Nick D'Virgilio will remove his cloak of Invisibility June 26th 2020

May 01, 2020 by David Vousden in Classic Rock, Prog Rock, Rock

Although probably best known for his drum prowess, and for his time in Spock’s Beard, the multi-instrumentalist Nick D’Virgilio has also played with many great bands including Big Big Train, Genesis and Tears For Fears. On June 26th NDV will release his second solo album a mere nineteen years after his first. The album features a stunning list of great players including Paul Gilbert (Racer X/Mr. Big), Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick) and Carl Verheyen (Supertramp). Much more about NDV and the new album including ‘Where’s The Passion’ the first track released from the record follows:

Music Venue Trust #saveourvenues campaign launched

April 27, 2020 by David Vousden in Acoustic, Americana, Blues, Classic Rock, Country, Folk, Indie, Jazz, News, Roots, Rock, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

Music 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:

Free Frontiers Music sampler to download or stream

April 10, 2020 by David Vousden in AOR, Classic Rock, Free Download, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock, News, Rock

Italian label Frontiers Music has been forced to delay their release schedule as the COVID-19 continues to impact the world. Not wanting to let a day pass unnoticed when they had five new releases planned they’ve put together a 20 track sampler that features recent and upcoming releases from the label. The tracks are available to download for FREE via the official Frontiers website or to stream via Spotify and Youtube. This seems like an ideal time to check out a slew of melodic hard rock as you never know what you might discover. Full details and a little more about Frontiers Music follows:

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:

RGM presents The Hard Place #1

April 01, 2020 by Rich Barnard in AOR, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock, Metal, News, Rock

Welcome to The Hard Place, a tight-trousered treasure trove of new melodic hard rock from all over the world. Here at RGM we’re pretty picky when it comes to our big hair and braying guitars so, as ever, our focus is on quality over quantity.

The roots of The Allman Brothers Band make CD debut March 27th, 2020

February 13, 2020 by David Vousden in Blues, Classic Rock, News, Southern Rock

The roots of The Allman Brothers Band date back to 1965 when Duane and Gregg Allman formed The Escorts out of high school. In the four years that followed The Escorts would become the Allman Joys and then Hour Glass, who released two albums on the Liberty label that failed to sell. Duane would find work as a session guitarist at the FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama while Gregg discussed a solo career with Liberty. The brothers would get back together to produce a demo for the 31st of February a band that featured future Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks. The seeds of The Allman Brothers Band had been sown. Four albums that cover this period will make their CD debuts on March 27th along with vinyl releases for these long out-of-print titles.

Cats In Space 'My Kind Of Christmas' lands December 6th + Tour Dates

December 04, 2019 by David Vousden in AOR, Christmas, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock, New Single, News, Tour Dates

Here at RGM, we try our very best to get into the festive swing of things. Which can be easier said than done, but luckily Cats In Space are back with a Christmas single to warm the cockles and generally bring a warm fuzzy glow to all classic rock fans and lovers of a festive tune. ‘My Kind of Christmas’ could well join the greats and pop up in every shopping centre in December for years to come. No doubt the band will be performing ‘My Kind of Christmas’ when they get the party started on their upcoming festive dates. ‘My Kind of Christmas’ is released on December 6th and much more about the single, Cats In Space and the tour follows:

Morganway release video for 'I Want No Other Love' single + tour dates

July 12, 2019 by David Vousden in Americana, Classic Rock, Festivals, New Single, News, Tour Dates

‘I Want No Other Love’ is the latest single from the eagerly anticipated debut album by Morganway set for release August 2nd 2019. The video for the single features footage from many of their recent shows including Black Deer Festival. C2C, Wood Festival, Folk In A Field and loads more. The band will continue to tour this year with headline shows and a string of dates supporting CC Smugglers. More about the single, the album and upcoming tour dates follows:

The Blue Highways debut EP due August 23rd

July 11, 2019 by David Vousden in Americana, Alt-Country, Classic Rock, News

Hot on the heels of their recent ‘Play, Johnny Play’ single The Blue Highways will release their debut EP on August 23rd. The 4 track EP features a string of fine songs that run the gamut from the Jersey Shore/Asbury Dukes influenced opener ‘He Worked’ to the old-school pedal steel twang of closer ‘Have You Seen My Baby’. 'He Worked' will be released as a single on August 9th. More about The Blue Highways including details of London shows later this year follows:

The RGM week in review #1 03/05/2019

May 03, 2019 by David Vousden in Americana, Classic Rock, Alt-Country, Country, News, singer-songwriter, Folk

The RGM inbox has been very busy of late so we thought we’d corral a selection of recent news items all in one place. We listen to a wide range of stuff here at RGM from the biggest names to newer artists just starting out so you never know what you might find. Discovering new music is always exciting so we urge you to take a moment and check out the selection of recent news. Your next favourite artist might be just one click away.

