Live events

Brett Eldredge will be returning to Europe on tour in January 2020, including five dates on UK soil – one being at Shepherd’s Bush in London. The Love Someone singer was one of the key highlights from C2C 2019 as a Main Stage act, winning plaudits for his live performances in England, Ireland and Scotland, with many asking that he return in the immediate aftermath. Eldredge’s tour kicks off in the back end of January, with his UK leg starting on January 31. He will be playing in Cambridge, Birmingham, Manchester, London and Glasgow. Speaking about heading back to Europe, Eldredge said that his experiences from C2C really opened his eyes to the affection he has in Europe – despite having toured there previously in his career – and that he couldn’t wait to get back over. “Playing on tour in Europe this year was such a musical game changer for me that we decided to book my very own European tour in 2020,” Eldredge said. “I am already buzzing to get back over and see you all – I hope you are ready!” Tickets go on sale on June 21 at 10am and can be acquired here. Brett Eldredge will be playing: January 24 – Carlswerk, Cologne, Germany January 25 – Docks, Hamburg, Germany January 29 – Paradiso. Amsterdam, Netherlands January 31 – Junction, Cambridge, England February 1 – Institute, Birmingham, England February 3 – Ritz, Manchester, England February 4 – Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Scotland February 7 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, England

Brothers Osborne lead singer TJ Osborne has said that while the band haven’t sorted out the setlist for Download 2019 yet, it will be “mostly uptempo” with “a lot of dynamics.” The band will be making history in Donnington as they will become the first band to play at both CMA Fest and Download and with the festival being the UK’s leading hard rock festival, there has been much chat as to how the duo will approach the gig. Speaking exclusively to Maverick, TJ said that while other artists will be expected to go hammer and tongs for their sets at Download, having the ability to go full throttle and to be able to have something different to throw into the mix could end up leaving more of a mark. “We think that because it’s a rock festival, sometimes everyone that gets on stage – especially when they have short sets – just want to be loud for the entire time and sometimes being quieter ends up being more impactful,” TJ said. “We don’t know how we’ll approach it yet. We may go out and rock it the whole time, but even when our songs do rock, we usually put a lot of dynamics in them. “Sometimes they’ll shrink down real small and then they’ll rev back up again. I think we’ll mostly have an uptempo rocking set, but there will be a lot of dynamics in it, for sure.” Providing something the crowd can get on board with Much has been made of the decision for the duo to play the festival and playing to the hard rock/metalhead crowd is a bold move for the country rock band. However, while TJ isn’t quite sure what to expect in Donnington, he believes that there is no reason why the duo can’t go down well with the audience. “I don’t know what to expect! I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily nervous, but we’re very curious. We have no idea how it’s going to go. We’ve played different variations of rock stuff and had a very good response from that, but I think at the same time that the sound of rock and roll and the personification of rock and roll aren’t always the same thing. “We played this rock thing before and someone said, ‘oh you guys are country and you’re coming over to the rock stuff?’ and I said, ‘if Willie Nelson walked on the stage right now, you can’t tell me that no-one here wouldn’t think it was f***ing awesome. He doesn’t play rock and roll music, but he is rock and roll – he’s a badass. “I think even for people who like harder music, we can provide something sonically they still can attach to.” Leaving a mark Ultimately, the main thing that TJ wants to achieve is to show people in the audience who have been quick to judge or to write the duo off that in fact, they can deliver a good show – and he will be more than happy to hear those out who did so. “I want them to leave with that, feeling like ‘man, those guys are themselves, they’re authentic and real musicians’ and have people that maybe wouldn’t give us a shot, because they’ve heard we’re from Nashville or are a country band, be like ‘holy s***, I judged them and read a book by its cover rather than give it a shot.’” Brothers Osborne will be playing the Zippo Encore Stage at Download between 4pm-4:40pm on June 15.

Catherine McGrath and The Wandering Hearts have both been included in the first wave of announcements for the C2C 2019 Spotlight Stage for London, with both being promoted from the Festival Stages. The Spotlight Stage is located in the main arena and hosts performances in-between main artist sets and a number of promising artists alongside McGrath and The Wandering Hearts have also been announced in the shape of Jimmie Allen, Caroline Jones, Abby Anderson, Runaway June and Fairground Saints. C2C 2019 takes place between the 8th and 10th of March at The O2 Arena in London, The SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow and the 3Arena in Dublin. Tickets are on sale now and are available from www.axs.com/c2c and www.gigsandtours.com for London, tickets for Dublin are available at www.ticketmaster.ie, while tickets for Glasgow can be found at www.gigsinscotland.com.

Katy Hurt Sixty Sixty Sounds, London 1 December 2018 Katy Hurt rounded off 2018 with a bang as her final show of the year emphasised further why she is seen as one of UK country’s brightest talents. Performing in Sixty Sixty Sounds – a premium guitar shop in Leicester Square – Hurt performed for over an hour and set the tone from the get-go with the frenetic Sunkissed, before launching into recent country rock single Revved Up. What makes Hurt so exciting as an artist is her versatility and range – frequently throughout the night, she demonstrates her devastating vocal skills and the ability to hold a difficult note for a prolonged period of time like it’s a walk in the park, while her guitar playing is very much on point. For the first third of the set, Hurt is backed with her excellent band, but opted to slow things down and go acoustic for a brief segment. Doing so, Hurt got the opportunity to make the most of playing at a premium guitar shop and cherry picked her dream Gibson guitar to play. In her solo segment, Hurt performed Light and Growing Up, before performing her new single Natchez. Guitarist Gab Zspaka returned to the stage to accompany Hurt on guitar for the track, as both went unplugged to bring a real feel of intimacy to proceedings. The full band returned to the stage for Before the Ice Melts as the band stepped up the tempo for the home straight, with See Ya Later in particular proving to be a standout track. Hurt closed the night on My Place and spent a lot of time after the gig to speak to those in attendance, all of whom who were very appreciative of watching a top drawer performance. Prior to Hurt’s performance, Jake Morrell took  who was celebrating the fact that his latest single Home had been played on BBC Radio 2 that morning. Morrell played a number of songs from his ‘Englishman’ EP and was brilliantly received by those in attendance. Katy Hurt played: Sunkissed Revved Up Sleeping Next 2 U Drink Fire Old School Small Town Light Growing Up Natchez Before the Ice Melts Ride Home See Ya Later Unfinished Business My Place

Stephen Fearing Old Town Hall Weymouth Saturday 3rd November Probably just as well known as the ‘folk arm’ of Canadian folk rock/alt country trio Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Stephen Fearing has forged an award winning solo career on the folk and festival circuit and closed his UK tour in the quaint surroundings of the Old Town Hall, Weymouth. Travelling light with just his acoustic guitar and multi-stickered guitar case, he could be forgiven for promoting his latest venture, ‘The Secret of Climbing’, a limited edition, vinyl-only release that captures the subtle emotions of Stephen’s vocals and masterful finger picking guitar work in their purest form, “unobscured by computers and studio wizardry”. The album features some of the artist’s previous work in this ‘stripped down’ form with the lead track Long Walk to Freedom celebrating the writings of Nelson Mandela, a highlight in what was a very enjoyable evening. Opening with a couple of his ‘travelling’ numbers, As the Crow Fliesand The Big East West, Fearing quickly slipped into country mode with The Things We Did a catchy foot-tapper with its innovative ‘who writes an obituary for the obituary writer’ theme. Never afraid to dip his toe into the political waters, Blowhard Nation questioned whether things in the US could really get any worse! The stand out number was undoubtedly Dog on a Chain, written in the car whilst waiting for fellow Blackie and the Rodeo Kings compatriot Tom Wilson to join him for a song writing session. This song fused into the instrumental James Medley with its clever changes of tempo from country through to ragtime and pure jazz. The evening was never going to pass without a couple from the Rodeo Kings’ catalogue and Black Sheep, a powerful number from ‘Kings and Queens’, an album that featured the likes of Emmylou Harris and Rosanne Cash, fitted into the set perfectly. Fearing is clearly a very talented and seasoned performer who can effortlessly switch from folk rock to poignant ballads like Love Only Knows and The Wheel of Love, written after a row with his wife. After closing with Every Soul’s a Sailor, the title track from his 2017 offering, Fearing was persuaded to return for what had to be an instrumental as his voice was ‘shot up’. Supposed to last just one minute, an elongated version of Whoville proved a fitting climax to a fine evening. If Stephen Fearing is under the radar, check him out; he’s a talent that deserves to be heard. John Roffey

Dan + Shay will have a strong support act on their 2019 UK tour in the shape of Devin Dawson, who brilliantly supported Thomas Rhett on November 17 at the Hammersmith Apollo. The support slot will be Dawson’s fifth trip to the UK from America in 18 months, and will be supporting the Tequilla group on the following dates: Jan 17th: The Garage – Glasgow (sold out) Jan 18th: 02 Institute – Birmingham Jan 19th: 02 Ritz Manchester – Manchester (sold out) Jan 22nd: SWX – Bristol Jan 23rd: Cambridge Junction – Cambridge Jan 24th: 02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire – London Dawson has recently been on tour with Brett Eldridge, and also kicked off his first ever headline tour of the US in November. Due to popular demand, Dawson had to extend his tour well into February 2019. Tickets for the Dan + Shay tour are available at AXS.

Upcoming country music artists Katy Hurt and Holloway Road both put in eye-catching sets at The Ned, London on November 12 as part of the New Music Monday event, with both being received brilliantly by the audience. Essex duo Holloway Road played a number of tracks from their recent EP, ‘Broke’, and despite playing in an environment with capped volume levels due to the fact there were seven restaurants in the nearby area, the band made the most out of the situation they were in and delivered with aplomb. EP closer Reckless was the pick of their set, with the band demonstrating just why they are seen as a group with a lot of potential within the genre. Katy Hurt then effectively punched a hole through the ceiling with her powerful vocals, as the capped volume limit struggled to contain the artist with her band, but to great effect. New single Revved Up and fan favourite See Ya Later both generated big reactions from the crowd,  as Hurt put in a big performance before her final headline show of the year on December 1  at Sixty Sixty Sounds in London.  

Following the release of her recent self-titled album, Callaghan has shared the new video for her song, Broken, and here she gives us an exclusive break down on what the track is all about. “I wrote this song with one of my producers, Starr Parodi,” she explains. “This was the first time we’d written anything together and this song felt like a real release of emotions for us both. It was written around the time of the US elections in November 2016 and, for me, really captured some of the feelings I was experiencing at the time of confusion and that the world you thought you understood had been turned upside down.” Watch the video below with the strings orchestrated and conducted by Nicholas Dodd who has orchestrated and conducted all the James Bond themes since 1997: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFSjK1jsFRU “I find this a very powerful and emotional song to sing whenever I’ve done it at live shows,” Callaghan says. “In fact, when I recorded the vocal for the demo, I felt so strongly about the exact emotion that was captured in that moment straight after writing the song that we actually ended up using that vocal take on the finished recording. So you’re hearing me singing it just a few moments after we had finished writing the song.” Broken is taken from the recent album – ‘Callaghan’, out now. She’s currently in the UK on tour performing songs from the album. The tour finishes this week, with the final show November 9 at Thornton Hough Village Club in Wirral. For the new album Callaghan has been developing her sound in California working with producers like Anthony Resta (Elton John, Duran Duran and Blondie) Starr Parodi and Jeff Fair, who have made music for some of Hollywood’s biggest films including Harry Potter, Mission Impossible and James Bond. “Working in LA has allowed me to embrace elements of modern pop and cinematic sounds into my song writing,” Callaghan describes. “Working with these producers encouraged me to dig deeper as a performer and artist and as a result, this album reflects me more than anything else I’ve ever recorded.”  ‘Callaghan’ the new album is out now, and there’s still time to catch her live: NOV 8 – THE FRINGE – BRISTOL NOV 9 – THORNTON HOUGH VILLAGE CLUB – WIRRAL For more information please visit: www.callaghansongs.com

