Exclusives

Willie Nelson has taken the decision to delay his forthcoming album ‘First Rose of Spring’ until July 3 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. You can pre-order the album here. Initially, the album from Nelson was due to be released on April 24, but has now been shelved until July – presumably as a direct result of the pandemic, which has forced a number of other artists to push back their record releases and postpone their tours. So far, Nelson has released two songs from the record in his Chris Stapleton cover of Our Song and the title track and the record would’ve been his first since he won Best Country Solo Performance for Ride Me Back Home at the 2020 Grammy Awards. The tracklisting for ‘First Rose of Spring’ by Willie Nelson is: 1. First Rose of Spring – (Randy Houser, Allen Shamblin, Mark Beeson) 2. Blue Star – (Willie Nelson, Buddy Cannon) 3. I’ll Break Out Again Tonight – (Sanger ‘Whitey’ Shafer, Doodle Owens) 4. Don’t Let The Old Man In – (Toby Keith) 5. Just Bummin’ Around – (Pete Graves) 6. Our Song – (Chris Stapleton) 7. We Are the Cowboys – (Billy Joe Shaver) 8. Stealing Home (Marla Cannon-Goodman, Casey Beathard, Don Sampson) 9. I’m The Only Hell My Mama Ever Raised – (Wayne Kemp, Bobby Borchers, Mack Vickery) 10. Love Just Laughed –(Nelson, Cannon) 11. Yesterday When I Was Young (Hier Encore) – (Charles Aznavour, Herbert Kretzmer)

The Shires have been unsuccessful in their quest to achieve a career first UK Number One album as Niall Horan pipped them to the punch. The duo – made up of Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes – were leading the former One Direction man in the midweek charts with their fourth record ‘Good Years’, but a late surge saw Horan pull away and claim his first UK Number One album with ‘Heartbreak Weather’. In the end, The Shires came third – with Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent’ clinging onto second spot after 44 weeks in the album charts – meaning that their career peak in the UK Album Charts remains at number three, which is where ‘My Universe’ and ‘Accidentally on Purpose’ both charted. However, it is almost certain that the duo will pick up their fourth UK Country Number One album, given the position in which ‘Good Years’ finished on a national scale. Prior to C2C being postponed, the duo were set to become the first British act to be billed as a Main Stage act following Old Dominion’s cancellation, while they are also scheduled to go out on an extensive UK tour. Given the current pandemic though, it seems only a matter of time until the group have to reschedule their dates as their tour is set to start at the end of April.  

The country music world has been rocked after iconic artist Kenny Rogers passed away at the age of 81 from natural causes. Rogers had a hugely successful career, winning six CMA Awards and three Grammy Awards in an illustrious life that lasted 60 years and saw him claim 24  Number One songs. Some of those singles are hailed as some of the best country tracks of all time, including the likes of Lucille, The Gambler and his duet with Dolly Parton, Islands in the Stream. In 2013, Rogers performed the legend slot at Glastonbury Festival and his song The Gambler, which was used as something of an anthem for England’s 2007 rugby World Cup campaign, was performed twice. Later on that year, Rogers was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame while the Texas born artist was also inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017. His family confirmed the news and speaking in a statement, they hailed the impact that Rogers had left on the not only the genre of country music, but for American music as a whole. “Kenny Rogers left an indelible mark on the history of American music,” the statement read. “His songs have endeared music lovers and touched the lives of millions around the world.

Four-time Grammy Award winner Jason Isbell will be returning to the UK and Ireland in November with The 400 Unit for three dates – one in London, one in Manchester and one in Dublin. Tickets are available here. Isbell will be touring to support his upcoming album, ‘Reunions’, which is due for release on May 15 and will mark his seventh studio album. His last two albums peaked at Number One on the US Country Chart, while they both also charted in the Top 10 of the US all-genre album charts – ‘Something More Than Free’ peaked at six and ‘The Nashville sound’ peaked at four. The new album is described as “a seamless collection of ten new songs that delve into relationships with lovers, friends, children, parents and one’s self,” while the first hit of music comes in the shape of new single Be Afraid. The dates are part of Isbell’s European tour, which will also see him perform ten dates across the continent and venture into places such as Sweden, Germany and Holland. The date in London will be at the Eventim Apollo, which is a huge upgrade in size from his previous exploits in the English capital, when he performed double nights at London’s HMV Forum and one night at the Roundhouse. Jason Isbell will be playing: November 7 – Stockholm Waterfront, Stockholm, Sweden November 8 – Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark November 10 – Festsaal Kreuzberg, Berlin, Germany November 11 – Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands November 12 – Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands November 14 – De Roma, Antwerp, Belgium November 15 – Gloria Theater, Cologne, Germany November 17 – Eventim Apollo, London, England November 18 – Albert Hall, Manchester, England November 19 – Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Ireland

Grammy nominated sister duo Larkin Poe have revealed that their fifth studio album ‘Self Made Man’ will be released on May 1. You can pre-order the album here. The duo, made up of Atlanta born but Nashville based Rebecca and Megan Lovell, have made huge strides in recent years as a duo, with the pair taking their brand of American roots rock all round the world. Speaking about the record, the sisters said that it is an upbeat album that reflects on the previous 10 years that they have shared as a duo and that it is intended to highlight some of the better times. “Life is all about balance,” Rebecca said. “Sometimes it’s sweet, sometimes it’s sour. With She’s A Self Made Man, I wanted to write a song about the up-and-down ride that Megan and I have been on for the past 10 years of building Larkin Poe. It’s hard to know who you are and it can take time to figure out what your purpose is, but I feel thankful that in recent years, my own feelings have started to click and make sense. Knowing and accepting yourself: that is empowerment.” “This is, in a lot of ways, is the first lyrically uplifting record we’ve made,” Megan added. “People can go through terrible things. People can weather immeasurable sorrow and hard times and yet we can still come out on the other side, pull ourselves together and thrive. This record reflects some of the joy and positivity that we ourselves feel and appreciate.” The tracklisting for ‘Self Made Man’ by Larkin Poe is: 1. Self Made Man 2. Holy Ghost Fire 3. Keep Diggin’ 4. Back Down South (ft. Tyler Bryant) 5. Tears of Blue to Gold 6. God Moves on the Water 7. Every Bird That Flies 8. Scorpion 9. Ex-Con 10. Easy Street

The Shires are in pole position for their first ever UK Number One album, as their fourth record ‘Good Years’ is currently leading the way in the midweek charts. You can read our review of the record here. The duo – made up of Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes – have been very successful in the UK Country charts, with all three of their previous albums reaching the top spot, but they are yet to claim a Number One in the all-genre chart, with ‘My Universe’ and ‘Accidentally on Purpose’ both peaking at Number Three. The duo will face stern competition from former One Direction member Niall Horan however, whose second solo album ‘Heartbreak Weather’ is hot on the heels of ‘Good Years’ in second place. Speaking about the news, the duo said in a statement that they are very thankful to everyone who has ordered the record and also expressed their regret at not being able to play at C2C over the weekend, following the festival’s postponement. “We are so grateful to every single person that has bought ‘Good Years’,” the duo said. “We set out to make a positive, uplifting record and we hope it brings some joy to people right now at this difficult time. “We were so sad not to be able to play C2C last weekend, but it’s great to see our community coming together this week for (fingers crossed) a UK Country #1.” The only other possible new rival for The Shires is UK indie rock band Circa Waves, whose latest album ‘Sad Happy’ is currently sitting in fourth in its first week of sales, while Lewis Capaldi remains at three with ‘Definitely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent’.