Exclusives

O&O have joined forces with Laura Oakes for the video of their latest single Leave It ‘Til Tomorrow, offering another dimension to the track. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]Px5A8tZu_1Q[/wpdevart_youtube] Upon its release in April, Leave It ‘Til Tomorrow made headway immediately and was subsequently added to Apple Music’s Today Country playlist as the duo – comprised of Obadiah Jones and Orian Peled – continued their momentum despite the lockdown. For the video version with Oakes though, the Liverpool based artist takes lead vocals for the first half of the song, before O&O enter the fray as they harmonise for the second half. Speaking about the video, the pair explained that as a result of the lockdown, they were unable to involve Oakes into their YouTube series, so found a more creative way to incorporate her talents, while also getting their band in the mix. “Lockdown measures prevented us from featuring Laura in our YouTube guest series as planned, so we decided to do the next best thing by creating the video remotely,” the duo explained. “This came with an unexpected bonus – we were able to also feature our incredible live band members, each of them recording and filming their parts from their lockdown locations across the UK.” To celebrate the release of the single, O&O have released a brand new line of merchandise on their Teespring store, with tote bags, summer tees and phone cases now available to order, while their full band headline show at Spice of Life in London has been rescheduled for September 18. Tickets can be found here.

The Country Music Association (CMA) will be putting on two special nights of country music over the coming weeks, via live stream and TV. On July 9, Luke Bryan will be hosting a three-hour celebration on ABC of the best performances that have taken place at CMA Fest, which had to be cancelled this year as a result of the pandemic. The one-off show will show performances from the likes of Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Lady A, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Little Big Town and a whole lot more. As an appetiser for that, on July 1 there will be a live stream variety event called ‘CMA Summer Stay-Cay’, which is to be presented by both Lindsay Ell and Jimmie Allen. The stream will be broadcast on Facebook and YouTube. For this, there will be over 50 country acts doing unique performances, while there will also be Q&As and other types of miscellaneous fun. Both events celebrate the legacy of CMA Fest, which had taken place every year since 1972 prior to the pandemic. The festival will return next year though, between June 10-13.

Sadie Jemmett has released a politically charged protest song titled The Killing of George Floyd in relation to his recent death. You can watch the lyric video below. [wpdevart_youtube]hcM5s5tfSiw[/wpdevart_youtube] Floyd was killed by Minneapolis Police and the response to that worldwide has seen a number of Black Lives Matter protests take place, with many united in agreement that enough is enough. That sense of protest has clearly spread to Jemmett too, who has written this song – for now, only available on her Bandcamp, but will be available digitally on June 26 – after being inspired by the movement. Speaking about the track, Jemmett explained that all revenue will be going to the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) and that while there is a payment option on her Bandcamp, the option is there to obtain it for free if finance is an issue. “I have written this protest song as a response to the brutal and unlawful killing of George Floyd,” Jemmett said. “I understand that as a white person I can have no real experience of what black communities have to live through. “But as a songwriter, I can use my voice to stand in solidarity with communities, friends and fellow musicians all over the world. Any future revenue made from this song will go to the naacp.org to secure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and wellbeing of all persons. “The track is available via my Bandcamp page with the option that people can pay whatever they want or can afford.” Sadie Jemmett is no stranger to writing politically charged songs, with her 2019 single Don’t Silence Me becoming associated with the #MeToo movement.

Sunny Ozell will be realising a live acoustic EP titled ‘Live at The Village’ on July 17, which will feature a number of songs from her recent album ‘Overnight Lows’.  The first single from it is Hammer and Nail, which you can listen to here. The EP is made up of four songs from the album as well as a cover of The Valley by Los Lobos, all of which have been recorded in a live environment from the Americana star. Speaking about her decision to go ahead with the EP, Ozell said that she had thought that she was done with a vast majority of the songs from her album, but was glad to be proved wrong as she felt reinvigorated going back over them in the way that she did. “When I’d finished making ‘Overnight Lows’, I’d thought I was done probing these particular songs, but in taking another swing at some of my already completed tunes I was reminded that we’re never really ‘done’, and that it can be a total pleasure to keep exploring and expanding,” Ozell said. It was such a joy to return to The Village recording studios in Santa Monica late last summer to track some acoustic versions of a select group of my songs. “I’d thought I would come away with some stripped down ‘coffee house’ kinda takes on the material; ‘acoustic’ has often meant to me ‘soft’ or ‘delicate’. “But what these two days of tracking produced was something of a surprise:  genuine re-imaginings of the songs themselves, albeit performed by all-acoustic instrumentation.” Last year, Sunny Ozell toured the UK and was also a standout performer at The Long Road Festival in September.

