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Beverley Folk Festival has begun to announce its headline acts. They include the multi-award winning songbird, Kate Rusby, folk-rockers Steeleye Span and rising folk stars, The Young’uns. The latest addition to the lineup is former BBC Folk Awards Musician of the Year Tim Edey, who has been rated as one of the world’s finest-ever Melodeon and Guitar players in the folk & contemporary scene today. Adding to the eclectic mix will be the Acoustic Strawbs, the very first festival performance of the Lindisfarne Story Stage Show, featuring former band members Ray Laidlaw and Billy Mitchell, and sci-fi folk band Maia. There are also plans for a ‘Tyne Treasures’ night when Lindisfarne’s Mitchell and Laidlaw with The Lindisfarne Story Band will be performing the iconic 1971 album, FOG ON THE TYNE, in its entirety. Joining them for this concert will be rhythm and blues band, The Animals and Friends, including original members John Steel and Mick Gallagher. The will perform their much-loved classic hits including House of the Rising Sun and We Gotta Get Out Of This Place. Completing theline-up will be acclaimed Durham-born singer-songwriter Jez Lowe, double nominee in this year’s BBC Folk Awards as Best Singer and for Best New Song. Next year’s festival the fourth to be held on its relatively new site at Beverley Racecourse, Beverley  runs from June 17 – 19, 2016. Winter Special weekend tickets are currently on sale at £95, a saving of £20 on the full price.

A prestigious new event in the music industry calendar, the first UK Americana Awards will be held on Wednesday February 3, 2016 at the iconic St. John at Hackney music venue in East London. The awards show will be hosted by legendary broadcaster Bob Harris, with musical direction by award winning producer and musician Ethan Johns. The Awards have been created by the Americana Music Association UK (AMA-UK) to celebrate the achievements of British and International musicians working under the broad reach of the Americana genre. Alongside Award presentations, the show will feature nominee and special guest performances in front of an audience of AMA-UK members, partners & sponsors, music industry guests and the general public. Americana music is enjoying a growing profile in the UK, evidenced by the success of artists like The Staves, Bears Den and many others, whilst rising stars including Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson and Alabama Shakes are contributing to its success in the US where the annual Americana Awards is a well-established event.

The Shires (Crissie Rhodes and Ben Earle) have announced that they will join acts including: One Direction, James Bay, Ellie Goulding, Little Mix, Hozier, Rod Steward and Jess Glynne performing at this year’s 2015 BBC Music Awards, which will be hosted by Chris Evans and Fearne Cotton and take place on Thursday 10 December. The Shires, who are currently on tour in the US with fellow country band Little Big Town, stated: “It is an honour to be asked to perform at this year’s BBC Music Awards. The BBC have been amazing this year, backing us at every opportunity, especially at Radio 2 who have played our music extensively! What a way to finish the year. It’s been awesome and we are so grateful to our fans who have made it all possible.” ¨The Shires’ BBC Music Award performance will end an incredible year for the duo whose chart debut BRAVE reached the top 10 and making them the first British country band to land a top 10 record in the UK and one of the biggest break through acts of 2015. 2016 is set to busy already as Crissie and Ben have an arena support tour confirmed with the Corrs in January and no doubt have plans underway for album number two…

Americana, country, soul, singer-songwriter Danni Nicholls has announced October-November dates in support of her new album MOCKINGBIRD LANE. Danni Nicholls recently returned to her Bedford, UK home, having recorded her second album in Nashville. MOCKINGBIRD LANE features many members of the team behind her 2013 debut album A LITTLE REDEMPTION. From a young age, Danni Nicholls was inspired by American folk, country and rock n roll music from her Grandmother’s record collection. When she inherited her Uncle Heathcliffe’s 1963 Burns London Shortscale Jazz guitar aged 16, all of those influences came pouring back out in the form of her original material and has been flowing freely ever since. Danni met producer Chris Donohue (The Civil Wars, Elvis Costello, Robert Plant) in London in 2011 through a mutual friend, whilst Chris was in the UK playing bass with Emmylou Harris as one of her Red Dirt Boys. The pair have now made two albums together featuring some of Nashville’s finest musicians. Danni has been touring relentlessly far and wide, armed with her trusty, ‘weathered and worn’ Tanglewood guitar and continuing to hone her craft. An entrancing performer, she has been invited to support many artists such as Todd Snider, Jolie Holland, Kim Richey, Jim Lauderdale, Angus and Julia Stone, Bobby Bare Jr, Otis Gibbs, Mark Olsen, Nell Bryden, Tift Merritt and Diana Jones. Tour Dates: Fri Oct 30: Kirton-in-Lindsey, Town Hall Sat Nov 7: Northampton, NN Cafe Thu 12: Luton, The Bear Club Thu 19: Norwich, Grapevine @ Bedfords, The Crypt Fri 20: Brigg, Lincs. The Steel Rooms Sat 21: Southwell, Notts. The Library Fri 27: Stourbridge, Katie Fitzgerald’s Sat 28: London, Nambucca Further dates to be announced soon

