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Crazies keep on crazying, Covid keeps on cavorting but, through it all, Canada keeps on calling. We get so much Canadian music in the RGM inbox it sometimes feels as if we’re being stalked by an entire nation. We are blessed with more than we can reasonably manage but, in our relentless quest for gems, we make sure we listen to everything and, in this, the eighteenth instalment of The Maple Leaf roundup, we share five of our finest finds.
Read MoreAnd we’re back! Told you we would be. We currently find ourselves inundated with fine Canadian music on a scale that is - wait for it - unprecedented. I assure you, however, we are fully equipped to manage the current surge. Honestly, we are. So, without further facetiousness, here are five more Things You Must Hear from our cousins across the water.
Read MoreVirtuoso guitarist Jon Gomm has released ‘Deep Sea Fishes’ the second single from his ‘The Faintest Idea’ album due via the Kscope label on October 16th, 2020. The single perfectly showcases the power of Jon’s technique which he uses in a positive and very melodic way to deliver something rather special and more emotional than you might expect. Please read on to learn more about Jon, the interesting back story behind ‘Deep Sea Fishes’, the new album and full details of his upcoming tour in support of ‘The Faintest Idea’ (tour dates are obviously subject to change in these troubling times).
Read MoreThe destination for many UK Country and Americana fans this weekend (September 12th, 2020) would have been The Long Road Festival but unfortunately, that was not to be and The Long Road will return in 2021. In the meantime it’ll be doing its bit to promote UK Country music with Hometown Sounds a new online event. Hometown Sounds will premiere on Facebook & YouTube Live at 8PM on 12th September, before airing as a special edition of ‘Country Hits Brits’ by Country Hits Radio at 7PM on Sunday 13th September. Content will then be available on-demand thereafter. The show will be presented by TLR's Creative Director and Country Hits Radio Host Baylen Leonard, and feature exclusive live performances and interviews filmed in Camden Town with Ward Thomas, The Adelaides and Ferris & Sylvester - plus a guest performance from Brandy Clark remote from LA. Full details about Hometown Sounds and much more about The Long Road Festival 2021 follows:
Read MoreThe Red Guitar Music inbox feature returns after a brief hiatus with more excellent and varied sounds. In this edition, we’ve music from both sides of the Atlantic. Ace singer/guitarist JD Simo has a new album in the can while another RGM regular Ferris & Sylvester returns with a new EP ready to go and touring plans for 2021. The newcomers this time out are Dan Friese, a singer/songwriter from the USA, and from nearer home (Brighton to be exact) Melanie Howard aka Such Small Hands with an album of melancholy dark pop a decade in the making.
Read MoreWelcome to the belated May edition of the RGM Inbox. In this latest instalment, we feature two names that I’m sure will be familiar to many readers in Emily Zuzik and David Berkeley. Rounding out this months quartet we’ve David Ramirez, the Texas-based singer-songwriter with a cool-sounding new record in the can and virtuoso guitarist Jon Gomm who revisits his past as he embarks on the next phase of his career with a new record label.
Read MoreMusic Venue Trust has announced #saveourvenues, a new national campaign to save hundreds of grassroots music venues at imminent risk of being closed down – permanently. Registered charity the Music Venue Trust currently has 556 venues up and down the UK at risk of closure. Venues that play an essential role in promoting talent and often as a community hub for many other endeavours. Please read on to find out more about #saveourvenues and how you can get involved:
Read MoreDustbowl Revival have been keeping busy curating their very own Sway-At-Home music festival. Eighteen acts over three days including Steve Poltz, Shook Twins, Luther Dickinson and Birds Of Chicago. The music commences at 10pm (UK Time) this Friday, April 17th. More about Dustbowl Revival, Sway-At-Home and the acts involved follows:
Read MoreKip 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:
Read MoreThe 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:
Read MoreIf you’re feeling the November chill, there are few better ways to warm your winter-wary bones than to cosy up with a hot cup of Canadiana. The best new bands and balladeers of Canada continue to throw out little sonic gems and, once more, we find ourselves spoilt for choice as we bring you the latest cluster of musical magic that is the Maple Leaf Roundup.
Read MoreThe summer may have been hot and hazy, long and lazy but that hasn’t stopped the songsmiths of Canada. They’ve been beavering away over there, cooking up more musical missives and sending them eastward. At usual here at RGM, we’ve gathered them all up and sifted through hours of tunes to bring you the very best of the bunch. So, to ease you into the autumn months we humbly offer to you the tenth instalment of the Maple Leaf Roundup.
Read MoreNow, didn’t I tell you we’d be back in flash? The Canadian goodness continues to arrive, an exotic salve for all our little-islander woes, so here we are again with our regular column devoted to the best new music from Canada. Aaron Goldstein’s awesome Espanola record managed to fast-track straight to a full review, hence its omission here but his countrymen and women have provided plenty more to satisfy our Maple Leaf cravings, so, read on and feast your ears on the musical crème de la crème …Canadienne.
Read MoreCanadian trio The East Pointers recently released a new single ‘Wintergreen’ from their upcoming third album due late 2019. The guys are on the top of their game with ‘Wintergreen’ a track that beautifully melds their modern take on a traditional folk sound with a catchy pop hook. The single is an ideal taster for the album ‘Yours To Break’ which I’ve been lucky enough to hear and East Pointers fans are in for a real treat as the album delivers superb vocal harmonies, impressive instrumental chops and, most importantly, great songs. In other good news, the trio will return to the UK in January of 2020 for a run of dates. More about The East Pointers and those tour dates follow:
Read MoreHello 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:
Read MoreNashville based singer-songwriter Rod Picott will release his latest album ‘Tell The Truth & Shame The Devil’ via Welding Rod Records on September 6th 2019. After a health scare this past winter Rod Picott took stock of his situation, sat down and thought hard about the type of album he wanted to make next. The result is a stripped back acoustic record that would prove to be his most personal release to date. Rod Picott will be bringing the songs from ‘Tell The Truth & Shame The Devil’ to the UK in October 2019 for a run of live shows. More about Rod Picott, those tour dates, and ‘Mama’s Boy’ a track from the album follows:
Read MoreThe Iveys from El Paso in Texas are gearing up for the release of ‘Colors of Honey’ on June 7th. The band initially featured Arlen Ivey and his sister Jessica Ivey Carr and has evolved over the years with the addition of sister Jenna Ivey, brother Galen Ivey and Jessica’s husband Sammy Carr. The quintet call on a range of influences but all agree on a love of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Lumineers and First Aid Kit. For me, the real strength of The Iveys is in their songwriting and those sublime harmonies, the sort of harmonies that seem to come so naturally to family acts. We are very pleased to be able to premiere ‘King and Marie’ a track from their upcoming record. Please read on as Arlen Ivey explains the significance of the track and just how important it is to The Ivey family.
Read MoreThe 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:
Read MoreChain Station hail from Denver, Colorado and the string band will release their third album ‘Backroads’ on May 3rd. Denver sits on the western edge of the High Plains, just east of the Rocky Mountains, so it's hardly surprising that living in such a stunning part of the world has heavily influenced the band and their music. ‘Backroads’ will please traditional bluegrass devotees but the guys are ready and able to add a few modern twists to the genre. Today RGM is very pleased to premiere ‘Midwest Girl’ a track from the upcoming record that displays a lovely relaxed vibe, cool harmonies and terrific playing. So please read on for much more about Chain Station, the inspiration for ‘Midwest Girl’ and even more importantly the song:
Read MoreThe 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:
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