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Lil Nas X’s remix of Old Town Road featuring Billy Ray Cyrus has won a CMA Award for Musical Event of the Year ahead of tonight’s awards. Duo Maddie & Tae revealed the news on ‘Good Morning America’ from downtown Nashville, while the pair also announced that Kacey Musgraves’ Rainbow has won Music Video of the Year. Old Town Road spent a colossal 19 weeks as US Number One – a new US record – in the wake of the song controversially being removed from the Billboard Country charts. The song was performed by Cyrus and Lil Nas X at the Nissan Stadium for CMA Fest 2019 and on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury, after Cyrus’ daughter Miley invited the two onto the stage midway through her performance. The CMA Awards – now in its 53rd incarnation – will be taking place later on tonight (November 13) at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, with Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton co-presenting this year’s awards.  

Morgan Evans has shared the first piece of music post ‘Things That We Drink To’ in the shape of Diamonds, which is a song about his wife, Kelsea Ballerini. You can listen to the song here. For the first time in his career, Evans used a live band to record the song, which he co-wrote with Chris Destefano and Evan ‘Kidd’ Bogart in Nashville. Speaking about the track, Evans explained that it’s a very deep meaning song about Ballerini and that he called the shots when it came to picking who played what when it came to the session recording. “I wrote Diamonds for my wife and I’m so stoked to release it as a single,” Evans said.“It’s a fun love song, but deeper than that it celebrates that journey from lost to found you feel when you meet that person and everything changes forever. “I handpicked my dream band for the session and I can hear each of their personalities in the record. It just sounds really fresh to me, I’m really proud of that and I can’t wait to start playing it live.” Evans is currently embarking on a world tour and has also been pencilled in to headline CMC Rocks 2020 alongside Miranda Lambert and Kip Moore.

The British Country Music Association (BCMA) had their awards ceremony on November 9, with Remember Monday, Ward Thomas and Jade Helliwell picking up notable recognition. Helliwell picked up two awards on the night – one for UK Video of the Year for Drive and one for UK Song of the Year for Stormchaser – while Ward Thomas took home UK Album of the Year for ‘Restless Minds’. Remember Monday won the coveted UK Horizon Award, while Stevie O’Connor claimed the UK Entertainer of the Year Award. Elsewhere, Gasoline & Matches won UK Duo of the Year and Kezia Gill won UK Female Vocalist. In addition to UK acts, there was an international aspect as well, with Luke Combs winning International Album of the Year for ‘The Prequel’ and American Young winning International Touring Act. Baylen Leonard was also recognised by being given the UK Services to Industry Award, while the BCMA Breakthrough Artist Award was given to Twinnie. The full list of winners are: UK Horizon Award – Remember Monday UK Duo of the Year – Gasoline & Matches UK Album of the Year – ‘Restless Minds’ by Ward Thomas UK Musician of the Year – Luke Thomas UK Video of the Year – Drive by Jade Helliwell UK Male Vocalist – Gary Quinn UK Group of the Year – The Wandering Hearts UK Song of the Year – Stormchaser by Jade Helliwell UK Female Vocalist – Kezia Gill UK Entertainer of the Year – Stevie O’Connor Best Original UK Festival – Buckle & Boots UK Services to Industry Award – Baylen Leonard Breakthrough Artist Award – Twinnie International Touring Act – American Young International Song of the Year – Blessed  by Lewis Brice International Album of the Year – ‘The Prequel’ by Luke Combs International Services to Industry – Milly Olykan

Katy Hurt has released the latest track from her ‘Unfinished Business’ EP in the form of the self-titled track from the five-track record. You can watch the lyric video below. [wpdevart_youtube]3simw2b2ctM[/wpdevart_youtube] The song follows in the footsteps of See Ya Later, Revved Up and Natchez, as Hurt seeks to finish what has been a remarkable 2019 in emphatic fashion. Speaking about the song, Hurt said that when she got to work with her guitarist, Gab Zsapka, the song basically tumbled out and that the more she performs the song, the more she realised it came from her musicianship. “This song was the first time I ever allowed myself to be truly honest in my writing,” Hurt said. “When Gab and I sat down it was almost like the song flowed out. There are people I love that I feel are ‘Unfinished Business’, that I want to spend more time with, but I also want my audience to know that without their support I wouldn’t be able to do what I love. “The more I’ve played it live, the more I realised that it also came from the musician side of me too. Every time we play it live, it becomes clearer to me that the audience is my unfinished business: they are the ones I want to see again and keeping bringing on my journey as I grow as an artist. I always start the song by thanking them for their support and it’s become a really important part of my set.” Hurt is currently on tour around the UK, with all remaining dates and tickets available here.

CMA Award nominated Carly Pearce has announced that she will be releasing her second album on February 14 2020, which will be self-titled. You can pre-save the album here. The record comes about two-and-a-half years since Pearce’s astonishing debut release, ‘Every Little Thing’ and represents the next step for the artist, who was recently nominated for New Artist of the Year at the 2019 CMA Awards. Speaking about the album, Pearce said that a lot has happened to her in the time gap between ‘Every Little Thing’ and this next step, though she is also dedicating her album to her late producer. “So much has happened to me in the last few years,” Pearce said. “My fans have changed my life and given my music a home in this world. I grew up, let go of things that needed to go, fell in love, fell on my face, went through some hell and found ‘Carly’ fully for the first time ever. “This record is dedicated to my late producer, busbee. It’s the last full record he made and one that I am so very proud of. Thank you for bringing these songs to life. I can’t wait to honour you and hear/see how people connect to what we created.” Pearce had a very eventful 2019 as she performed on the Main Stage for C2C 2019 and also married fellow country singer Michael Ray.

Frazey Ford has released her first piece of new music in five years with her new single The Kids Are Having None Of It, which is an activism inspired track. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]Tge9e-DJhAM[/wpdevart_youtube] Speaking about the song, Ford said that it came from seeing all of the movements that we see on a regular basis, while the cast involved are all people that have been known to her and her family. “This song came out of a desire to envision change as though it has already happened and to champion the incredible movements that we’re seeing right now,” Ford said. “Beyond our collective fear and anger about what is and isn’t happening, to create an image of the wave of change that most of us would like to see. “The cast of the video are all close friends, mums and neighbourhood kids that my son grew up with. We had a beautiful day, being together. I think the love of community, real relationships, and the willingness to include the experiences of others is the real basis of activism.” While there hasn’t been an album announcement as such, it is expected that Ford will be releasing something in the near future.

Sean McConnell will once again be returning to the UK and Europe, this time for a headline tour that will be starting in February 2020. Tickets go on sale November 8 at 10am. McConnell has been over on UK soil three times in 2019 – firstly supporting Ashley Monroe, secondly appearing at The Long Road Festival and thirdly supporting Ashley McBryde – but will now be embarking on his first ever headline tour outside of America. The tour includes dates in key cities such as London, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin and Manchester when it comes to the UK and Ireland, while he will also be venturing to Amsterdam, Berlin, Stockholm and Oslo on his European adventure. Sean McConnell will be playing: February 7 – The Crofters Rights, Bristol, England February 8 – The Poetry Club, Glasgow, Scotland February 9 – Limelight 2, Belfast, Northern Ireland February 11 – Whelan’s, Dublin, Republic of Ireland February 12 – Castle Hotel, Manchester, England February 13 – St Pancras Old Church, London, England February 15 – Paradiso-Noord (Tuinzaal), Amsterdam, Netherlands February 16 – Musik & Frieden, Berlin, Germany February 17 – Nochtwache, Hamburg, Germany February 19 – Kulturkvarteret, Kristianstad, Sweden February 20 – Twang, Stockholm, Sweden February 21 – Tryckhallen, Falkenberg, Sweden February 22 – Krosset, Oslo, Norway

Fender products are always of interest, so Lifestyle Editor Eric Dahl couldn’t wait to get his hands on their new Vintera series Fender Musical Instruments showcased their best and newest products at Summer Namm in Nashville and one of these was the Vintera Series, with years of development going into creating a line of vintage-inspired iconic instruments from the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. Speaking with Al Abbassi, Fender Senior Product Development Manager, examples of each model were sought out, compared and used as the basis for creating the Vintera instruments – from period correct neck shapes, pickups, hardware and expanded finish options. The major models reflected include the Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Mustang, Precision bass, Jazz bass and Mustang bass, while some models are “Modified” versions, meaning that they have modern player updates that were not offered in the time period they were originally made. I’m a fan of the original designs, but I like the “Modified” designs because players through the years had specific needs for modifications to their guitars and Fender embraced those in the Vintera line. Another expansion in the line that originally launched in the ‘70s was the addition of the Deluxe, Custom and Thinline Telecasters. I played all of the ones that I could at the Fender booth but didn’t have enough time to play them all – and believe me I wanted to! For a hands-on review, Maverick Country received the Vintera Series ‘60s Telecaster with Bigsby B5 vibrato in white blonde with a Pau Ferro fretboard.  When it first arrived at the office and I removed it from the Fender gig bag, the guitar was a real stunner that everyone wanted to see and play! Having played an actual 1960s Fender Telecaster, the neck profile of the Vintera model felt almost identical to vintage pieces I have handled. The Bigsby vibrato adds to the weight of the body, but since it is factory installed, the setup was amazing. The attention to detail, such as the pickups, pickguard and hardware truly shine through on this guitar, while the tuners are much more efficient than vintage models and I prefer the attachment method Fender is utilising now on the back of the headstock to make it seamless. The ‘60s style C neck is very comfortable to play and I prefer the density of Pau Ferro over rosewood. The body is available in the White Blond we received, or 3-Colour Sunburst and Alder or Ash wood. The ‘60s style single-coil tele pickups offer a wide gambit of sounds with the standard 3-way selector, volume and tone and pickup guru Tim Shaw was involved in re-voicing the pickups for many of the Vintera guitars. This Fender Vintera ‘60s Telecaster Bigsby also came with a Fender deluxe gig bag and I was astonished at the fit and finish of this Telecaster’s playing, all while looking like a custom shop model at a much more reasonable price. If I owned a 1960s Fender Tele, I would leave it at home and take the Vintera on the road as my player. Whatever your taste in the Fender line, you can find a guitar or bass that will fit your needs or desires in the Vintera series. Fender put a vast amount of research and development into this line and players like us are the beneficiaries of their toil. Play one of the Vintera models for yourself – vintage Fender sound and feel without the price tag! www.fender.com

