. It’s a journey from that college-age thing to becoming a man a little bit and figuring out who I am and what I want to say. That was one of the goals with this album.” Smith makes it clear that the album is supposed to continue in the story of his life, as an autobiographical writer, Smith reflects on his songwriting as both a collaborative and solo experience. To read more exclusive articles and latest news, see our last issue here. Never miss a story… Follow us on: Instagram: @Maverick.mag Twitter: @Maverick_mag Facebook: Maverick Magazine Media Contact Hannah Larvin, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Mike Ross releases new single Driftwood

Leave a Comment / Exclusives, News / Rochelle Mills

The incredibly talented Mike Ross teases what’s to come on the Clovis Limit: Tennessee Transitions with the release of his latest single, the slide guitar-rich ‘Driftwood’. Mike Ross is a man with many a string to his musical bow, as composer, performer and producer. His forthcoming new solo album ably demonstrates that range, virtuosity and attention to detail, and also explores the rich tapestry of Southern musical traditions and styles that Mike calls ‘The Clovis Limit – The Tennessee Transition’, It’s an album which resonates as a companion to Mike’s acclaimed ‘Clovis Limits’ album duology, and is due for release on 28th May. Lovers of country and Americana will find much to woo their ears and fascinate them in The Clovis Limit – Tennessee Transition’, not least Mike’s brand-new single and video ‘Driftwood (Acoustic)’ — which drops on 30th April — with fans of slide guitar being particularly catered for! There’s a kind of early, gritty backwoods country music: the lyrical content of which mirrors the hellfire and damnation imagery that can be found ‘across the tracks’ in neighbourhoods of the Southern United States. The song serves as further evidence of the interconnected tapestry of all American music. ‘Driftwood’ serves up an extra helping of down-home authenticity, with Mike’s deft, beguiling, period-specific, hula-style slide woven with pulpit-pounding imagery (not to mentions plenty of “piss and vinegar; tiny bits of stars”) delivered with impassioned vocals, contemporary verve and sparkling performance. Speaking to Maverick about the song Mike shared “Driftwood is off Clovis 1 and will be on The Tennessee Transitions. It’s about being reborn again, having faith in a higher power. Its got this Johnny Cash, Hank Williams kind of bounce to it but it’s got a blues slide guitar element to it. It’s a good expression of the way I like to melt genres together.” ‘Driftwood’ is available to buy NOW! You can pre-order the album HERE! To stay up to date on the latest country music news, please register to receive our newsletter here. Media contact Zoe Hodges, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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‘Big Dreams’ are coming true for Track45

Leave a Comment / Exclusives / Rochelle Mills

As their latest single Met Me Now goes to radio, the sibling trio reflect on moving from small town life to Music city in pursuit of their ‘Big Dreams’. Track45 enjoyed their small town life in Meridian, Mississippi. It was where they learnt the tools of their trade, how to play, how to harmonise, but also what it means to be a close knit family – something which is an integral part of the country music genre and part of their identity as a band. Their first EP ‘Small Town’ came out towards the end of 2020. It told the authentic story of the sibling’s upbringing, laying down some roots for the group who have, for so long, been hidden in writing rooms honing their craft and telling other people’s stories. Just a few months later and their second EP ‘Big Dreams’ is garnering lots of positive reviews as it continues the story of the group who swapped their small town life for the big city. Growing up Jenna, KK and Ben were exposed to a lot of different music “Grandma taught us how to play piano and Grandad was our church choir director so music was always around our house.” KK begins. Meanwhile on long car journey’s their parents were playing classic rock and The Beatles; “We were so obsessed with the Beatles we tried to sing in British accents for a little bit” Ben laughs, as he tries to answer my questions in his best British accent! However the trio searched for their own tastes too Ben delved deep into the pop music he heard on the charts, exploring its songwriters, “I was very into the songs Max Martin wrote, songs like Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.” KK developed a love of Soul and Rock n Roll music “I was obsessed with Elvis, so much so that I had a blue fiddle which I named ‘Suede’ after the song ‘Blue Suede Shoes’”. Meanwhile Jenna drew influence from Dolly Parton, George Jones and Tammy Wynette; “For a while when I was about six I would walk round town singing D.I.V.O.R.C.E. and eventually my Mum would say “You’ve got to stop singing that when we’re out.” While the trio explored different genres, they took up different instruments too and began playing together, “We started out playing all the nursing homes round town! Our first real gig was at Dollywood, we did a Bluegrass and Barbecue festival there – four shows a day and that’s when we decided we wanted to pursue music together.” KK looked back fondly on those early performances. Although live shows are a big part of what they do, especially with those harmonies, much of the trio’s success has come from their ability to craft beautiful lyrics and killer hooks. Ben says, with a grin, “I come up with song ideas when I’m on stage. I heard Taylor Swift once walked off stage in the middle of a show to record a voice memo of a song she just wrote whilst performing and then just carried on with the gig! That’s the sort of thing I’d do.” The trio’s varied tastes in music probably helped them to branch out as three individual songwriters in their own right. All three have publishing deals and have had success writing for artists such as Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice and Charlie Puth to name a few. Ultimately they always gravitate back to each other. “When we’re writing for other people it’s somebody else’s story we’re telling, when we’re writing for ourselves it’s very autobiographical, and authentic to us”. The siblings were all heavily involved in the writing and production process of ‘Big Dreams’. “Me + You originally started in a writing session I was in with Hunter Phelps and Charlie Handsome” Ben recalls. “We were talking through ideas and Hunter said ‘What about nothing adds up like Me + You’. So we wrote about half the song and then I took what we had to Jenna and KK and we finished writing it.” From small town beginnings, to moving to Nashville, Track45 are carving out a path in country music that they can walk along together. As they think back on those early days at Dollywood, Jenna ponders “Wouldn’t it be great if we could do this for the rest of our lives? Whether that’s in the street or in a stadium, but preferably in a stadium.” It’s clear that Track45 have achieved a lot, but they still have ‘Big Dreams’ to chase. READ THE FULL ARTICLE IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF MAVERICK MAGAZINE! GET YOUR COPY HERE! To stay up to date on the latest country music news, please register to receive our newsletter here. Media contact Zoe Hodges, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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Luke Concannon: Drawn to the Horizon

Leave a Comment / Exclusives / Rochelle Mills

Travelling the world to reconnect with people and find himself again, Luke Concannon returns with the most truthful songs and a heightened sense of adventure! Musical Chemistry It was the summer of 2005, I was about to turn ten years old when JCB came out. My brother and I thought it was the coolest song we’d ever heard, we played it all holiday and like the cool kids we were, we were slightly ahead of the curve as that December it topped the charts! Less than five years later though, the duo went their separate ways; the pair would sporadically reunite especially for charity performances but it was time for Luke Concannon and John Parker to forge their own paths; “we didn’t quite have the capacity to sustain it over the long term, so breaking up was painful, and disorientating but my inner voice was telling me to carry on alone.” At the time Concannon wasn’t to know the twists and turns on the road ahead as he looked to reconnect with the world and with music. “I remember singing The Beatles song ‘Let it be’ in the back of the car as maybe a 7 year old, really loudly, and loving being inside that sound but it’s been a slow, growing relationship with music. I didn’t really commit to it as a path until I was 21, when I realised my best friend and I had a special musical chemistry.” It was time for Concannon to find out what music meant to him outside of the duo – who was Luke Concannon without John Parker? Hitch Hiking to Palestine Concannon had always had a desire to travel the world “As a young man I felt really drawn to the horizon, to adventure, I felt so pulled to take my back pack and explore the world” and though he toured as part of Nizlopi, there wasn’t really the time for exploration during a run of shows or recording an album. “At 30 I finally went for it and hitch hiked from England to Palestine; it was an extraordinarily enlivening trip. I wanted to be of service and in relationship so I volunteered with the ‘International solidarity Movement’ in the West bank who escort Palestinian Farmers at risk of violence and harassment to their ancestral crops.” That trip shaped who Concannon was as a person and had a big impact on his music. “It’s a powerful place; I can see why religions have been born there, those deserts, open skies and olive trees. Harvesting food as part of a community with local people – I was doing something that felt right and was in line with my values, I felt so happy. A trip like that really helped me – the media can have an indoctrinating effect but meeting and connecting with local folk in the Middle East I lost a lot of my fear and had more of the sense that we are all in this together. I want to write music from that place.” Luke Concannon returned a changed man. Though he’d gone off on this big adventure it didn’t stop him from finding more ways he could connect with the real world and get back to creating music that really meant something to him. He took part in writing retreats and set himself strict routines to allow his creativity to flourish. His latest album ‘Ecstatic Bird in the Burning’ has been performing well in the charts recently and it was a project born out of one such experience. “I booked a retreat on Anais Mitchell’s Family farm, which is up the road from where I live now in Vermont. I would get up at 5am, fast until sun set, and just write and write for a month. By the end of the month I was hitting my stride. I then finished the songs over many early mornings for a year – getting in a couple hours music before the day got going.” Concannon found a deeper meaning in his music, a more authentic sound, so when it came time to record the songs he wanted to capture that authenticity in the production too. “The record was produced by Jim Prendergast who cut his Teeth as a session guitarist in Nashville. He really knew how to get the best out of the core aspects of vocals, acoustic guitar and double bass. I’ve gotten the best recording results when a really synced up band just play as live as possible in a room, then you can really get juices flowing between you and get the spirit high. A lot of old records were recorded like that. It puts the emphasis on listening, presence and musicality.” Off The Grid Concannon draws on so many influences within his music, personal experience is at the heart of all he does. Ever the explorer he looks for inspiration from a range of sources – books by writing coaches like Brenda Ueland and the wide eclectic range of artists he idolises. “I’m loving the new album by Haim, Richard Thompson is a big hero of mine, Rory Mcleod – a huge influence. I love Anais Mitchells songs, particularly Hades town, The hip hop musical Hamilton and Declan O’Rourkes Chronicles of the great Irish Famine.” But he still draws upon the music that he grew up listening to as a child to help in the quest to find his own voice. Artists such as Van Morrison, Tom Waits, U2, Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle were a few early inspirations for Concannon. His parents played him a lot of traditional Irish music as well and this broad spectrum is evident in his music, it’s helped him to carve out his own unique sound. A sound that has captured the attention of famous faces such as Hugh Jackman and Ed Sheeran. The latter of which gets an honourable mention in Concannon’s latest single ‘Doing Nothing’ a song he took himself off grid to write as he discussed

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Encore: Lauren Housley

Leave a Comment / Exclusives / Rochelle Mills

After moving back home to Sheffield and setting up a studio with her Husband, Lauren Housley drew on a wide range of different influences and experiences to put together her latest album ‘Girl From The North’ due out April 23rd. What was the first song you learnt the words to? I think it was Killing Me Softly, I was about eight years old but it’s still one of my favourite songs of all time. We still had cassettes when I was growing up, this was the Fugees version, I would write a lyric down then rewind the cassette and write the next line down and that’s how I would learn the lyrics to the songs. A song that makes you think of touring? Fleetwood Mac, the Rumours album! We’ve often put it on whilst travelling to shows to get us in the mood. I saw The Lumineers a few years ago supporting The Civil Wars, it was the first time I’d seen them live and they walked out on stage to The Chain and that really gets you in the mood for a gig. A live show that changed your life? I used to work at The Sage in Gateshead so I was really lucky, I got to see a lot of great gigs. However, I think the one that springs to mind I actually saw down in London, it was Amos Lee around five years ago. He’d just released his Mountains of Sorrow album so I was expecting a lot of that stuff but he did a lot of his older stuff too. The way he pieced that show together totally blew me away. He has a really great band and he came out with a bit of a Johnny Cash vibe going on and then finished the show with an old R&B classic – the show just really worked as a whole. There were times when he was left on stage on his own, just him and his guitar for songs like A Change is Gonna Come. He kept the audience so engaged. A song that reminds you of growing up? Show me Heaven, I always loved that song but it used to get played in Assembly at school as we walked in. There was that song and Circles in the Sand and I used to think, ‘these are great songs’. I was around six or seven, I was in infant school as I remember walking in in funky slippers and those songs would be playing in the background. A song you can no longer listen to? There’s a heartbreaking song on the last Johnny Cash album that he released before he died, it’s called Hurt. His performance on that song… it makes me cry just thinking about it – its amazing but it’s heartbreaking and I do find it hard to listen to it. An album that made you want to be a musician? Carol King’s ‘Tapestry’ album. I recently did a show at the Sound Lounge curated by Paul Sexton in celebration of the album turning 50, so I got to play a couple of songs off that record. I remember Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow being played a lot when I was a kid and when I heard the album from start to finish I remember thinking, ‘how can you write this many great songs and have them on one album?’ READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF MAVERICK MAGAZINE! GET YOUR COPY HERE! To stay up to date on the latest country music news, please register to receive our newsletter here. Media contact Zoe Hodges, Editor, Maverick Magazine Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823920 Email: editor@maverick-country.com

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For King & Country: Bringing people together through music

Leave a Comment / Exclusives / Rochelle Mills

Almost a whole year has passed since for KING & COUNTRY last played an arena show. The Covid 19 pandemic has had a detrimental affect on the live music sector and on some of the artists careers, others however have risen magnificently from the ashes. Joel and Luke Smallbone have not dwelled on what they haven’t been able to do during this time but instead have focused on what they can do. The fruitful year of 2020 began for the boys last January when they took home two Grammy’s; one for ‘Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance’ for their duet with Dolly Parton on ‘God Only Knows’ and one for ‘Best Contemporary Christian Music Album’ for their record ‘Burn The Ships’. Not long after this victory, the pair, like many others would have their tour cut short and would return home indefinitely. The World as we knew it was changing drastically but as everyone was encouraged to keep apart, Joel and Luke – who make up the duo, looked at ways they could bring people together. Faith, Family And Music The brothers were in a fortunate position when the world shut down, both were returning home to a supportive family and Joel acknowledged that, “Family has been magnificent in this time, I almost have a little embarrassment in saying family has been so wonderful because for so many it’s been so difficult.” Joel married fellow Contemporary Christian artist Moriah Peters in 2013 but due to the nature of being touring musicians they have spent much of those seven years away from home. “My wife and I have travelled mutually for most of our marriage, so we’ve had more time now than we’ve ever had at home together.” Faith too, played an important role in getting Joel through the uncertainty of the situation – “Another synonym I would use for faith is hope, we all need a little bit of hope. So we’re looking into the future and we can either look into it with a bleak outlook or we can have this anticipation that even through the suffering there will be good on the other-side.” Despite enjoying a well earned break, with this positive attitude the pair were determined to pick up where they left off and continue to unite the World with their music. “In such a desperate time as this, to be able to offer music – to create it, to release it – it’s profound to have that opportunity.” A number of projects began to bubble just below the surface. First came a song that had been in the writing process long before ‘Burn The Ships’ was first released. ‘Together’ would see the Smallbone brothers team up with Tori Kelly and Kirk Franklin, for the first instalment. They debuted it on a live stream event dubbed ‘Together: A Night of Hope’ which attracted 90,000 live impressions across social media and sent the song racing up the Billboard Christian music charts. It seems Luke was right when he said “I think that song is for this moment – the pandemic”. The Writing Process Although from the outside looking in, songwriting looks like it comes easy to the pair who often team up with such hitmakers as Josh Kerr, Jason Ingram and Ben Glover, Joel has a love-hate relationship with the craft. As he drove in to a songwriting session he said “We have a very temperamental relationship, writing and I, it’s one of the most gratifying things you can do in your career. It can also be some of the most embarrassing, humbling and difficult moments because when you break it down you’re dealing with something invisible and something very spiritual – you’re pulling all these melodies and ideas out of nowhere. It’s actually a beautiful, sanctifying process because we do a lot of co-writes and in that you have to stay very humble with the whole room. Unless you have an idea of what you want to present, it’s hard to have an emotional connection to a song. So songwriting is a friend and a foe for me, a lover and an enemy.” He divulges the process behind one of their most popular hits, certainly amongst country music fans – the grammy award winning collaboration with Dolly Parton. “God Only Knows was a phrase I had written down that I always found very ironic. Americans throw it around very flippantly ‘God only knows why this crap happened’. So I started to peel back the layers of the phrase and this interesting idea that there is a lot of things that God only knows and yet he still loves us, accepts us, cheers us on and wants to be connected with us.” Little did he know as he sat in that writing room that day, just where that idea would take them. “Dolly was just marvellous, they say don’t meet your heroes but if this is anything to go by then definitely meet your heroes!” The collaboration that followed not only introduced them to the legendary singer and helped to bag them another Grammy, but it opened a whole World of possibilities within country music – a genre they had grown up surrounded by but never really explored. “It was a bit like living next to the beach, but never going and then all of a sudden you move away from it and you realise how wonderful it was. In this case, we grew up in the country music capital of the World with all of these wonderfully gifted people living down the street from us and it wasn’t until we collaborated with Dolly – I mean what a marvellous way to be introduced to the country music community – but it wasn’t until then that we found this beautiful affinity with members of the country music community and it opened pandora’s box for us.” Country Music and Christianity Country music and christianity have always had a strong relationship, so despite sonically being quite far removed from the

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Dylan Scott: Music Reflecting Real Life

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Dylan Scott hails from a small town named Bastrop located in Northeast Louisiana. He was raised on traditional country music because his father once chased the Nashville music dream as a guitarist for Freddie Fender and others. Now it’s Dylan’s turn and the move to Nashville has helped give his music and songwriting edge and focus. His song “My Girl” achieved Platinum certification and his single ‘Hooked” went Gold. Maverick Country recently caught up with Dylan to talk about his latest EP “Nothing to Do Town,” his music path and future plans. Maverick Country: Does your new “Nothing to Do” EP seem even more personal than your past releases? Dylan Scott: I kind of like to write songs that reflect my life and stuff I’ve been through. You don’t hear a lot of party songs from me because I’m not a big partier I’m a family guy. My wife and I have been together since we were 15 years old, I’ve got a couple of kids a little boy and a little girl. So, I like to write about stuff that I can relate to, but at the same time I also gotta think about the listeners so they relate to it. And I feel like a lot of people can. It’s real-life! MC: How did you convince your wife to be in the video for “Nobody” that released this past December? DS: It didn’t take much convincing. I just said “Hey look here in a couple of weeks you’re going to get dolled up and there are going to be a lot of cameras in your face and you just go with the flow. Honestly that’s really what I did. I didn’t give her too much information. Because when you watch that music video you are seeing her honest reactions to videos that I took off of our cell phones and I gave to the producer. Then he made a little collage of the videos and we’re watching them on a big screen. Those were all real-life reactions in the moment. That’s how I wanted the whole video to be. A lot of female fans have really liked this video and I think it’s cool. I like it that I can show my life and people enjoy seeing what we do and the way we are. MC: How do you seamlessly play piano or guitar and sing? And which instrument do you write most of your songs on? DS: I write the most on a guitar. Piano was the first instrument I ever learned, and I was probably four when I started messing around playing. I don’t know piano quite as well as I do guitar. And I don’t know guitar as well as some other people do. My little brother is my lead guitar player in my band, and he is phenomenal. He can play anything, he can play all the licks, he is great! And I’m like man I wish I could do that. I get by on the guitar and I get by on the piano. I sit down and I play certain chords and I sing and that’s it. MC: How did you end up so drawn to the late Country Star Keith Whitley’s music? DS: Besides my Dad, and he was a musician as I was growing up, he lived in Nashville and played with Freddie Fender back in the day. Besides my Dad, Keith Whitley was my hero. He was one of my first albums I ever got, and I just remember listening to that album and listening to his voice. Something about his voice and his melodies. Because I was too young to realize what the lyrics meant like “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” The lyrics and the tone of his voice were what captured me. I remember as a young kid sitting on the end of my bed playing old Keith Whitely songs and thinking about moving to Nashville. Thinking about being on the Grand Ole Opry and all. And now I’ve done that. He’s one of the reasons, besides my dad, that I moved to Nashville and chased this dream and sing. MC: What was it like to have Lorrie Morgan, Keith Whitley’s widow, perform on your Keith Whitley tribute EP “An Old Memory?” DS: Having Lorrie Morgan come in and sing on “Tell Lorrie I Love Her” still gives me chills right now. It was a crazy moment. She was as nice as she could be, and she was all about the project. Even now when I look back it is special. But I know one day when I look back years from now, I’ll be like “Man I can’t believe we actually got to do that.” And if you’ve listened to Keith’s recording of that song you know there isn’t a full production version of it. She (Lorrie Morgan) was telling a story in the studio the day we were recording that he (Keith Whitley) came home and he was literally sitting at the kitchen table in nothing but his boxer shorts. She was in the kitchen and their little girl was watching TV in the background. And he had his guitar there and his boxer shorts and he reached down with his big toe and pressed record on a tape recorder, and he sang that. And that’s what you hear. They said he had to take that cut to the studio, and they had to get rid of some of the background noise of the TV and their little girl playing. It’s just such a cool story. That’s stuff right there that I’ll never forget. MC: When you were a toddler your father noticed that you had a natural gift to sing on pitch. What parallels do you see with your own son Beckett now? DS: My Dad was my biggest critic and my biggest supporter. I would be playing guitar in my room and he would walk in and say, “You’re over singing” and just shut

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