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PLEASE check out our Tour Dates Page
On the BBC Radio 2 Playlist for
the week commencing Saturday 29th July 2017
A Playlist:
Shania Twain - Life's About To Get Good
B Playlist:
Glen Campbell - Just Like Always
UK CHART NEWS
Official UK
Top 100 Singles Chart (Week Ending 3
August 2017)
28 July 2017 - 3 August 2017
Despacito overcame the
fact that its streams only counted for half of those of its main chart rivals
to deliver a knockout blow and return to No.1. Starting its third run atop the
chart on combined sales of 52,387
copies - including 21,309 from sales-equivalent streams - the track spent its
10th week at No.1 in all for Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber,
cutting short the reign of Wild Thoughts (1-2, 44,810 sales) by DJ Khaled feat.
Rihanna and Bryson Tiller after just one week.
Official UK
Top 100 Albums Chart (Week Ending 3
August 2017)
28 July 2017 - 3 August 2017
Trailing in second position all week,
Lana Del Rey's LUST FOR LIFE pipped Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott's
Crooked Calypso at the post to become the third No.1 album in four releases for
the 32-year-old singer/songwriter from New York.
Featuring collaborations with A$AP Rocky, Stevie Nicks, Sean Lennon and
The Weeknd, Lust For Life achieved pole position on sales of 24,972 copies,
including 5,288 from streams. Although the title Lust For Life suggests the
famously gloomy Del Rey is in a happier place, it doesn't halt the downward
spiral in her first week sales. She hit the ground running when first album
Born To Die debuted at number one on sales of 116,745 copies in February 2012,
but that tally was more than halved to 48,028 when second album Ultraviolence
debuted at No.1 in June 2014, and was almost halved again, when Honeymoon sold
28,391 copies debuting and peaking at number two in September 2015.
Co-vocalists of The Beautiful
South between 1994 and 2000 - a period when the group topped the chart with
studio albums Blue Is The Colour (1996) and Quench (1998) and compilation Carry
On Up The Charts (1994) - Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott resumed as a duo in
2014 and can consider themselves unlucky not to top the chart this week with
third collaboration, Crooked Calypso. Easily No.1 on paid-for sales of 23,309 copies, the album picked up only
239 sales-equivalent streams, for a grand total of 23,548 sales.
John Denver with THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION fell 5-8 with
6,836 sales.
Glen Campbell with ADIOS rose 28-27 with estimated sales
of 3,000 (7-week total 57,300)
Official UK
Country Album Top 20 (Week Ending 3
August 2017)
28 July 2017 - 3 August 2017
Glen Campbell with ADIOS held
at #1 (7 weeks; #1 peak)
Lady Antebellum with HEART
BREAK held at #2 (7 weeks; #2 peak)
The Shires with MY
UNIVERSE rose 5-3 (23 weeks; #1 peak)
Nashville Cast with THE MUSIC
OF NASHVILLE - SEASON 5 VOL 2 fell 3-4 (8 weeks; #3 peak)
Nashville Cast with THE MUSIC
OF NASHVILLE - SEASON 5 VOL 1 fell 4-5 (17 weeks; #4 peak)
Steve Earle & The Dukes with SO YOU
WANNABE AN OUTLAW held at #6 (6 weeks; #2 peak)
Chris Stapleton with FROM A
ROOM Vol 1 rose 8-7 (12 weeks; #1 peak)
Nathan Carter with LIVIN' THE
DREAM fell 7-8 (6 weeks; #3 peak)
Alison Krauss with WINDY CITY
rose 10-9 (21 weeks; #1 peak)
Zac Brown Band with WELCOME
HOME fell 9-10 (11 weeks; #1 peak)
Outside the top 10
Willie Nelson with GOD'S
PROBLEM CHILD held at #11 (13 weeks; #2 peak)
Sara Evans with WORDS made
a debut at #15
Official
Americana Albums Chart Top 40 (Week Ending 3
August 2017)
28 July 2017 - 3 August 2017
This Week/ Last Week/ Title/ Artist
1 1 Adios Glen Campbell
[Tagged Country] #27 Official Top 100 Albums
2 4 Life Love Flesh Blood Imelda
May [Tagged Singer/Songwriter]
3 3 A/B Kaleo
4 2 Crack-up Fleet Foxes
[Tagged Alt]
5 NEW Barefoot In The Head Chris
Robinson Brotherhood [Tagged Rock]
6 7 Cleopatra Lumineers
[Tagged Alt]
7 5 Something's Changing Lucy
Rose
8 10 Pure Comedy Father John
Misty [Tagged Alt]
9 9 The Nashville Sound Jason
Isbell & The 400 Unit [Tagged Rock]
10 11 Semper Femina Laura Marling
Outside The Top 10
11 12 Waiting On A Song Dan Auerbach
[Tagged Alt]
12 10 So You Wannabe An Outlaw Steve
Earle & The Dukes [Tagged Country]
13 8 How The West Was Won Peter
Perrett [Tagged Alt] # Official Top 100 Albums
15 6 A Short History Of Decay John
Murry [Tagged Alt]
UK Country
iTunes Chart
July 30, 2017 11:00
Songs
1. John Denver
- Take Me Home, Country Roads (#163 overall UK Singles chart)
2. Shania Twain
- Life's About To Get Good (#186 overall UK Singles chart)
3. Nashville
Cast - Saved (feat. Lennon Stella) (#256 overall UK Singles chart)
4. Johnny Cash
- Hurt (#317 overall UK Singles chart)
5. Dolly Parton
& Kenny Rogers - Islands In The Stream (#468 overall UK Singles chart)
6. Lady
Antebellum - Need You Now (#498 overall UK Singles chart)
7. John Denver
- Annie's Song (#515 overall UK Singles chart)
8. Nashville
Cast - Sauntuary (feat. Charles Esten & Lennon & Maisy) (#527
overall UK Singles chart)
9. Dolly Parton
- Jolene (#558 overall UK Singles chart)
10. Lonestar
- Amazed (#561 overall UK Singles chart)
Of Note:
13. Thomas
Rhett - Unforgettable (#747 overall UK Singles chart)
45. Shania
Twain - Poor Me | Debut #3 Fri 21 July
UK Country
iTunes Chart
July 30, 2017 11:00
Albums
1. Glen
Campbell - Adios (#43 overall UK Albums chart)
2. John Denver
- The Ultimate Collection (#99 overall UK Albums chart)
3. The Shires
- My Universe (#207 overall UK Albums chart)
4. Lady
Antebellum - Heart Break (#253 overall UK Albums chart)
5. Various
Artists - The Country Album (#317 overall UK Albums chart)
6. Shania Twain
- Greatest Hits (#341 overall UK Albums chart)
7. Johnny Cash
- The Legend of Johnny Cash (#373 overall UK Albums chart)
8. Margo Price
- Weakness (EP) (#424 overall UK Albums chart)
| Fri July 28: Debut #5 (#358)
9. Nashville
Cast - The Music Of Nashville Soundtrack Season 5, Vol 2 (#531 overall UK
Albums chart)
10. Nathan
Carter - Livin' the Dream (#548 overall UK Albums chart)
Of Note:
11. Dolly
Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou - The Complete Trio (#689 overall UK Albums
chart)
12. Zac Brown
Band - Welcome Home (#690 overall UK Albums chart)
13. Rhinestone
Heroes - Strictly Country (#698 overall UK Albums chart)
34. Sara Evans
- Words
40. Amie Knight
- Take It from Here (EP) | Sat July 29: #22 UK debut
Debuts Fri July 28, 2017
Juanita Stein - America Debut #7 (#395 overall UK Albums
chart)
Joe Nichols - Never Gets Old Debut #12 (#440 overall
UK Albums chart)
Logan Mize - Come Back Road Debut: #57
UK COUNTRY
ALBUM RELEASES
(27 July 2017) Margo
Price - Weakness (EP; Third Man Records LLC.)
4 Tracks/ Time: 15:42 Amazon UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
UK Country iTunes Album Debut #5 (#358 overall)
WEAKNESS, her surprise new EP, was recorded at the
similarly historic Sam Phillips Recording studio just down the street from Sun,
presumably without sacrificing jewelry or vehicles. On the title track Price
refines her country-soul songcraft, savoring the clever wordplay and concise
storytelling defined decades ago by Dolly, Loretta, and Haggard. Her backing
band scuff their boots up with a streamlined rhythm held together by a
two-stepping drumbeat and a jumpy piano theme, as Price presents herself as a
woman divided into two warring selves. There’s the Margo who can live up to all
the expectations we have of her (“Sometimes I’m Virginia Woolf”), and there’s
the Margo who feels like she’s going to crash at any moment (“Sometimes I’m
James Dean”). Eventually she admits that “sometimes my weakness is stronger
than me,” but the determination in her voice, not to mention the gritty
momentum of the music, makes it clear that she’s getting the upper hand on her
demons. - Pitchfork.com
Margo Price Explains Her New
EP, 'Weakness,' Track By Track - NPR.org
(28 July 2017) Juanita
Stein - America (2017 Nude Music Ltd)
UK iTunes Country Album Debut #7 (#395)
6 Tracks UK iTunes
Debut: #22 UK iTunes Country Album | Sun July 30: #40,
#42 | Tues Aug 1: #70 | Weds Aug 2: off the top 200
EP Launch took place on Sat July 29th at The Barrington
Theatre, Pennys Walk, Ferndown BH22 9TH
CONNECT with Amie - Facebook
(28 July 2017) Jillette
Johnson - All I Ever See In You Is Me (Rounder Records)
11 Tracks/ Time: 37:10 Singer-songwriter/ Pop
Amazon
UK CD/Vinyl (1
Sept) - UK iTunes - Amazon.com - Pledge Music
A ghostly connection in the woods was the catalyst for
the Nashville singer’s new album...Last October, Johnson had just moved from
Los Angeles to Nashville. A native of the Bay Area who spent her formative
years growing up in Westchester, N.Y. (just outside of NYC), Johnson was
overwhelmed with the culture shock of The South. She was struggling to adjust
to everything from the size of her new city, its oppressive heat, its dating
expectations and more, so she fled to Maine for a work retreat....Read More Round Hill Music
(28 July 2017) Jo
Dee Messina - All-Time Greatest Hits (Curbs)
12 Tracks/ Time: 43:24 Amazon UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
(28 July 2017) Joe
Nichols - Never Gets Old (Red Bow Records)
UK iTunes Country Album Debut #12 (#440)
(28 July 2017) Logan
Mize - Come Back Road (Big Yellow Dog)
12 Tracks/ Time: 39:31
Amazon
UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
Debut: UK iTunes Country Album #57
Leading with first single “Ain’t Always Pretty,”
written by Brett and Brad Warren, Chris Stevens and Lance Miller, Mize’s
12-track project also includes three co-writes and was produced by Dan Agee.
(28 July 2017) Mignon
- Five (EP)
5 Tracks/ Time: 18:15 Amazon UK – UK iTunes – Amazon.com - CD Baby
(28 July 2017) Red
Moon Joe - Time and Life (DBS) UK
#75 UK iTunes Country Album Debut
CONNECT with Red Moon Joe: Facebook
I’ve got a lot of time for
Red Moon Joe. They have actually been around since 1985 and released their
first album in 1990. They only lasted a few years until Mark Wilkinson decided
to hit the road as a session musician and folded the band… It sits fairly square in the apex of Americana,
Bluegrass and country but considering that they are Brits, the music avoids the
mawkish sentimentality of a lot of the genre and the playing is actually quite
superb….. Read more (4
STAR Review Music News.com)
(Rating: 9/10) The
songs are confiding, forceful sometimes. As it says in the first track, “Every
page and chorus sweet refrain/ Filled with joy and some… filled with
pain....This is a CD you should not be without. Awarded a high mark after
careful and repeated listening. …Read more Americana-uk.com
(28 July 2017) Billy
Droze – To Whom It May Concern (Rural Rhythm Records)
12 Tracks/ Time: 41:29 Bluegrass/ Acoustic Country /
Americana Amazon
UK - UK iTunes - Amazon.com
(30 July 2017) Jasmine
Atkins - Key to My Heart (EP) AUS
BLUEGRASS NEWS
(26 July 2017) WITH
EIGHT NOMINATIONS EACH, EARLS AND BALSAM RANGE LEAD FIELD
Nominees for the 2017 International Bluegrass Music Awards were announced at a press
conference in Nashville, TN, with Balsam Range and
the Earls of
Leicester leading the pack with
eight nominations each. Balsam Range received six nominations for the band and
two for their individual members, while the Earls pulled in five nominations,
plus three for individual members. Close behind are the Gibson Brothers, with 7
nominations (band and individuals), and Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, with five nominations (band and individuals).
- ibma.org
NEWS
(23 July 2017) Scotty McCreery Cited for Trying to Bring Loaded Gun
Through Airport Security - Taste Of Country
Scotty McCreery has issued a statement after he was
cited for trying to bring a loaded handgun through airport security last week. The
Raleigh News & Observer
reported that the 23-year old American Idol Season 10 winner and country singer
was stopped by police at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in Raleigh, N.C.,
at 6PM on July 13 after a TSA scan of his backpack revealed a loaded handgun.
Investigators found five 9 mm rounds in the magazine of the Smith & Wesson
and two boxes of ammo containing 63 bullets in the backpack.
(25 July 2017) They
Call It Football: Just ahead of Saturday's (July 29) English Premier League
match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotpsur at Nashville's Nissan
Stadium, Sony/Nashville artists Ryan Hurd, Seth Ennis and The Sisterhood performed at a label
group-supported pre-game event at the George Jones Museum and Entertainment
Complex.