The second edition of Dixie Fields festival will be taking place online, with a number of exciting artists booked in for live streams. The now virtual festival will take place on July 11 and tickets are available here. Jackson Michelson will be returning to the festival after excelling last year, while there will also be streams from the likes of Kezia Gill, Stevie O’Connor and Gareth Nugent in addition to local Essex artists such as Hannah Paris, Lucy Blu and The Jackson Line. As well as that, Two Ways Home, Jessica Lynn, Royal South, Kevin McGuire, Ryan Robinette, Brittany McLamb, Emma & Jolie, Gary Quinn, Scott Nicholls, Honey County and Poppy Fardell will also be performing. Speaking about the news, Operations Director Georgie Thorogood explained that while she was devastated to be cancelling the festival in its normal form as a result of the pandemic, she is ecstatic that the wonders of technology have allowed people to still enjoy the fun. “We were devastated to have to cancel the real Dixie Fields festival for this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but we are thrilled to be able to still engage with our audience and compile a simply stunning line up of real country music, which can be streamed directly to you, wherever you are,” Thorogood said. “Although a virtual festival is hugely different to the amazing live event held last year, we are so excited to be able to offer this to fans across the World, not only the UK. “Our friends and followers have already been discussing how best to decorate their gardens and homes for the event and we can’t wait to see the pictures.” After springing up last year, Dixie Fields was considered a success and there was much anticipation as to how their second year would live up to the expectations they set.

Lady Antebellum have officially changed their name to Lady A after becoming aware to the historic attachment associated to their former moniker. The group, made up of Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, revealed the news in a social media post after discovering that while the name was picked with completely innocent intentions – being the place where they shot their first band photos – they were completely unaware that the place had links to slavery. “As a band, we have strived for our music to be a refuge…inclusive of all,” the trio said in a statement. We’ve watched and listened more than ever these last few weeks and our hearts have been stirred with conviction, our eyes opened wide to the injustices, inequality and biases black women and men have always faced and continue to face every day.  “Now, blindspots we didn’t even know existed have been revealed. After much personal reflection, band discussion, prayer and many honest conversations with some of our closest black friends and colleagues, we have decided to drop the word ‘Antebellum’ from our name and move forward as Lady A, the nickname our fans gave us almost from the start.  “We are regretful and embarrassed to say that we did not take into account the associations that weigh down this word referring to the period of history before the Civil War, which includes slavery. “We are deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused and for anyone who has felt unsafe, unseen or unvalued. Causing pain was never our hearts’ intention, but it doesn’t change the fact that indeed, it did just that.  “We understand that many of you may ask the question ‘why have you not made this change until now?’ The answer to that we can make no excuse for our lateness to this realisation. What we can do is acknowledge it, turn from it and take action.” The most recent Black Lives Matter movement, sparked following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police, has – amongst other crucial things – exposed how much slavery is still referred to, be it via statues or place names.

Rising UK artist Vic Allen has released her new single I Can, which will be very familiar to those who have regularly attended her live gigs. You can watch the video for the song below. [wpdevart_youtube]t10e30GZ58c[/wpdevart_youtube] Allen, who shared a four-track EP titled ‘Enough’ back in October, has seen the song be welcomed brilliantly on the live circuit so as such, opted to release a studio version of the track, complete with a video. Speaking about the song itself, Allen explained that it came out of a place of great pain and practically immediately after being subjected to it, while also stating that it is her favourite song that she has written. “I wrote this song literally minutes after my last relationship ended,” Allen said. “We were long distance and so broke up via a very emotional phone call. When we hung up, this song just poured out of me. It’s everything I wanted to say and is definitely my favourite thing I’ve ever written.” Prior to lockdown, Vic Allen was invited to be part of the Song Suffragettes UK tour after flying out to Nashville just before it struck to take part in the sixth anniversary of it, while she has also experienced Radio Disney Country airplay out in the States this year.  

The hotly anticipated new album from Margo Price, ‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’, finally has a new release date of July 10. To celebrate, Price has unveiled the video for Letting Me Down, which you can see below. [wpdevart_youtube]X6kQSInjvvI[/wpdevart_youtube] The record, which has been produced by Sturgill Simpson with Price and David Ferguson co-producing and can be pre-ordered here, was initially due for release on May 8, but as a result of the pandemic, it was temporarily postponed without a date. Now though, we have a fresh date and in a statement that Price gave, she spoke about how sad she is and has been given recent events in the world and hopes that her new record can provide some form of peace to people. “Take me back to the day I started trying to paint my masterpiece so I could warn myself of what was ahead,” Price said. “Time has rearranged, it has slowed down, it has manipulated things like it always does…the words to some of these songs have changed meaning, they now carry heavier weight. “I’ve seen the streets set ablaze, the sky set on fire. I’ve been manic, heartbroken for the world, heartbroken for the country, heartbroken from being heartbroken again and again. “This album is a postcard of a landscape of a moment in time. It’s not political but maybe it will provide an escape or relief to someone who needs it. Sending love to everyone out there and hope I see you down the highway.” The tracklisting for ‘That’s How Rumors Get Started’ by Margo Price is: 1. That’s How Rumors Get Started 2. Letting Me Down 3. Twinkle Twinkle 4. Stone Me 5. Hey Child 6. Heartless Mind 7. What Happened to Our Love? 8. Gone to Stay 9. Prisoner of the Highway 10. I’d Die For You

Brad Paisley said thank you to two New York residents combatting racism in his own way, by sending them crates of beer and hopping on a Zoom call with them. Benjamin Smith and Marcus Ellis from New York are long time friends in Rochester, New York and wanted to open up a dialogue channel on racism following the tragic death of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police, sparking worldwide protests and riots. They put signs outside the house of Smith, a former Marine, that read ‘Black or white, relax and have a beer’ and a picture of the two outside the house with the signs quickly went viral on the internet. They asked people to join in and a vast majority of their neighbourhood turned up to get involved, before literally thousands of people clocked onto it on social media – including Paisley. As such, the Grand Ole Opry member and three time Grammy winner arranged a Zoom call with the pair and as way of gratitude for what they were doing in their community and sent them hundreds of dollars worth of beer for them to get through while they were on the call with him. In fact, Paisley sent them so many crates of Budweiser and Bud Light that he wiped out the contents of that particular brand at a nearby New York store for the pair and when speaking to them, he thanked them for their efforts and stated that he is always trying to do more to help the black community. “I’m so inspired by you and we thought we should deliver more beer than you could possibly drink,” Paisley told them, as per CBS. “I’m trying to hear out my friends in the black community, that’s what you guys are doing together. It’s the same thing. “I’m all ears, always have been. I’ve had big ears my whole life!” Brad Paisley has been very busy in lockdown aside from surprising people in this way, with the artist hosting a number of stream gigs for his supporters to enjoy from the safety of their own home.

Nashville Meets London have joined forces with the Royal Albert Hall to put on a virtual country gig on July 18 featuring a number of high profile acts. Anyone can watch via the Royal Albert Hall YouTube channel, which you can find here. Taking place at 19:30 BST, The Cadillac Three, Tenille Townes, Michael Ray and Twinnie will be performing as the show tries to raise funds for the iconic music venue, which has been closed for the first time since the Second World War. Country Hits presenter Matt Spracklen will be hosting. Speaking about the collaboration with Nashville Meets London, Lucy Noble – the Artistic Director of the Royal Albert Hall – said that the series so far has been a huge success and that she is ecstatic to be able to bring country music to the fray. “This series has spotlighted an incredible collection of world class talents working in an extraordinary array of genres,” Noble said. “Since we launched on 9 April, we’ve featured everything from Baxter Dury to Bach cello suites, from spoken word to homegrown soul. “Now we’re absolutely delighted to announce the first country music concert as part of Royal Albert Home, showcasing four fantastic acts who’ll bring a little bit of Nashville into your living room. “The line-up illustrates just how exciting and eclectic the world of country is right now, and we can’t wait to share this show with you.” Since the series has started, the likes of Rufus Wainwright, KT Tunstall, Richard Thompson and Ayanna Witter-Johnson have done streamed gigs for the Royal Albert Hall, with people donating £50,000 to the cause.