Update 10th February 2026: With Neil Young cancelling all of his European and UK dates for 2026, the folks at State Fair have acted quickly to welcome Alanis Morissette as the new headliner for the Saturday night of the festival, with Skunk Anansie also added to up the rock quota at State Fayre 2026.

State Fayre 2026 is already looking like the place to be this summer with an impressive line-up of big hitters and new, upcoming names converging on Hylands Park in Chelmsford on June 26-28th for a long weekend of music and barbecue. Taking inspiration from that most quintessentially American institution, the State Fair, 30,000 people are expected to attend sets by headliners: Kings of Leon, Neil Young, and The Lumineers. If that wasn’t enough to entice you, new additions to the line-up include Jack Savoretti, Orville Peck, Molly Tuttle, Razorlight and Elles Bailey joining The Black Crowes, Kip Moore, Amble, KT Tunstall and many, many more. It’s a bit like someone stole my record collection and turned it into a music festival, with barbecue. More follows, including all the artist and ticket info you’ll need to know:

Katherine Priddy will release her third album, ‘These Frightening Machines’, on March 6th via Cooking Vinyl. In support of the album, Katherine will be putting in the road miles with an extensive series of In-store performances commencing on Saturday, January 31st, in Leamington Spa at Head Records. Not content with that, a full UK tour will follow in April/May of this year. A full list of all the dates and times follows, plus more about Katherine and the new album, including the video for the latest track released from the record ‘Hurricane’.

Suzanne Vega will release her new album ‘Flying With Angels’, produced by guitarist Gerry Leonard, on May 2nd via Cooking Vinyl. A single from the album ‘Speaker’s Corner’ is available now and does a great job of building anticipation for the upcoming record. Later this year, Vega will return to the UK for a run of shows culminating in a date at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London. More about the album, the tour and the video for the single follows:

Folks have been waiting a long time for an album from Liam St. John, and that wait will finally be over on September 5th with the release of ‘Man Of The North’ via Big Loud Rock. To coincide, Liam will visit the UK for a short run of dates with stops in Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester and London. ‘Man of the North’ includes a string of songs that’ve been burning up social media channels, including collaborations with Houndmouth, Molly Tuttle and the striking title track. Please read on to learn more about Liam St. John.

Inspiration strikes in the strangest ways. For singer-songwriter Juliet Lloyd, a podcast report on the plight of the whale from the family-favourite movie ‘Free Willy’ would be one such inspiration, resulting in an excellent new single, ‘Wild Again’, written with and produced by Todd Wright (Lucy Woodward, Butch Walker, Toby Lightman). Juliet will embark on a long-overdue first UK tour in July, where I’m sure we’ll hear ‘Wild Again’ and tracks from the often lyrically striking ‘Carnival’ album from 2024. Full tour dates and more information about Juliet Lloyd after the break.

Mark Eitzel will return to Europe in early 2025 for a run of shows set to include multiple UK dates. Eitzel has an extensive body of work to call on as a solo artist and frontman of American Music Club. It will be his first European tour in eight years. The songwriter will be playing solo acoustic shows with two full band shows (London/Hassocks) to conclude the run of dates. More about Mark Eitzel and those all-important ticketing links follow:

Mary Chapin Carpenter, Julie Fowlis, and Karine Polwart have announced the release of their new album Looking For The Thread (Thirty Tigers) on January 24; an exciting debut collaboration from the trio. The full press release below digs deep into the project’s genesis and includes the first single from the album ‘Hold Everything’ plus details of a not-to-be-missed run of UK shows set for March 2025.

Sunny Sweeney recently released a 10th-anniversary reimagining of her 2014 album ‘Provoked’ via Thirty Tigers. ‘Still Provoked’ features new versions of all thirteen tracks on the original release plus two new songs and is available for the first time on vinyl as a limited edition 2LP set alongside CD and Digital. Sunny will return to the UK in November for a ten-date tour. Please read on for more about Sunny Sweeney, the visualizers for ‘My Own Lane’ and ‘My Bed’ (featuring Will Hoge') plus those tour dates.

Singer-songwriter Hannah Scott embarks on an extensive UK tour tonight (Sept, 21st) at Faringdon Corn Exchange. The dates coincide with the album ‘Absence Of Doubt’ set for release on October 25th. More about Hannah Scott follows including a full list of dates and ‘Broken Homes’ the latest single from the album.

Sean Taylor recently embarked on an extensive tour that will keep him busy into the long, dark winter nights. The shows are in support of his upcoming The End Of The Rainbow album, set for release on September 13th, 2024. The run of shows includes an album launch night at London’s Betsey Trotwood to coincide on September 12th. The latest single from the album ‘Only Beauty Can Save The World’ is available now.