There is a special connection between American folk music and the railroad that has no parallel elsewhere in the world. Rail lines stitch together the sprawling fabric of American song. As writers of Americana music, our goal is to draw on the deep, recurring sources of American folk culture, giving them new shape. The Grahams Alyssa and Doug Graham have spent most of their lives exploring music together. The two were friends since she was 7 and he was 9, became a couple in their teens, then husband and wife and The Grahams, a dynamic Americana duo. Their first song-crafting journey, along the Mississippi’s Great River Road, became their 2013 debut, RIVERMAN’S DAUGHTER. For its follow-up, they rode the rails – and ended up recording not only a new studio album, the aptly named GLORY BOUND, but also ‘Rattle The Hocks’, a documentary filmed on the move and in venues from Sun Studio to Amtrak’s famed City of New Orleans train, produced and directed by Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars, which chronicles their train-bound excursions and the influence of train travel on American roots music. The Grahams teamed up with Grammy nominated producer Wes Sharon (John Fullbright, Parker Millsap) at his 115 Recording studio in Norman, Oklahoma and collaborator-since-childhood Bryan McCann, to capture the rhythms and energies of that transport system and the momentum of its time, with Doug’s masterful resonator slide-work and harmonies fuelling Alyssa’s locomotive voice and acoustic guitar chords, while producer Sharon was able to bring in guests of the calibre of John Fullbright, Byron Berline (Bill Monroe, Flying Burrito Brothers, Dillard & Clark, Stephen Stills), one of the world’s premier fiddle players, and Ryan Engelman and Gabe Pearson of the Turnpike Troubadours. Our methodology is to follow the paths and revisit the places that inspired our predecessors, not because we want to imitate them or faithfully reproduce their work, but because we are looking for the modern echo of older sounds, and hope to give shape to these enduring reverberations. Nothing can serve that methodology better than riding the rails. Tour Dates: Tue Nov 3: Norwich, The Bicycle Shop Wed 4: London, The Borderline Thu 5: Axminster, River Cottage Fri 6: Bath, Chapel Arts Centre Sat 7: Stroud, The Convent Sun 8: Exeter, Exeter Phoenix Tue 10: Shrewsbury, Henry Tudor House Wed 11: Leicester, The Musician Thu 12: Bury, The Met Sat 14: Lewes, The Con Club Tue 17: Ballydehob, Co. Cork, Levis Corner House Wed 18: Limerick, Dolan’s Thu 19: Galway, Monroe’s Live Fri 20: Belfast, The Errigle Inn Sat 21: Naul, Séamus Ennis

Nashville artist and songwriter Shantell Ogden has won two honours at the International Music and Entertainment Association (IMEA) awards: Songwriter of the Year and Americana Song of the Year for Ghosts In The Field. The IMEA Awards are presented annually to recognise the best in independent music and entertainment internationally. “It’s an honour to be recognised at the IMEA awards this year!” said Shantell. “As an artist and songwriter, it means so much to know that the music you are creating is connecting with people. I thank God for music and my family and friends for fueling me with love and support every day in my career. I would also like to thank the IMEA Association, its voting committees and members and the fans for all of their support.” Ghosts In The Field is the title track from Shantell’s latest release, co-written with long-time friend and collaborator Bill DiLuigi. The song was written about growing up on her family’s third generation dairy farm. The entire album, including Ghosts In The Field, was produced by John Willis at Willisoundz in Nashville. Ogden was also recognised for co-writing Me Before You, performed by Marcum Stewart which won Country Song of the Year. The song was written by Stewart, Ogden and DiLuigi, and it became the writing trio’s first Number number one on the European HotDisc chart earlier this year. “I whooped and hollered for Marcum when it was announced,” Shantell grins. “It was so great to see Marcum on stage accepting the award for Country Song of the Year!” “We are grateful to have independent artists like Shantell in our international organisation,” said IMEA President Colt Chambers. “Her musical and song-writing abilities are extraordinary, she is the definitely the real deal!” Photo credit: Chuck Eaton