Following the success of last month’s sold-out show featuring special guest Canaan Cox, ‘Nash Nights’ will return to Under The Bridge in West London on November 10th with a performance from the rising star alt-country duo Two Ways Home. Two Ways Home are an acclaimed duo who have shared stages across both the country and Americana spectrum, performing alongside the likes of Phil Vassar and The Shires, as well as working with artists including Charlie Worsham, Twinnie and Liz McClarnon (Atomic Kitten). Entertainment Focus described the pair as “one of the leading acts on the UK Country scene”. Continuing to go from strength to strength, ‘Nash Nights’ has quickly become one of the must-see events on the country music calendar and, alongside the next instalment on November 10th, Under the Bridge have also confirmed it will return for a spectacular end-of-year country celebration on New Year’s Eve. Tickets start at £12 and are available from www.underthebridge.co.uk/nashnights  

Drake White & The Big Fire Koko, London Wednesday 24th October From the outset, Drake White’s energy is palpable. As he strides onto the stage at Camden’s Koko, joining his incredibly talented band, The Big Fire, his cool, calm persona soon gives way to an excited, erratic-dancing, performer. His spirit and liveliness is infectious. Opening his set with Heartbeat, the first track off his debut album, Spark, the hits just keep coming. White is not afraid to lose himself in the music— it’s a freedom you don’t always see these days. From the opening song to the final bow at the end of his second encore, White intersperses his powerful vocals with bursts of dance, legs flailing unpredictably. His second song of the night is Story, another upbeat, fast-tempo track, in which White’s vocal talents are matched by the wonderful fiddle section. Keeping up his high-energy set into the third song of the night, Equator is a feel-good track if ever there was one. This got the crowd dancing along and proved to show off White’s fun personality even more. Taking a slight break from the fast-paced numbers, White introduced the next song with a story he’d recounted when I first heard this song at a songwriters round in London. Despite knowing the background to the song, it’s always good to hear from the artist how their songs came about. Back To Free was inspired by one of his band member’s children, and the performance of it was powerful. Taking a detour from the ‘Spark’ album which dominated the first part of the set, Drake White introduced some new material, telling the crowd that he and the band had recently recorded some live music which would be coming out soon. The first of these was Raised Right, a catchy track that makes me eager for the upcoming release. Not a stark departure from his back catalogue, but hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. After a brief blues break when The Big Fire, with White at the helm, channelled James Brown with a rendition of I Got You (I Feel Good), the band left the stage for White to do a few songs just him and his guitar. One of these was Girl In Pieces, a track off his aptly titled 2018 EP, ‘Pieces’. When The Big Fire returned, so did the ‘Spark’ repertoire, with Livin’ The Dream. It wasn’t long before the night was coming to its extended ‘wrap-up’ section, with an initial encore performance of perhaps White’s most known song, Makin’ Me Look Good Again. The only commentary necessary for this one: what a voice! This was followed by a lively rendition of It Feels Good. As the band, and White, left the stage for the second time, I fully expected the house lights to come up and for the night to be at an end, but that didn’t happen. The band re-emerged – this time joined by hugely talented support act Ryan Kinder, to perform an unexpected cover of With A Little Help From My Friends. Drake White’s exuberant stage presence makes it nigh on impossible to attend one of his gigs and not leave feeling happy and energised. White stated during this show, “my goal is to do this ’til I die”, and I, for one, hope he keeps to his promise. Danielle Smith