Maverick’s Lifestyle Editor, Eric Dahl, has been a very busy man testing out new products and appliances, one of which being the new DX Johnny Cash Martin guitar This past September in Nashville, TN, members of the C.F. Martin Company, media representatives, John Carter Cash and Carlene Carter all gathered for the release of the new DX Johnny Cash Martin guitar. Created in collaboration with Johnny’s son, John Carter Cash and the Cash Foundation, the guitar is an affordable alternative to higher end Martins that Cash played during his career. Always ahead of his time in music and style, Johnny Cash was the first artist to receive a custom ordered Martin finished in all black to match his style and persona in the 1970s. That iconic D-35 Martin graced many stages over the years and in 2006 Martin released a commemorative D-35 Johnny Cash model. Much like his father John Carter Cash is proud of the Martin affiliation and the level of craftsmanship they put into each instrument. The new DX Johnny Cash Martin is a dreadnaught body finished in solid Jett black with the Cash name inlayed in the fretboard. To keep costs down the top, back and sides are constructed from (HPL) high-pressure laminate, the neck is a black birch laminate and the fingerboard is Richlite. What surprised me is that the guitar comes equipped with the Fishman MX electronics system factory installed (with most Martin’s this is an option).  Controls are inside the sound hole for easy access and the battery compartment is at the bottom of the body next to the input for ease access, while also included with the instrument is an embroidered gig bag. At the release party, I was allowed to play the DX Johnny Cash acoustic guitar.  The high-performance neck taper and tonality when strummed or picked resonated with the feel of an expensive guitar. The finish seemed very durable and the inlayed stars and Cash logo in the fingerboard really pop visually when you are holding it, as does the custom rosette around the sound hole with Johnny Cash’s signature printed at the bottom. John and Carlene were both extremely pleased with how the completed guitar came out and it was obviously a goal to get this instrument into the hands of beginning and intermediate musicians who can’t afford a custom shop Martin, but still required a well-built instrument that they could learn and perform with. Having the ability to place a Johnny Cash instrument into up and coming artists also keeps his musical legacy alive for future generations, just as John Carter Cash has done through his music and the artists he records and produces at Cash Cabin studios, which Johnny had built as a personal sanctuary in 1979). The guitar’s body size is a D-14 fret, which makes it very comfortable to play seated or standing. This Martin won’t replace your favorite D28 Martin, but I see it as an ideal singer/songwriter guitar that you wouldn’t be afraid to bump, scratch or play as hard as you needed to while conjuring a new song from it. Martin Guitars has created a winner in the features of the DX Johnny Cash Martin and the value. I’m considering purchasing one myself, as I am listening to a Johnny Cash song playlist as I write this article. I believe the man in black would be proud to have his name on this guitar! www.martinguitar.com

Rising star Dylan Schneider recently achieved a milestone as he made his Grand Ole Opry debut on November 2 at the fabled Ryman Auditorium. The 20-year-old performed Hometown Heartless and How to Country – both from his latest EP ‘Whole Town Talk’ – at the Opry’s original home, where of course, shows are held over the winter months. Speaking about his experience, Schneider said that he refused to go into the Ryman no matter how tempted he was until he was pencilled in to perform there and to have the opportunity to do so will be something that lives with him forever. “I’ve passed the Ryman Auditorium a million times in the past few years and I always told myself I wouldn’t set foot in the building until I was there to play that stage,” Schneider said. “So for my Opry debut to be in its original Ryman home was an incredible honour and one I’ll never forget.” Schneider recently finished a 16-city tour supporting Florida Georgia Line around America, while his aforementioned EP was released in August.