Jaime Wyatt will be releasing her much anticipated ‘Neon Cross’ project in the UK on August 21, which is her debut release on New West Records. You can pre order/pre save the album here. The album, which is released in America on Friday (May 29), is her follow-up to debut album ‘Felony Blues’ and saw the artist work with Shooter Jennings, who produced the record in its entirety and features on Hurt So Bad. Speaking about working with Jennings, Wyatt said that the way Jennings understands music and the feel for what is beneath the song drew him to her, while also noticing strong similarities between Jennings and his father Waylon. “What really sold me on Shooter is that he understands grooves — he gets how to instruct a band to build a groove that is so powerful underneath a song,” Wyatt said. “And it’s crazy because that’s what Waylon [Jennings, Shooter’s father] did. “He always had these rad country songs with these super-weird, funky rock ‘n’ roll grooves under them. He would take things to interesting and unexpected places. Shooter has that same instinct.” The track listing for ‘Neon Cross’ by Jaime Wyatt is: 1. Sweet Mess 2. Neon Cross 3. L I V I N 4. Make Something Outta Me 5. By Your Side 6. Just A Woman (ft. Jessi Colter) 7. Goodbye Queen 8. Mercy 9. Rattlesnake Girl 10. Hurt So Bad (ft. Shooter Jennings) 11. Demon Tied to a Chair in my Brain

Rising UK artist Shannon Hynes has released her new single Country Words, which she has described herself as “an ode to the women of country music.” You can listen to the song here. The single comes three months after Hynes’ last release, which was Comfort, while it is also the third track that the Welsh artist has shared in the last six months, with Off Guard coming in November. It is expected that all three appear on her upcoming debut EP. Speaking about the song, Hynes explained that it emerged from a place of frustration and given that she doesn’t consider herself to be a confrontational person, she channelled some of her heroes and put her feelings into song form. “Country Words is a no frills, exactly what it says on the tin song,” Hynes explains. “I was having trouble with someone I was working with at the time, myself not generally being a forthright person when it comes to situations such as this, so I turned to songwriting. “It got me thinking back to some of the classic, incredibly strong, sassy songs that the likes of Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn released back in the day, most notably and a favourite of mine Fist City. Country Words is my take.” To celebrate the release of the track, Shannon Hynes has also brought out some dedicated merchandise for Country Words, which you can find here.

The Wandering Hearts have announced that their much anticipated second album will be self-titled and will be released on August 14. The video for lead single on the album, Over Your Body, can be seen below and you can pre-order the album here. [wpdevart_youtube]97d0VgLSshs[/wpdevart_youtube] The trio – made up of Tara Wilcox, Chess Whiffin and AJ Dean-Revington – shot onto the scene with their debut effort ‘Wild Silence’ in 2018 and have gone from strength to strength ever since, receiving critical acclaim along the way. Speaking about the new album, the trio said that the early writing sessions for the album saw them open up on their personal experiences, notably love, death, fear and life and while taking these themes head on was challenging, the group believe it has made them closer than ever. “Tackling some of these topics can feel very heavy, especially when times seem equally tough and asking for help is sometimes hard,” The Wandering Hearts said in a statement. “However, knowing that we’re stronger together than apart is the key. “Hope has become the core of what this record stands for and what it means to us. Never losing hope that we can at any moment change the outcome of our future.” The record was produced by Simone Felice and David Baron, while the vast majority of the album was put together at the pair’s mountain top studio near Woodstock, New York. Upon the release of their debut album, The Wandering Hearts very quickly won Bob Harris’ Emerging Artist Award at the UK Americana Awards and their rise also carried over to America, where they became the first band to play both the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium in the same week.

Country music icon Dolly Parton has donated $1m of her own money towards finding a cure for the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the world. Taking to her social media accounts, Parton revealed that she had generously donated the sum to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, where a good friend of hers is working on trying to cure the virus. Speaking in her statement, Parton outlined her intentions to do so and also encouraged people to stay positive in these uncertain times, while hoping that others in her financial situation can help out in the same way. “My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure,” Parton said. “I am making a donation of $1 million to Vanderbilt towards that research and to encourage people that can afford it to make donations. Keep the faith.” The COVID-19 outbreak has seriously impacted the country music scene, with ’90s star Joe Diffie tragically passing from the virus, while the likes of Kalie Shorr, Ray Benson, Laura Bell Bundy and John Prine have all been battling it. Dolly Parton is known for her charitable gestures and has given away over a hundred million books for children all over the world, with the legendary star aiming to give away a billion books in her lifetime.

