News, reviews and more
Our Canadian cousins are apparently incapable of producing anything other than top-quality new music and October alone has yielded yet another bumper crop of goodies. We’d love to be able to cover more of these acts in an in-depth way but, frankly, we need occasionally to sleep. Nevertheless, carefully curated just for you, we present our latest selection of must-hears from the land of the common loon.
Read MoreFleetwood 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:
Read MoreLondon based singer-songwriter Keeva has released a new single ‘The Kindest Thing’ her first new music since the excellent ‘Whiskey’ appeared late last year. ‘The Kindest Thing’ is taken from her upcoming EP the intriguingly titled ‘Four Sad Songs and a Ballad’ due October 26th. ‘The Kindest Thing’ features the kind of songwriting honesty that I’m sure will strike a chord with many listeners. A stream of the single and a little more about Keeva follows:
Read MoreRecently signed to Broken Bow Records Lainey Wilson will visit the UK for the first time to play shows at Country Music Week in London later this month. Lainey independently released her debut EP earlier this year and as a songwriter has placed songs with Luke Combs and Kasey Tyndall. If you were lucky enough to grab tickets you can catch Lainey when she opens for Chase Rice at Bush Hall on October 23rd with a further date set for The Borderline on October 27th at the CMW Daytime Hub. More about Lainey including a track from her EP ‘Workin' Overtime’ follows:
Read MoreThe debut album by Amigo The Devil ‘Everything Is Fine’ is set for release October 19th (RGM Review) via Regime Inc/Membran. ‘Everything Is Fine’ is as striking an album as you’ll probably hear this year switching effortlessly from murderous folky troubadour to full-on metal assault in a heartbeat. Produced by Ross Robinson (Korn/Limp Bizkit) and with Audioslave/Rage Against The Machine drummer Brad Wilk involved metal credentials are assured but believe me when I say there is much more to ‘Everything Is Fine’. A track ‘Cocaine and Abel’ from the album:
Read MoreDeer Tick are fast becoming a bit of a favourite here at RGM towers. Thanks to a terrific live show earlier this year in London and the two albums they released late last year entitled ‘Vol 1’ and ‘Vol 2’. Most bands would now be putting their feet up but Deer Tick are back with a 13 track collection ‘Mayonnaise’ due Feb 1st 2019 via Partisan which contains alternative versions of tracks from the albums, cover tunes of songs they played on the tour and new material. The guys are also back in the UK for a run of shows in November which is pretty cool. More about the band and ‘Mayonnaise’ follows:
Read MoreThe 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:
Read MoreOur latest gathering of Canadian grooviness is, shockingly, an all-male affair. Fear not, though, because two Canadian female geniuses are going to be the focus of imminent full-length album reviews… watch this space. But for now, here is a roundup of the latest Canadian boys making (in our opinion) the bossest noise.
Read MoreTenille Townes will be in the UK in October 2018 for Country Music Week playing the CMA Songwriters Series and opening for Drake White (More CMA info). To coincide ‘Somebody’s Daughter’ the first video from her upcoming Jay Joyce produced album is available now. The album is set for release in 2019 via Columbia Nashville / Sony Music UK and you can check out the video for 'Somebody's Daughter' here @RGM along with more about Tenille Townes and those all-important tour dates.
Read MoreThe 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:
Read MoreBenjamin Folke Thomas will release his new album ‘Modern Man’ via Aveline Records on November 9th. Regular readers of RGM will remember Benjamin as we reviewed his last studio album ‘Copenhagen’ back in 2017 (review link) with Rich Barnard claiming it featured “A diverse and very thoughtfully arranged set of songs”. If ‘Tasteless and Complacent’ the first single from the album is anything to go by then ‘Modern Man’ should be well worth seeking out. Benjamin Folke Thomas is currently on tour playing solo shows with John Murry and will embark on a run of headline shows with his full band on November 21st. More about Benjamin Folke Thomas, the video for the new single and those tour dates follows:
Read MoreThe 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:
Read MoreOn October 5th (Update: release date pushed back a week from September 28th) Liam Russell will release the EP 'No Contest' via Hidden Pony/Slaight Music. The 30-year-old Russell is hardly a newcomer to the scene as he signed a major label deal at fifteen and has toured extensively (his dad is Canadian musician Brent Titcomb so music was obviously in his blood) but 'No Contest' is a new beginning for the singer-songwriter. The first music released from the EP is the excellent 'Half Chance' which should whet your appetite nicely. More about Liam Russell and the new EP follows including a stream of 'Half Chance':
Read MoreTo mark the UK physical release of 'Live on Red Barn Radio I & II' via Thirty Tigers on August 31st Tyler Childers will return to the UK for a show at London's Dingwalls on September 4th. The date is Childers' only UK show as part of a run of European dates. The Red Barn recordings are from 2013 and were previously only available on digital platforms so this physical release will be welcomed by fans of his Sturgill Simpson produced 'Purgatory' release. More about Tyler Childers follows:
Read MoreLongbranch/Pennywhistle the only album by Glenn Frey and JD Souther will see a welcome release on CD and 180-gram vinyl on September 28th. The album was released earlier this year as part of the Glenn Frey - Above The Clouds box set and sounded great (RGM Review here). So if you missed the box, or never managed to find an original copy of this rare album on vinyl, this is a must. Longbranch/Pennywhistle finds two artists at the start of their careers and really is pretty much essential for all Eagles fans. More about the release and details of upcoming JD Souther North American tour dates follows:
Read MoreAfter a four year hiatus, JP Harris returns with his third album 'Sometimes Dogs Bark At Nothing' on October 5th via Free Dirt Records. Produced by Old Crow Medicine Show member Morgan Jahnig 'Sometimes Dogs' has that honesty and sincerity that you only seem to get with old-school country. The first single from the album 'When I Quite Drinking' gets me thinking that 'Sometimes Dogs Bark At Nothing' will be essential listening come October. More about JP Harris, the album and a stream of the single follows:
Read MoreThe CMA Songwriters Series will return to the UK in October 2018 for a run of shows with the London date part of Country Music Week. The tour, which will also include dates in Gateshead, Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow will be hosted by Chris DeStefano with two other artists also making their UK debuts in Kassi Ashton and Tenille Townes alongside a name very familiar to UK audiences Ashley Campbell. The two hour seated show will find the artists performing and telling the stories behind their songs. Tickets are on sale from Friday, August 3rd. Ticket details, the full tour dates and more about the artists and the CMA follows:
Read MoreThe great, good, weird and wonderful music of our Canadian cousins keeps popping up in the RGM lunchbox, erm, I mean inbox, so we are pleased to present our latest roundup of the artists from across the water that you ought to include in your daily diet.
Read MoreMichael 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:
Read MoreChris Stills has announced the UK release of his first album in over a decade 'Don't Be Afraid' on September 7th. To support the album Chris will be visiting the UK for a run of shows in November. A digital deluxe release of the album will feature two additional songs one of which 'Hard To Please' you can check out here at RGM alongside more about the album and what Chris has been up to recently in the worlds of music, TV and film:
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