The Americana Music Association UK announces UK Americana Music Week 2024, Monday 22 - Thursday 25 January in Hackney, London

November 27, 2023 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Country Rock, Roots, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

London’s Hackney will, once again, be the place to be in January 2024 when UK Americana Music Week returns to the borough. 22 - 25 January are the all-important dates, with events and artist showcases in multiple venues culminating in the UK Americana Awards Show. London fans are well served, with many more shows throughout the capitol during January and February. The full press release follows:

Canada House brings the very best Canadian music to UK Americana Music Week 2023

January 10, 2023 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Country Rock, Festivals, News, Roots, singer-songwriter, Blues, Folk

Canada’s official Music Export platform, ‘Canada House’, returns to the UK for two days of music by 12 carefully curated Canadian artists at the UK Americana Music Week 2023, 23-26th January, in London. CIMA (Canadian Independent Music Association) in partnership with Music PEI will be putting down roots at Moth Club in Hackney on the 24/25th of January to showcase the very best in Canadian music. The impressive list of artists includes Tara McLean, William Prince, Andrew Waite and Julian Taylor, to name but four. More about the UK Americana Music Week 2023 and the Canadian contingent follows:

The RGM Inbox: Country Edition #3

May 27, 2021 by David Vousden in Alt-Country, Americana, Country, Country Rock

Welcome to the latest edition of the RGM Inbox with an emphasis on all things country. This feature is designed to show there’s much more to country music than big hats, and to highlight the range of good music that resides in the country section of your local record store (if you’re lucky enough to have a local record store). In this issue, we’ve got a couple of Canadian artists ready to rub shoulders with those Nashville folks while one of the biggest new names in country music is looking back on his alt-rock roots and a nice slice of country-pop from a Nashville based artist rounds out this latest edition of the Country Inbox.

The RGM Inbox: Country Edition #2

April 01, 2021 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, Country Rock, News, Video

The first country edition of the RGM Inbox was really well received so we’re back with another collection of country artists to check out. This edition features a range of music from acts that are more than happy to embrace the past and keep things old school to artists firmly in the modern Nashville mainstream. Which style do you prefer?

New Editions of Love and Gram Parsons biographies due February 2021

December 09, 2020 by David Vousden in Alt-Country, Americana, Autobiography, Classic Rock, Country, Country Rock, News, Biography

On February 18th, 2021 Extradition / Cadiz Publishing will issue two classic rock biographies in paperback. The titles are a new revised edition of Pegasus Epitaph - The Story of the legendary rock group Love’ by Michael Stuart Ware and ‘Hickory Wind’ by Ben Fong-Torres, which is considered to be the definitive Gram Parsons biography and will include a new epilogue by the author. I’m sure Love and Gram Parsons won’t need any introduction to RGM readers but full details of both books follow:

The RGM Inbox November 2020

November 20, 2020 by David Vousden in News, Pop, Soul, Rock, Americana, Country Rock, Southern Rock

It’s time for another dive into the RGM Inbox where a host of gems are ready for discovery. We like to feature a wide range of music at RGM and November has seen a host of interesting releases in a wide range of genres. The advice is always to give things a go, step outside of your comfort zone and discover something a little different. This month we’ve new music from Phil Gould a founding member of Level 42, pop-rock from Andy Keels that harks back to the ‘80s an era that Liverpool band Candy Opera originated from before they took a thirty-year career break. Last but not least we catch up with Zac Brown Band founding member John Driskell Hopkins and a taster from his ‘Lonesome High’ album due in February 2021.

RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #14

June 01, 2020 by Rich Barnard in News, Pop, singer-songwriter, Americana, Country, Country Rock, Folk

It’s always a thrill to discover new tunes from our brothers and sisters in Canada and, as the Maple Leaf Roundup turns two years old, I feel particularly warm and fuzzy to think of the sixty or seventy artists we’ve met along the road so far. If you’re only just joining us on the journey, the good news is that the nation’s musical gifts never seem to stop giving, so climb on board and allow us to introduce your newest (and soon to be bestest) Canadian friends.

Kip Moore launches 'In The Wild' sessions in advance of 'Wild World' album due May 29th

April 10, 2020 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Classic Rock, Country, Country Rock, News, Video

Kip Moore will release his latest album ‘Wild World’ on May 29th via Snakefarm Records in the UK with a vinyl pressing to follow June 26th. To set the scene, and build anticipation for the release, Kip has embarked on the ‘In The Wild’ sessions initially recorded in the Mojave Desert, with cherry-picked indie musicians, the series will also include solo acoustic performances now that Kip is in self-isolation in Kentucky. Much more about Kip, the new album and the first ‘In The Wild’ session video featuring India Carney and Melissa Dougherty follows:

The RGM inbox January 2020

January 13, 2020 by David Vousden in Blues, New Single, News, singer-songwriter, Video, Country Rock, Country, Southern Rock, Folk

The new decade has only just dawned but the RGM inbox is already full to bursting with great new music from a range of genres. We listen to all sorts of stuff here at RGM and believe that you can’t beat the thrill of discovering new music, so please join us as we delve into the RGM inbox. You never know your new favorite artist might be just a click away.

Maverick Festival July 3rd - July 5th 2020

January 08, 2020 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Country Rock, Festivals, Folk, News, Roots, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

The Maverick Festival will return over the weekend of July 3rd - July 5th 2020 which, as I’m sure you all already know, is 4th of July weekend. This seems to be particularly fitting as Paul Spencer and the Maverick team have been bringing the very best in Americana to the leafy surrounds of Easton Farm Park, Suffolk for many years. The first names for 2020 have been announced with a nice mix of returning favorites and new names including Grammy winning singer-songwriter Steve Forbert and Canadian force-of-nature Terra Lightfoot. More info about the Maverick Festival including ticket prices follows:

Maverick Festival tickets and CD bundles to be won

June 20, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Country Rock, Festivals, Folk, News, Roots, Competitions

Hello and welcome to the very first Red Guitar Music competition. For our first run at a giveaway, we wanted to start with a bang so we’ve got together with the good folk at Maverick Festival and some of the acts performing at the 2019 event to offer up a pair of weekend tickets plus two sets of CDs with a Maverick Festival 2019 connection. A prize guaranteed to leave even the relative Americana newbie able to hold their own over a pint in the pub. Please read on for full details of the prize and the various ways to enter the competition:

Paul Cauthen returns with 'Room 41' album due September 6th 2019

June 14, 2019 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, Country Rock, News, singer-songwriter, Soul

Paul Cauthen returns with a new album ‘Room 41’ via Lightning Rod Records on Sept 6th. A single/video from the album ‘Cocaine Country Dancing’ is out today (June 14th). Cauthen is blessed with a fantastic baritone voice and his music is an eclectic mix of country, southern soul and gospel influences. ‘Room 41’ is his third solo release following ‘My Gospel’ from 2016 and the more recent ‘Have Mercy’ EP. In advance of the album release Cauthen is in Europe with a run of dates that include The Slaughtered Lamb in London and the Black Deer Festival. More about Paul Cauthen including the tour dates and the video for ‘Cocaine Country Dancing’ follow:

Guitars, guitars and more guitars on The Blue Highways new single

May 31, 2019 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, Country Rock, New Single, News, Video

The Blue Highways were looking to try something a little different for their second single release. The band wanted to celebrate guitar music and bring back the days when the guitar ruled the airwaves. The band had met plenty of great players on their travels so calls were placed and the result is ‘Play Johnny, Play’ a track that features seven of the best guitar players on the UK Americana scene. Jack Lury of The Blue Highways is joined by CJ Hillman, Henry Senior, Joe Hazell (Curse Of Lono), Lewis Fowler (Two Ways Home), Paul Lush and 12-string wiz Tony Poole. The single is out today (May 31st 2019) and streaming/purchase links follow along with a cool video and loads more about The Blue Highways:

The Shires, Alabama 3 and The Magic Numbers among additions to Black Deer Festival 2019

May 09, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Country Rock, Festivals, News, Roots, Tour Dates

The latest list of additions to the 2019 Black Deer Festival include UK country duo The Shires returning to the UK for a Sunday night show at the festival. Other names added today (May 9th) include Alabama 3 performing an acoustic set, The Magic Numbers, Stephen Spender and The Breretons. They will join an already impressive list that includes The Mavericks, John Butler Trio, Band of Horses and Billy Bragg. The festival will also host a panel celebrating the history of AMA-UK with Stevie Freeman, Bob Harris OBE and Emily Barker among those set to participate. Much more about the festival, which takes place at Eridge Park, Kent on 21st-23rd June 2019, follows:

Black Deer Festival 21st - 23rd June 2019

April 09, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Blues, Country, Country Rock, Festivals, Folk, News, Roots, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

The Black Deer Festival will return to the leafy confines of Eridge Park in Kent on June 21st - 23rd 2019. The festival recently won Best New UK Festival at the AIF Independent Festival Awards 2018 and is looking to build on that momentum in 2019. The lineup looks strong with Band of Horses, John Butler Trio, The Staves, The Mavericks and legendary singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson already announced. Recent additions to the bill include Billy Bragg, Ethan Johns (solo), Yola, Treetop Flyers and Sam Morrow while a few of RGM’s personal favourites are also set to appear including The Sheepdogs, Ferris & Sylvester and Worry Dolls. Much more about the festival including ticket details follows:

Maverick Festival 5th - 7th July 2019

April 05, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Alt-Folk, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Country Rock, Festivals, News, Roots, Tour Dates

The Maverick Festival is celebrating its 12th anniversary by once again bringing the very best of the Americana scene to picturesque Easton Farm Park in Suffolk over the first weekend of July 2019. This year the festival will be throwing a little Cajun into the mix and shining a spotlight on the Bluegrass scene on Friday night. As usual, a wide variety of acts are set to appear including Ags Connolly, Chance McCoy, Amy Lott, Broken Bones Matilda, The Black Feathers, Dana Immanuel & The Stolen Band (terrific at the recent press launch for the festival) and many, many more. Loads more about the festival including ticket details follows:

Josh Turner and Kip Moore to headline The Long Road Festival 2019

March 13, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Country Rock, Festivals, News, singer-songwriter, Southern Rock, Tour Dates

The Long Road festival in Stanford Hall, Leicestershire launched in 2018 and will return to the venue in 2019 on September 6th - 8th for three days of the very best in country, Americana and roots music. The first wave of acts for 2019 include headliners Josh Turner (making his UK debut) and Kip Moore. The Steel Woods, John Paul White, Asleep At The Wheel. Rhiannon Giddens, Eric Paslay, Charley Crockett, Morgan Evans, LANCO and Lainey Wilson are among the impressive names confirmed for the festival. Tickets are on sale from 9am on Friday March 15th. A full list of the acts announced today and loads more about The Long Road festival follows:

The RGM 2019 Preview

January 01, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Classic Rock, Country, Country Rock, Folk, Hard Rock, News, Pop, Southern Rock

Welcome to Red Guitar Music in 2019 and a Happy New Year to all our readers. 2018 was a banner year for RGM as we increased our readership by a little over 50% so we’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to read, share or comment and to all the PR companies, labels and artists who’ve been in touch since we launched in 2014. RGM was established to shine a light on the music we liked and to, in some small way, help to promote both established artists and new acts looking to break through. A quick look at an RGM inbox overflowing with great music tells us this will continue, but who are the artists to look out for in the early months of 2019?

Longbranch/Pennywhistle to receive welcome standalone CD and Vinyl release September 28th via Geffen/UMe

August 06, 2018 by David Vousden in Country, Country Rock, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

Longbranch/Pennywhistle the only album by Glenn Frey and JD Souther will see a welcome release on CD and 180-gram vinyl on September 28th. The album was released earlier this year as part of the Glenn Frey - Above The Clouds box set and sounded great (RGM Review here). So if you missed the box, or never managed to find an original copy of this rare album on vinyl, this is a must. Longbranch/Pennywhistle finds two artists at the start of their careers and really is pretty much essential for all Eagles fans. More about the release and details of upcoming JD Souther North American tour dates follows:

Susto to release '& I'm Fine Today' in the UK November 10th

September 26, 2017 by David Vousden in Country Rock, News, Alternative Rock, Americana

South Carolina's Susto released their second album '& I'm Fine Today' earlier this year to rave reviews in the USA. Fresh from touring with Band Of Horses they have now turned their attention to Europe and the record will get a very welcome UK release on November 10th. More about the history of Susto and the new album follows: