Brent Cobb’s new single ‘Ain’t A Road
Too Long’ premiered Tuesday Sept 12 on NPR Music.
The
track is available to purchase HERE(Low Country
Sound/Elektra Records/Atlantic Records).
Of the song, NPR Music’s Ann Powers praises, “…an anthem
for the labourers who make music possible—a funny, sweet and funky talking
blues in which Cobb counts his blessings while acknowledging the sweat equity
it took to secure them… Cobb and his collaborators find transcendence in soul’s
leavening and the grease of rock ‘n’ roll.”
Brent debuted the song at last night’s Americana Honors &
Awards show at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, where he
was up for Emerging Artist of the Year.
Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb,
‘Ain’t A Road Too Long’ is the first new music from Brent since last year’s
widely acclaimed debut album, Shine On Rainy Day. The
single also culminates “Long Live the Storytellers”—a new
documentary-style video series created by Ram Trucks and
filmed in Nashville with director Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier (Muscle
Shoals). Watch the previous episodes here: EPISODE ONE, EPISODE TWO and EPISODE THREE.
Brent explains, “[Being a part of Ram’s ‘Long Live the
Storytellers’] campaign is important to me because I’ve been writing
songs my whole life. I was born into it. Professionally, I’ve been making a
living at it for over a decade and any breaks I’ve had along the way have been
because of the songs I've written.”
Adding, “It takes drive to stay on that road, figuratively as well as
literally. The first truck I ever toured in was a Ram. We toured in
it all over the country. A lot of artists before me had used the same
truck, so by the time it got to us it had been rode hard. As hard as it had
been rode, it still got us where we needed to go.”
After recently wrapping a sold-out European tour, Brent is currently on tour as
part of Chris
Stapleton’s All-American Road Show and will cap-off 2017 with a
special New Year’s Eve concert at Macon’s Cox Capitol Theatre.
US acts Aaron Lee Tasjan and Lindi Ortega to support UK Americana
with intimate secret sets joining Angaleena
Presley, Courtney Marie Andrews
and Erin Rae at British Underground
Bootleg BBQ at The Groove on Saturday 16 September. Brits Van Morrison and Graham Nash Win Big, huge buzz around
attendance of breaking British Country Soul Star Yola Carter at Americanafest Awards And Honors Ceremony UK Americana panel reveals continued
Internationalization of Americana Music with strong growth of UK Americana
market achieving over 900K Americana Album Sales this year.
Bob Harris, Yola
Carter and Angaleena Presley. 2017
Americana Music Association Honors & Awards on September 13, 2017 in
Nashville, Tennessee. (CREDIT Source: Rick Diamond/Getty Images North America | NewestImages)
Thursday 14
September, NASHVILLE
Hot USA artists Aaron Lee Tasjan and Lindi Ortega were announced (Sept 14) as
secret in store performers at British
Underground's Bootleg BBQ, where Aaron will open the event at 12 noon with
an intimate unplugged performance at record store The Groove, hosted by event
media partner The Line Of Best Fit. Aaron Lee Tasjan stated, “I’m
really honored to be playing the Bootleg BBQ at Americanafest supporting UK
Americana and the great folks at British Underground and Line Of Best Fit, who
help raise its profile across the world. I grew up listening to my Mom's
Beatles records. When I was a teenager I listened to lots British Rock ‘n’
Roll, George Harrison solo albums, Jeff Lynn and Oasis so I’ve definitely been
influenced by British music. ”
British artists have dominated Americanafest this year so far, with Van Morrison and Graham Nash claiming awards at Wednesday night (Sept 13) Americanafest Awards and Honors show,
alongside performances from Billy Bragg
and massive buzz around the red carpet attendance of breaking British artist,
country soul superstar YOLA CARTER.
Yola-mania hit fever pitch at the festival following an unprecedented public
response to her unique mix of Country and Stax era Soul at the festival last
year. Backstage, Yola chatted to Bob Harris and posed for photos with friend,
Angaleena Presley. Yola attended fresh from NPR’s
Southern Streams event at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum where she performed new music, alongside stars Don Bryant, Raul Malo and Joan Osborne.
Yola Carter (R) and Angaleena Presley (L). 2017 Americana Music Association Honors & Awards on Sept 13, 2017 in Nashville, TN. (CREDIT Source: Rick Diamond/Getty Images North America | NewestImages)
Aaron Lee Tasjan added, “I’m a huge fan of Yola Carter, she is an
incredible artist who will be playing Americanafest this year. I also love
touring the UK and find audiences there are very welcoming to American artists.
There are also some fantastic festivals like End of The Road, which I just
played. I’m hoping to go back and tour there a lot more in the
future."
Commenting on her success Yola Carter stated, “Americanafest 2016 was an
incredible launch pad for me, since I performed last year I’ve won artist of
the year at the AMAUK Awards, toured the UK, Europe and Canada, playing
international festivals and planning the international release of my debut
album. British Underground and their team help propel British artists onto the
international stage and its great to be able to support them again this year.”
Yola Carter will perform at 12th & Porter on Friday 15
September and The British Underground Bootleg BBQ (held on Saturday 16
September at The Groove Record Store from 12 Noon), alongside an all star
all-female main stage line-up with high profile US stars: Angaleena Presley,
Courtney Marie Andrews and Erin Rae. US artists are getting behind new British
talent including rising UK stars Wildwood Kin, Danni Nichols, The Honey Ants
and Ben Smith and Jimmy Brewer who are all flying the flag for British
Americana this year.
British focus at Americanafest reflects the internationalization of Americana,
with various non American homegrown acts such as Australian Americana artist Kasey Cambers and Yola Carter gaining huge momentum in the USA as well as their own
countries and UK hosted events such as the Bootleg
BBQ becoming a major focus of Americanafest. Danna Strong Director of
Operations at the Americana Music Association stated, “British Underground’s
Bootleg BBQ has become one of the most important international events at
AmericanaFest, a key networking space for US music industry and artists to
connect with UK delegates and it plays a huge role spotlighting UK Americana
and the fantastic musical talent coming out of the UK at the moment. Don’t miss
it!”
The market for Americana continues to grow in the UK with many high profile
artists including Courtney Marie Andrews
and Erin Rae finding the UK an
effective launch pad for their global careers.
Supported by new
statistics from the Official Charts
Company which were revealed yesterday during a UK focused panel,
confirming that the UK Americana record music market saw over 900,000 albums sold so far this year.
The market saw a healthy overall increase of 35% on last year’s sales.
The Official UK
Americana Albums Chart was launched in 2016 to support the growing genre in the
UK.
Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40 (Week Ending 14 September 2017)
8 September 2017 -
14 September 2017
This Week/ Last Week/ Title/ Artist
1 1 A Deeper
Understanding War On Drugs #15
Official Top 100 Albums [Tagged Alt]
2 2 Adios Glen Campbell [Tagged Country] #17
Official Top 100 Albums
3 NEW GREATEST
HITS LIVE Steve Winwood #34 Official
Top 100 Albums [Tagged Rock]
4 NEW SONGS OF BOB
DYLAN Joan Osborne [Tagged
Singer/Songwriter]
5 3 Legacy Cadillac Three [Tagged Country]
6 4 Beast Epic Iron & Wine [Tagged Alt]
7 New Other People
The Rails [Tagged Singer/Songwriter
Folk/Rock]
8 9 A/B Kaleo [Tagged Alt]
9 5 Life Love
Flesh Blood Imelda May [Tagged
Singer/Songwriter]
10 6 Acoustic
Classics 2 Richard Thompson [Tagged
Singer/Songwriter]
Outside The Top 10
11 11 10 Cleopatra
Lumineers [Tagged Alt]
12 7 Turning Tides
Wildwood Kin [Tagged Alt]
13 8 Crack-up Fleet Foxes [Tagged Alt]
14 NEW The Surfing
Magazines Surfing Magazines [Tagged
Alt]
23 10 In The
Kingdom Of Dreams Ian Felice [Tagged
Singer/Songwriter Alt/Folk]
BRITISH UNERGROUND BOOTLEG BBQ LINE UP
British Underground confirmed final
stage times for the fifth annual Bootleg BBQ in Nashville, held on Saturday 16 September, during AmericanaFest, in association with the
Americana Music Association and Line Of Best Fit. The free entry industry
networking and music event is held each year at East Nashville’s coolest record
store - The Groove and showcases the UK’s best musicians influenced by
Americana, alongside performances from the best USA emerging artists, hosted by
BBC Radio 2 and Chris Country DJ, Baylen Leonard.
Full Line up to include: AARON LEE TASJAN - 12.15 –
12.30 (instore stage) DANNI NICHOLS (UK) 12.30 PM - 1 PM LINDI ORTEGA – 1pm-1.15 (instore
stage) ERIN RAE (US) 1.15 PM TO 1.45 PM THE HONEY ANTS (UK) - 1:45PM -
2 (instore stage) WILDWOOD KIN (UK) 2 PM - 2.30 PM BEN SMITH AND JIMMY BREWER (UK) -
2:30PM - 2:45 (instore stage) YOLA CARTER (UK) 2.45 PM - 3.15 PM
COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS (US) 3.30 PM - 4
PM ANGALEENA PRESLEY (US) 4.15 PM - 5
PM
The winners of the 16th Annual Americana Honors & Awards 2017 were announced
during thHonors and Awards show on
September 13, 2017 held at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. The
celebrated program was the capstone event of “AMERICANAFEST℠,” the Americana Music Festival and Conference, which runs from
September 12-17, 2017.
Americana Music Association Honors & Awards on September 13, 2017 in
Nashville, Tennessee. (CREDIT Source: Rick Diamond/ Getty Images North America | NewestImages)
Each year, the Americana Music Association℠ honors distinguished members of the music community with six member-voted annual awards and with
Lifetime Achievement Awards, which
will be announced leading up to the event.
Described by Emmylou Harris as “the shining star of
Nashville and music everywhere,” the Americana Honors and Awards show has been
broadcast in the past on AXS TV, PBS, and via SiriusXM Radio, BBC2, WMOT, WRLT,
WSM, Voice of America and npr.org.
Performances from this year's Americana Honors and
Awards were filmed for a special episode of "Austin City Limits" slated to air on PBS in November.
In
Brief:
2017
Americana Music Awards Winners
Album of the Year: A Sailor’s Guide to
Earth, Sturgill Simpson (produced by Sturgill Simpson)
Artist of the Year: John Prine
Group / Duo of the
Year:
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
Song of the Year: “It Ain’t Over Yet”,
Rodney Crowell (feat. Rosanne Cash & John Paul White) (written by Rodney
Crowell)
Emerging Artist of the
Year:
Amanda Shires
Instrumentalist of the
Year:
Charlie Sexton
Spirit of Americana /
Free Speech in Music Award: Graham Nash
Lifetime Achievement
Award, Songwriting:
Van Morrison
Lifetime Achievement
Award, Performance:
Robert Cray
Lifetime Achievement
Award, Instrumentalist: Hi Rhythm Section
Lifetime Achievement
Award, Executive:
Larry Sloven and Bruce Bromberg
Held
at the Ryman Auditorium Old Crow
Medicine Show kicked off the 2017 Americana Music Awards preceedings which
included three hours of star-packed performances and both emotional and sentimental
awards acceptance speeches.
The
annual event took place on Wednesday night (Sept. 13, 2017 ) in downtown
Nashville.
John Prine snagged the
prestigious Artist of the Year,
Amanda Shires took home the Emerging
Artist of the Year trophy
In
their 16th year in 2017, the Americana Music Awards — officially dubbed the Americana Music Association Honors &
Awards — recognized a diverse set of acts: Prine and Shires, along with Rodney Crowell (Song of the Year), Marty Stuart and His Fabulous
Superlatives (Group / Duo of the Year), an absent Sturgill Simpson (Album of the Year) and Charlie Sexton (Instrumentalist
of the Year) all landing trophies this year in the awards show’s six main
categories.
In
addition, numerous Lifetime Achievement
Awards winners were announced — Robert
Cray, Van Morrison and Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash
fame) were among them who were recognized with special speeches and
performances.
Standout
performances during the 2017 Americana Music Awards were slated to be from
Emerging Artist of the Year nominee Aaron
Lee Tasjan, Artist of the Year nominee Margo
Price and Album of the Year nominee Hurray
for the Riff Raff.
Americana Music Association Honors & Awards on September 13, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee.(CREDIT: Rick Diamond/ Getty Images North America | NewestImages)
Billy
Bragg and Joe Henry were on hand offering their version of Glen Campbell‘s “Gentle on My
Mind” in tribute to the late legend.
The
ceremony concluded with host Jim
Lauderdale, Jack Ingram, Brandy Clark and others jamming to “Tulsa Time” by Don Williams, who died on Friday (Sept. 8).
A full list of category Winners and nominees for
the Americana Music Association’s℠ 16th Annual Honors
& Awards is below:
Album of the Year:
(present by Elizabeth Cook and Lukas Nelson)
AMERICAN BAND, Drive-By Truckers, Produced by David Barbe
CLOSE TIES, Rodney Crowell, Produced by Kim Buie and Jordan Lehning
FREEDOM HIGHWAY, Rhiannon Giddens, Produced David Bither, Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk
Powell
THE NAVIGATOR, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Produced by Paul Butler
A SAILOR’S GUIDE TO EARTH, Sturgill Simpson, Produced
by Sturgill Simpson * WINNER *
(presented by Allison Moorer and Shelby Lynne) >>
Twitter Video
Spencer Cullum, Jr.; Jen Gunderman; Courtney
Hartman; Charlie Sexton* WINNER *
Spirit of Americana/Free Speech in Music Award, co-presented by the Americana Music Association and the First
Amendment Center: Graham Nash (presented by Ken Paulsen)
Lifetime Achievement Award, Trailblazer: Iris
Dement (presented by John Prine)
Lifetime Achievement Award, Songwriting: Van Morrison (presented by Emmylou Harris)
Lifetime Achievement Award, Performance: Robert Cray (presented by Vince Gill)
Lifetime Achievement Award, Instrumentalist: Hi Rhythm Section
Lifetime Achievement Award, Executive: HighTone
Records founders Larry Sloven and Bruce Bromberg (presented by producer Joe
Henry)
Americana Music Association’s℠ 16th Annual Honors & Awards Photos & Fashion
Picture Gallery: John Prine, Sturgill
Simpson take home top honors at Americana Awards www.tennessean.comvia
@tennessean
Amanda Shires
BLOOMING LOVELY:
She wore a fetching long sleeved red rose black floral print midi dress
Get the look with this Rose Print Keyhole Midi
Dress at TOPSHOP, Dark Floral Dress for Everyday atPolyvore
Sweater Dress FLORAL Print Knit Midi Red ROSE
Grunge Graphic 1980s dres at shopexile.com
Get Angaleena’s fiery Americana look in her sleeveless
black spaghetti strap Fire Print Flare Dress at www.dresslily.com
She added a chunky wide buckle belt gold and silver
jewelry and sported good nails.
Elizabeth Cook – There to present Album of the Year she shone in a floor length plunging
flimsy/floaty spaghetti strap gown
which featured gold/silver/black button-coin-like piped detailing. She added a
gold chain and bracelet, rings and cool shades and beachy hair completed her
look.
Songwriters Brandy
Clark and Lori McKenna sported similar black outfits. Brandy wore a
plunging black smock dress with flared sleeves and cut-out slits across the shoulders
and tasselled detailing at the front adding matching black pants. Lori wore a
knee length dark navy blue v-plunge dress with long bell flared sleeves for a
Boho look adding pointy beige shoes.
About The Americana Music
Association℠
The Americana Music Association℠ is a professional not-for-profit
trade organization whose mission is to advocate for the authentic voice of
American roots music around the world. The association produces events
throughout the year; including AMERICANAFEST℠: The Americana Music Festival &
Conference, and the critically acclaimed Americana Honors & Awards program.
The Americana Music Association℠ receives enormous support from the
Tennessee Department of Tourism, Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp,
Epiphone, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Music City Networks, ASCAP, BMI, and
SESAC.
About AMERICANAFEST℠: The Americana Music Festival & Conference
The 18th annual AMERICANAFEST℠ will take place Sept. 12-17, 2017. The
event will once again bring together fans and music industry professionals
alike, offering six days of celebration through seminars, panels and networking
opportunities by day and raw artist showcases by night. The Americana Honors
& Awards Show is the hallmark event of the week's festivities and will take
place at the historic Ryman Auditorium on September 13. For more information
and ticketing, visit americanamusic.org.
For more information on the Americana Music
Association℠ and to become a member, please visit:
Grammy Award nominee Jerry Harmon announces new single;
Grandmas Are Sexy Too (FFO: Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Hank Williams)
Grammy
nominated Jerry Harmon announces new single “Grandmas Are Sexy Too”
Has performed with Dolly Parton, Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, Marty Stuart,
Earl Scruggs, and others.
Grandmas Are Sexy Too single (Track 8) appears on his 10-track album
WALK SOFTLY.
Older
fans of “real country” without a pop influence will really love Jerry’s latest
release. The standout tracks are the tongue-in-cheek ‘Grandmas Are Sexy Too’, Man I Used To Be’, Love In The House’, Want To
Come Home’, and the title track ‘Walk
Softly’ - Celebmix.com
Each
song has a nice, warm feel to it with an old soul sound and in general it is a
feel good album that is full of really good music. There is nothing flashy, no
catchy pop, no autotune, in fact there is nothing generic about it at all. The
songs have a strong traditional country sound blended with folk, bluegrass and
in some songs like Grandmas Are Sexy too a bit of Rock and Roll....Well this album
is full of traditional instruments and old soulful, country sounds that really
hit you, it’s refreshing.... is music is engaging, captivating and soulful and
totally different to what I usually listen to and I love that. -
After
years of success as a performer in America, sharing the bill with the likes of
America's most celebrated musicians: Dolly Parton, Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice,
Marty Stuart, Earl Scruggs, and others, Jerry has quickly gained
recognition as an amazing performer in the UK and mainland Europe
performing at major events there. He has appeared at such events as North
Carolina’s renowned Merle-Fest, The Bath International Music Festival, The
Edinburgh International Festival,and The Winnipeg Folk Festival.
Jerry Harmon was born into a rich family tradition of music. His home, deep in
the foothills of the Blue Ridge / Appalachian mountains, reverberated daily to
the sound of music in many different forms.
Harmon’s
musical career was launched at an early age, strumming a banjo fashioned from
wood and groundhog hide by his uncle Gene. Radio programmes featuring Hank
Williams Sr, Flatt & Scruggs and Ray Price also proved a lasting influence.
At
the age of 12, with his Sears & Roebuck Truetone guitar in hand and an
earnest determination, Harmon tackled the first of years of self given music
lessons from a book by the famed North Carolina guitarist Arthur
Smith. It is this rich family tradition, these years of practice, and the
multi-dimensional experience that gives us Jerry Harmon, the Smoky Mountain
Gypsy.
Jerry
shares his Smoky Mountain home with his wife, Maria, and their two
Schnauzers--the infamous, "Shadow" and his new friend,
"Rosie." Friends come often to the Harmon household, pulling up a
chair, helping themselves to a cup a coffee or a cold bottle of water from the
refrigerator. After you've been in the Harmon house more than five minutes, you
realize you are no longer a guest--you are at home! Jerry gathers people around
him like the mountains gather the clouds,-- at home together... as much as the
man and his music and the traditions of his storytelling.
Jerry's new studio album WALK SOFTLY
sees him team up with acclaimed producer Pat Holt (Dr. Hook, Keith Bryant,
Darlene Austin) for a record that embraces both his songwriting heritage and
the contemporary country scene.
(updated: 19 Sept 2017 The Adelaides not performing) This year marks the 12th year of
the British Country Music Association Awards
(BCMA Awards; previously known as British Country Awards BCMAwards).
Nominations for the awards (“British
Country Music’s Biggest Night”) have been announced and VOTING is underway!
Leading the British Country Music Association Awards pack are The Shires, Ward Thomas (both record breaking acts on the Official UK Top 100
Album Chart) and Darcy Crawford have
each received 4 nominations.
Laura Oakes (Female Vocalist 2015-2016), Gary Quinn (Male Vocalist of the Year 2016), Jess and
the Bandits (Entertainer of the
Year and Group of the Year 2016)
have snagged 3 nominations. Photo: Director Secretary of the British CMA Jeanne Jordan welcomes Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earle ( The Shires ) as Honorary Lifetime Members for their services to UK Country Music.
Wow! Can't believe it, 4 BCMA Nominations! Can't thank the BCMA British Country Music… https://t.co/ivg3XdSDfk
VOTING for the 2017 BCMA
Award nominees began on September 1stt.
SCROLL
DOWN for a list of all the nominees
You
have to me a member of the British
Country Music Association in order to vote.
NOT A MEMBER?
You can join here http://britishcma.co.uk/join-now/ to cast your vote. It also enables you to attend the Best Of
British (pre BCMA Awards showcase) for FREE and you get 10% off the ticket price for British Country Music AssociationAwards 2017 show onSunday 22nd October 2017. Details below on the events and artists appearing.
Listen to his message from Lee Williams (President of British Country Music Association BCMA &
CEO of CMR Nashville “Europe’s No1 Country Station”):
2017 BCMA Awards performer and Horizon
Act of The Year Nominee Penny Jayne Black posts:
Tickets: Members - £22.50, Non-Members - £25.00, VIP - £50.00 (Includes
pre-show reception with "meet and greet" and priority seating) http://britishcma.co.uk/events/
The
BCMA are thrilled to announce the launch of their first BCMA Radio show hosted by secretary Jeanne Jordan (editorial team UP Country Magazine) on CMR Nashville. T his show will showcase the very best in
homegrown British artists as well as upcoming stars from across the pond. It
will provide updated news on upcoming BCMA events and other news on the Country
music scene. The BCMA have welcomed news correspondent Dan Wharton of Your Life in a Song (Blog/ Marketing
Website) to the team, who will be providing monthly features on all things
Country. In the latest show edition he speaks with reigning BCMA Award Female
Vocalist Laura Oakes. Listen to the
latest show HERE.
The
BCMA Award 2017 nominees are: * NEW *=
New to the Category for 2017 compared to the 2016 nominees
The nominations for the 2017 BCMA
Awards.
UK Song of the Year
Dreaming - Laura Oakes (released April 2016)
If She Falls - Holloway Road (released 31
March 2017)
Little Too Country? Too Country For You - Darcy
(released June 2017)
Body Language - Gary Quinn (released Sept
2016)
Better in Blue Jeans - Laura Oakes (unreleased)
UK Album Of The Year
MY UNIVERSE - The Shires (Released Sept 30, 2016)
CARTWHEELS - Ward Thomas (Released Sept 15, 2016)
HOOKED - Darcy (6 track EP, released June 13, 2017)
SMOKE AND MIRRORS - Jess and the Bandits (To be released
Sept 15, 2017)
I REMEMBER - Gary Quinn (5 track EP, released Sept 2, 2016)
COMING BACK TO ME - Carolynne (5 track EP, released April
7, 2017)
International Song of the Year
Blue Ain’t Your Color - Keith
Urban (released Aug 8, 2016)
Dirt on My Boots - Jon Pardi (released Sept
19, 2016)
Tenderheart - Sam Outlaw (released April
2017)
Makin’ Me Look Good Again - Drake White (released Aug 19, 2017)
Forever Country - Various Artists (released Sept 16,
2016)
Craving You - Thomas Rhett ft. Maren Morris (released
April 3, 2017)
International Album of the Year
THE WEIGHT OF THESE WINGS - Miranda Lambert
RIPCORD - Keith Urban
CALIFORNIA SUNRISE - Jon Pardi
ADIOS - Glen Campbell
WELCOME HOME - Zac Brown Band
Entertainer Of The Year
The Shires
Thorne Hill * NEW *
Jess and the Bandits
Raintown
Ward Thomas * NEW *
Musician of the Year
Justin Johnson (Drums, Parr
Street Producer)
Tom Wright (Guitar; Thorne Hill) * NEW *
Donna Marie (Guitar/Keys; Thorne
Hill) * NEW *
Luke Barratt (Drums) * NEW *
Luke Thomas (Guitar) * NEW *
Callum Wilson (Bass) * NEW *
International Act Of The Year (Touring)
Jenn Bostic; Sam Outlaw; Charlie
Worsham; Sarah Darling; American Young; Sonia Leigh; Southern Halo
Gordon Davies DJ Promoter and CEO
of Westwood Records
Susan McCann Singer
Ron Jones Singer and Promoter
Our Reaction & Comment
AWARDS CRITERIA
The nominations and voting criteria
continues not to mirror the eligibility period and category criteria adopted by
the CMA in America. Members of British Country Music Association DO NOT get to
have the opportunity to vote in order to determine who the nominees are. They
merely have the chance to VOTE on the names presented to them.
Why not have an eligibility
period set to submit a body of work or achievement over a year. Then
have ballot rounds to determine the nominations?
This year sees the expansion of some
categories to 6 nominees with some tightening up compared to 2016 and a lot of
new acts receiving nods.
There is still an unnamed industry panel
who select the nominations.
As far as we can tell the panel most
likely includes:Lee Williams (President
of British Country Music Association BCMA), Jeanne Jordan (Secretary
and a Director of British Country Music Awards), Wayne Hadlow (FSA Festival) Rob Davis (Publisher
& Editor; Up Country and Cross Country magazines), Roger Wild (Secretary
of the BCMA/ Broke Spoke Festival/ Copper Kettle Promotions), Les Evans (NAM
agency) and Jim Duncan (Wolvestock Promoter/ Curator of the
British Country Music Hall of Fame).
Others may include Karl Hancock (Buckle & Boots Festival founder) and Chris Country Radio may be involved
with the International choices.
It is unknown just how many people actually determine who draw up the
nominations and how many BCMA members will determine the 2017 winners. The
non-transparency sadly still exists.
There also appears to be some supportive
nods from people who have a direct association some of the acts through
management and towards their publishing companies.
UK Album of the Year
Normally an album comprises 7 or more tracks.
HOOKED by
Darcy (6 track EP, released June 13,
2017), I REMEMBER by Gary Quinn (5
track EP, released Sept 2, 2016)
Along
with COMING BACK TO ME by Carolynne
(5 track EP, released April 7, 2017) have only 5 or 6 tracks.
SMOKE AND
MIRRORS by Jess and the Bandits had
not been released (out released Sept 15, 2017 | Amazon UK) so only the committee had the chance to hear it
and voters will not have heard it yet. This is like 2015 when Honey Ryder’s BORN IN A BOTTLE (Amazon) was nominated some 6 months before
their crowd funders received it and 8 months before its commercial release in
February 2016.
UK Song of the Year
This includes two nominations for
the reigning Female Vocalist (2015-2016) Laura
Oakes who is a big favourite with FSA’s Festival CEO Wayne Hadlow. In his July 6th interview with BCMAs Jim
Duncan (country presenter 101.8 WCR FM “Playing
the best for Wolverhampton) Wayne said: “One
of the most talented ladies I’ve ever seen perform is a girl called Laura
Oakes, she’s a cut above the rest, she is absolutely fantastic”
Of the two songs nominated Dreaming was released in April 2016 and Better
in Blue Jeans has yet to released! Only the BCMA panel can of heard it
and how can the BCMA members consider something that hasn’t had any commercial
output as yet!
With many singles A and B
playlisted by BBC Radio 2 one might of expected to see the panel choose a
single from The Shires or Ward
Thomas but both are omitted from this category.
Darcy (Darcy
Crawford) originally hails from Brisbane,
Australia and was based at Compstall, Manchester. He is another big
favourite with Wayne and Jim (“One of the great new acts”). Speaking about
Darcy’s HOOKED EP Wayne said: “My good
friend Darcy, he performs wonderfully, the album is fantastic, an amazing
album. Nothing out of Nashville is better than it, the writing and material is
just great, the songs are great. Anyone that wants a good country album go out
and buy it”
Released on 23 June 2017 Amazon UK) the 6-track Hooked, recorded in Nashville, made a
debut at #17 on the UK Country iTunes Chart (#526 overall UK Albums chart),
then fell to #28 (#1080 overall and quickly fell off the Top 200.
Originally from Brisbane,
Australia (Current Location), Darcy is a Country Rock Recording artist for
4Quarters Records bringing the country scene over to the UK in style.
Watch how Honky Tonk Outlaw
Country Rockabilly artist Lars Pluto
(Website) reacts
to his deferred nomination for Horizon
Act of The Year. Hoover over the video, set volume and tap to play:
When you spend years being unabashedly vocal about the sad state of the pop takeover of what they have the audacity to...
Posted by Lars Pluto on Tuesday, 15 August 2017
Best Of British & BCMA Awards 2017 Performers
The British Country Music Association Awards (BCMA Awards) will take place at the Wulfrun Hall,
Wolverhampton while a Pre-awards show Best Of British will be put on at
Bilston's Robin 2.