TV
(25 July 2017) Valory Music Co.'s Delta Rae were
set to make a cameo appearance in this week's episode of CMT-TV series,
"Nashville," which aired on Thursday, July 27th at 8p (CT).
Delta Rae's Ian Holljes shared, “We were so happy to
be a part of a show that combines two of our favorite things -- music and
story-telling. After recording our own EP, it was fun to be able to go back
into the studio and play a role on the show.” Group member Liz Hopkins added,
“This is a dream come true! Britt [Holljes] and I have been watching
'Nashville' together for five years. We crush on Deacon, get thrown by the
twists, and always appreciate the way it features songwriting and the highs and
lows of musician life. We can't believe that we will be featured in this week's
episode -- hope you will tune in with us! deltarae.com
PRESS RELEASES
(25 July 2017) Courtney Marie Andrews drops
rodeo clown themed new video for “Irene”
via NPR Limited Edition 7” with two new songs to be released in September. Meanwhile
Courtney is returning to the UK in August/September this year for a highly
anticipated UK and European tour, including two dates at Bush Hall on 4th and
5th September (Shepherd’s Bush, London).
(25 July 2017) Kelsea Ballerini announces
November 3 release date for sophomore album, “Unapologetically”
“[Unapologetically] is about years 21 through 23,”
says Kelsea to Nash Country Daily. It really is. It starts with a gross breakup
that I had. It talks about the darkness of that
(25 July 2017) Craig Wayne Boyd adds
another "Voice" to the Family, announces baby
boy and new music: Craig Wayne Boyd, the powerful country vocalist who
Billboard recently profiled as a ‘new country act to watch in 2017,’ announced
he’s adding another ‘voice’ to his family with the addition of a baby boy on
the way and a new album Top Shelf (available Oct.
27)....http://mailchi.mp/41d4066d580c/craigwayneboyd-announces-new-baby?e=18dc28c7a1
(28 July 2017) Denny Strickland is
California Dreamin' on debut album, now available for
pre-order
ARTICLES
(27 July 2017) Everything
You Need to Know About Anderson East: Anderson East is taking the industry back in time
with his classic Americana sound. The up-and-coming artist fuses rhythm and
blues, gospel, and country elements of yesteryear with his soulful voice to
create a sound that reveals a love affair with the raw music of the past./….Read
more Billboard.com
REVIEWS
(24 July 2017) Ashley Campbell Nashville
Meets London live review (Rating: 4/5) Entertainment Focus
(26 July 2017) Angaleena Presley Nashville
Meets London live review (Rating: 4.5/5)
Overall I was seriously
impressed with Angaleena’s performance – her vocals were excellent and I liked
the mix of blues, Americana and Southern rock influences in her songs. She’s
definitely one of my new favourite artists and I can’t wait to see what she
does next. My only wish is that she’d been a bit higher up the bill! - Entertainment Focus
(26 July 2017) Sam Outlaw Nashville
Meets London live review (Rating: 4.5/5): The
only thing was I missed some of his more humorous songs which I think would
have added a different element to the performance, but I also liked that he
wasn’t afraid to vary the set compared to previous performances. Here’s hoping
he comes back as a headliner next year! - Entertainment Focus
(26 July 2017) Lucie Silvas Nashville
Meets London live review (Rating: 5/5) Last
night’s show was nothing short of triumph for Silvas. She will be back in the
UK in November for a headline tour with Charlie Worsham as her support, and I’m
pretty sure she sold quite a few more tickets after her Nashville Meets London
performance. Silvas is a wonderfully talented artist whose abilities are
limitless and I’m so glad that she’s back on top, where she belongs. - Entertainment Focus
(27 July 2017) Keith Urban "was
pretty close to perfection." – San Luis Obispo Tribune
(28 July 2017) Hunter Hayes' encore
elevated "very good to great." – Allentown Morning Call:
REVIEW: Hunter Hayes taps country and folk to move Musikfest Cafe show from
good to great
(29 July 2017) Florida George Line are
"blurring genre boundaries and creating new ones." – St. Paul Pioneer Press: Florida Georgia Line brings fireworks,
Backstreet Boys and Nelly to sold-out Target Field
WATCH
(25 July 2017) Ashley McBryde “A
Little Dive Bar In Dahlonega” (>> Official Video)
(26 July 2017) Shania Twain performing
Life's
About To Get Good. >> YouTube
Multi-platinum and multi-award winning Global
superstar Shania Twain released the Matthew Cullen (Katy Perry, Kygo, Weezer,
Beck) directed video for her single 'Life's About to Get Good'. The track is
taken from 'Now', Shania's first album in fifteen years, out September 29, on
Mercury, Nashville.
When writing "Life's About to Get Good,"
Shania explains, "I was at home
looking out at the ocean and I said to myself, 'Here I am stuck in this past of
negativity, but it's so beautiful out. I'm not in the mood to write a
'feeling-sorry-for-myself' song."
The songwriter recognized that with all of the negative in life also comes the positive. "You can't have the good without the bad. And that's what the song ended up being about."
The songwriter recognized that with all of the negative in life also comes the positive. "You can't have the good without the bad. And that's what the song ended up being about."
Shania is a five-time
GRAMMY Award-winner and the reigning Queen of Country Pop.
With more than 90
million albums sold worldwide and U.S. sales topping 34.5 million, Shania
remains the top-selling female country artist of all time.
(31 July 2017) A Trip to Maui...Brenda Burch share: Have you ever felt like your life is out of balance? Like
work and taking care of everyone else has taken over your life? I've been
guilty of burning the midnight oil too many midnights in a row. In fact, when
the chance to visit Maui presented itself, I wasn't sure I'd even have the time
to go. I'd never been to Hawaii before, and it was something I definitely
wanted to do at some point, but with everything going on at the time, I knew it
would be a real challenge to rearrange my schedule for the trip.
Then I remembered the importance of BALANCE. I had to
remind myself that the only person who could schedule some relaxation time for
myself was ME. So I took time for the trip, and boy, was it ever worth it. Maui
is a beautiful island, and I loved shooting the music video for, "My
World," while I was experiencing Hawaii for the first time.
I'm also incredibly excited that "My
World" hit #7 on the Hotdisc Country Chart this week!
Published on June 19, 2017 Official Music Video for
"My World" by Brenda Burch :
COUNTRY GOSSIP
(28 July 2017) Taylor Swift and
her new boyfriend reportedly enjoyed
a summer couple's retreat with Hollywood couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
The Blank Space star spent two days
cosying up with her British actor beau Joe
Alwyn at her Rhode Island mansion last week (end 21 July), and according to
Us Weekly, the
lovebirds met up with the actors for a double-date.
The mini-vacation came to an end on Saturday (22 July)
when Taylor and Joe headed back to her New York City apartment, while trying to
avoid the paparazzi.
Sources claim the couple has been going to extremes and wearing disguises when leaving the
singer's Big Apple home in an attempt to keep their romance out of the
headlines. “Taylor had her massive security team set up so it would look as
though (she) was going to walk through the front door, but then a security car
pulled to the back of the building and Taylor and Joe ran in wearing matching
hoodies and covered by umbrellas," a source says.
The new couple reportedly started dating earlier this
year following Taylor's break-up with another Brit, Tom Hiddleston.
“Taylor and Joe are the real deal, this is a very
serious relationship," a source recently told U.K. newspaper The Sun, "but after what happened
with Tom Hiddleston, they were determined to keep it quiet."
BIRTHDAYS
Birthdays in the week ahead
JULY
29 Martina McBride (1966)
30 Neal McCoy (1958)
AUGUST
1 Cindy Burch (Burch
Sisters) - (1963), George Ducas (1966), Frankie Davies (Jersey)
2 Hank Cochran -
(1935)
3 Mick Flavin -
(1950), Randy Scruggs - (1953)
5 Mark O'Connor -
(1961), Vern Gosdin - (1934), Sammi Smith -
(1943), Terri Clark - (1968), Carolynne
Poole (UK; 1980)
R.I.P
(25 July 2017)
Producer/guitarist/songwriter Billy Joe Walker, Jr.
died Tuesday (July 25). His production credits include artists Bryan White,
Travis Tritt, Billy Ray Cyrus, Pam Tillis, Tracy Byrd and Collin Raye. As a
session guitarist, he worked with The Beach Boys, Mutt Lange, Ray Charles, Sir
George Martin, Waylon Jennings, Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Rodney Crowell and
George Strait.
(25 July 2017) Singer-Songwriter
Michael Johnson passed away in Minneapolis. He was 72.
Johnson first
enjoyed success as a Pop artist in the late 70s, with "Bluer
Than Blue," which hit #1
in 1978. Follow up hits included
"Almost Like Being In Love," and "This Night Won't Last Forever."
In 1985, JOHNSON segued to Nashville and had brief success at Country radio,
with chart-toppers "Give Me Wings" (>> Audio) and "The Moon Is Still Over Her
Shoulder" in 1986 and '87, respectively.
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