Diamond Black new single 'Ghost in the Glass' out today

April 13, 2018 by David Vousden in Alternative Rock, New Single, News, Video

London based quartet Diamond Black released their new single 'Ghost In The Glass' today (13.04.18). The band were founded by The Sisters Of Mercy guitarist Ben Christo and the single is a fantastic blend of huge riffs and a wonderfully melodic chorus. Following on from last years debut 'Sorrow' single Diamond Black are definitely going to be one to watch in 2018 and beyond. The lyric video for 'Ghost in the Glass' and loads more about Diamond Black follows:

Terry Reid announces London date @ Nell's Jazz & Blues April 26th

April 13, 2018 by David Vousden in Blues, News, Tour Dates

Acclaimed vocalist Terry Reid has announced a show in London on April 26th at Nell's Jazz & Blues. Reid first came to prominence in the late 60's and is still going strong as evidenced by his recent contributions to Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry's 'Sweetzerland Manifesto' release. Reid has enlisted guitarist Neil Hubbard (Joe Cocker, Kokomo, Roxy Music), bassist Jennifer Maidman (Penguin Cafe Orchestra) and drummer Ash Soan (Del Amitri / The Producers) to form a very impressive band to join him for the show. Opening the show will be a special guest singer-songwriter Jon Allen in advance of his upcoming 'Blue Flame' album release on May 18th. More about Terry Reid, ticket links etc follows: UPDATE: In very late news Jon Allen will no longer be able to perform on the night so Kaleb McKane will be filling the special guest spot.

Black Sabbath announce 'Supersonic Years' 7" Ltd Ed Vinyl Box Set

April 12, 2018 by David Vousden in Box Set, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, News, Vinyl

Black Sabbath return to the vinyl fray with a new limited edition 7" singles box set due June 8th. The new box looks like the ideal companion to last years gargantuan 'Ten Year War' offering as 'Supersonic Years' brings together the legendary metal acts 70's single releases. The set includes five rare single edits and the ten picture sleeves are a mix of hard to find worldwide reproductions and others exclusive to this set. The audio has been remastered by Andy Pearce and the set includes new liner notes. More about the box including a track listing follows:

Airrace preview 'Untold Stories' with a little 'Summer Rain'

April 10, 2018 by David Vousden in AOR, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock, New Single, News, Tour Dates, Video

UK AOR/Melodic rock act Airrace are back with a new single 'Summer Rain' which is a pleasing antidote to the British weather as I type. The new single is a slight change of direction for the band as it exhibits a soulful charm that was unexpected but welcome. The band have a new album 'Untold Stories' in the can for an August release (10.08.18) with tour dates set for September. Please read on to check out 'Summer Rain' and learn a little more about the upcoming album and tour:

Megan O'Neill to release new album June 8th

April 06, 2018 by David Vousden in Country, New Single, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates

Megan O'Neill has confirmed June 8th as the release date for her new 'Ghost Of You' album. To coincide with this announcement 'Without' is now available as a single and continues the high standard of Megan's previous two singles 'Ghost Of You' and 'Why I Need You'. Megan has plenty of touring planned for 2018 including an album launch show at 229 in London on April 26th. More about the album, the single and tour news follows:

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

April 04, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, AOR, Classic Rock, Compilation, Country, Folk, Melodic Rock, Playlist, singer-songwriter

Well, it's that time again. March is behind us and we're now in April but March was another strong month musically. We had a stunning release from the legendary Joan Baez and Bennett Wilson Poole demonstrated that the UK was up to the task of presenting Americana with an English twist and plenty of 12 string Rickenbacker guitar. The UK was also represented in the field of melodic rock/AOR by FM who continue to release quality records 30+ years into their career. The UK country scene is again featured in our playlist courtesy of Holloway Road who go from strength to strength while Greece is featured for the first time via Gadless and his excellent 'Falling' single. There's plenty of musical variety this month so please don't be shy and give our playlist a go to discover some great new music.

A Song for National Autism Awareness Month from The Nadas

April 01, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, News

April is National Autism Awareness Month in the USA with World Awareness Day falling on April 2nd. Our own National Autistic Society here in the UK has been raising awareness about autism this week leading up to April 2nd. The Nadas might not be very well known in the UK but the Iowa band recently released their eleventh album of a career that spans twenty-five years. National Autism Awareness Month has special meaning for singer-guitarist Mike Butterworth "Please enjoy this song I wrote and recorded with my band and remember that April is Autism Awareness month and that countless other families living with Autism are trying their best every day.” Please read on to check out the song 'Henry-James' and hear more from Mike as he shares some thoughts on Autism and his family:

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:

A duo of new singles from UK country duo Holloway Road

March 23, 2018 by David Vousden in Country, New Single, News, Pop, Soundcloud

UK country-pop duo Holloway Road today (March 23rd) released two new singles 'No Place' and 'In The Dark'. The tracks were road-tested at the recent C2C event and give fans a real insight into where the guys are going musically in 2018 with an EP in the works and touring plans for this year to be announced very soon. The singles are available to stream/download from your preferred digital platform or check them out here at RGM:

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:

Rain Perry and The Gourds highlight Austin Texas music scene @ London's SoundScreen Festival

March 16, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, News, Film, Festivals, Alt-Country, Folk

From March 21st - 28th the SoundScreen Festival will bring music and film together at a range of venues throughout London. Many genres of music are represented with Dave & Ray Davies of The Kinks, Julian Temple, The Slits and Lee Scratch Perry amongst the featured artists. It was very pleasing to find the Austin Music scene featured at the festival with 'All The Labor - The Story of The Gourds' and Rain Perry's 'The Shopkeeper' amongst the films to be shown. Regular readers might remember we reviewed 'The Shopkeeper' here at RGM last year (review) so it's great to see both films receiving their International Premiers at SoundScreen. Please read on for more about 'All The Labor' and 'The Shopkeeper' including ticket details and screening times:

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:

Praying Mantis are defying 'Gravity' on new album.

March 09, 2018 by David Vousden in AOR, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Melodic Rock, Metal, New Single, News

Here at RGM we're not opposed to listening to things of a heavier nature musically, but it must have plenty of melody. Praying Mantis have managed to tread the fine line between silk and steel for over forty years. In 2015 they released the excellent 'Legacy' and they're back in 2018 with new album 'Gravity' set for May 11th via Frontiers. The guys have released the title track from the album as a single and you can check it out and learn more about the band by reading on:

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.

The new single by Greek artist Gadless 'Falling' feat. Lou Is

March 02, 2018 by David Vousden in Folk, Pop, New Single, News, Soundcloud

In a first for RGM we're pleased to feature the fifth single from Greek singer-songwriter Gadless entitled 'Falling' out today via Ammos Music. Gadless has dubbed his music as "Melancholic Chamber Pop" and with Samuel Marlieri's impressive saxophone contribution alongside a seductive backing vocal from Lou Is (Louiza Sofianopoulou) that seems to sum things up pretty well. To these ears 'Falling' has a feel reminiscent of the underrated debut Adam Cohen album from a few years back which is a very good thing. More about Gadless and the streaming link to 'Falling' featuring Lou Is follows:

Philippa Hanna is 'Getting On With Life' on new single/video.

March 02, 2018 by David Vousden in Country, Gospel, New Single, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates, Video

Philippa Hanna is 'Getting On With Life' via the new single from her recent album 'Come Back Fighting'. The album has achieved real crossover success reaching No.1 on both the UK iTunes Country Chart and the OCC Christian and Gospel Album Chart.'Getting On With Life' is an excellent track with a very relatable theme, backed by an impressive video definitely worthy of your time. Philippa will be on the road in April playing shows in Birmingham, Manchester, London and Sheffield. A little more about Philippa, her new video and those tour dates follow:

Soulful Country with an Outlaw Mentality from Andrew Sheppard on 'Steady Your Aim' March 23rd

February 27, 2018 by David Vousden in Alt-Country, Americana, News, singer-songwriter, Tour Dates, Video

Andrew Sheppard ex Gypsy River Haunts frontman will release his second solo album 'Steady Your Aim' March 23rd on which he melds soulful country and rock n' roll with an outlaw mentality. Andrew Sheppard has shared stages with Shooter Jennings, Jason Isbell and Josh Ritter which should give you a vague idea of where he's coming from musically. Boise resident Sheppard recorded 'Steady Your Aim' at Ivy Hall Studio in Nashville co-producing the record with guitarist Eric Loomis and Wes Walsworth. More about Andrew Sheppard and a video of an acoustic version of the title track from the album follows:

Unheard Chris Cornell track to feature on Johnny Cash 'Forever Words'

February 26, 2018 by David Vousden in Americana, Country, News, Video

Today on what would have been Johnny Cash's 86th birthday Legacy Recordings are releasing 'You Never Knew My Mind' a track from the upcoming Johnny Cash 'Forever Words' album due April 6th (previous RGM coverage of this release including the track listing etc can be found in full here). The song was originally written by Johnny Cash as a poem and has been turned into a new song by Chris Cornell in what would be one of his last recordings. 'You Never Knew My Mind' and the video which features Chris Cornell's thoughts on the words and the recording follows:

Iron & Wine and Passenger to headline Black Deer Festival

February 23, 2018 by David Vousden in Alt-Country, Americana, Country, Festivals, News

Iron & Wine and Passenger have been announced as the first headline acts for the inaugural Black Deer Festival at Eridge Park on the Kent/Sussex border in the heart of the beautiful High Weald countryside. The festival is set for 22nd - 24th of June, 2018 and the bill for the festival is shaping up very nicely with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, John Moreland, Eric Bibb and Ward Thomas amongst those already announced. Many more acts are still to be announced + the festival will feature all manner of things to keep country and Americana fans busy with great food, craft beer and custom motorcycles. If you're attending Black Deer be sure to keep an eye open for the Supajam Education in Music & Media (SEMM) the educational provider who will be running their own stage at Black Deer. Everything you need to know about Black Deer including the acts, location, tickets etc follows:

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: