Ahead of the release date of their second album ‘OK Hotel’, Danny Core – front man of Broken Witt Rebels – spoke to Maverick about the album and how they’ve grown as musicians. You can watch their recently released video of their latest single ‘Running With The Wolves’ below [wpdevart_youtube]yoSnDS75zcQ[/wpdevart_youtube] ‘OK Hotel’ is released this Friday, how are you feeling about its release? I can’t wait to release it, we’ve been sitting on it for a while now and it’s that exciting time where it no longer becomes ours, but belongs to the rest of the world. We’re so confident though with what we’ve made and we’re really chuffed with it. It’s your second album as a band now – how would you say you’ve evolved as a group? We’ve got older, we’ve had more life experiences, we’ve got better as musicians and we’ve travelled the world – we’ve been to the US and Europe multiple times now. I think since our first album, we’ve been constantly learning and constantly evolving into better musicians and better human beings and that helped shape the album. In-between records, you spent a lot of time performing and growing as musicians as you touched on there – do you think that shows on this record? I do, yeah. I think less is more and we probably learnt that the hard way – we used to throw everything at it, with the effects and show off a lot of guitar and stuff like that, but we really wanted to strip it back and that comes with age. We just wanted to keep it simple, work on the melody and the lyrics and not throw all the bells and whistles at it. We think, as musicians, we’ve learnt that and we think that’s the best approach moving forwards. From the songs on the record, would you say there’s a particular theme to the lyrical content? It certainly comes across as a more self-reflective record. Definitely. There were a lot of things happening – I lost my father and other things happened, so I was dealing with things that I hadn’t been through before and as a songwriter, I wanted to make sure I went to those places. It was scary, but you have to evolve as a songwriter and in order to do that, you have to go to those kind of places. This record just reflects on everything that was happening at the time. We had three months off to write it and went back to basics – we went back to Luke’s parents’ shed, where we used to rehearse years ago when we were skint, but we loved doing it. We treated it like a job every day, we’d get there and just write music endlessly and so many songs came out from that. You’re hitting the road towards the back end of March and start of April for a headline tour, what songs from the record are you most looking forward to playing? Over the last six months, we’ve been dying to play new music so at our shows, we’ve been sneaking in some of our new stuff – maybe five or six songs from the new album?  With all due respect to our old material, we’re sort of bored of it – as a band, you’re dying to play your new stuff and seeing how it gets on. I’m looking forward to playing Around We Go– that’s a track that we haven’t played yet – and Running With the Wolves, which even before it was released, became a massive thing for us. We were playing it at the start of our last tour and we’ve never seen anyone react in that way to one of our songs. OK Hotel is another one we haven’t played live yet that I’m really looking forward to playing. We’ve got such a massive catalogue now that in rehearsals, we’re making massive decisions to cut certain songs out which could even end a set, but it’s a great position to be in as a band and we love playing new music. ‘OK Hotel’ by Broken Witt Rebels will be released on March 13

Lindsay Ell has backed up the release of her most recent single I Don’t Love You by unveiling a very powerful music video for the song. You can watch the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]0K-G0ig1p0g[/wpdevart_youtube] The song resembles the first piece of music that Ell has released ahead of her upcoming album, which is the much anticipated follow up to her first major label album release in ‘The Project’. The video itself – directed by Justin Keys – centres around Ell in a field of flowers, with petals falling in the same vein as the classic ‘they love me, they love me not’ game that we have seen many times in films and TV shows. Speaking about both the song and the album to Billboard, Ell said that she is very proud of what she has created and that she feels that by working with Dann Huff, she is able to take her craft to a whole new level. “I am really proud of this music and I Don’t Love You was the perfect thing I wanted to come out and say first,” Ell said. “Working with Dann Huff has challenged me musically in ways I’ve never showcased before and I feel I Don’t Love You pushes those boundaries in a whole new voice I’ve never used before.” 2020 has already been hugely productive for Lindsay Ell, with the Canadian artist being nominated for both New Female Artist of the Year and Music Event of the Year for her smash hit duet What Happens in a Small Town with Brantley Gilbert for the upcoming ACM Awards.

The Shires will be stepping up to replace Old Dominion on the Main Stage of C2C 2020 after the American group dropped out following corona virus fears. Old Dominion – made up of Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Whit Sellers, Geoff Sprung and Brad Tursi – were pencilled into to sub-headline the Saturday of C2C, but have now pulled out after the threat of the virus continues to grow. Speaking in a statement, the band said that they were gutted that they have to pull out of C2C – also in the Netherlands and Germany – but explained their reasons for doing so and pledged to return soon. “After much consideration, we have decided to withdraw from our upcoming performances as part of the C2C Music Festival in Berlin, Amsterdam, Dublin, London and Glasgow,” the band said in a statement. “We are so sorry to disappoint our fans overseas; however, with the growing uncertainty and unpredictable nature of the virus that is spreading throughout the world, the safety and security of our entire team is the top priority. “We are forever grateful for every opportunity we get to witness just how far our music is reaching and we will be back across the world as soon as we can. Much love and thank you for your support.” As a result of Old Dominion dropping out, The Shires will take their slot on the Main Stage and thus become the first UK act to be pencilled in to perform on the Main Stage at C2C. Last year, Catherine McGrath became the first UK artist to appear on the Main Stage when she duetted with Hunter Hayes, but this will represent the first time than a UK act has actually been booked for a slot of that nature.

Ruthie Collins has shared another single from her upcoming album ‘Cold Comfort’, due on April 3,  in the shape of Bad Woman. You can listen to the song here. ‘Cold Comfort’ will be Collins’ second album after 2017’s ‘Get Drunk and Cry’ and she has already released Dang Dallas and Joshua Tree as singles from the record to give people a taster of what is to come. Speaking about her latest single, Collins said that the song was about being tempted by someone who is in a relationship, but eventually fighting the urge to do something she would later regret. “Sometimes you wish you could just go ahead and do the wrong thing,” Collins said. “A while back, I started falling for a guy who was very much taken. I’d never cross those lines, but I remember stepping back and looking at the situation and thinking, ‘Man, I wish just for a second I could not have a conscience and see what would happen.’  “When the chorus kicks in, though, I remind myself that I’m not a bad woman, that I’m a good girl and I’ll be just fine without him. We shot a music video for the song in Joshua Tree, which was really fun for me because I got to sort of embrace my alter ego and climb up onto the bar in black leather shorts and take shots of whiskey.” Ruthie Collins worked with Grammy winning producer Ryan Freeland for ‘Cold Comfort’ and will be making her debut UK appearance on May 17 as part of Country in the Afternoon.

Just a few months after releasing their latest album ‘Ocean’, Lady Antebellum have released a new five-track EP that strips down some of those album tracks. The ‘Live: In the Round EP’ sees the trio – made up of Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood – re-create five of the songs from their recent album release ‘Ocean’ in one take at Nashville’s Skyways Studios. Speaking about the opportunity, Kelley said that the group loved being able to strip away parts of the songs and bring a much more intimate feel to them, while also saying how refreshing it was to go down that route in the studio once more. “We really enjoyed getting to strip down some of our favourites songs from ‘Ocean’ and put focus on the lyrics that drew us in from the beginning,” Kelley said. “It was refreshing to get back in the studio with just the three of us and our road band. We were able relive those initial feelings and reflect on how these songs have already made such a huge impact on our career.” The ‘Live: In the Round EP’ by Lady Antebellum tracklisting is: 1. What If I Never Get Over You 2. Be Patient With My Love 3. What I’m Leaving For 4. Boots 5. Ocean

Miranda Lambert finished off the first leg of her US tour by taking time out to thank first responders for their life saving efforts. After taking inspiration from US host Kelly Ford from WNSH New York – who regularly singles out first responders for praise on her morning show – Lambert opted to do the same and invited radio listeners to nominate local heroes wherever she was touring. The first responders that were picked all got a pair of free tickets to a Lambert gig and also had the opportunity to meet her in person ahead of the show itself. Speaking about the decision, Lambert – whose husband is a police officer himself – said that it was a great source of pride for her to meet these people in person and that the chance to hear their individual stories were a huge source of inspiration. “It was an honour to meet some of the incredible first responders, the men and women across the country who have dedicated their lives to service and bravery to keep their communities safe,” Lambert said. “Hearing each one of their unique stories was such an inspiration to me and my team.” The next step for Miranda Lambert is to head to Australia, where she will be headlining CMC Rocks in Queensland in addition to headline gigs in both Sydney and Melbourne, before she will then head back to America for the second leg of her ‘Wildcard’ tour and also for her performance at the Tortuga Music Festival.

Ten Next From Nashville is an exciting music initiative showcasing the city’s rising stars, premiering for the first in the UK at Europe’s leading new-music festival The Great Escape on May 14. With performances by Blanco Brown, Danielle Bradbery and The Sisterhood Band, the showcase will be followed by a string of UK tour dates, including London (O2 Shepherds Bush Empire), Liverpool (Arts Club), Glasgow (St. Luke’s) and Birmingham (O2 Institute2) between 16th– 20thMay. Already an established stage at Live Nation’s premiere family of country music festivals across the US, Next From Nashville is a credible initiative supporting emerging music talent from the city; whilst Nashville is at the heart of the global Country Music scene, the city widely known as Music City is also home to many outstanding artists performing a variety of genres. Next From Nashville champions the city’s musical diversity and progressive sound by bringing the showcase to a bigger audience than ever before in 2020. Blurring the lines between Country and hip-hop music, Blanco Brown makes a southern sound that he proudly calls “TrailerTrap”. It’s a boundary-breaking, multicoloured genre of his very own — which draws upon the rawness and storytelling abilities of his two biggest musical influences, Johnny Cash and Outkast. Brown said: “I’m super excited to be playing in the UK again! Last time I was there I was so inspired and it motivated me to write a few songs, hopefully I get to share those with y’all sooner than later!” ACM New Female Artist of the Year nominee and multi-faceted artist Danielle Bradbery recently featured on the Charlie’s Angels soundtrack alongside Ariana Grande, Normani, Nicki Minaj, Kim Petras and more. She re-introduced herself two years ago with sophomore album I Don’t Believe We’ve Met, having taken some time to hone her song-writing craft and establish a blend of her R&B, soul and country influences. Bradbery said: “I’m so excited to come back to the UK. The fans are incredible and I couldn’t be more pumped to be playing The Great Escape!” The Sisterhood Band are an organic blend of the open melodies of classic West Coast folk & and the magnetic swagger of timeless rock n’ roll, powered by Alyssa and Ruby ’s soaring richly textured harmonies and effortless chemistry. Both ladies have strong musical DNA: Alyssa is the daughter of Kathie Baillie & Michael Bonagura (the core of country band Baillie & The Boys) and Ruby ’s father is rock icon Rod Stewart. Alyssa and Ruby said: “Coming back to the UK is like coming home for us! The Sisterhood Band’s first tour was in the UK and we’ve grown so much since then. We are very excited to share our new music with our friends and fans that we’ve made there over the years, and share the stage with some of the most incredible talent that’s coming from Nashville!” Next From Nashville premieres at The Great Escape Festival on May 14 and tours nationwide from May 16 2020.

The much awaited upcoming Kenny Chesney album ‘Here and Now’ now has a release date, with the album set to drop worldwide on May 1. ‘Here and Now’ represents Chesney’s 19th solo album in an illustrious career, which has seen the Knoxville born artist regularly embark on stadium tours in the US, top charts and win awards. Speaking about the album, Chesney stated that it was written with his fanbase – who he has dubbed the No Shoes Nation – firmly in mind, with the artist claiming that he gets waves of inspiration to make new music when he sees their reaction to his songs. “When you’re this far into a career, I think artists need to keep pushing themselves and the music without losing sight of who they are, or forgetting the people you make music for,” Chesney said. “No Shoes Nation is a very passionate place without borders; I get inspired every time I see and hear them. “These are passionate people who work really hard. They make a difference in their community in all kinds of ways, giving back not so people think they’re good, but because that’s who they are and what they do. When they listen to music, they’re all in – and when they hear something they like, you can feel it in how they respond. “People work hard and need music that makes them smile, that kicks them into a happy place. There are also songs here that look at very specific people, that tell one person’s story, but it could be any of us. That’s the mark of a good song: let one person’s specific life say so much about a lot of people’s lives.” Kenny Chesney will continue his stadium tour of the US in April, which will run all the way through to the end of August.