Keith Urban has released a video for his most recent single God Whispered Your Name, which was directed by Jennifer Massaux. You can see the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]yyn7_u-sha8[/wpdevart_youtube] Urban, who will be hosting the ACM Awards this year and is current ACM Entertainer of the Year, released the single on February 27 but has now shared a video for the track, which sees him smash out of a prison and find himself in open space, epitomising leaving the dark to be in the light. The song is the second single that Urban has released (excluding his Christmas track, I’ll Be Your Santa Tonight) since his 2018 album ‘Graffiti U’, with God Whispered Your Name following in the footsteps of We Were. It was therefore shaping up that Urban was working to release a new record at some point this year, but given the COVID-19 pandemic, whether that still remains on track or not is another matter. Elsewhere, Keith Urban was meant to be gigging in the UK in May, with a series of dates spread across the first two weeks – including two headline dates at the Eventim Apollo in London – but given what is happening in the world, it is seemingly only a matter of time until there is an announcement confirming rescheduled dates.

Asleep at the Wheel frontman and country music icon Ray Benson has tested positive for COVID-19, though is optimistic about recovery. The 69-year-old, who has been writing and playing songs for 50 years now, shared on his Facebook that he has the virus and lamented a lack of immediate testing. Speaking in a lengthy statement explaining everything, Benson said that he had to make multiple trips to the doctor to find out the true extent of his illness. “To clear up any confusion or questions, I have tested positive for the COVID 19 Virus,” Benson posted onto his Facebook on April 1. “12 days ago, I had become bed ridden with headaches and extreme fatigue/dizziness. “I made an appointment with my Dr on Saturday March 21st to see what was up. Got tests for Flu, etc.. All came back negative. I then asked for a COVID 19 test. They said they didn’t have any! So I just went back home and hunkered down to see if it went away. “Unfortunately, the same symptoms kept occurring/progressing. Being extremely fatigued, just falling asleep all the time, headaches were getting worse. Went back to Dr on Monday the 30th to do some bloodwork and other tests to try and figure out what was going on. “After not finding anything through those, I was finally given a COVID 19 test and was sent home and said they’d call me with the results. So I got a call Tuesday morning saying I tested positive! Luckily for me nothing has progressed any farther and feel very lucky and optimistic about my current situation. “I am still very fatigued/dizzy and in bed for now. DR says if nothing further comes up like elevated temperature, respiratory, cough etc.. I should be in the clear in the coming weeks.”

The Americana Music Association UK (AMA UK) have announced that Bob Harris OBE and Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett will join the board. The duo will join Billy Bragg, Mary Gauthier and Ethan Johns on the board of what is an ever-growing association, with both Harris and Lovett both being long-term supporters of the genre. Speaking about the news, Lovett – who contributes on piano, keyboard, synthesiser and vocals for Mumford & Sons – said that it was an honour for him to be put onto the board and really believes in the organisation. “It’s a pleasure to be asked to join the Americana Music Association Board as one of the Artist Ambassadors,” Lovett said. “I believe in Stevie (Smith, Chief Executive) and her Board and all the good work they do to bridge community through the Americana Music Awards UK and throughout the year, with both artists and the wider industry.  I feel honoured to now be able to contribute in a small way. Adding further comment was Harris, with the iconic broadcaster – who comperes the Americana Music Association UK Awards each year – expressing his joy that he will be taking a more hands on role with the organisation. “I am so happy and proud to be joining the Ambassadors board of AMA-UK and to be a representative for the warmth and creativity of the wonderful UK Americana music community,” Harris said. 

Thomas Rhett has shared a new song called Be A Light, which features Reba McEntire, Keith Urban, Hillary Scott and Chris Tomlin. You can listen to the song here. All proceeds from the song will be going to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, as Rhett tries to do his best to assist those in need at time of this pandemic. Speaking about the song, Rhett shared that he wrote the song 12 months ago as a coping mechanism to deal with the outside world and was delighted to be able to get the people he did on the track to share the positive message. “I wrote Be A Light last year as a way to process negativity and sadness I was seeing in the world,” Rhett said. “Now, as I sit in my home with my family on my 30th Birthday, we are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic affecting every single human on earth, all while our town of Nashville is still healing from devastating tornadoes that destroyed so much of our city less than one month ago. “But, among the wreckage, I see us come together in ways I never dreamed possible. I knew in my heart this was the time to share this message with the world and our community. “The voices who join me on this track are some of the brightest lights I know. I hope this song serves as a reminder that we are all in this together.” So far for Thomas Rhett, 2020 has been positive at least from a professional outlook, with the artist being nominated for five ACM Awards, including Entertainer of the Year.