Set to perform at the Wulfrun
Hall show are Laura Oakes, Southern Halo (USA), The Adelaides, Journey Home,
Jade Helliwell and Penny Jane Black.
NEWS: The lovely USA
singer-songwriters Jenn Bostic &
Sarah Darling have been added to the
line-up at the BCMA Awards on October 22nd!
Two-time BCMA Female Vocalist
2015-2015 Laura Oakes is a country
and pop musician from Liverpool. Laura graduated from Leeds College of Music in
2012 with a first degree in Popular Music. After graduating, she began
recording her first single 'Don't Let It Hit Ya', which was
released in September 2013 and landed in the Top 20 on the iTunes Country
Chart. Her second single 'Snakes & Ladders' followed in 2014 with similar
success. Hotdisc chart toppers Cleveland,
Mississippi US all-girl trio Southern
Halo (Natalia, Hannah and Christina Morris) announced on Twitter they would
be joining the lineup at the 2017 BCMA.
In March they played a short UK
Tour starting on Sat 18th March 2017(London), then Nottingham (Bodega), Manchester
(Gullivers), Glasgow (Hug & Pint) and Newcastle (Jumpin’ Jacks). You can
watch highlights of their Newcastle show online in HD at https://vimeo.com/225351927(Cameras: Stuart Cameron and Ronald Yule; A
StuMedia TV Prouction. It was broadcast on Keep It Country TV (Sky/ Freesat/Freeview)
They have added some more UK
dates
Sunday
October 22, 2017 - Wolverhampton - BCMA Awards - The
Wolfrun Hall, 7 p.m.
Monday
Oct 23-25 / Radio visits, interviews, television
Journey Home (previously called Acoustic Journey) are an all-male four-piece band
performing rock and country.
Singer/songwriter Jade Helliwell will also play the
awards. She won the prestigious Yamaha Hoedown competition in February this
year - securing her a slot at the UK’s biggest Country Music festival, Country
2 Country (C2C 2017) at the O2 in London.
An impromptu “Hallelujah” duet with busker Dawid Osial
went VIRAL with over 16 million views! This resulted in Helliwell’s FORGET THE
NIGHT (EP) climbing to #1 on the UK Country Album iTunes Chart and #8 on the
overall UK iTunes chart
Jade’s Facebook Page Likes
increase by 856,000%!! She now has over 65K Facebook Followers. She wants to be
the UK's Taylor Swift!' She has signed up with RAW Management in London.
She was also nominated for the
UKCountryRadio.com’s UK Country Music Awards for UK Country Artist Of The Year.
Joining the rest will be Penny Jayne Black, who has been
nominated for 'Horizon Act Of The Year' by The BCMA Awards 2017. She hails from
West Sussex, but now lives in Hampshire.
BEST OF BRITISH PRE-AWARD SHOW
Playing the Best Of British pre-award show at Bilston, meanwhile, will be Glaswegian
multi award winning Raintown who
have won just about every top award on the British Country scene including BCMA
Entertainer of The Year. They have bagged 16 awards in four years and just won
Duo Of The Year for a second time at the UK Country Music Awards (presented by UKCountryRadio.com)
on September 1st
Darcy is a
country rock act who originally hails from Brisbane, Australia.
Megan & The Common Threads, are led by Americana-playing Irish
singer-songwriter and CMR Nashville radio presenter Megan
O'Neill, who was described by The Irish Times as 'The Irish Carrie Underwood'. In February 2017, Megan was selected
as one of the top eight Americana songwriters in the UK and performed at the
Americana Music Awards in London. She also performed at the all-star line-up HARVEST 2017, a new Country Music
Festival, which took place in 2 different locations on Saturday 26 & Sunday
27 August 2017 at Westport House, County Mayo and Enniskillen, County
Fermanagh.
Simon James has been writing songs for 25 years and hails from the North West. His
style is described as country rock.
Published on Mar 22, 2017 (133
Views)
Video for Simon's first single, Broken
Too Long. Filmed by Paradigm Photography.
MISSION
The British Country Music Association (BCMA) is committed to supporting
the very best in UK and International Country music artists.
Working closely with our friends,
industry partners and the Country music community in the UK, we are here to
heighten the awareness of Country Music and support its on-going growth by
recognizing excellence in the genre. The BCMA will be a place to have fun and
celebrate success.
