Lawson's Andy Brown and Crissie Rhodes Share New Single 'Landslide'

Following huge success as the front man of Lawson, singer-songwriter Andy Brown has now signed a major recording deal with the legendary Decca Records for his first solo material. 

His debut single ‘Landslide’ is out now and sees him team up with Crissie Rhodes from The Shires.

Having sold over 1 million records with Lawson, Andy is now working on his long-awaited debut solo album. Having spent the past 6 months writing and recording in Nashville, the album draws from the strong blues and country influences, as well as the traditional pop/rock sound that made Lawson so successful. His new sound takes inspiration from artists like Thomas Rhett and Chris Stapleton, as well as John Mayer and James Bay.

A duet with country music superstar and label mate, Crissie Rhodes, ‘Landslide’ showcases Andy’s knack for writing evocative and heartfelt lyrics, and draws the listener in with a huge sing along chorus. The Nashville inspired strings are harmonious with Andy’s smooth vocals, providing the ideal platform to explore deep, meaningful concepts of timeless love and companionship. These themes will not only resonate highly with his existing fan base, but will also establish him with a new audience who appreciate the fusion between Americana Soul and contemporary British Folk.

Andy says, 'Signing with Decca Records for my first solo album really is a dream come true. I feel so lucky for all the success we had as Lawson, but with this new album I can truly be myself and I have the chance to make the music I am passionate about. I hope my fans will continue to follow me on this journey, and that they love the new music as much as I do!'

Born and raised in the music-centric city of Liverpool, Andy grew up listening to a variety of music styles and conventions throughout his life. He soon became enamoured by Nashville’s innate sense of songcraft. With this album, Andy has discovered a new platform for personal expression, exposing a different, more sensitive side of his song-writing.

Andy Brown’s debut album is due for release in early 2018.

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Follow Andy on Twitter to keep up to date with him, @AndyBrownMusic 

Nahko Announces Debut Solo Album and Tour

In news that will delight his loyal fans and followers, acclaimed artist Nahko of Medicine for the People has announced the release of his debut solo album, My Name Is Bear, on October 20th, 2017 through Side One Dummy Records.

Spanning his formative years as an emerging artist travelling through the wild landscapes of Alaska, Hawaii and Louisiana, My Name Is Bear is a collection of deeply personal songs that tell the tales of Nahko’s awakening as an artist and his most revealing work yet.

'My Name Is Bear is actually the prequel to Medicine For The People. It’s where this all began, before this chapter even started. I felt like I needed to retrace my steps before I could move forward,' Nahko explains.

'I've been waiting for years on these songs, for the time to be right to release them. It’s now.' 

The 30 date headline tour heads across 6 countries including the USA, Germany, Belgium, France, Holland, and the UK, with a show at London Islington’s, Assembly Hall on Friday December 1st.

General tickets in Europe will go on sale August 16th, 2017.

Dates are as follows:

20/11: Hamburg, Germany — Fabrik

22/11: Berlin, Germany — Lido

23/11: Munich, Germany — Technikum

25/11: Amsterdam, Holland — Melkweg

26/11: Nijmegen, Holland — Dornroosje

27/11: Leuven, Belgium — Depot

29/11: Paris, France — La Maroquinerie

30/11: Manchester, UK — Academy 3

1/12: London, UK — Assembly Hall

2/12: Bristol, UK — The Fleece

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For further information about Nahko and his tour, visit nahko.com.

Single of the Week: 'Sippin' on a Coke' - Fifth Floor

Following on from their fantastic self-titled EP, Swedish duo Fifth Floor are back with their latest single - a single that's just perfect for the last few days of summer.

'Sippin on a Coke' stays very much true to what we've come to expect from Moa and Matilda - an electric chemistry, a toe-tapping beat and infectious lyrics. This single (the first from a forthcoming album) is a tribute to their hometowns. It's about escaping back there when they need a break from the craziness of life, and about a return to some of life's simpler pleasures - such as, as the title says, an ice-cold Coke. It's a message that I think we can all relate to, in some way.

About The Song

'Sippin’ On A Coke' is a feel-good, guitar-based country/pop song written by the duo in homage to their respective hometowns. The song was recorded at The Living Room in Ealing and produced by Jake Jason Read who also worked on Fifth Floor’s self-titled 2016 EP.

Fifth Floor on the new single: 'We are heading into a more personal territory with our new music and this song is a big step towards that – perfectly bridging the gap between our previous EP and the coming album.'

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'Sippin' on a Coke' is available to download now. 

For more information about Fifth Floor, visit FifthFloorMusic.co.uk.

Dylan LeBlanc Returns to the UK with Tour in September

Muscle Shoals’ singer/songwriter Dylan LeBlanc returns to the UK with a tour in September. 

The shows, LeBlanc's first in the UK for almost 5 years, are in support of album Cautionary Tale which came out on Single Lock Records last year.

11/9 - The Lexington - London, UK

13/9 - CCA - Glasgow, UK

14/9 - Whelans - Dublin, Ireland

15/9 - The Lantern - Bristol, UK

16/9 - Brudenell Social Club - Leeds, UK

17/9 - Greystones - Sheffield, UK

LeBlanc’s first two releases were the acclaimed 2010 recordings Pauper’s Field and 2012's Cast The Same Old Shadow. With his reflective, mournful songs that belied his age, critics previously hailed the young singer; The Guardian noted that LeBlanc was 'favourably compared with Harvest-era Neil Young and country-folk breakouts Fleet Foxes.'

After the success of his first two albums, LeBlanc slipped into a blur of booze and self-doubt. At just 23-years-old, Dylan came home to Muscle Shoals, Alabama to write a new life for himself. In between the moments of clarity and a few familiar falls, he wrote his third album Cautionary Tale: a collection of shimmering, arresting songs with the same haunting vocals that caught the attention of Lucinda Williams and Bruce Springsteen, now with a sharpened edge honed by hastened maturity. 

Cautionary Tale was released in 2016 and features Brittany Howard (Alabama Shakes) and is produced by John Paul White (Civil Wars) and Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes). White and Tanner perform on the release as well.

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For more information about Dylan and his upcoming tour dates, visit dylanleblanc.com.

Ward Thomas To Release Final Single From #1 Album 'Cartwheels'

It's been almost a year since Ward Thomas hit the top spot on the UK Album Charts with Cartwheels and to celebrate the girls are releasing the last official single from the album - 'Almost Easy'.

A firm fan favourite from the album and live shows, the track is about the dreams ripped to shreds when a relationship ends. 'It’s not just losing someone that hurts, it’s losing the person you became when you were with them, your ‘best self’ as we call it. The future you thought you had and the person you thought you were going to be,' says Lizzy.

After wrapping their Cartwheels 2017 tour, their largest to date when they played to nearly 20,000 people across the UK, twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy enjoyed an incredible festival season, playing up and down the country at festivals including Glastonbury, Isle Of Wight, British Summer Time, Latitude, Platform, Cambridge Folk, Cornbury, and more.

Don’t forget you can catch the girls on tour with country superstar Miranda Lambert across the UK over the next few weeks!

'Ever since we both heard ‘The House That Built Me’ we have been massive fans of Miranda’s. To be supporting her now is definitely going to be one of the highlights of career so far.

We can’t wait,' says Catherine.

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For more information about Ward Thomas, including upcoming tour dates w/Miranda Lambert, visit wardthomasmusic.com.

EP Review: 'The Apartment Diaries' - City of Sound

Energetic.

Electric.

Empowering.

In a world so often littered with hate, City of Sound are the sort of band that we need more of.

Don't get me wrong, there's always a time and a place for sad songs but the need for uplifting anthems should always be greater. With a motto of 'love over fear', the LA based indie band are perfect candidates to help fill this ever-growing need for positivity and The Apartment Diaries EP (a demo EP which is, staggeringly, available absolutely free on their website) cements their position as a very exciting unsigned act.

The trio (comprised of Jordan Wright (vocals/piano), Andrew Leigh (guitar) and Lacey Ammar (violin)) come out all guns blazing. They put their hearts out there on all six tracks.

I don't know the guys' own intentions behind each track, so I'll present to you what I took from them.

Opening track 'Afterglow' opens with a beautiful piano before crashing guitars cut in, on a track that's about inner strength, about leaving a legacy. It's a beautiful anthem. Anthem is a word that you could attribute to all the tracks on this EP. All songs have purpose here: 'Wake Up' takes a stance against oppression, 'Animus' is about chasing your dreams and not giving up, and 'Wasteland' tells of an apparent strive for betterance.

Track 'The Show' seems to be about the nerves and the thrills of playing to a crowd - or it could easily be more: a wider metaphor about life, about putting yourself out there in front of others. That's the beauty with this collection of tracks - it's packed full of meaning and it will resonate with almost anyone.

It's hard to choose just one favorite track but if I absolutely had to, it would be 'I For One'. With rousing choruses, haunting keys and powerful vocals singing equally as powerful lyrics ('I for one, well I for one, I stand in the mind of a maker out here/brace for the sun, see comets run') this track deserves to be played to packed out arenas.

You're losing nothing by going and downloading a copy of this EP so go, go give it a listen. This is a very special collection of tracks that some people out there will absolutely need in their lives. Music changes lives - I can't help but feel that guys will too, if they haven't already.

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For more information about City of Sound (and to download this EP free of charge), visit thecityofsoundmusic.com.  

The EP is also available to purchase via iTunes and to stream via Spotify if you wish to go the extra mile and support them further - if you can, please do and help support indie music.

iHeartCountry Taps Fiona Culley for Digital Artist Integration Program

On the heels of her debut radio release 'Act Like A Lady', iHeartRadio has selected British country artist Fiona Culley for their August Digital Artist Integration Program.

As a featured single, the spot will run 3-4 times per day across iHeartRadio’s 126 country stations’ digital streams online.

Produced by Tyler Cain and Zachary Maloy and written by Maloy, Culley and Jennifer Schott, the ‘addictive’ (B-Sides & Badlands) and ‘infectious’ (The Country Note) tune has also been added to Spotify’s premiere country playlist, ‘Wild Country’.

'The rock-esque style in the way of heavy guitar and drums blends beautifully with the slight rasp in Culley’s voice; add in the clever lyrics and the tune becomes infectious.  She may speak with an English accent, but she sings like a cross between Carrie Underwood and Ann Wilson of Heart, thus setting herself up for a fruitful career.'- The Country Note

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For more information about Fiona, visit fionaculley.com