Morganway are 'Frozen In Our Time' on first single from upcoming album

February 19, 2019 by David Vousden in Americana, Classic Rock, New Single, News, Video

UK newcomers Morganway are set to release their debut album in the summer of 2019. The first taste of what to expect from the band is available now via their excellent single ‘Frozen In Our Time’. Inspired by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles the band bring a dash of classic 70s rock to their take on Americana. Morganway are going to be busy this year touring in the UK with many dates already on the books and additional shows will be added along the way. More about Morganway, those tour dates and the video for ‘Frozen In Our Time’ follows:

Thin Lizzy to perform 'Black Rose' album at Steelhouse Festival

February 07, 2019 by David Vousden in Classic Rock, Festivals, Hard Rock, News

To mark the 40th anniversary of the classic ‘Black Rose’ album Scott Gorham will be bringing Thin Lizzy to the Steelhouse festival for an exclusive show on July 28th 2019 where they will perform the album in its entirety. Thin Lizzy will be joined at the festival by Uriah Heep, Living Colour, The Temperance Movement and a host of other acts. The festival runs from the 26th - 28th July and much more about the festival and the acts performing 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?

Fleetwood Mac announce Wembley Stadium show for June 16th 2019

October 22, 2018 by David Vousden in Classic Rock, News, Tour Dates

Fleetwood Mac will play Wembley Stadium on June 16th 2019 as part of a European tour. The European dates will feature the newly announced line-up of Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Stevie Nicks, and Christine McVie along with newcomers Mike Campbell and Neil Finn. Tickets are on sale from 9am on October 26th. More about Fleetwood Mac including ticket detail links follow:

The Gary Douglas Band 'Deep In The Water' due October 12th

October 03, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Classic Rock, News, singer-songwriter, Video

The Gary Douglas Band will release their new album ‘Deep In The Water’ on October 12th. GDB deliver heartland rock n' roll and melodic reflection in equal measure with their blue-collar take on the American dream, which is sure to appeal to fans of Springsteen, Mellencamp, Seger etc. One listen to the title track or rousing opener ‘River Road’ and it’s obvious Gary Douglas has something to say about the state of his home country and the world we live in today. The video for ‘Nothing Ever Goes As Planned’ and more about The Gary Douglas Band follows:

The Moody Blues celebrate the 50th anniversary of 'In Search of the Lost Chord' November 2nd

September 21, 2018 by David Vousden in Box Set, Classic Rock, Deluxe Reissue, DVD / Blu-ray, News, Prog, Psych

The Moody Blues will release a 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of their classic third album ‘In Search of the Lost Chord’ on November 2nd via UMC. The 3CD/2DVD set includes a wealth of material with three versions of the album on the DVD Audio disc including a 96kHz/24-bit 5.1 Surround mix + a new stereo mix and the original stereo mix. The new and original mixes are also to be found on the CDs with a host of alternative versions and BBC session tracks. The Deluxe box set also includes a 76-page book. Other CD and vinyl variations will be available. A breakdown of the various releases, track listings and more about The Moody Blues follows:

The Marcus King Band 'Carolina Confessions' due October 5th + UK Dates

August 22, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Blues, Classic Rock, News, Tour Dates

The Marcus King Band will release their latest album 'Carolina Confessions' on October 5th via Snakefarm Records. The album was produced by Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Sturgill Simpson) at RCA Studio A in Nashville. To coincide the band will visit the UK for a short run of dates with shows in Bristol, London, Manchester and Glasgow. Two tracks from the album 'Homesick' and 'Welcome 'Round Here' are available to stream today. Both tracks and more about The Marcus King Band follows:

New Michael Kratz featuring Mindfeels single out today July 23rd

July 23, 2018 by David Vousden in Classic Rock, AOR, New Single, News, Tour Dates

Michael Kratz might be a new name to many readers of RGM but the Danish singer-songwriter is well known in AOR circles. His recent 'Live Your Life' album featured contributions from David Garfield, Michael Landau and Steve Lukather (Toto), which should give you an idea of the quality of the release. Michael needed a band to perform at the launch party for the album and Italian label mates Mindfeels stepped up for the evening (Mindfeels released their debut album 'XXenty' last year to acclaim from the AOR / Melodic Rock community as it lived up to the Toto influences their name implies). The combination of the two acts proved a great success and Michael has again partnered with Mindfeels for his new single 'Dragging Me Outside' which is a superb example of westcoast AOR complete with a rousing chorus, plenty of keys and a perfectly placed guitar break. A streaming link to 'Dragging Me Outside' and more about Michael Kratz follows:

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:

Saxon reissues continue with three more albums on July 27th

June 14, 2018 by David Vousden in Classic Rock, Deluxe Reissue, Hard Rock, Metal, News, Video, Vinyl

August 10th (please note new release date due to manufacturing issues) will see the release of the third wave of Saxon reissues with three more albums getting the deluxe media book/swirl vinyl treatment. The late 80's found Saxon in transition as the band line-up evolved and the 'Innocence Is No Excuse', 'Rock The Nations' and 'Destiny' albums are now ripe for re-evaluation. Once again these releases benefit from deluxe media book packaging for the CDs and impressively colourful vinyl (check out 'Rock The Nations'). The CDs will feature a host of bonus tracks including B-sides, demo and live tracks. A little more about Saxon, pre order links and track listings follow: