Exclusives

Carly Pearce has shared the third single from her upcoming self-titled second album – due on February 14 – with Call Me now being available to all. You can see a lyric video below. [wpdevart_youtube]u8ySA26Wr2c[/wpdevart_youtube] Call Me, which appears to be about her husband Michael Ray, follows in the footsteps of her duet with Lee Brice in It Won’t Always Be Like This and I Hope You’re Happy Now, which is currently doing the rounds on country radio. Speaking about the single on her Instagram page, Pearce said that as soon as the late producer busbee, whose last work was Pearce’s upcoming album, came to her with the track, she grabbed it with both hands as it felt incredibly relevant to her personal life. “From the minute busbee sent me this song that he wrote with my gal Emily Shackleton and the boys from Little Big Town, I knew I had to cut it,” Pearce quipped. “Gimme alllll the sass, because after all…. I DID slide into Michael Ray’s DM’s.” Given that her album isn’t due for another six weeks or so, it is highly likely that Pearce will share another track from her record before it is released – though considering it is 13 tracks in length, it’s worth taking into account that she has already shared basically a third of it with the general public. 2020 is shaping to to be a very busy year for Carly Pearce, who in addition to releasing her second album, already has several American dates pencilled in over the coming months – including a date at the Ryman in Nashville on January 18. All dates are available here. Last year, the Kentucky born/Nashville based artist was a Main Stage act at C2C and was very much warmly received by those in attendance at London, Glasgow and Dublin.

Hot Country Knights – fronted by Dierks Bentley using an alias – have signed with UMG Nashville and are planning to “bring real 90s country music back.” You can watch a video of their signing below. [wpdevart_youtube]t7keuw5uhAY[/wpdevart_youtube] The firmly tongue in cheek group consists of Bentley’s road band, who play a host of 90s country music covers while dressed in wigs and some of the most extravagant clothes from the decade. Bentley himself goes under the name Douglas ‘Doug’ Douglason for the group and a press release from UMG Nashville claimed that the group were going to “bring real ’90s country music back to a format that’s been drowning in male sensitivity, cashmere cardigan sweaters and programmed drum loops.” Speaking about the record deal, Douglason/Bentley said that country music could very much use a shot in the arm and that Hot Country Knights are exactly what the genre needs. “Some artists out there tried to put the ‘O’ back in country, that was a thing for a while…. but what it’s really missing is the ‘T,’” Douglason/Bentley said. “Country music has Low-T right now…it could use a pick me up, if you know what I mean. Those record label people over at Universal finally realised that only the Knights could be up to a task this big and hard.” UMG Nashville work with Bentley on his solo ventures, meaning that both his music and the soon to be released music from Hot Country Knights will all fall under the umbrella of that label.

Carrie Underwood is standing down as host of the CMA Awards after 12 years of doing so, saying that it’s “time to pass the hosting torch.” While Underwood is very much known for her music first and foremost, she had become a staple of the CMA Awards for her hosting, which began in 2007. At the 53rd CMA Awards in November 2019, Underwood controversially missed out on the Entertainer of the Year Award, which went to Garth Brooks for the third time in four years, with many believing that 2019 would be Underwood’s year. Speaking about her decision on her Instagram page, Underwood said that she doesn’t feel she can keep topping previous years and that being allowed to host the awards is something that she feels so lucky and grateful to have been able to do, while also saying that she has got a lot of things coming in 2020. “One of the highlights of 2019 and of my entire career so far was being on stage with the legends that are Reba and Dolly Parton,” Underwood said. ” I’m so proud that we could celebrate the incredible female artists that are part of the legacy of country music, past, present and future and I’m thankful for the huge audiences all over the world that tuned in to see it. “It’s hard to believe that it was my 12th year hosting and I will always treasure every show, from the 11 that I was so lucky to do with my partner in crime and friend for life, Brad Paisley, to sharing the stage with two of my all-time heroes. I’m so incredibly grateful to everyone involved with the CMA Awards all these years. “It’s hard to imagine topping what we have accomplished together, so I’ve decided that it’s time to pass the hosting torch (at least for now!) to others that will cherish it and honour it as much as I do. “I’ve got so many exciting things coming in the new year and beyond, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for all of us.”  

