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:

Amigo The Devil presents 'Hell And You' from the Grotto Sessions

February 12, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Folk, News, singer-songwriter, Video

Amigo The Devil’s Everything Is Fine was one of my highlights of 2018. Macabre and gothic but not without humour ‘Everything Is Fine’ is a terrific album (RGM review) and I urge you to track it down and give it a listen. With just a banjo for company Amigo has stripped down ‘Hell And You’ from the album for his Grotto Sessions project and you can check out the video for the track and learn more about Amigo The Devil here at RGM.

2019 Dates announced for the Nashville Meets London Presents Series

January 24, 2019 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

The Nashville Meets London Presents Series will be bringing the best in country music from both sides of the Atlantic to London in 2019. A monthly residency at Pizza Express Live, 99 High Holborn, London will launch on Tuesday February 19th with Sonia Leigh and O&O set to perform while DJ Baylen Leonard will compare the evening. More about Nashville Meets London, future dates, Sonia Leigh and O&O 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?

RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #4

November 06, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Alternative Rock, Folk, singer-songwriter, Soundcloud, Pop, Acoustic, Americana, Country

Our Canadian cousins are apparently incapable of producing anything other than top-quality new music and October alone has yielded yet another bumper crop of goodies. We’d love to be able to cover more of these acts in an in-depth way but, frankly, we need occasionally to sleep. Nevertheless, carefully curated just for you, we present our latest selection of must-hears from the land of the common loon.

RGM presents The Maple Leaf Round-up #3

September 28, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Alternative Rock, Americana, News, singer-songwriter, Soundcloud, Video

Our latest gathering of Canadian grooviness is, shockingly, an all-male affair. Fear not, though, because two Canadian female geniuses are going to be the focus of imminent full-length album reviews… watch this space. But for now, here is a roundup of the latest Canadian boys making (in our opinion) the bossest noise.

CMA Songwriters Series returns to UK for October tour

July 31, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, Festivals, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

The CMA Songwriters Series will return to the UK in October 2018 for a run of shows with the London date part of Country Music Week. The tour, which will also include dates in Gateshead, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow will be hosted by Chris DeStefano with two other artists also making their UK debuts in Kassi Ashton and Tenille Townes alongside a name very familiar to UK audiences Ashley Campbell. The two hour seated show will find the artists performing and telling the stories behind their songs. Tickets are on sale from Friday, August 3rd. Ticket details, the full tour dates and more about the artists and the CMA follows:

RGM presents The Maple Leaf Roundup #1

June 21, 2018 by Rich Barnard in Acoustic, Alternative Rock, Americana, New Single, News, singer-songwriter, Showcase, Folk, Ambient

Arts funding for music in Canada means that there is a very healthy scene for up-and-coming acts. Lots of these artists reach out across the water and we’re always pleased to find their little musical messages-in-bottles washing up on the beaches of RGM Island. There’s something new and exciting there almost every day, little gems glinting on the sand as we walk the dogs along the shore. Sadly, we’re so busy writing daft metaphors we don’t have time to cover everything we’d like to in depth, so we’ve assembled a little roundup of the very best Canadian things that have come to our attention in the last couple of weeks. Keep your eyes and ears on the names and remember you (probably) heard about them first at Red Guitar.

Counting Crows and Alison Krauss confirmed for BluesFest 2018

June 18, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alternative Rock, Americana, Bluegrass, Blues, Classic Rock, Country, News, Tour Dates

BluesFest 2018 at London's O2 was already looking like a pretty special few days and now looks even better. Counting Crows are to headline the Sunday night of the festival and they will be joined by Alison Krauss who will also play a full set with The White Buffalo in support. I think you'd have to agree that this is a very impressive line-up for the closing night of BluesFest 2018. Previous coverage of BluesFest can be found here. More about the artists and the festival follows including ticket details:

Tom Baxter returns with 'The Other Side of Blue' on August 17th

June 15, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Folk, News, singer-songwriter

Tom Baxter will return to the spotlight with his first official release in a decade on August 17th, 2018. The singer-songwriter is probably best known for the Ivor Novello nominated 'Better' single from his 2008 'Skybound' release. 'The Other Side of Blue' finds Baxter as a true solo artist with just guitar or piano for company on a set of songs that were shaped by changes in his personal circumstances over the last few years. In a recent Scott matthews review here at RGM Rich Barnard included Tom in his songwriters that "help to restore my ailing faith in humanity" which is high praise indeed. More about Tom Baxter and the new album follows:

Sights and Sounds of Tennessee continues at London's Waterloo until June 17th

June 06, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Country, News, Roots, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

After a successful launch on June 4th with Yola Carter and Gill Landry performing shows the Sights and Sounds of Tennessee exhibit will continue at London's Waterloo station until June 17th. Over the next ten days or so some great artists will be performing 2-4pm on weekdays with a Jack Daniel's Happy Hour from 4-6pm to follow. Bennett Wilson Poole and Worry Dolls are among the top acts playing sets. More about the exhibit, including the chance to win a holiday to Tennessee, who's performing and the idea behind the exhibit follows:

Jesse Terry is letting things come naturally on new album

March 27, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, Folk, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

When Jesse Terry entered the studio to record his new album 'Naturally' he decided to take a more organic and stripped back approach to the recording and enlisted a few friends and artists he admired to help out. The resulting album features contributions from a host of superb female singers including Sarah Darling, Dar Williams, Erin Rae and Cary Ann Hearst of Shovels & Rope. This approach seems a perfect fit for Terry's songs and the blend of voices is really quite lovely. Longtime fans will find much to enjoy as they'll recognise some of the songs here but not the performances. Terry also managed to slip in a wonderful take on 'Mr. Blue Sky' with Liz Longley which paints the ELO classic in a whole new light. 'Naturally' is released March 30th on Jackson Beach Records. Please read on to hear that Jeff Lynne classic, learn more about the recording and check out upcoming UK and USA tour dates:

Frances Luke Accord release new single and announce US tour dates

March 16, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Folk, New Single, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

A very pleasant surprise in the RGM inbox recently was news of a new single 'Maria' by Frances Luke Accord. The Chicago based duo are working on a new album for next year as a follow up to their acclaimed debut release 'Fluke' of which RGM favourites Darlingside said "We couldn't recommend their debut LP, Fluke, highly enough." which is good enough for the team at RGM. One listen to 'Maria' and you can see where the Darlingside guys are coming from. Please read on for more about Frances Luke Accord, the single and upcoming tour dates in the USA:

Southern Avenue and Bonnie Bishop among latest Maverick Festival additions

March 10, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Festivals, News, Tour Dates

The Maverick Festival has announced the latest additions to the 2018 bill for the eleventh staging of the acclaimed Americana festival. Those names include Memphis band Southern Avenue and Texas-raised singer Bonnie Bishop. Australia will also be represented at the festival by Lachlan Bryan and The Wildes, making a welcome return in 2018, with rising Aussie star Imogen Clark along for the ride. Closer to home The Mountain Firework Company and longtime friends of Maverick Hank Wangford and BJ Cole will also perform. Please read on for more about the latest Maverick additions:

Missed Some Great Music In February? Check out the latest RGM Spotify Playlist

March 03, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Bluegrass, Compilation, Country, Folk, Playlist, Showcase, singer-songwriter

February has just flown by at RGM with a host of cool new releases to review, gigs to see and news of upcoming albums and tours. If you missed anything then please check out our Spotify playlist for a quick refresher of some of the great artists we featured last month. March is already looking very busy with lots more stuff coming up. Many thanks to all the artists, PR companies and labels who've been in touch this month and all our readers for your continued support. Please like, follow and share as it makes all the difference.

Green Note presents 'Like A Woman' A musical celebration March 8th

February 21, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, Folk, singer-songwriter

Green Note and JW3 present an evening of music to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8th at JW3 in London. IWD was officially adopted by the United Nations in 1975 but the term was first used in New York in 1909 and became more widely acknowledged after women gained suffrage (the right to vote) in Soviet Russia in 1917 where it was granted national holiday status. Singers and songwriters from as far afield as Australia and Canada will combine with the best of British at JW3 in London for an evening of original material, and a cover or two, that will capture the essence of IWD and what the day means to the artists. Further details about ticketing and the venue follow:

Maverick Festival announces first names for 2018

February 14, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Alt-Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Festivals, Folk, News, Tour Dates

The Maverick Festival has announced the first names for the 2018 event set for Friday 6th - 8th July. Now in its eleventh year, the Maverick Festival has become an integral part of the Americana scene in the UK and always hosts an impressive range of artists. This year will be no different with a mix of returning favourites and many performers new to Maverick including Jonathan Byrd, Terra Lightfoot, The Danberrys, Leeroy Stagger and Arkansas Dave. More details about the event and the acts scheduled to appear follows:

Mary Chapin Carpenter announces new album and UK tour dates

February 12, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, Festivals, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

Mary Chapin Carpenter will release her new album via Thirty Tigers on March 30th. Produced by Ethan Johns the record finds the acclaimed singer-songwriter reinterpreting a track from each of her previous twelve albums. The album 'Sometimes Just The Sky' is titled after the one newly written song on the record. To support the release Carpenter will embark on a UK tour in May with special guest Emily Barker on the majority of the dates. Full details about the album and those tour dates follow:

Missed some great music in January? Check out the RGM Spotify playlist.

January 31, 2018 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Country, Folk, News, Showcase, singer-songwriter, Playlist

January was a busy month at RGM with loads of news, new albums and tours announced. If you've missed anything, or just have a hunger to check out some new music, why not take a listen to our first Spotify Playlist that showcases artists featured during the month.