Live events

In collaboration with Follow Your Arrow UK, we are so excited to be announcing our second ‘The Hidden Lyrics‘ event, at Tiny Rebel, Cardiff, on 31st May, featuring welsh artists and Buckle and Boots headliners, Aaron Goodvin and Jessie G. ‘The Hidden Lyrics’ event delves into the attention-to-detail, passion and artistic talent that goes into creating a song. Each of the featured songwriters will strip back their songs to the bare bones, sharing with the audience the story behind them and their songwriter process, before performing them acoustically. Each artist will perform three songs each at the in-the-round style event. About the artists Jessie G  is from the West Coast of America and comes from four generations of West Coast commercial fishing. She is currently an active-duty military wife within the Special Forces Green Beret community, and has been the only signed artist to Redneck Records under Grammy award winning artist, Gretchen Wilson. Jessie G is a seasoned performer who has played many of the biggest venues, stadiums, arenas, and festivals across the states. Jessie has shared the stage and toured with country stars including Kid Rock, Hank Williams Jr., Gretchen Wilson, Brothers Osborne, Brantley Gilbert, Ashley McBryde, Lynard Skynard, Big & Rich, and many more! Her new song ‘Lust’ is out now.   Matt Wynn grew up in Flint Hill, Missouri in the Midwest of the United States, a tiny town of 600 people. Matt enjoyed creative writing in school, but it was at church that laid the foundation for his love of singing and his faith that has guided him through and can be found in many of the songs he writes. A seasoned performer, he has opened for artists including Luke Combs, Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne, Sam Hunt and many more. Matt feeds off the energy of the crowd and enjoys connecting with his audience the most. He moved to Nashville in 2015 and his hit single ‘Dangerous’ is out now.   Connor Christian is the frontman and principal songwriter of the band The Southern Gothic. The son of an American serviceman and diplomat, Connor has travelled around the world from six months old, to places including Los Angeles, Singapore, South Korea and Belgium. Never stopping long enough anywhere to call it a hometown, he took pieces from every stop and it led him to find his calling in singing. He has performed 3000 shows since forming the band with drummer Shawn Thacker and a revolving cast of musicians in Atlanta. The bands second album ‘New Hometown’ debuted #1 on Billboard’s Heatseeker chart and #17 on their country albums chart. The same month, the first single from the record, “Sheets Down” reached #1 on CMT’s Pure Country 12-Pack Countdown. 2023 will debut their first full length album in nearly 10 years, “One More For the Road”. Their new single ‘Rich Folks’ is out now.   Aaron Goodvin is a multi-award winning, double platinum selling Canadian country artist. With a total of 78 million streams and two number one singles in Canada for ‘Boy Like Me’ and ‘You Are’, Aaron Goodvin continues to top the Canadian charts, having had 7 top ten singles. He is an 11 CCMA nominated songwriter, winning in 2018 Songwriter of the Year for ‘Lonely Drum’.   Caitlin Mae is an award winning Welsh singer/songwriter and acoustic guitarist whose vocal abilities and energy are reminiscent of a young Taylor Swift. When she was just 17 years old, Caitlin Mae performed with Country music superstar Carrie Underwood. Caitlin Mae continues to perform across the UK, and in the USA touring Nashville and Indiana.  Her latest single ‘Seasons Change’, follows the success of her last release, ‘Fiona’, which debuted at number 1 in the singer/songwriter iTunes Charts, and was also crowned an “A-List” song by the BBC Radio Wales for two weeks running.   Paterson is an up and coming Welsh singer and songwriter who describes her music as ‘quirky and country-influenced’. She is a BBC Radio Wales A-list artist and she has performed at a number of festivals across the UK and she sings in both English and Welsh  Her latest single ‘Hey Soul Sister’, a cover of the song by ‘Train’ is out now.   Lloyd Jerwood grew up in Wales and started writing songs from the age of 11. His music bridges the gap between dreamy euphoric pop and a quietly informed introspection typical of singer- songwriters. He has been supported by BBC Radio Wales and is a regular on the Welsh A List. Armed with a guitar and a monster pedalboard, Lloyd’s shows are as down to earth and fun as he is, a true crowd pleaser, his sets flow between upbeat pop to stripped back singer songwriter. This year Jerwood has released two singles ‘Out Loud!’ and ‘Smokescreen’.

Black Deer reveals the final wave of artists for the fourth edition of the festival, taking place at Eridge Park, Kent on June 16-18 2023 – including Americana legends, winners of the Black Deer Emerging 2023 programme, and even a Hollywood actor turned musician. Tickets are selling fast at https://blackdeerfestival.com/tickets/. Black Deer Festival is on a mission to bring the real Americana & Country music, and way of life, to the UK – a feat it has certainly achieved this year with an eclectic line-up that showcases all aspects and sub-genres of this incredible community. Now, Europe’s premier, award-winning Americana festival is excited to share the additional artists joining Bonnie Raitt, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, The Pretenders, Bear’s Den, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle (Alone Again Solo & Acoustic), Far From Saints and many more at Eridge Park. Richard Hawley is a songwriter whose elegant, timeless work ranges from neo-psychedelic indie rock to vintage roots rock, lushly orchestrated ballads, and highly styled romantic pop. With eight solo albums under his belt and countless collaborations with Pulp, Arctic Monkeys and more recently Acid Klaus, Hawley also took the musical world by storm with his show Standing At The Sky’s Edge, further cementing his status as a national treasure. Last week, Damian Lewis (Band Of Brothers, Billions, Homeland) announced himself to the world as a musician, releasing his debut single ‘Down on the Bowery’ (and even letting slip about his forthcoming Black Deer performance). The esteemed actor’s debut album Mission Creep, described as a “thoughtful collection of rootsy, rock and jazz-tinged songs”, will be released on the exact same day he takes to the stage in Eridge Park, in what will be an unmissable and a memorable spectacle. Patty Griffin is among the most consequential voices of her generation, a quintessentially American artist whose wide-ranging canon incisively explores the intimate moments and universal emotions that bind us together. The Grammy Award winner returns to the UK for the first time in four years and for the first time since her 2022 album TAPE was released, a collection of rare demos and home recordings from across her career. Another legend joining the bill is Brandy Clark. Described as a “storyteller of the highest order” by NPR, the 11x Grammy nominated musician recently shared the first single “Buried” from her highly anticipated self-titled album that drops in May 2023 – just in time for her performance at Black Deer. Black Deer is also thrilled to welcome Demi Marriner, Motel Sundown, Anna Howie, and Samuel Ashton, winners of the Black Deer Emerging 2023 programme – beating out 700+ artists who applied after being voted the deserved winners from the Black Deer community. Co-Founder Deb Shilling says, “Each of these winning artists will bring something all of their own to our Americana playground and we can’t wait to welcome them to the deer park.” Away from the main stages, Black Deer will also bring the authentic Americana way of life to the UK through incredible food, music and storytelling, with the Arkansas Porch Sessions and The Roadhouse returning. Plus news on the festival’s much-loved artisan street-food & drink offering (including the hugely popular ‘Live Fire’ chefs, brought to you by Grillstock founders and popular authors Jon Finch and Ben Merrington), The Great Americana Songbook, The Songwriter Sessions, Gospel Brunch and Ozark Holler Hootenanny coming soon. The Young Folk area will also return with a whole host of fun activities for all the family. Founders of the Black Deer Festival, Gill Tee and Debs Shilling, add, “Black Deer is about experiencing the unique cultural richness that surrounds the Americana lifestyle. The natural ingredients that complete this melting pot can all be found at Black Deer – from authentic smokehouse BBQ cooking and a righteous Sunday gospel brunch to the thrill of custom motorcycle culture and a connection with nature to inspire the young folk. As well as the above-mentioned, the following artists will also be joining the weekend’s incredible lineup: Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra, NoGood Boyo, Maz O’Connor, Liam Cromby, Emily Nenni, Brennen Leigh, Stephen Wilson Jr, The Vanguards and the Powerhouse Gospel Choir. Tier 3 day & weekend tickets are available now here. Fancy camping, pre-pitched camping upgrades and other upgrades are also available here.

Special guests added to Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band’s shows at American Express presents BST Hyde Park! Dallas legends The Chicks will join the line up on both Thursday 6 and Saturday 8 July, whilst punk icon Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls join the bill on Thursday 6 July, and singer-songwriter James Bay on Saturday 8 July. The Chicks are in the UK on their world tour in June and July and the new dates mean they are now playing six nights here and one in Ireland. The trio – formerly known as the Dixie Chicks – will kick off the tour on June 20 in Olso, Norway at Spektrum, eventually finishing up at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on September 18. The band’s UK run of shows will be The Chicks’ first dates in the UK for seven years and support will come from Maren Morris. The final headliner for the 10th anniversary of London’s festival American Express presents BST Hyde Park has to be incredibly special, and so the team are delighted to announce a one of a kind performer and, as Rolling Stone UK notes, the “greatest American songwriter of the 21st century”, Lana Del Rey. Her huge headline show takes place on Sunday 9 July, with special guests to be announced. American Express® Cardmembers can take advantage of the first presale from 10am, Friday 21 April until 9am, Thursday 27 April. Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Thursday 27 April.

Day 2 at C2C for our team was hectic as they made the most of the opportunity to speak face to face with subscribers, industry insiders and artists. We started our day off with some live music though as Ward Thomas kicked things off in the Indigo on the Radio 2 stage. They released their latest album on Friday and took the chance to play some of those songs live. A particular highlight was their song ‘Love Does’ as the sisters showed why they’re one of the UK’s crown jewels of country with their incredible harmonies and well crafted songs. They may have been the first act of the day but there were plenty of people who had braved the after-party hangovers and powered through the morning to sing along to their fabulous songs. It felt like the best of British this morning as we then headed across to the new barrel house stage which is a really cool venue. It has it’s own vibe with the raised booths around the edge and stained glass windows. Opening the live music on that stage was new supergroup First Time Flyers who were energetic and went down well with the London crowd as they kicked things off with ‘Happier’. Not only does this band have an abundance of talent but they gel well as a group and really look the part as well. They will go on to big things no doubt. After a day filled with catching up with the likes of Pillbox Patti, Willie Jones, Morgan Evans, 49 Winchester, Sam Williams, Adam Doleac, George Birges, Tigirlily Gold, Tyler Booth, Paris Adams and Amanda Shires, we headed to the main arena where Matt Stell began with an energetic set. All the artists so far this year seem to have really taken it up a gear in their live shows as I think artists know not to take it for granted anymore due to what we experienced during the pandemic. Tell and his band got people up on their feet from the off. Morgan Evans took to the stage after we had spoken backstage. He’s come a long way and achieved a lot since I first saw him at Buckle and Boots all those years ago. Since then his music has taken him to new heights; he shared the stories behind the songs and engaged with the well. He never let the tempo drop so the energy levels stayed high. Over on the spotlights tonight were Drake Milligan who’s been the name on everybody’s lips this weekend as his unique sound captures peoples hearts and Sam Williams who performed an energetic version of ‘Wild Girl’ all kitted out in his sparkly boots and jacket. Many on social media wanted this next band to headline, Midland. Personally, though I thoroughly enjoyed their set they perhaps won’t headline for another year or so. They connected with the audience well and though it goes without saying that people were on their feet singing to ‘Drinking Problem’, most were on their feet singing to every song including the cover of ‘Wicked Game’ which they made their own. The main event next and, Lady A put on the best headline show I’ve ever seen at C2C – what a way to celebrate ten years of the festival. They opened with ‘Own The Night’. Hillary in a bright, pink sparkly suit called herself Boss Barbie. They went on to perform hit after hit. The band was tight and cohesive as they went into ‘Downtown’. They alternated between playing their most recent releases and going back in time a little to fan favourites such as ‘I Run To You’ and ‘Bartender’. Charles looked well as he, Dave and Slim stripped it back to perform his solo song ‘As Far As You Could’ which was his love letter to Whiskey. A poignant moment came when sang ‘’Cause you took me high but sure as hell brought me down/You put up a good fight but look who’s standin’ now’ and he got to his feet from the stool he’d been sat on and the audience broke out into rapturous applause at the symbolism. The audience (including myself) was stood up, arms stretched out, belting the words out. When Hillary came back on stage, the trio did a medley of ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’ and ‘Joloene’ which they interpreted very well. Hillary spoke of forcing herself to do something that scares her and at the moment that thing was playing the piano. She took a moment to soak up the spotlight as she merged a popular cover with ‘Just a Kiss’. From there on in, the trio took it up a notch as they performed the energetic rocker, ‘You Loo Good’ and ‘Bartender’. The O2 stamped their feet, clapped their hands and hollered very loudly to demand more from the exiting trio. They returned to the stage and they concluded this part with their mega-hit ‘Need You Now’. They were fantastic, clearly glad to be back together and on the road and the London crowd was buzzing!

Day one of C2C was a busy one! Here at Maverick it was fantastic to catch up with artists we’ve interviewed over zoom over the last few years and see them in person. We chatted with a number of artists and we can’t wait to share those conversations with you in subsequent issues of the magazine. There was so much top quality artists on throughout the day before the main arena opened it’s doors. UK artists like Ward Thomas and Brooke Law as well as US artists such as Hannah Ellis and Nate Smith, both of whom were buzzing to be here in the UK. Two artists in particular impressed me and seemed to go down a treat with the UK crowd and both performances took place in the Indigo on the BBC Radio 2 stage. The first was Ashley Cooke who was speechless at the end of her set, flabbergasted by the amount of people crammed in to see her set and singing along to her songs too. She played acoustically with her guitarist but she held the room in the palm of her hand. Later on in the main arena she took to the Spotlight stage and performed the duet she released with Brett Young, ‘Never Til Now’ whilst her guitar donned a Union Jack flag. Mackenzie Porter also sounded flawless on the spotlight stage as she sang her latest single ‘Pickup’ along with the number one she had with Dustin Lynch which stayed there for six weeks, ‘Thinkin Bout You’. The second artist to blow me away on the daytime stages was Drake Milligan who came on immediately after. His energetic set couldn’t have been more different from Cooke’s, his old school, rock n roll style of country was something completely different to anything else I’ve heard. I’ve followed Drake’s career for a long time, since he first played Elvis in the dramatisation of Sun Studio and to watch him grow and evolve and be taken in by this UK crowd is heartwarming. He was born, not just to sing, but to entertain and he was the talk of the festival today. In the main arena the Introducing Nashville segment, introduced last year, proved popular. Caylee Hammack’s reminds me a little of Dolly Parton’s, her fiery personality and well crafted songs couple with that voice make her one to watch. Alana Springsteen knows how to speak directly to the heart and need I say any more about Tyler Braden? Braden is a future Entertainer of the Year. He gives me chills when he sings, a bit like Eric Church, whilst the way he crafts his choruses makes his songs hit-worthy like Luke Combs. The writers round style shouldn’t suit an arena but somehow it does! Lainey Wilson was up next and the energy levels ramped up. In Gold bell-bottom trousers, she strutted her stuff up and down the stage. She performed ‘Watermelon Moonshine’ from Yellowstone, the TV show she featured in. Though she kept apologising with that deep southern accent because she’d lost her voice, she continued to hit the high notes. You could hear how fantastic her voice was in ‘Wild Horses’ as she belted out and sustained those notes. She surprisingly sang the duet she recently performed with HARDY – Wait In The Truck and the crowd lapped it up. She finished on her big hit, ‘Things A Man Oughtta Know’. The only criticism I have is that I think she should have been on just before Thomas Rhett. Jordan Davis kept the energy turned up to rock. His band were excellent, tight and regional in their sound. A particular stand out moment in his set was when he performed ‘Detour’ before the band transitioned seamlessly into a rendition of ‘fix You’ by Cold Play. He spoke less to the crowd than what Lainey did but he got through a lot of songs which the crowd were buzzing off. ‘Slow Dance In A Parking Lot’, one of his slightly older tracks, was a favourite amongst the London crowd whilst the witty lyrics of ‘Tucson Too Late’ really had me sitting up and paying attention. He concluded his set on the hit ‘Buy Dirt’ which he released with Luke Bryan. The whole crowd joined in. Now for the main event, Thomas Rhett who instantly connected with the crowd. After two high performance sets from Wilson and Davis it was great to keep building that momentum. He opened with ‘Craving You’ a song he originally duetted on with Maren Morris. ‘Look What God Gave Her’ followed as he strutted around the stage. The whole auditorium was on their feet by the third song. He continued to bounce around for ‘Life Changes’ before lowering the tempo and stripping it back for a moment for ‘Marry Me’, the graphics on the screen were well thought out and I particularly thought these worked well for ‘Paradise’, a fairly new song he sang after he performed a medley of his earliest songs. After Paradise he introduced special guest, Niall Horan and the pair duetted on the song ‘Slow Hands’. Rhett got the perfect balance of ebbing and flowing within the set. Following this, he spoke of how his wife and children should have joined him on this trip but unfortunately the couldn’t before breaking out into tear jerker ‘Angels Don’t Always Have Wings’. He went on to play the number one he had for Cole Swindell, ‘She Had Me At Heads Carolina’. He tried some new songs in his set such as ‘Feeling Country’ a foot-tappingly good track that had people dancing involuntarily. People raised their flashlights for his biggest hit, ‘Die a Happy Man’. It was a brilliant show, he’s certainly headline material, it was high energy and yet perfectly framed Rhett’s vocal.

CMA Songwriters Series for many UK country fans, signifies the start of the best weekend of the year – Country 2 Country! For me personally it has always been my favourite night, an intimate writers round with some of the best songwriters in the genre sharing the stories behind the hits they penned for the stars. This year, arguably the most successful songwriter in country music hosted the round, Ashley Gorley. At present he has 62 number one hits and has had over 400 of his songs recorded. He has won 20 CMA triple play awards and last year was named NSAI Songwriter of the Decade. There couldn’t have been a worthier host! Lainey Wilson gave him a brilliant introduction saying, “every song you’ve ever heard, Ashley probably wrote it.” In the first round, situated at the keyboard, he opened the show with ‘One of Them Girls’ which went on to become a smash hit for Lee Brice in 2020. Instantly the crowd loved what they were hearing with many singing along. In every round Gorley played a song that had topped the charts. He spoke of what it was like to develop the next song with Chris Stapleton. ‘You Should Probably Leave’ was another released in 2020 but it topped the charts last year. The next time his turn came around he had everyone bouncing along to a song Cole Swindell made famous, ‘She Had Me At Heads Carolina’ which Gorley explained came from a session where they looked to take a country song and flip it. Being big fans of nineties country they chose the Jo Dee Messina’s ‘Heads Carolina, Tails California’. Worley, Swindell, Jesse Frasure and Thomas Rhett made lyrical and melodic references to that song and credited the original writers on their chart topper. For his final song of the night, Gorley finished on a ballad, explaining that he loves to write piano ballads but they don’t always get cut, let alone be chosen as the single. He went on to play one of his biggest hits last year, made famous by the man of the moment Morgan Wallen, ‘Sand In My Boots’. The unsuspecting audience members who were perhaps not aware previously of the talent Gorley possessed were blown away by him. Those of us who were aware were just grateful to have been able to see him and hear the stories behind some of these record-breaking songs. Many were delighted to see Lainey Wilson in this setting who was sitting to Gorley’s right. Dressed in her signature style of bell-bottom jeans and a cool hat, she endeared herself to the crowd with her talk between songs. She opened with a song she wrote about her Dad, telling the story of how the biggest win for her at the CMA’s was getting to walk in with her dad. She went on to play ‘Those Boots’. She had many fans in the crowd who sang along to her second choice, ‘Heart Like a Truck’ whilst ‘Hillbilly Hippie’ had them bouncing in their seats. Wilson who had been suffering all week having lost her voice was nervous about hitting the high notes but the delivery of her hit ‘Things A Man Oughtta Know’ was near flawless. Dalton Dover was a fairly new name to me when he was first announced but I am walking away tonight converted. I enjoyed what I knew of his catalogue before but he’s a really exciting artist who is certainly going places. He joined in tonight with some backing vocals here and there when his fellow writers were performing. In the first round, he introduced himself with ‘Giving Up On That’ which was released earlier this year. He also shared a new one, fresh from the writers room which was exciting to hear and has a lot of potential called ‘You Need A Rock’. The song he concluded with was actually penned by the man sat next to him, Nate Smith. ‘Baby I Am’ changed and shaped Dover’s early career and the two men shared a moment of gratitude for each others roles in that song. Dover has a lovely voice and is full of enthusiasm, I think he has a bright future as both a writer and performer ahead of him. Nate Smith is a man quickly on the rise. Wilson says he is as lovely as he is talented and he certainly seems happy to be here. His voice grew as the show went on, that grittiness from his records shining through but he kept that power as he hit the big notes too. ‘I Don’t Wanna Go To Heaven’ really tugged on the heartstrings as he told of the different ways that people have connected with this song and written to him about it. He saved his first number one until last as the audience joined in with him for ‘Whiskey On You’. Smith is one of my favourite new artists and I’m looking forward to seeing where he can go as both a writer and artist. For the first three rounds, a special guest joined them for a song at the conclusion of the round. To begin with, we had the talented Alana Springsteen who played a song that clearly resonated with a lot of people in the room, myself included as she performed ‘Twenty Something’. Second was Tyler Braden who blew me away as he belted out the cleverly crafted, ‘Try Losing One’ which Ashley Gorley said he wished he’d written. The way that chorus builds to that pay off line is brilliant. He signed a copy of his CD and gave it out to a fan in the front row. Finally, Caylee Hammack took to the stage, a popular addition as the audience whooped. She played ‘Small Town Hypocrite’ and told the story behind how Chris Stapleton came to duet on the song. A special mention has to go to the two musicians on stage who accompanied our songwriters, jumping in and adding extra licks