Tenille Townes will give fans a glimpse into her new album ‘The Lemonade Stand’ by releasing an EP titled ‘Road to the Lemonade Stand’ on February 7. You can pre-save or pre-order it here. Produced by Jay Joyce, the six-track EP will feature a number of songs that fans will be familiar with, including Jersey on the Wall, Somebody’s Daughter, White Horse and I Kept All the Roses, while there will also be a cover of Keith Urban’s Stupid Boy in addition to an original song, titled Holding Out For the One. Speaking about the EP, Townes said that she wanted to share it for the people who have been with her as she makes her way up the ladder and that she wanted to keep these songs very much alive, while she also dedicated it to the people that have shared their experiences with her and in turn, helped write the songs that feature. “I wanted to put out this EP to continue to tell the story of these songs,” Townes said. “This EP is for everyone that has been on this road with me so far…the ones who have shared their stories at the shows and in messages and who have given these songs a home. You have shaped me and shaped the meaning of ‘The Lemonade Stand’. I’m so excited to walk on this ‘Road to the Lemonade Stand’ with you.” In a few months time, Tenille Townes will be performing as a Main Stage act at C2C 2020, performing an ‘in the round’ of sorts performance alongside Eric Paslay and Abby Anderson.  Towards the end of 2020, Townes performed a headline date in London, which had to be upgraded due to demand, while she also shone at Country Music Week, performing at the Country Hits Radio Hub.  

Brooks & Dunn have announced that they embarking on a US tour from April 2020, which includes four Las Vegas residency stays. You can find all the dates on the tour here. It is the first time in a decade that the duo will be touring and comes a few months after the group released their first album in 12 years with ‘Reboot’, with another record pencilled in for this year. Since Brooks & Dunn released ‘Reboot’, they have re-emerged on the live scene in a brief way – at CMA Fest, they appeared during Brothers Osborne’s set and brought Ashley McBryde out for the occasion, while they also performed Hard Workin’ Man  with Brothers Osborne at the CMA Awards. As such, it was speculated that the pair may well be returning to the live scene, especially given the largely overwhelmingly positive reaction to the pair’s performances at the CMA events. Out of their tour dates, Brooks & Dunn have 22 dates in total pencilled in for Las Vegas alone, with their first residency stay at Caesers Palace kicking off in April and lasting six dates, a further six at the same venue begins in June, a further six in October and then the final four in December. While as of yet there has been nothing said about tour dates outside the US, people are hoping that they can find the time to venture over to the UK, Europe and Canada.

Lilly Hiatt will release her latest album ‘Walking Proof’ via New West Records on March 27, which follows her 2017 album ‘Trinity Lane’. The 11-song album will feature some high profile collaborations, with Amanda Shires, Luke Schneider and Lilly’s father John all appearing in some capacity – this record marking the first time that Hiatt’s father has joined her on a song. Speaking about the record, Hiatt explained that the bulk of it came from when she was heavily touring and realising that she needed a break, which she duly did and then out came all of these songs when she was recharged. “When you’re out there on the road, you’re just kind of living, and you don’t have the chance to stop and think about how everything you’re experiencing is affecting you,” Hiatt said. “When I got home, I realised there was a lot I needed to catch up on. When I got that little gap in my schedule, it gave me the chance to appreciate some mental stillness. “I can be a pretty anxious person, but I found a sense of peace by deconstructing all of these interactions and emotions I’d experienced and reconfiguring them into songs. It helped me make sense of everything and learn to relax.” The track listing for ‘Walking Proof’ by Lilly Hiatt is: 1. Rae 2. P-Town 3. Little Believer 4. Some Kind of Drug 5. Candy Lurch 6. Walking Proof 7. Drawl 8. Brightest Star 9. Never Play Guitar 10. Move 11. Scream

Kelsey Waldon will be touring in the UK for the first time ever in February, with support slots booked in for Ian Noe and Sean McConnell. The talented artist, who specialises in neo-traditional and Americana, has also got a headline date in London pencilled in, but the bulk of her tour will be supporting McConnell on his coinciding jaunt across the UK. Waldon’s last record, ‘White Noise, White Lines’ was released in October to much fanfare, with Uncut Magazine in particular taking a shine to it – awarding it their Americana Album of the Month. The album followed in the footsteps of 2016’s ‘I’ve Got a Way’ and 2014’s ‘The Goldmine’. The Kentucky born artist was also offered the chance to open for John Print in 2018 and subsequently became the first signing to Prine’s fabled independent label Oh Boy Records in 15 years, while since she moved to Nashville, she has also gained a college degree . Kelsey Waldon will be playing: February 3 – Omeara, London, England* February 6 – Slaughtered Lamb, London, England February 7 – The Crofters Rights, Bristol, England^ February 8 – The Poetry Club, