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The end of year Top 100 Radio Airplay stats for the Americana Music Association are now in, with Hayes Carll and The Lumineers being played most. Carll’s album ‘What It Is’ secured the Number One spot on the Americana Radio Airplay Albums Chart with the most plays for the year, while The Lumineers’ single Gloria was top of the Americana Radio Airplay Singles Chart. The data is taken from the period of December 18 2018 to December 17 2019 for the Americana Music Association, who are behind the hugely important festival that is AmericanaFest. The Top 10 Americana Radio Airplay Albums of 2019 were: 1. ‘What It Is’ – Hayes Carll 2. ‘Fever Breaks’ – Josh Ritter 3. ‘III’ – The Lumineers 4. ‘Turn Off the News (Build a Garden) – Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real 5. ‘Signs’ – Tedeschi Trucks Band 6. ‘Jade Bird’ – Jade Bird 7. ‘We Get By’ – Mavis Staples 8. ‘American Love Song’ – Ryan Bingham 9. ‘Walk Through Fire’ – Yola 10. ‘Closer Than Together’ – The Avett Brothers The Top 10 Americana Radio Airplay Singles of 2019 were: 1. Gloria – The Lumineers 2. Old Black Magic – Josh Ritter 3. Bad Case – Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real 4. Stay High – Brittany Howard 5. High Steppin’ – The Avett Brothers 6. Hard Case – Tedeschi Trucks Band 7. Change – Mavis Staples 8. Jingle and Go – Ryan Bingham 9. All Your’n – Tyler Childers 10. None’ya – Hayes Carll

Kenny Chesney has delighted his American fans by announcing a special amphitheatre tour for the summer of 2020, adding to his ‘Chillaxification Tour’. Tickets for these shows go on sale in January 2020. The nine-time CMA Award winning artist will be hitting the road at the start of May, taking with him Michael Franti & Spearhead on tour with him. Given that Chesney is predominantly a stadium touring artist in America, the shows in amphitheaters have already whipped up a lot of excitement across the Atlantic, with the chance to see Chesney in a smaller environment proving to be very popular. Speaking about the decision to play such venues, Chesney said that he wanted to feel the vibe of playing in those venues once more and genuinely believes that the shows themselves are very different. “As crazy and awesome as the stadium shows are – and there’s nothing like them – there is a vibe to the amphitheater shows that only happens in those places,” Chesney said. “You look out at the lawn, you see everybody coming together, singing the songs – and it’s this community that feels so close. “I think everyone likes when we change things up. The shows are different. We make sure we play all the same songs, but there’s a looseness in the amphitheaters – and with only two acts, there’s also a different kind of intensity. Bringing Michael Franti & Spearhead is going to keep the energy up in a big way and No Shoes Nation is going to really love them.” You can find a comprehensive list of all of the US Kenny Chesney dates here.

Iconic country music star Crystal Gayle has digitally reissued her classic Christmas record ‘A Crystal Christmas’ for the very first time. You can listen to the remastered album on all streaming platforms. Much like Gayle’s recent album ‘You Don’t Know Me’, her son Christos Gatzimos worked in a production capacity and was uncharge of remastering the album, which features a number of classic Christmas tunes. Speaking about the album, Gayle recalled the mood going into the studio the first time around as well as some of her Christmas memories as a child, while also expressing her excitement that the album is now available in a digital capacity. “I recorded ‘A Crystal Christmas’ with my producer Jim Ed Norman in the early summer of 1986 for Warner Bros. Records,” Gayle said. “To help us get in the spirit we decorated the studio with candy canes and ornaments. This album is filled with my favorite traditional Christmas songs that we all grew up loving and singing. I’m excited that ‘A Crystal Christmas’ is now available digitally for the first time.” “When I was a little girl I always looked forward to Christmas. Being the last of eight children, I loved it when all my brothers and sisters came home to visit. I saved my money all year long so I could buy presents for them. “One Christmas I went to Woolworths and bought all my sisters hair nets. The only problem was I bought gray hair nets. I didn’t know you were supposed to match their hair colour. I just picked the prettiest ones. I even had money left over for candy!”

Rising Canadian country rock artist Cory Marks has released his second single, Better Off, which also comes with a music video. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]yoNkYZYn0B0[/wpdevart_youtube] The single comes hot on the heels of the release of Outlaws & Outsiders, which was only released less than a month ago, with it being apparent that Marks is very much looking to generate some momentum in the country rock world. Speaking about the video itself, Marks said that he had a lot of fun recording everything and hailed his director Blake Judd for not only the finished product, but also for capturing the exact essence of what Marks wanted to convey. “I had a great time on set while making this video,” Marks said. “Blake did a great job showing love and loss while not being too obvious about but still capturing great moments in and out of the relationship.” It’s fair to say that Marks has made quite the impression in a very short space of time, with Outlaws & Outsiders – which features Ivan Moody, Travis Tritt and Mick Mars – debuting at Number One on the Billboard Top Rock, Hard Rock Digital Songs and Country Digital Song sales charts. In addition, the song peaked at Number One on the iTunes Country Songs Chart in Canada, while it reached Number Five in both the UK and Australia. Cory Marks is already pencilled in for a busy 2020, touring his home nation of Canada with fellow Canadian country artist Gord Bamford.

Ferris & Sylvester have brought the curtain down on a momentous year for themselves by releasing the music video for recent single I Dare You. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]WP1nIUVAmMs[/wpdevart_youtube] The pair – made up of Issy Ferris and Archie Sylvester – have had one hell of a year, performing at Glastonbury, SXSW(South by South West)  in Austin, Texas and Black Deer Festival among other high profile slots, while they also embarked on their own headline tour, selling out several well sized venues. I Dare You was released at the end of August and speaking about the video, the duo said in a statement that they wanted viewers to get a feel of what it felt like to play the song every night, while also offering a somewhat darker side to them that they wanted people to be aware of. “It felt right to create something bold and vibrant,” the duo said. “We shot the video whilst we were on tour and wanted to capture how it felt to play the song night after night. “The song is angry and aggressive and we were keen to throw all of that at it. It certainly shows a darker shade of us and we’re proud to have to out there.” Ferris & Sylvester have also been declared as ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris’ Emerging Artist for the 2020 UK Americana Awards, following in the footsteps of Robert Vincent, Wildwood Kin – who, coincidentally, Ferris & Sylvester supported on an Under the Apple tree Sessions Tour earlier this year –and Curse of Lono. There’s no let up for the pair either as at the start of 2020, they will be touring Europe with Jade Bird.