Exclusives

Lainey Wilson has shared a new track titled WWDD, which is directly inspired by country music icon and legend Dolly Parton. You can watch the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]6s1Tqhc4taw[/wpdevart_youtube] Wilson has been very much on an upwards curve since she broke onto the country music scene and WWDD is her first single since she released her 2019 EP, ‘Redneck Hollywood‘. Speaking about the single, Wilson said that she decided to release a studio version of WWDD as she got a huge reaction from it whenever she performed it live, while also hailing Parton for her impact within country music and beyond. “I’ve been playing a few new songs at my shows and people seem to be liking them, so I figured I should put them out so they can keep liking them,” Wilson explained. “I’m kicking off the release series with WWDD because people have started singing along to it before the song is even over. “It makes sense. I don’t know anyone who don’t love Dolly. From her sense of humor, to her look, to her songwriting, to her singin’ to how she has such an incredible giving heart, to how she’s an awesome businesswoman…Dolly does everything just a little better with a little bow on top. “Dolly is an international icon and role model for a lot of folks around the world, so it’s an easy song for a lot of people to relate to.” Last year, Lainey Wilson signed to BBR Records, while she also wowed at The Long Road Festival in September.

Kip Moore has announced that he will be releasing his fourth studio album ‘Wild World’ on May 29 and also shared the title track from the record. You can listen to that here. The album will be Moore’s first full length studio release in almost three years, though he did share the ‘Room to Spare: The Acoustic Sessions’ EP in November 2018. Speaking about the record, Moore said that while these times are certainly very challenging, he hopes that his new music can help even just one person, while also stating that he always tries to make music that connects with others. “I know it’s an unsettling time for a lot of people right now, and so my hope is that this music can bring even just one person some peace,” Moore said. “I try to make music that reaches people in a pure sense – something that’s light and easy to carry with you, but 1000 pounds of weight at the same time and I think ‘Wild World’ is just a depiction of what I see. “Life is one crazy, wild ride. But it can be so simple if we look for the right things and I think that is more important than ever right now.” In 2019, Kip Moore headlined The Long Road Festival in Leicestershire and also had two other UK headline tours.

Joe Diffie, a huge country music artist in the ’90s and a Grammy Award winner, has sadly passed away aged 61 after contracting COVID-19. Diffie had become the first country music star to go public with his diagnosis after revealing the news on March 27, but just two days later had died following complications from the virus. The artist, who was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, won a Grammy in 1998 for Best Country Collaboration for  Same Old Train with Merle Haggard, Marty Stuart, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and a host of other artists, while his albums ‘Third Rock From the Sun’ and ‘Honky Tonk Attitude’ both went platinum. In addition, Diffie had five US Number One singles in the Country Chart, including Bigger Than The Beatles, If The Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets) and Pickup Man. Joe Diffie was also a member of the Grand Ole Opry and had been for 25 years, while he was also inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame for his contributions to the country music genre. Back in 2012, two years after Diffie released what proved to be his final solo album in ‘The Bluegrass Album: Homecoming’, the artist was cited in Jason Aldean’s track ‘1994’, which was meant as a homage to the artist.  

Kane Brown has joined forces with John Legend on his latest release Last Time I Say Sorry, which is his first single of 2020. You can listen to it here. The collaboration is something of a shock, though it isn’t the first time that Brown has linked up with high profile artists in other genres – most notably One Thing Right with Marshmello. The track was co-written between the two, in addition to Matt McGinn and Andrew Goldstein – the latter of which also producing the track, which came about after Legend and Brown met backstage on an episode of The Voice. Brown was there to perform Homesick, while Legend was a coach on the show and the two hit it off and agreed to head into the studio to get something down. Kane Brown has very much made the most of 2020 so far, with the artist also performing his first ever UK date at a sold out O2 Kentish Town Forum in London and this single now represents the next step. Brown’s last album, the Platinum certified ‘Experiment’, came out in November 2018 and there is speculation that a new album could be emerging at some stage this year, though we will have to wait and see on that front.

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real have unveiled the video for their latest single Movie In My Mind, which is taken from their upcoming album ‘Naked Garden’. You can watch the video below and pre-order the album here. [wpdevart_youtube]lu7xVZ2rnHE[/wpdevart_youtube] So far, the band have shared Civilized Hell (Alternate Version) and Couldn’t Break Your Heart from the 15-song album, which contains 10 original songs and five alternate versions of songs that appeared on the group’s most recent release, ‘Turn Off The News (Build a Garden)’. The upcoming album – due for release on March 27 – is to be produced by Promise of the Real and John Alagia and is set to be quite minimalistic in terms of general production, providing a more intimate feel. 2019 was a very good year for Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, with a headline date at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London and a very well received set on the Park Stage at Glastonbury 2019 just two of the highlights of that 12 month period. ‘Turn Off The News (Build a Garden)’ was also critically acclaimed by many, including the UK Americana Music Association and ourselves at Maverick, which has further fuelled anticipation for what is to come on ‘Naked Garden’.

The C2C organisers will be releasing a statement on March 27 that directly relates to the postponed 2020 event and everything that comes with that. C2C 2020 was set to take place between March 13-15 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival was postponed on the eve of the festival. An initial statement advised ticket holders to keep hold of what they had rather than seek a refund as it seemed that rescheduled dates were being looked at, but we now have a concrete statement in relation to what comes next. “We’d like to thank every ticket holder for their patience at this time,” the statement read. “As you can imagine we were devastated that the festival could not take place. We have been working tirelessly to rectify the situation. “We’re now in a position where things are looking much clearer to us in regards to C2C and with the final pieces moving into place, we will be making a follow-up announcement on Friday.” C2C 2020 was set to be headlined by Luke Combs, Darius Rucker and Eric Church, while Brett Young, Tanya Tucker, Jordan Davis, The Cadillac Three, Eric Paslay, Tenille Townes, Abby Anderson, Old Country Medicine Show, Charles Esten, Runaway June and Old Dominion – who were later replaced by The Shires – were due to perform on the Main Stage.

The ACM Awards have been rescheduled to September 16 as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic that is sweeping the world. The awards, which are set to be hosted by reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year Keith Urban, were initially set to be hosted on April 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, but the outbreak has forced the hand of the organisers to find an alternative date later on this year. When it eventually takes place, Thomas Rhett and Maren Morris are both set for a busy night in Las Vegas as both have five nominations each at the showpiece event. Rhett has been nominated for Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for ‘Center Point Road’ and Video of the Year for Remember You Young, while Morris is up for Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for ‘GIRL’, Group of the Year for her role in The Highwomen and Musical Event of the Year for her featuring role on Miranda Lambert’s Fooled Around and Fell in Love. Due to how ACM Awards work however, if an artist is a producer for an Album of the Year nominee, it technically counts as two awards as producers get one too – hence why both have five nominations.