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Sheesham & Lotus & ‘Son announce UK tour

After taking Shetland Folk Festival by storm when they were flown in as one of the main visiting attractions earlier this year, Sheesham & Lotus & ‘Son return to these shores before heading for Europe where they are also becoming increasingly popular following two appearances at the big Tønder Festival in Denmark. BBC presenter Mary Ann Kennedy said these new kings of old-time were “the first Americana band in a long time that’s really made me sit up and pay attention” while Cerys Matthews at BBC Radio 6 urged everyone to “catch them if you can.” BBC Radio 2 presenter Bob Harris is another fan, describing their material as “lovely sepia-tinted music” and adding: “I absolutely love it!” The trio is highly regarded in North America and tours relentlessly. This summer, they played most of Canada’s big outdoor events in what has been their busiest year to date. The repertoire has been expanded to include a vast array of instruments and contraptions, the likes of which you will not see in anyone else’s hands. So, as well as banjo, fiddle and sousaphone, expect appearances from bones, a variety of harmonicas and kazoos, the world’s only Contrabass-Harmoniphonium, Jaw Harps and the occasional miniature liquor bottle. Oh, they specialise in rhythmic body slapping too! UK tour dates Tues Nov 1: HopBarn, Southwell Wed 2: The Atkinson, Southport Thurs 3: Acoustic Music Club, Kirkcaldy Fri 4: Fyvie Folk Club, Aberdeenshire Sat 5: Tin Hut, Gartly, by Huntly Sun 6: Performing Arts Centre, Kilbarchan Mon 7: Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh (with The Crooked Brothers) Tues 8: Dundee Acoustic Music Club Wed 9: HEART, Headingley, Leeds Thurs 10: The Cross Keys, Selattyn Fri 11: The Green Note, London Sat 12: Square & Compass, Worth Matravers Sun 13: The Canteen, Bristol

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Furnace Mountain announce UK tour dates

Live events, News / Editor

At the very forefront of American roots music, having won solid endorsement from their peers and the respect of audiences around the world, it was the album, ‘FIELDS OF FESCUE’ that first won Furnace Mountain a well-deserved share of the media spotlight when it was simultaneously released on both sides of the Atlantic in 2009. After that was followed up in 2012 by the equally well-received CD, THE ROAD TO BERRYVILLE, the band made a huge impact when they toured the UK for the first time. They were such a big hit at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival, with 1000 revellers turning out to catch them in action at the city’s Old Fruitmarket, that the BBC included them in the televised highlights from the event. The BBC’s Bob Harris said they were “wonderful” and invited the four-piece to record a studio session for his BBC Radio 2 show. Two years later, they had a sold-out Irish tour and pulled capacity crowds to every venue they visited in the UK too, all stimulated by hugely complimentary reviews. Now, the band is set to return for a much-overdue visit that will include dates in the UK and Ireland, with a brand new album, “SHADOW OF PLENTY.” This time, if anything, the ensemble playing is even more impressive and the instrumental interplay between Danny Knicely and David van Deventer, simply breathtaking. Those signature-sound vocals, and in particular when Aimee Curl and Morgan Morrison join together in sweet harmony, are all that we have come to expect from these outstanding musicians Furnace Mountain Wed Oct 19: Raheen House Hotel, Clonmel, co Tipperary Thurs 20: Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, Co Mayo Fri 21: Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny, Co Donegal Sat 22: Duncairn Centre for Culture & Arts, Belfast Sun 23: Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine Mon 24: Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Wed 26: Performing Arts Centre, Kilbarchan Thurs 27: Reeth Memorial Hall, North Yorkshire Fri 28: Royal Native Oyster Stores, Whitstable Sat 29: Square & Compass, Worth Matravers Sun 30: Nest Collective, London Tues Nov 1: Norwich Arts Centre

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The Stray Birds announce UK tour dates

Live events, News / Editor

The Stray Birds, from Pennsylvania, USA, are widely regarded as one of the hottest acts on the roots music scene. When they released their latest album, MAGIC FIRE, produced by three-time Grammy winner Larry Campbell (best known for his work with the likes of Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, Paul Simon, and Willie Nelson), it created a huge impact both in the USA and in Europe. The album shot straight to the Number 1 position on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart and stormed up the Euro Americana Chart too, to reach the Number 9 slot. It was not the first time that the band had made an impression with their recorded work. Their full-length debut, THE STRAY BIRDS was named one of the Top 10 Americana/Folk Releases of 2012 by America’s all-important National Public Radio, but it was their follow-up, BEST MEDICINE, that finally established them as a major force on both sides of the Atlantic. When the band arrives for UK tour dates between October 6 and 22, it will be as a four-piece, with the hugely-talented percussionist Dominic Billett added to the line-up. The Stray Birds tour dates Thurs Oct 6: South Holland Centre, Spalding Fri 7: The Live Room, Caroline Club, Saltaire Sat 8: The Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal Sun 9: Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow Mon 10: Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Wed 12: The Performing Arts Centre, Kilbarchan Thurs 13: The Tolbooth, Stirling Fri 14: Mareel, Lerwick, Shetland Sat 15: Glenbuchat Hall, Strathdon, Aberdeenshire Sun 16: The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen Tues 18: Norwich Arts Centre Wed 19: The Met Studio, Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford Thurs 20: Bush Hall, London Fri 21: The Bullingdon, Oxford Sat 22: St Peter’s By The Waterfront, Ipswich

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Cam & Jon return for UK tour dates

Live events, News / Editor

When Cam Penner and Jon Wood toured the UK and Ireland in 2015, the reviews were as glowing as the performances and followed them wherever they went. They duo were flown in from their base in Canada for their sold-out headline show at Celtic Connections Festival after winning major TV exposure when tracks from the sensational TO BUILD A FIRE album were chosen as the backdrop to the BBC 2 TV drama based on Iain Banks’ Stonemouth novel. The latest release -SEX & POLITICS – confirmed them as a creative tour de force. Penner has that rare quality – a well-grounded human spirit. In another life he might have been a Shaman. With constant playing companion Jon Wood (a highly respected producer in North America) by his side, percussive elements and layered guitar techniques have added rich texture. Those Shamans also dance around – and beat the drum – sometimes. Cam Penner & Jon Wood tour dates Thurs 17: The Green Note, London Fri 18: The Ropery Hall, Barton on Humber Sat 19: The Convent Club, South Woodchester, Stroud Sun 20: The Canteen, Bristol Mon 21: Kitchen Garden Café, King’s Heath, Birmingham Tues 22: Hideaway Café, Seaton, Devon Wed 23: The Bridge Inn, Topsham Thurs 24: Union at Con Club, Lewes Fri 25: No 8, Launceston Sat 26: Square & Compass, Worth Matravers Sun 27: Pennar Hall, Pembroke Dock Tues 29: Performing Arts Centre, Kilbarchan Wed 30: Admiral Bar, Glasgow Thurs Dec 1: Acoustic Music Club, Kirkcaldy Fri 2: The Blue Lamp, Aberdeen Sat 3: Private function, Aberdeenshire Sun 4: The Bothy, Glenbuchat, Strathdon Mon 5: Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh

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Bob Cheevers' announces UK tour dates

Live events, News / Editor

Wed 1st Feb 2017 Julian Lewry’s Concert Series St. John’s Church St. John’s Street Farncombe, Godalming Surrey GU7 3EJ Thurs 2nd Feb 2017 The Platform Tavern Town Quay Southhampton SO14 2NY Fri 3rd Feb 2017 The Crown and Scepter 2 Petitor Rd St Marychurch, Torquay TQ1 4QA Sat 4th Feb 2017 Square and Compass Worth Matravers, Swanage Dorset BH1 93LF Sun 5th Feb 2017 TwickFolk Cabbage Patch Pub 67 London Road, Twickenham Middlesex TW1 3SZ Tues 7th Feb 2017 The Olde Forge Coffee Shop St Andrews Lane Cranford, Kettering NN14 4JE Wed 8th Feb 2017 The Green Note 106 Parkway London NW1 7AN Fri 8th Feb 2017 Fiona Donovan’s House Concert Sat 11th Feb 2017 Queenshead in Belper 29 Chesterfield Rd, Belper Derbyshire DE56 1FF Wed 15th Feb 2017 The Mill Chantry Lane, Towcester, NN12 6AD Thurs 16th Feb 2017 The Donkey with Chris Conway 203 Welford Road Leicester LE2 6BH Fri 17th Feb 2017 The Highfield 5 Highland Road, Beverley HU17 9QN England Sat 18th Feb 2017 The Tap St Johns 10 Queens Road, Hull, HU5 2PY Sun 19th Feb 2017 Rose And Crown Hill Street South Shields Tyne and Wear NE33 1RN Mon 20th Feb 2017 String Theory Heart of Hawick, Tower Mill, Kirkstile Tues 21st Feb 2017 Backstage at the Green Hotel in Kinross The Bungalow Windlestrae The Muirs Kinross Ky13 8AS. Thurs 23rd Feb 2017 Dave McNamara house concert 11 Edradour Terrace Perth, PH1 3GQ Fri 24th Feb 2017 Berits & Brown 2 Parklands Eurocentral near Coatbridge ML1 4WQ Sat 25th Feb 2017 Greyfriers 15 South Street Perth PH2 8PG Sun 26th Feb 2017 Murry and Adriana’s house concert

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Bob Cheevers' to release 5-disc box-set called FIFTY YEARS

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Celebrating his 50th year as a songwriter with over 3,000 songs to his credit, Bob Cheevers’ 5-disc, box-set retrospective is appropriately called FIFTY YEARS. It spans half a century of his writing covering 10 genres featuring 83 songs culled from his 10 previous CDs along with unreleased master recordings that have been gathering dust in his vault for decades. After college in his R&B flavored hometown of Memphis, he spent 25 years on the West Coast in the Pop field followed by 16 years as a journeyman writer in Nashville. His creative road then led him to what he describes as his “wonderful life in Austin”. After only 3 years in Austin and on the heels of his TALL TEXAS TALES CD, produced by Texas Music Legends Hall Of Fame member Stephen Doster, Bob was awarded the 2011 “Texas Music Awards “Singer/Songwriter Of The Year”. His half-century journey included winning an Emmy, opening for Johnny Cash and touring Europe and the UK for a dozen years; all of which earned him the respect of his peers world-wide. FIFTY YEARS is a celebration of his musical gifts that resulted in this career achievement. Howlin’ Dog Records is proud to include Bob in a lineup of artists who’s art tops their list of best intentions. FIFTY YEARS is an extremely unique and comprehensive look at the creativity of a man who has never taken his eye off the ball. The long list of great artists he has shared stages with, his massive catalogue and the way his songs glide seamlessly from one genre to another speak to his versatility as a story teller whose rootsy, blues-flavored songs spin tales of life in a conversational language of the heart. Bob modestly calls FIFTY YEARS his masterpiece.

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Tickets for Shakin’ Stevens’ biggest ever UK tour on sale now

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Shakin’ Stevens is to embark on his biggest ever UK tour visiting 33 towns and cities across England, Scotland and Wales in spring 2017. The announcement coincides with the release ofhis critically acclaimed 12th studio album ECHOES OF OUR TIMES, a surprising record on which blues, roots, Americana and classic rock take centre stage as Shaky explores his mysterious and intriguing family history. The ECHOES OF OUR TIMES tour will see the UK’s biggest-selling artist of a decade hit the road from Easter next year with the opening night on Saturday April 15 in Carlisle. Shaky will then travel the length and breadth of the country, including London’s Shepherds Bush Empire on 2nd May, before ending the tour on the 28th May. With 33 hit singles and four UK No. 1s to his name, the Platinum-selling entertainer and performer will be exciting his audiences as he performs new tracks from ECHOES OF OUR TIMES, along with classic hits, and a few surprises. Speaking about the tour announcement Shaky said: “I can’t wait to get back on the road, and introduce the songs from ‘ECHOES OF OUR TIMES’ to people who have seen me perform in the past, and those who have not.”

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Dan Layus Announces Debut Solo Album DANGEROUS THINGS

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Layus is set to release his debut album, DANGEROUS THINGS, out October 21ST on Planted Records/Warner ADA. “Dangerous Things’ spans influences from Hank Williams to Tom Waits, from Dwight Yoakam to Woody Guthrie. The album was recorded in Nashville at SouthxSea Studios with minimal production. The lyrics are about life’s struggles and its simple joys, with harmonies provided by Muscle Shoals’ own The Secret Sisters. Of the new music, Layus explains, “I always knew this album was out there waiting, I just had to let it come to me. That was the most challenging part of this record. It was three years of repeatedly realizing I was trying too hard to write a perfect song. It all started to make sense and feel good as soon as I stopped treating songwriting like it was songwriting.” He continued, “Somewhere along the way I decided that if an idea was going to turn into a song on this album, then it had to be written organically and purely. It had to be an inspired moment that was unfolding melodically, musically and lyrically, all while making me feel something. Subsequently, that’s how I recorded the songs—I played the song live a few times in front of some microphones and when I felt something real happen, we moved onto the next one. The songs and recordings on this album are inspired by other people’s stories and informed by my own experiences and I’ve never felt more proud or comfortable sharing an album as I feel with this one.” Layus spent 12 years as the creative force behind American roots-rock band Augustana. After years of grueling touring which took them from basements to amphitheaters, the band as a unit had run its course and disbanded. Layus decided to keep the name and subsequently released another album and toured twice more as Augustana. In 2013 he moved to Nashville and found an immediate home in the songwriter community, penning songs for platinum country artists and pop artists alike. In this new endeavor he also found something even more valuable—the new sound he had been searching for and scratching at since the inception of Augustana. Dan Layus heads out on a European tour to support the release of ‘Dangerous Things’ through September/October. Fall headline dates in North American are to be announced soon. See below for EU Tour dates. DANGEROUS THINGS: TRACK LISTING 1. Dangerous Things (feat. The Secret Sisters) 2. Driveway 3. Four Rings (feat. The Secret Sisters) 4. You Can Have Mine (feat. The Secret Sisters) 5 Only Gets Darker (feat. The Secret Sisters) 6. Call Me When You Get There 7. Let Me Lose You 8. Fell In Love On A Beach 9. Destroyer 10. Enough For You 11. The Nightbird (feat. The Secret Sisters) DAN LAYUS Live Tour Dates September 30th Berlin, Germany —Maze Club October 1st Antwerp, Belgium—Havn Church October 2nd Amsterdam, Netherlands —Paradiso October 3rd Paris, France—Pop-Up du Label October 5th Zurich,Switzerland—Papiersaal October 6th Nyon,Switzerland —La Parenthese October 8th Brighton, UK —The Haunt October 9th London, UK —Scala October 10th, Nottingham, UK —Bodega October 11th Bristol, UK —Thekla October 12th Manchester, UK—Deaf Institute October 14th Glasgow, UK —Stereo October 15th, Edinburgh,UK —Electric Circus October 16th, Dublin, Ireland —Academy 2

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Locash headlines live nation's 'ones to watch' Nationwide tour

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Reviver Records duo LOCASH, who continue churning out hits with their second back-to-back Top 10 at No. 8 with “I Know Somebody,” will headline 17 dates this fall and early 2017 as part of Live Nation’s ‘Ones To Watch’ nationwide tour. Reviver Records recording artist Michael Tyler and BMLG Records hot newcomer Ryan Follese will also join LOCASH’s Preston Brust and Chris Lucas for select shows. LOCASH continues their North American tour to promote THE FIGHTERS , their first full-length album with Reviver Records. Recently, The Huffington Post profiled the duo’s success with their second Billboard Top 10 I Know Somebody, which followed their chart-topping, RIAA Gold-Certified I Love This Life. I Know Somebody has already racked up 6.6 million streams and sold more than 100,000 units. The I Know Somebody video is currently on CMT and No. 3 on Great American Country’s Top 20 Countdown. The duo are also featured in Comcast Built Ford Tough® dealer advertising campaigns across the country. Locash’s Chris Lucas and Preston Brust deliver infectious energy in the self-penned promotional song Tough, exclusively written and utilized for Ford dealer promotional spots and advertisements.

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CMA announces the list of 30 CMA award-winning acts in Forever Country, leading up to the 50th annual CMA awards

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Forever Country single premieres on radio and digital partners worldwide; video to premiere Tuesday, 20 September with sneak peek on ABC’s ‘Dancing With The Stars’. After 10 days of speculation, the star-studded list of 30 former CMA Award winners in the ‘Forever Country’ music video have been announced. “The artists who stepped up to participate in this one-of-a-kind project span all five decades of the CMA Awards,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “They represent the heart of this song, the strength of our relationship with the fans, and the future of Country Music.” ‘Forever Country’ is a fresh take on three Country classics including John Denver’s ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads,’ Willie Nelson’s ‘On the Road Again,’ and Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You.’ Denver, Nelson, and Parton are all former CMA Entertainers of the Year. The recording was inspired by the 2014 star-studded version of ‘God Only Knows’, created to commemorate the launch of BBC Music, the BBC’s biggest commitment to music in decades. Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the CMA Awards, the biggest music video and single in Country Music history includes the following CMA Award winners: Alabama Jason Aldean Lady Antebellum Dierks Bentley Luke Bryan Eric Church Brooks & Dunn Brett Eldredge Rascal Flatts Vince Gill Faith Hill Alan Jackson Miranda Lambert Martina McBride Tim McGraw Ronnie Milsap Kacey Musgraves Willie Nelson Brad Paisley Dolly Parton Charley Pride Reba Darius Rucker Blake Shelton George Strait Little Big Town Randy Travis Carrie Underwood Keith Urban Trisha Yearwood Today, Country radio participated in a global roadblock of the ‘Forever Country’ single, which premiered on hundreds of radio stations simultaneously at 8:30 AM/ET across the United States and in several key international markets, including BBC Radio 2 in the UK. The audio single is now available for digital download and streaming. While listeners were getting their first listen across the Country radio universe, ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ announced both the full list of talent for the music video and that a portion of the video will premiere in an exclusive sneak peek during ABC’s popular, live, primetime program ‘Dancing with the Stars’ on Tuesday, Sept. 20. ‘Good Morning America’ debuted a 90 second behind-the scenes video teaser. Immediately following the sneak peek on ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ fans will be directed to Forevercountry50.com to see the full-length YouTube version of the music video. ‘Forever Country,’ the single was produced by CMA Award-winner and CMA Board member Shane McAnally and the video was directed by Grammy Award-winning director Joseph Kahn. Universal Music Group Nashville is exclusively partnering with CMA to market and distribute ‘Forever Country’ worldwide. The song will be available at all digital retail and streaming outlet partners. CMA profits from the sales and streaming of Forever Country will benefit music education causes through the CMA Foundation. ‘The 50th Annual CMA Awards’ will be hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 2 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

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