 Nashville, TN (Press Release) - Critically acclaimed singer/songwriter/violinist Amanda Shires will release her highly anticipated fifth album To the Sunset on August 3rd via Silver Knife/Thirty Tigers. To the Sunset is Shires’ second album with Grammy award-winning producer Dave Cobb and represents an adventurous move with an edgier sound and attitude. Shires continues to push herself artistically and sonically, but the spotlight always shines brightly on her unmistakable songwriting style and emotive and distinctive vocals.
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 Chuck Westmoreland. Photo by Peter Carlson. "Sharp Rocks" video at No Depression
April 19, 2018 -- Portland, Or.-based Americana singer-songwriter Chuck Westmoreland has shared the first single & video from his forthcoming LP Long Winter Rodeo at No Depression, who praised it in saying that "fans of the late Jason Molina’s musical endeavors will find a familiarity in Westmoreland’s work...this is no-frills Americana of the highest order." The mind is the greatest escape. Chuck Westmoreland should know. Having already garnered acclaim from Noisey, the AV Club, & more with his eponymous 2016 debut, and having shared stages with the likes of Justin Townes Earle and Whitney Rose, Westmoreland is poised for a breakout with his forthcoming second album Long Winter Rodeo. Proud owner of a Portland, Ore., bar named The Red Fox, which he compares to the creepy watering holes of Twin Peaks, Westmoreland weaves his story songs from years of regulars shuffling through his doors, his characters drawing from a deep, personal well, while also pulling bits and pieces from his relationship with bar patrons with all the understanding of an old friend. “He knows that there’s nowhere to go when you’re gone / There ain’t no direction,” Westmoreland sings with desolate beauty on Long Winter Rodeo’s title cut. Inspired by the real-life Tygh Ridge Rodeo Grounds (featured prominently in Westmoreland’s “Sharp Rocks” video), the sparse track unveils a simple love story. “A guy falls for this woman,” he says, “but she’s already with somebody else.” In an act of serendipity, the two finally end up together. Ultimately, it’s a hopeful tale, though one laced with an inescapable sadness. The song’s guitars ebb and flow beneath Westmoreland’s vocals, walking the line of solemnity and jubilee. “In the morning, you can see the outline of the rodeo, but it’s shrouded in mist—a lonely, desperate looking thing,” he says, detailing the colossal presence of the song’s Tygh Ridge backdrop. “When you drive by it after you’re done fishing, the fog is all burned off, and it turns into the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen. Every single mountain in Oregon is visible standing there in the arena.”  (Austin, TX, Press Release) After being diagnosed with a very rare fast-growing cancer called myxofibrosarcoma in June 2016, Austin-based singer and songwriter Jimmy LaFave resolved to continue to perform and record as long as he was able. The results of two stints at Austin's Cedar Creek Recording Studios just a few months before his death on May 21, 2017 will be issued as a two-CD, 20-track set titled Peace Town on his Music Road Records label on July 13, the day after what would have been LaFave's 63rd birthday.
A founding father of the now-thriving Oklahoma Red Dirt music movement and, after moving to Austin in 1986, a leading light of that city's world-renowned singer-songwriter scene, LaFave was a triple threat musical quantity as a performer and recording artist: "[O]ne of rock's best singers - certainly its finest ballad singer - with a voice that can swoop, dart, glide or knock you on your butt," notes the Associated Press; in the estimate of his peer Ray Wylie Hubbard, "His songwriting's just stellar, and it carries a lot of depth and weight;" and as the Philadelphia Inquirer raves, he's "a masterful interpreter" of songs by others. All three qualities shine on Peace Town.  LONDON, UK - (April 2018 Press Release) - On paper, it’s an unlikely-looking union; Ryan Hamilton, the Texas rocker who grew up on country greats, and Tony Wright of Brit-Rock hitmakers Terrorvision, have banded together to produce ‘Grand Ole Otley’, an album of country songs re-worked in their unique style and the first release of a brand new transatlantic collaborative project, led by their version of the Don Gibson classic later recorded by Johnny Cash among others, 'Oh Lonesome Me'.
On being introduced by producer Dave Draper, Hamilton said: "Ya know, I'm still not exactly sure how it happened. At the time, our [Traitors] new single ‘Smarter’ was doing well on UK radio... and one day, Dave goes, “What would you think about recording a song with Tony?” I was already a fan of Terrorvision, and we have a lot of mutual friends, but I had never met Tony. I don't know if he heard our song on the radio, or just overheard our stuff that Dave was working on. Whatever happened, he expressed interest in working together. I was flattered and excited. Before I knew it, we were recording an old song together called ‘Everytime I'm Kissing you’. Never in a million years did I think we'd make an album together. Especially not THIS album. This whole thing continues to be the most wonderful surprise."  April 19, 2018 -- The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), widely recognized as the most prestigious and respected songwriting competition in the world, is pleased to announce its 2017 winners. Created in 2002, ISC received more than 16,000 entries from almost 140 countries. Total prizes include more than $175,000 in cash and merchandise, including a Grand Prize consisting of $25,000 in cash (USD) and over $35,000 in additional prizes.
The Grand Prize winners this year are Nicholas Miller (better known as Illenium), Annika Wells, Kate Morgan, and Michael Biancaniello for the EDM song “Crawl Outta Love Ft. Annika Wells. Taking home First Place in the Country category is Jerrod Phillips (Nashville, TN, USA) for the song I Won't Say. Second Place is awarded to Camille Rae (Mt. Vernon, KY, USA) for 80 Down 65, and Third Place goes to Johnny Simmen, Hunter Leath, and Matt McGinn (Toronto, ON, Canada; Nashville, TN, USA; and Memphis, TN, USA) for Tequila. "The best Country songs either tell a story or elicit an emotional response," says ISC Founder and Director, Candace Avery. "The winning songs do just this, whether it be with a heartfelt ballad or relatable storytelling with a contemporary feel. We are very honored to recognize these artists for their songwriting achievements." ISC winners hail from all over the world (61% of this year’s winners come from outside the USA) and range from talented amateurs to seasoned songwriting veterans. The 23 categories include all genres of contemporary music, from Country to EDM to Rock to Pop to R&B/Hip-Hop, and more. For a complete list of ISC 2017 winners and to hear the winning songs, go to: http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners.  **Lee Ann Womack, Angaleena Presley, Billy Bragg, The Shires, Una Healy, Aaron Watson, Brent Cobb, Danielle Bradbery and more confirmed for The Long Road at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire**
(Press Release) A major new greenfield music and lifestyle camping festival is set to bring the world-famous, inimitable sights and sounds of the country music scene to the UK in 2018. Taking place within the grounds of Stanford Hall in Leicestershire, England from September 7th – 9th 2018, The Long Road will present one of the UK’s largest, most authentic celebrations of country, Americana and roots music featuring five stages of live performances, bespoke food events and a wide range of themed outdoor activities. Curated by Tennessee-born country music specialist and radio presenter Baylen Leonard, The Long Road will present a broad array of artists, from iconic US stars to up-and-coming home-grown talent, and the first wave of acts to be announced for the inaugural event includes US country star Lee Ann Womack, acclaimed singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, multi-platinum-selling singer-songwriter Angaleena Presley, British country duo The Shires, popstar turned country music singer Una Healy and Texan singer and winner of The Voice USA Danielle Bradbery. Reflecting the extraordinary surge in popularity that country music has enjoyed in the UK in recent years, The Long Road will also feature a strong contingent of rising star UK acts across the weekend including hotly-tipped London-based duo Ferris & Sylvester and country-soul singer songwriter Yola Carter.  (Press Release) GRAMMY® Award-winning superstar duo SUGARLAND announced their highly anticipated sixth studio album, titled BIGGER, will be released on June 8 and will become available for preorder on April 13. Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush co-wrote nearly all of the songs on the album, which was co-produced by Kristian, Jennifer, and Julian Raymond. The project’s lead single, “Still The Same,” is currently climbing the Country radio charts ahead of the duo’s spring-summer STILL THE SAME 2018 TOUR.
After taking a hiatus to pursue a series of high profile solo projects, BIGGER is the duo’s first new music in seven years and the first project under their new joint venture with Big Machine Records and UMG Nashville. It will be available to pre-order at digital retailers as well as the title track, “Bigger,” available to download on April 13. As fans have come to expect from Sugarland, BIGGER embodies the musical spirit of the band: it contains tracks both uptempo and upbeat as well as powerful message songs that address specific issues facing the world. “Our hopefulness and our sparkiness and our joy is one of the things I think we do uniquely well, especially in the country format,” says Jennifer of the set’s sunnier material. “We offer that in a unique way.”  LtoR: Forrest Latta (Average Joes Entertainment A&R),Dustin Collins, Dave Hufana, Scott Adkins (Adkins Publicity) Photo Credit: Derrek Kupish NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Press Release) –Emerging singer-songwriter Dustin Collins has signed a label-services deal with Average Joes Entertainment for marketing and distribution of Collins' new album set for release this summer on DCDL Entertainment.
Fresh off his independent single "Cold Dead Hands," which ascended to No. 1 on the Billboard Singles Sales chart, Collins is in the studio preparing for his next music project.  Photo Credit: Logen Christopher (Nashville, Tenn. – April 17, 2018 Press Release) – Country singer-songwriter Kelsey Lamb has released her debut single, “Little By Little,” to Country Radio. The single is now available through all digital retailers and streaming services and is soon to hit the airwaves. Listen to “Little By Little” here.
Co-written with Erik Dinardo and Jesse Labelle, and produced by Bill McDermott, “Little By Little,” is a universal truth-tale about a relationship meeting in the middle. With its hypnotic melody and sweet sensibility, it is bound to be a crossover summer hit.  SEE AHI’S CAPTIVATING NPR TINY DESK CONCERT HERE
Nashville, TN (Press Release) – In Our Time, the sophomore album from compelling Canadian singer/songwriter AHI (pronounced “EYE”), is set for a July 13th release on 22nd Sentry/Thirty Tigers. Overflowing with honesty, warmth and authenticity, the 11 original songs on In Our Time feature a boundless artist with a unique capacity to connect with anyone and everyone. AHI’s ability to unify his range of folk, soul and rock influences, personal philosophy and penchant for melody to create art that is both deep and accessible is pure alchemy. |
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