News, reviews and more
While life for all of us is pretty weird, here at RGM we’ve been taking comfort in the things that never change. Spring keeps springing; socks still inexplicably disappear in the laundry and singers - in their thousands - keep singing songs. That remains as true as ever for the musicians of Canada, the very best of whose recent releases are gathered here for you in this, the thirteenth instalment of the Maple Leaf Roundup.
Read MoreMusic 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:
Read MoreWelcome to the latest, long overdue, delve into the RGM Inbox. As usual, we’ve been inundated with a host of musical pleasures and with many of us following the rules on self-isolation this seems like an ideal time to check out some great new music. So please join us on this latest voyage of musical discovery.
Read MoreDustbowl Revival have been keeping busy curating their very own Sway-At-Home music festival. Eighteen acts over three days including Steve Poltz, Shook Twins, Luther Dickinson and Birds Of Chicago. The music commences at 10pm (UK Time) this Friday, April 17th. More about Dustbowl Revival, Sway-At-Home and the acts involved follows:
Read MoreItalian 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:
Read MoreKip 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:
Read MoreBack in 1980, The Vapors burst onto the scene with their ‘Turning Japanese’ single a classic slab of spiky power pop/new wave that still sounds remarkably fresh in 2020. I’m pleased to report the band are celebrating the forty years since that landmark release with a new album fittingly entitled ‘Together’ due May 15th via Absolute. The first single from the album ‘Crazy’ shows that despite the passing of time The Vapors are staying true to their roots. The band hope to tour later this year with a show set to include tracks from the new album and their ‘New Clear Days debut record performed in full. Please read on for much more about The Vapors and music from ‘Together’:
Read MoreGuaranteed to brighten your day in these tough times The Bacon Brothers are back with a new single. The recording of music via file sharing is the norm and has been for quite a few years now but who thought it’d become our main avenue for musical expression? The video for ‘She-Zee-Zee (Easy On My Eyes)’ should strike a chord for many folks and raise a smile if you’re stuck in the house. Loads more about The Bacon Brothers including a link to the video follows:
Read MoreWelcome 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.
Read More
Jack Broadbent has a new video and single ‘If’ available. The track is from his excellent ‘Moonshine Blue’ album that received great reviews late last year. Since the album release, Jack has been keeping busy on the road with a run of dates that included shows opening for Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood. Jack will be hitting the road again in May opening for Peter Frampton and also has a show booked at the Black Deer Festival (a festival that comes very highly recommended). More about Jack and those tour dates follow:
Read MoreWelcome to the Maple Leaf, the regular RGM column that brings you news of the best sounds emerging from Canada. Since the decade turned we’ve been deluged with music but have meticulously sifted to bring you a carefully curated consignment of Canadian confections. Or something.
Read MoreToday, February 28th sees the release of the latest single ‘Devil’s In Town’ from the wonderfully monikered Silas J. Dirge. The single is the second release from his upcoming sophomore album and follows the rather wonderful murder ballad ‘Flowers On Her Grave’ a tale of death, vengeance and homicidal cows… Mr Dirge aka Jan Kooiker might be familiar to some readers from his time in alt-country act The Information. More about Silas J. Dirge follows:
Read MoreIt’s time once again to delve into the murky depths of the RGM inbox. The first edition of this new feature was surprisingly well received so we’re back with part two. Please join us as we share a quartet of impressive releases that reinforce the theory that there’s plenty of great music if you know where to look.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreSpanish act Morgan will release a UK single ‘Another Road’ on February 21st 2020 to coincide with a London show at Colours in Hoxton on the 25th. Morgan might be a new name to many in the UK but the band have two albums and plenty of road miles on the clock with shows as far afield as Brazil. More about Morgan and their Colours showcase follows:
Read MoreAlice Wallace caught the attention of RGM with her 2019 album release ‘Into The Blue’ which showcased her lovely voice over a selection of material that was eclectic but hung together beautifully. Basically Alice Wallace can sing anything and it’ll sound great. Wallace might be based in Nashville these days but ‘Into The Blue’ was heavily influenced by the sounds of her native California. Hardly surprising then that her latest release is a version of ‘Long, Long Time’ via Need To Know Music on February 14th 2020. The Gary White penned song was a top thirty hit for Linda Ronstadt in 1970 and appeared on her ‘Silk Purse’ album
Read MoreHeavy Metal pioneers Black Sabbath have announced the first event to mark their 50th Anniversary. Their debut album - which must surely rank as one of the most influential albums of all time - will be played back at an album listening session at Number 10, Hackney, London on February 11th, 2020. This isn’t just any listening session though as it’ll be In The Dark in conjunction with BMG and Pitchblack Playback in high-quality MQA audio (Master Quality Authenticated). More about the event, Black Sabbath and Pitchback Playback follows:
Read MoreThe new decade has only just dawned but the RGM inbox is already full to bursting with great new music from a range of genres. We listen to all sorts of stuff here at RGM and believe that you can’t beat the thrill of discovering new music, so please join us as we delve into the RGM inbox. You never know your new favorite artist might be just a click away.
Read MoreThe Maverick Festival will return over the weekend of July 3rd - July 5th 2020 which, as I’m sure you all already know, is 4th of July weekend. This seems to be particularly fitting as Paul Spencer and the Maverick team have been bringing the very best in Americana to the leafy surrounds of Easton Farm Park, Suffolk for many years. The first names for 2020 have been announced with a nice mix of returning favorites and new names including Grammy winning singer-songwriter Steve Forbert and Canadian force-of-nature Terra Lightfoot. More info about the Maverick Festival including ticket prices follows:
Read MoreThe California Country Show is a syndicated radio show and podcast hosted by “Just Dave” Bernal which is a pretty cool way to check out a host of great music by Independent and major label acts. Dave recently launched a new series of interview podcasts to shine a light on new female artists entitled: Trailblazers - Women In Country Music. The shows feature Dixie Jade, Julia Hatfield, Honey County, Darci Carlson and Sheyna Gee who recount their personal musical journeys. The show is available via all the usual platforms including Apple and Spotify and is well worth checking out. More about California Country and Trailblazers follows:
Read More