Luke Bryan has said in an interview with Country Aircheck that he feels he cannot win when it comes to his standing within the genre of country music. The two-time CMA Award Entertainer of the Year winning artist has had a very fruitful career in the genre, with hits like Kick the Dust Up and Strip It Down making him a household name in the States. However, when Bryan was recently asked about where he stands within country music, he said that he will always divide people one way or the other, but said that he will not get involved with calling people out for their musical stance, while also expressing his bafflement that certain legends within the genre believe that we should go back in time to make new music. “One minute I’m the saviour of country music, the next, I’ve ruined it,” Bryan said. “I will never be the guy who criticises and bellyaches about how someone makes music and a living for themselves. I’ve had it happen to me. So I’m never going to be that guy. “I’ve heard legends say, ’I wish country music would go back to…’ – I don’t really understand why we would spend a lot of time trying to sound like people in the 80s and 90s. I get what people are trying to say, but you have to find your own sound.” Bryan already has several dates lined up for 2020 in America and there is a legitimate chance that we could see new music from the American Idol judge soon, given that his last album – ‘What Makes You Country’ – was released in 2017.

Ahead of what will be a fairly lengthy UK and European tour, Logan Mize has released a new song in the shape of I Ain’t Gotta Grow Up. You can listen to the track here. The song is the first piece of music to be released from Mize since he put out the ‘From the Vault’ EP in May this year, with it seeming like the Kansas born artist is very much in a strong creative place right now. The last album Mize released, ‘Come Back Road’, came out in July 2017. Mize’s relationship with the UK and Europe is constantly growing, partially due to him clocking up some serious air miles this year, with appearances at C2C, The Long Road Festival and now this tour – which also incorporates Country Music Week. Logan Mize will be playing: October 18 – The Black Box, Belfast, Northern Ireland October 19 – The Blind Cobbler, Omagh, Northern Ireland October 21 – Oran More, Glasgow, Scotland October 22 – Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes, England October 23 – Night & Day Cafe, Manchester, England October 24 – Bush Hall, London, England* *Country Music Week

Recently, Ireland singer/songwriter Megan O’Neill supported the iconic Sir Tom Jones on some of his UK dates and spoke to Maverick about her experiences and what she has planned for the rest of 2019 How did the opportunity to support Tom Jones come about? My management just called me up a few weeks ago and asked me if I was busy on July 13, so I said I was available and they asked if I fancied supporting Tom Jones! That one show expanded into three shows, so thank you to my management as it’s been amazing. How did you find the gigs? Unbelievable. I was definitely quite scared for the first one because I’ve never played in front of 15,000 people before, but the crowds were just amazing. The crew were lovely and everyone made you feel right at home, so it was thoroughly enjoyable. I actually thought I’d be a lot more scared than I was. It can actually be more intimidating playing to a small room of people where you can see everybody’s faces instead of a large football field full of people. There’s more engagement when it’s close up and when you’re in a more intimate setting to the point you can hear a pin drop – sometimes that’s actually scarier. I thought I’d be really terrified, but actually, it was fine after I got through the first few songs. Did you get a chance to speak to him about much? He did ask me about my career, what I was getting up to and how I found the shows with him so far, but we didn’t get a long enough chat to delve into the life side of things! Have you got much else planned for the rest of 2019? I’m pretty much touring consistently from September to December. There are some shows already announced, but there’s a lot more to be announced in the next few weeks and we’ll also be dropping two singles from the new album – one in September and the other I believe in November.  

Following his set on the Park Stage at Glastonbury 2019, Lukas Nelson spoke to Maverick about his experiences at the festival, his headline show at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London and how his latest album – ‘Turn Off the News (Build a Garden) had been received It’s always a big deal for any artist, but how did you personally find Glastonbury? I found it to be beautiful. I really love the energy here, I really like the connection to the Stonehenge ancient pagan sort of vibe – I’m fascinated by that history and I think that it all ties into native cultures in the whole world. Being close to this land gives me an energetic charge and it makes me happy. Glastonbury is a festival for everyone and caters for all music tastes – though it does mean you had a crowd that wasn’t necessarily 100% country or Americana focussed. How did you find the audience? I found that they were receptive and energetic and it almost seemed like like they were discovering us. A lot of folk out there probably didn’t know who we were and I think that’s a beautiful thing. We’ve come to another country and reached new people and I think by the end we had everybody rocking – a few were singing along to the words and it’s really humbling to know people listen to your music. We’ve been to Europe a few times and every time we come here the crowd grows, so it’s a good trajectory to be a part of. Just before you came to Glastonbury, you played Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London – how was that? That was fantastic. That was an incredible show. We had a little over 1200 people there I think and it was just a packed, beautiful theatre. That was 600 more than we had last time in London when we played the Garage, so to double it and come to Shepherd’s Bush was great. A lot of music lovers were out here at Glastonbury, but hopefully next year we can sell it out and play for crowds of 2000 people. You’ve got a new record out in ‘Turn Off the News (Build a Garden)’ – how has the initial reaction been to it so far? It debuted at No. 1 in the country charts and it’s been at No. 7 in the rock charts and it’s made a lot of the charts and that’s a good thing – that’s really great. The idea is to get it on the radio so it spreads more, but I don’t think this type of music really dies – it will always have its place. Rock and roll will never die, as they say. I think heart music, soul based music, music based on personal growth, discovery and epiphany and music enthused with positivity – it’s always going to have a place and I will always have a career. I don’t need to be No. 1 all the time because I’d rather make a true connection with a few people than a superficial connection with many. What strikes most from the album is the chemistry between you and your bandmates – how long does it take to achieve that kind of connection? All of us as musicians are dedicated musicians to the education of music. That’s to learning about our instruments and mastering our instruments, to listening well to each other. It’s very much a symbiosis between your bandmates and you, where all of you are there for the same reasons and interested in only improving yourself, making yourself more efficient as a band member – in my case, as a band leader – and the comradery between us, the experiences we share…all of these things build towards our telekinesis between each other.  I spent a lot of time on music – it didn’t necessarily come as naturally as one might think. I spent hours and hours working and that’s the thing. I think that if anybody spends hours doing what they love they are going to master it, eventually. You are just going to take time – like years and years. You’ve got to put in that time. The only thing that I did was choose guitar and choose songwriting and I just dove in as much as I could. It doesn’t matter if somebody chooses to master Logic or Pro-Tools or is somebody who chooses to master a synthesiser or a computer – whatever. If they put in that amount of time, they are going to have success I think.

The Ramblin’ Man Fair 2019 Outlaw Country Stage has been announced and Kenny Wayne Shepherd will headline it once again, having done so in 2017. The festival takes place between July 19-21. Shepherd is among good company on the bill and is joined by a number of rockier country acts, such as Jesse Dayton and Wille and the Bandits, with the festival catering for classic rock, Southern rock, blues, prog rock and country rock fans. The festival itself will be headlined by The Darkness, Black Stone Cherry and Foreign, while acts such as Airbourne, Beth Hart, Kris Barras, Cheap Trick and Ellis Bailey will be appearing throughout the weekend. 2019 is shaping up to be a very busy year for Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who has also just released his latest album ‘The Traveler’ and has a two-part UK tour in support of that. The first part of the tour covers the summer and will see Shepherd perform three headline dates in addition to Ramblin’ Man, while the second part of the tour will see him embark on a five-date headline venture in the winter – including a date at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on London. Tickets are available here. Kenny Wayne Shepherd will play: July 17 – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, England July 18 – Leadmill, Sheffield, England July 19 – City Hall, Salisbury, England July 20 – Ramblin’ Man Fair, Maidstone, England November 9 – Cheese and Grain Festival, Frome, England November 11 – Cambridge Junction, Cambridge, England November 12 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, England November 13 – Opera House, Buxton, England November 14 – Town Hall, Birmingham, England

Australian artist Morgan Evans is set for a busy summer and will be back in the UK and Ireland for five dates, including a slot at The Long Road Festival.  Maverick caught up with the singer-songwriter to find out his thoughts.  So Morgan, you’re coming back to the UK later this year – excited? I’m so excited! I’m excited about coming to the UK, I’m excited about playing my own shows and getting to play a bunch of songs from my album for the first time and I’m excited about kicking off my first world tour in the UK. This is the first chance we’ve had to speak to you since the album was released – how have you found the reception to the album? It’s been incredible. It’s been incredible to see all the response and social media allows that to be instant now. I honestly believe – and I don’t know who said it first – that whenever you’re writing a song it’s yours, whenever you’re recording a song, whenever you’re mixing a song and whenever you’re choosing the artwork and all that sort of stuff, it’s your song. But then when you release it, it becomes everyone else’s and it’s up to them how to interpret it and to see if they like it. Out of all the music in the world, I love the fact that these songs are finding homes with people in their memories and in their lives. It’s a crazy feeling and as nerve-wracking as it is to release something like that, the pay off when people are digging it is the reason you do all of that. It’s been incredible to read all the comments on social media These UK shows will be the first real chance you’d have had to play songs from ‘Things That We Drink To’, to audiences over here, how are you feeling about that?  I get so many comments on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook with people saying “come back to the UK!” I was over there really briefly for C2C 2018 and the reception was so warm and so welcoming and, to be honest, really bloody loud and that just made me excited to get back and play my own shows. I feel like, UK aside, it’s going to be the first time I get to play a lot of these songs from the new album for the first time. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road and opening up for people where you only get half an hour or 45 minutes to play, so there’s a lot of music that you leave on the table. At these shows, I’m really stoked to stretch the set out and share the album as much as possible. You’re playing The Borderline in London, which is a really cool venue. How do you feel about playing club shows? I love it, man. I love playing smaller rooms like that and I love being able to look into people’s eyes in the audience as they’re singing or smiling or in the moment. Obviously playing huge places is a big thrill, but when you actually have that real human contact and you can reach out and kind of literally touch it, it’s pretty special. I feel like all the smaller rooms that I get to play are in legendary cities and getting to play my own show in London is a pretty big deal for a guy from Australia and I feel like these are the kind of shows I’m going to remember forever. You’re also playing The Long Road Festival in September, I’m guessing you’re hyped for that?  Absolutely! There’s a lot of great artists playing that too – I’m a big fan of Kip Moore as a person and a musician and I love the guys from LANCO, too. I only have one festival experience in the UK other than C2C and that was playing the Buckle and Boots festival. That was just a riot, it was a party in a field and I’m excited to get over and play. I feel like the country fans in the UK are similar to the country fans in Australia in that they’re just real, true music fans. You’ll play and they won’t just sing the singles, they’ll sing the words to every song on the record and as a songwriter, that’s like the pay off for all of the stuff that you get to do. For those who haven’t seen you before, what can UK fans expect from a Morgan Evans gig?  Man, it’s me – I have a one-man show and it seems to grow with every tour that I do! It started off with me and a loop station and now it’s me with a keyboard and a loop station…now it’s a banjo and some electric guitars and it’s growing every day. In short, it’ll be me, but it’ll be me making as much noise as I’ve ever made on a stage. And it’s fun – from someone who used to play with a band, the most connection I’ve ever had with an audience is being up there by myself and getting to create a moment live every night.