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As it’s the season for giving, we’ve put together a special bumper edition of The Maple Leaf Roundup, bringing you not five but ten - yes, ten! - new tracks from our copaines Canadiens. Think of it as an early Christmas gift - a mellifluous mixtape of must-hears you might not have otherwise met.
Read MoreOn 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:
Read MoreWhen the force of nature that is Amigo The Devil toured the UK in early 2020 in support of his fantastic 'Everything Is Fine' album, the world was a far different place. Looking back Amigo The Devil’s dark gothic tales were a perfect match for the upcoming pandemic, but at the time the RGM crew were merely staggered by his ability to mesmerize a crowd. We were witnessing something very, very special and ATD was most certainly the real deal. Nearly a year later and ATD is back with a terrific new single ‘Another Man’s Grave’ from his upcoming Beau Bedford (The Texas Gentlemen / Paul Cauthen) produced album ‘Born Against’ set for April 16th, 2021 release via Liars Club. More about the album including the single follows:
Read MoreWe all knew this winter was going to be hard. But nobody could have foreseen just how hard. Here, at the never-beating, black granite heart of The Hard Place, we’d like to think we can make it just that little bit harder. Just for you. “How hard?” you ask, expectant and not a little apprehensive. And the answer is “None. None more hard.” Walk with us now, barefoot, through the broken-bottle-strewn wasteland of rock’s best new releases.
Read MoreIt’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.
Read MoreVancouver based singer-songwriter Kandle and London, UK producer Michael Rendall share a love of James Bond and those fantastically timeless theme songs that are such an integral part of the Bond experience. With an invite to actually record the theme song for a James Bond film about as likely as the latest film in the franchise getting released anytime soon they embarked on a journey to create their own, and the result is ‘Lock & Load’. They’ve also put together a video that perfectly captures the feel of an opening 007 credit sequence. Please read on to check out the video (essential for all James Bond 007 fans) while Kandle tells us a little more about the creative process.
Read MoreIt’s dark. You blink your eyes to try and take in some light but you realise that there is only black. You can barely move, surrounded by rock on all sides. Your heart races but then suddenly you realise you’ve been here before. Yes, you have come again to The Hard Place; you’re not sure how it happened but here you are. Here, and only here, will you satisfy your (understandably secret) desire to discover the very finest new things in the big-haired realm of melodic rock. Relax now, and let us show you the way…
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 MoreCanada has produced a mind-melting amount of must-hear music so far this year and, as we reluctantly tiptoe into the autumn months, she shows no sign of slowing down. The leaves outside may be turning, curling and falling but the RGM Maple Leaf roundup is, as ever, bursting with life and promise. The recent harvest has been so rich and abundant that it won’t be long before we come knocking with more, but let us not get ahead of ourselves. For now, just see if these perfectly ripe beauties can’t banish your September blues.
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 MoreIf variety is the spice of life, then today’s Hard Place menu is, we must warn you, hotter than ever before. We’ve got hard bits, soft bits (sue me) and even prog bits but, as usual, all of our bits are exceedingly good. There are no specials on the board because everything here is gourmet. We have assembled the tastiest new treats on the scene so, get as comfortable as you can in those leather trousers and prepare for a four-course feast of sizzling melodic rock delights.
Read MoreWayne Hussey has enlisted the help of a host of artists from the Alternative and Goth Rock fields to record a new version of the classic ‘Tower Of Strength’ which is released today (August 28th, 2020) digitally with a physical release on CD and 12” vinyl to follow on October 2nd, 2020. The single features such luminaries as Billy Duffy, Midge Ure, Gary Numan, Budgie and Julianne Regan among many others, all of whom chose a charity to benefit from the single. Full details of all the artists involved, the video for ‘Tower of Strength 2020’ and links to buy and stream the single follow:
Read MoreIn the latest inbox feature, we’ve got a range of international talent for your perusal. From Canada, Terra Lightfoot returns with a new single and an album on the way while closer to home UK pedal steel legend BJ Cole is sharing his love of Hawaiian music. Speaking of sunnier climates (although High Wycombe would give Hawaii a run for its money in the heat stakes this week) we’ve got a London based Aussie in Nick Kingswell with a terrific single and also from Australia The Buckleys a sibling trio breaking out of their homeland with a nice line in pop-country.
Read MoreAn interesting new development for those of us missing live music and in need of our concert fix is available from FanTracks. The newly launched subscription live concert streaming service will give a World Premier to a show by 311 on August 15th, 2020, The HD/4K concert was filmed in February of 2020 during Mardi Gras weekend at The Fillmore in New Orleans. This was one of the last concerts to be recorded before health and safety precautions were put into place regarding live events. FanTracks is premiering this concert to all via their platform and DIRECTV on Saturday, August 15, 2020 at 9pm ET and can be streamed by fans for free with a first-month-free subscription, followed by $1.99 a month. This subscription unlocks a catalogue of shows ranging from classic to modern rock, as well as more features during the concert live streams. The press release follows with loads more details about 311 and FanTracks:
Read MoreCanada is overflowing with music. The best songs, having risen to the top, float over the ocean and bubble through the waterways of the UK where we are poised, net in hand, to scoop them up from the little stream that runs behind RGM HQ. We’ve caught some lovely things for our latest Maple Leaf roundup and now we invite you to sit with us in the sunshine and admire each one before we gently lower them back in again to continue their journey downriver.
Read MoreIt’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.
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 MoreWith the walls starting to close in you begin to wonder how things are going, both mentally and physically, when out of the blue an old friend comes back into your life and things seem to be a little bit better. The old friend, in this case, is not someone I know personally but a new song by The Jayhawks. ‘This Forgotten Town’ is the new single from their upcoming XOXO album due July 10th via Sham/Thirty Tigers. The really good news is it sounds exactly how you’d like a new Jayhawks song to sound and that works for me. More info about the album and the first single follows:
Read MoreWelcome back to The Hard Place, where the hair is big, the guitars are pointy and the teeth have almost certainly undergone a recent whitening procedure. In this, our second all-killer-no-filler roundup, we aim to pleasure you guiltily with the news of the latest melodic hard rock from all four corners of the globe; and we know that - for you - only the best will do. So, sit back, relax and remember, in The Hard Place, no-one can see you playing air guitar.
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