Exclusives

The Hello Darlins have become the latest group to get into the Christmas spirit by releasing a festive themed EP titled ‘Heart in the Snow’. You can listen to the EP here. The four-track EP features three original songs in the shape of the title track, One More Christmas and The Night That He Arrived, while there is also a cover of Do You Hear What I Hear? Speaking about the EP, Candace Lacina – band co-founder and vocalist – spoke about the deeper connection and meaning of Christmas, while also highlighting some of the things that she enjoys most at this time of year. “To us, Christmas is about our connection with loved ones,” Lacina said. “There’s also something peaceful, comforting and familiar during this time of year. It’s a time of looking back and wishing others well, but the true magic lay in memories of experiencing everything with a child-like spirit.” 2021 is set to be a very busy year for The Hello Darlins, who will be releasing their debut album at some stage within the next 12 months. The group have revealed that their album will be titled ‘Go By Feel’ and will enter the world in the fifth year of the band’s existence.

CMA New Artist of the Year winner Morgan Wallen will be releasing a double album titled ‘Dangerous: The Double Album’ on January 8. You can pre-order/pre-save here. To celebrate the announcement, Wallen also announced the release of three new songs that will feature on the album in Somebody’s Problem, Still Goin’ Down and Livin’ The Dream. The album will consist of 30 tracks, 15 on each disc. Speaking about the concept, Morgan Wallen said that it had initially started off as a bit of an inside joke, but suddenly became a genuine possibility during lockdown. He also stated that while it was a lot of songs to process, he’s hopeful fans see them all as killer tracks. “The ‘double album’ idea started off as just a joke between me and my manager because we had accumulated so many songs over the past couple of years,” Wallen said. “Then quarantine hit and we realised it might actually be possible to have enough time to make it happen. “I also ended up writing quite a few more songs during the quarantine with some of my good buddies. After a few months of production and fine tuning, I am so proud of what we came up with. I know 32 (eventual) songs sounds like a lot to digest, but I truly did my best to make sure there’s not a song that I would press ‘next’ on. “I also wanted the songs to speak to multiple phases of life and have multiple different sounds based on my influences and based on what I enjoy.”

Vic Allen has released her second single of 2020 in the shape of Healing, which comes five months after the talented artist shared a studio version of I Can. You can listen to the track here. Allen, who is from Norwich originally, has found ways to be creative during lockdown and one of those ways was finishing off this particular project, which she actually started back in 2019. Speaking about the song, Allen explained that it’s about starting to come through the other side of heartbreak and/or trauma and start to do things that make you feel yourself again. “I actually started recording Healing last year with Kaity Rae,” Allen said. “I added some final touches with Sue McMillan earlier this year, but lockdown hit before we finished, so we managed to finalise everything via Zoom. “This song is about getting through a long period of sadness or suffering and realising you’re finally starting to feel like your old self again. I wrote it after a close friend had been through a break up that took a while to recover from. “I took inspiration from both her story and emotions and struggles I’ve personally gone through in the past.” Despite the pandemic, Vic Allen has still found a way to make 2020 a strong year. The artist was due to take part in the Song Suffragettes tour and indeed did take part in the virtual showing as part of Country Music Week Digital.

The UK Americana Music Association (AMA-UK) have shared the nominees for the UK Americana Awards 2021, along with some winners. Both Laura Marling and Robert Vincent are up for UK Artist of the Year and UK Album of the Year, while Yola also has two nominations – one for UK Song of the Year, while she is also rivalling Marling and Vincent for UK Artist of the Year. Meanwhile, Margo Price has been nominated for International Album of the Year, while Jason Isbell has been put forward for International Artist of the Year. There are some legacy awards, too – with Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie being awarded the Trailblazer Award, Elvis Costello the Lifetime Achievement Award and a new Songwriter Legacy Award has been brought in to celebrate John Prine. Speaking about the awards, Stevie Smith – CEO of the AMA-UK – said that she and the board are very driven in getting the event to go ahead on a digital basis and hopes that it can provide some lift after a challenging year. “Throughout the shared trauma of the 2020 pandemic, the creative sector has been incredible in the way they helped keep others’ spirits high with their music,” Smith said. “The Board of the AMA–UK is determined to create an event to bring us all together again. “Even if we can’t travel and be in the same room, we can still gather in the same space online to celebrate those artists who have been brave enough to release music in recent months or used their platform for good causes.” The award nominees/winners are as follows: UK Song of the Year I Should Be On A Train – Ferris and Sylvester Ain’t One Thing – Lady Nade Thin (I Used To Be Bullet Proof)  – Our Man In The Field I Don’t Wanna Lie – Yola  UK Album of the Year ‘A Dark Murmuration of Words’ – Emily Barker ‘Song For Our Daughter’ – Laura Marling ‘In This Town You’re Owned’ – Robert Vincent ‘Hannah White and The Nordic Connections’ – Hannah White UK Artist of the Year Emily Barker Laura Marling Robert Vincent Yola  UK Instrumentalist of the Year Anna Corcoran Lukas Drinkwater Martin Harley Michele Stodart  International Song of the Year Welcome to Hard Times – Charley Crockett Brightest Star – Lilly Hiatt Already Dead by Austin Lucas Hand Over My Heart – The Secret Sisters International Album of the Year ‘Lamentations’ by American Aquarium ‘Old Flowers’ – Courtney Marie Andrews ‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’ – Margo Price ‘Expectations’ – Katie Pruitt International Artist of the Year Courtney Marie Andrews Jason Isbell Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Lucinda Williams Lifetime Achievement Award Elvis Costello International Lifetime Achievement Award Mavis Staples Trailblazer Award Christine McVie International Trailblazer Award Steve Earle Songwriter Legacy Award John Prine Bob Harris Emerging Artist Award Robbie Cavannagh and Demin Marriner Grassroots Award Music Venue Trust – Mart Davyd and Beverly Whitrick

A COVID-19 research fund that Dolly Parton donated $1m to has played a part in the Moderna vaccine, which has a 95% protection rate from the virus. Back in April, Parton donated the amount to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville as one of her longtime friends, Dr. Naji Abumrad, was helping with the vital research to try and find a cure. On November 16, Moderna revealed that they had a vaccine with 95% effectiveness for COVID-19, which it made citing assistance from a number of funds and organisations – one of which being the Vanderbilt one that Parton donated to. Speaking to The One Show on BBC in the UK, Parton humbly downplayed her own part in the vaccine, but did state that she was extremely proud to be able to say that she had something to do with helping others. “I’m sure many, many millions of dollars from many people went into that [research fund], but I felt so proud to have been part of that little seed money that hopefully will grow into something great and help to heal this world – Lord knows we need it,” Parton said. “I’m a very proud girl today to know I had anything at all to do with something that’s going to help us through this crazy pandemic.” Dolly Parton is, along with being a true country music legend, very well known for her charity endeavours, with the artist regularly giving back to society – perhaps most prominent with her Imagination Library project, which have given over a billion books to children across America to ensure they have reading material from birth until starting school.  

Ziggy Alberts has not only released his new song heartbeat, but has also shared a date for his new album ‘searching for freedom’, which drops on March 19. You can pre-save here and watch a lyric video of heartbeat below. [wpdevart_youtube]xWj1X0u66v8[/wpdevart_youtube] The track follows in the footsteps of both together and don’t get caught up, both of which will also be appearing on the new record, which will mark his fifth studio album. Speaking about heartbeat, Alberts said that the song goes through a variety of feelings regarding relationships, while also going through both the present day and times gone by. “heartbeat is a song about how love brings us together no matter how far we are apart… a breakup song, turned into a story of hope and trust on a summer adventure,” said Alberts. “[The song] talks about the past and present, finding resolution in the common thread of all good things – love.” Ziggy Alberts had been very busy prior to the lockdown, coming off a 110 date world tour before starting releasing singles in anticipation for the new album ahead. In addition, Alberts has been awarded ARIA Platinum certification for his tracks Gone, Runaway, Heaven, Love Me Now, Laps Around The Sun and Stronger.

Olivia Lane has become the latest country star to get involved with Christmas, by releasing her new festive track Feeling Like Christmas. You can see the video below or stream the song here. [wpdevart_youtube]AfP6a7P3r14[/wpdevart_youtube] Written with Skip Black and Matt Nolen, Feeling Like Christmas marks Lane’s first festive track as Christmas 2020 gets ever closer. Speaking about the song, Lane said that she is seeing Christmas as a beacon of hope after what has been a terrible year, while she has also been wanting to write a festive song for quite some time, believing now was the right moment to do so. “Amidst the hectic year 2020 has been, the feeling of Christmas is a light at the end of the tunnel for me,” Lane said. “I’ve been wanting to write an original Christmas song for a while now, so I guess I have to thank 2020 because I had the time to dive into achieving that. “Christmas is my favorite time of year and this song truly reflects all of my over the top joyful feelings.” Olivia Lane continues to be seen as one of the leading upcoming Nashville talents, with her debut album ‘The One’ being released to huge fanfare back in 2019. A deluxe edition came out earlier this year, featuring some stripped back efforts.

Emma & Jolie have released their second single as a duo in the shape of Cry For You, which shows a different side to the pair. You can listen to the song here. The pair – made up of Emma Walker and Jolie Harvey – achieved significant success with their debut single I Don’t Need A Man, peaking at Number One on the UK Country iTunes Chart and will be hoping that Cry For You can replicate that. Speaking about the song, the pair explained in a statement just how meaningful the song is to them and where it comes from, while also explaining exactly what the song’s meaning is. “Everything we write about has always stemmed from personal situations we’ve both been in,” Emma & Jolie said. “This song comes from a place of pain we have both experienced. The two of us, and a lot of people we know have felt this way after breaking up with somebody, and so we just want to say that if this is you we see you and you’re not alone, you can’t always shut it off because it’s so difficult. “There’s also an element of frustration in the song, when you see your ex seemingly moving on no problem but you’re still finding it difficult to keep going. Sometimes you have to remind yourself that things can take a bit longer when you have a big heart and you love deeply. It’s okay to still cry for them.” It’s been a very positive last few months for the pair, with the duo recently appearing and wowing as part of the Song Suffragettes segment of Country Music Week.

Tim McGraw will be launching his brand new project ‘Beyond the Influence Radio’ at 10pm tonight (November 12) on Apple Music Country. Over the course of the radio series, McGraw will be speaking to the likes to Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Keith Urban, Joe Walsh, Lori McKenna and many more other artists as he tries to delve deeper into their musical thinking. Speaking about the project, McGraw said that as an artist, he has faced questions regarding influence for many years now and while he loves the question and enjoys expanding on it, he is planning on discovering more. “For years, I’ve been the one answering all the questions,” McGraw said. “Every time I’m talking to someone they always ask, ‘what was the influence behind that song?’ or ‘what influenced you to take on that role?’ While I do love that question, it always makes me feel like there’s so much more beyond that. “When I decided to do this show for Apple Music Country, I knew that I wanted to take those simple answers and dive deeper, go beyond the influence and see what we can uncover on the other side.” For episode one, Tim McGraw will be sharing his own influences, while also recounting personal experiences and stories that made his music possible.

Eric Church finally took home Entertainer of the Year at the 54th edition of the CMA Awards, while Maren Morris also took home three awards herself. For a very different version of country music’s biggest night, Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker hosted proceedings live from Nashville Music City Center, but that certainly doesn’t diminish the nature of the prizes on offer. Morris, who won Album of the Year at the 2019 edition, took home Female Vocalist of the Year, while her song The Bones won both Single of the Year and Song of the Year on a very successful night for the Texas born artist. It was a good night as well for Luke Combs, who retained his Male Vocalist of the Year award in addition to also taking home Album of the Year for ‘What You See Is What You Get’. Elsewhere, Old Dominion won Vocal Group of the Year for the third time in a row, while Dan + Shay made it back to back wins in the Vocal Duo of the Year. Meanwhile, it was a huge night for Morgan Wallen, who in addition to having the chance to perform More Than My Hometown, also took home the New Artist of the Year award. Prior to the show going live, it was revealed that Jenee Fleanor – who made history last year by becoming the first female to win Musician of the Year – had made it two out of two, while Carly Pearce and Lee Brice both won for Musical Event of the Year, with their duet I Hope You’re Happy Now taking that prize. Finally, one of the shocks of the night was that despite being nominated for no less than seven CMA Awards, Miranda Lambert took home just the one for Music Video of the Year – for which Bluebird won. All of the performances on the night can be found on the CMA’s Facebook page, which you can find here.