The Long Road festival has announced the one and only Don McLean will headline the Saturday night of the 2024 festival. The legendary singer/songwriter is at the forefront of a host of new additions to the festival announced today including a first-ever UK show from Paula Cole alongside Ron Pope, Alan Power & the Take Twos, Brooke Eden, Dylan LeBlanc, Gangstagrass, Katie Pruitt, The National Parks, Scott Matthews, Georgia Van Etten, Toby Sebastian, Jess Williamson, The Deep Blue and more joining an already stacked line-up featuring Russell Dickerson, The Red Clay Strays, Randall King, Drew Holcomb, Morganway, American Aquarium, Chapel Hart and many, many more. The full press release follows with all the info you’ll need for a fantastic weekend of great music.

No stranger to our shores, Toronto-based singer and songwriter Julian Taylor returns to the UK for a run of shows kicking off in Shoreham-By-Sea on August 22nd. The dates are in support of his upcoming album Pathways, which is set for release on 27th September 2024 via his Howling Turtle, Inc. label, and include shows at The Long Road festival and London’s Water Rats. A full list of dates and a little more about Julian Taylor, including a link to the title track featuring Allison Russell follow:

Acclaimed US singer-songwriter Amigo The Devil (aka Danny Kiranos) recently announced a string of UK and Irish dates in support of his third album ‘Yours Until The War Is Over’. The force of nature that is Amigo The Devil is an impressive experience in a live setting so I’d urge you to get along to a show if possible. Full tour details and a little more about Amigo The Devil and the album follows:

To coincide with the release of his latest album ‘Ship To Shore’, due May 31st via New West Records, highly acclaimed singer/songwriter/guitarist Richard Thompson will embark on a full-band UK tour commencing May 25th in Cambridge and concluding on June 8th at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall The UK dates will be followed by a run of solo/with friends shows in the USA with further touring plans stretching into 2025. Full tour dates and much more about ‘Ship To Shore’, including the latest song taken from the album ‘Freeze’ follow:

Glen Hansard has announced a solo acoustic UK tour for April 2024 set to include two shows at Union Chapel in London. Tickets are on sale from 10am on Friday December 8th 2023

Tom Heyman will bring a slice of San Francisco to the UK in March when the US singer-songwriter visits our shores for a run of dates opening for Dan Stuart of Green On Red fame that will crisscross the country and include two London shows. Tom is promoting his recent ‘24th Street Blues’ release, an album rooted in the sounds and the people that inhabit the city he calls home. Following on from his run of shows with Dan Stuart, Tom will squeeze in a special in-the-round songwriters show with Our Man In The Field and Michele Stodart at London’s Green Note on March 24th. Tom Heyman is a seasoned performer, and ‘24th Street Blues’ is his sixth solo album while still being an in-demand guitarist and pedal steel player with many artists, including Hiss Golden Messenger and Chuck Prophet. Tour dates and much more about Tom Heyman follow:

Justin Hayward, the voice of The Moody Blues, has announced The Blue World Tour for March 2024. Justin is, once again, joined by guitarist Mike Dawes, Julie Ragins and Karmen Gould. I was lucky enough to catch the quartet on their last UK tour and thoroughly enjoyed the evening despite being a relative newbie to Justin’s work beyond the obvious hits. Please read on for more about Justin, the tour and ticketing details (Updated December 8th 2023).

Connor Selby has enjoyed a terrific 2023 and 2024 looks to be shaping up equally well. The on-the-rise blues singer and guitarist is set to open for Joanne Shaw Taylor on a run of shows through the Netherlands and the UK in February 2024. Connor continues to support his self-titled album voted a Top 10 Blues Album of the Year by Mojo Magazine. More about Connor Selby and Joanne Shaw Taylor follows:

Alex Ellis, aka Our Man In The Field, released his excellent second album ‘Gold On The Horizon’ in November 2023 to universal acclaim. RGM was lucky enough to get along to a launch show at London’s Slaughtered Lamb to coincide with the release and left highly impressed by a superb set of songs delivered beautifully by Alex and his band with unhurried, understated grace. I’m pleased to report that OMITF will be playing selected shows in January, commencing at London’s Green Note on the 14th, before embarking on a longer run of dates in February. Full tour details follow:

To mark the occasion of the reissue of three albums on vinyl for the first time, as well as 24-page CD book packaging, The Unthanks will perform a pair of one-of-a-kind concerts (two-of-a-kind?) in Gateshead on September 9th and the Barbican in London the following day. Tickets for both shows go on sale at 10 AM on Friday, April 7th, for an event no fan of the duo will want to miss. Full details of the various ticketing possibilities follow, including more about the albums, special guests etc.

Over the last few months, Jill Andrews has been drip-feeding us tracks from her upcoming ‘Modern Age’ album due August 18th On Vulture Vulture/Tone Tree Music. The latest single is the gorgeously melancholic ‘Better Life’. Lush, yet intimate, ‘Better Life’ is probably my favourite of the four singles released from the album thus far, and it had to beat some pretty stiff competition to win that accolade. One listen to the sublime blend of Jill and Becca Mancari’s vocals as the song closes is all you need. Jill will make a flying visit to the UK for The Long Road Festival in August before returning for a full tour in September. More about the single, the tour and Jill follows:

The Long Road Festival returns to Stanford Hall in Leicestershire for an event that is now an essential part of the UK summer for fans of all things Country, Roots and Americana. The first set of artists announced for August 25-27th is an impressive mix of big names, rising stars and a wide range of talented newcomers. Jon Pardi making his UK debut is a coup, while Blackberry Smoke are guaranteed to rock late into the Leicestershire night. Scratching the surface of the initial batch of artists, you will find Breland, Margo Price, Tenille Townes and Nickel Creek, highlighting the sheer range and variety of music waiting to be discovered. Tier 4 Tickets are on sale from Friday, March 3rd, so please read on for more about the festival, the artists and ticketing links.

Tenille Arts will return to the UK in August for a performance at The Long Road festival, but it gets even better for fans of Tenille and country music in general. The Canadian singer-songwriter has also squeezed in a trio of shows co-headlining with Caylee Hammack including a London show at Lafayette. Tickets for the tour will be available to purchase tomorrow (Friday, 14th July) at 10am BST here, and her full UK dates can be found below.

The 2023 edition of the Cambridge Folk Festival features a typically eclectic range of artists. If you’ve a pre-conceived idea of what constitutes “folk”, then Cambridge in late July will surely open your eyes and ears to a wide range of sounds from all parts of the globe. From stalwarts of the festival such as Kate Rusby and Eliza Carthy to progressive rap collective Arrested Development. Not convinced? How about Hollywood actor turned highly impressive singer/songwriter Kiefer Sutherland or the more home-spun silver screen success of Fisherman’s Friends. More info about the festival and the artists follows, including ticketing details:

Australian trio Sons Of The East recently kicked off a European tour in the Faroe Islands with UK dates commencing on July 18th and festival appearances to follow, including The Long Road Festival and Latitude. To coincide with the dates, an excellent new single, ‘Hard To Tell’ is available now, which is sure to please fans of their debut album ‘Palomar Parade’ (40 million streams and counting). More about Sons Of The East, the video for ‘Hard To Tell, and those all-important tour dates follow:

There are plenty of Americana/roots festivals to choose from, but Maverick Festival, returning for its sixteenth year at Easton Farm Park, Suffolk, can justifiably live up to its claim of “Getting it right since 2008”. This year’s offering is shaping up nicely with Tom Russell, Laura Cantrell, Suzie Ungerleider and The Hoth Brothers among the early announcements, alongside such returning favourites as Rich Hall, Carter Sampson, Amelia White and Jon Langford.

Jake Smith aka The White Buffalo, unveiled the most ambitious project of his career with the release of ‘Year Of The Dark Horse’ late last year to impressive reviews. The Jay Joyce produced work ebbs and flows via a series of striking musical diversions, opening up a world of possibilities for the singer-songwriter. If you think you know The White Buffalo, trust me, you don’t until you’ve heard ‘Year Of The Dark Horse’. One of the best ways to appreciate the record is the excellent film of the album linked below. More about The White Buffalo, the film, tour dates and much more follow:

No stranger to the UK, Chastity Brown makes a welcome return to our shores for a run of shows commencing at The Water Rats in London on May 23rd. Speaking from personal experience, I can say that Chastity is fantastic live, one of those rare artists with a story to tell and the ability to communicate that story to everyone in the room. Chastity released her sixth (by my count) album ‘Sing To The Walls’ in 2022. More about Chastity Brown and those dates follow: 

We recently caught up for a chat with Jerry Leger (Baker's Dozen Interview) as the Canadian singer and songwriter had just released an EP of cover tunes. As it turns out, Jerry was keeping busy, as prior to a UK tour which kicks off in High Wycombe on May 8th, he has another EP, this time of self-penned material set for release on April 28th entitled ‘The Time Flew By’. This EP consists of cuts that he couldn’t squeeze onto previous albums for reasons such as the flow and the overall feel of the record, which is a pretty refreshing approach when many artists seem obsessed with single tracks. You can check out the video for the title track from the EP below, where you will also find the tour schedule.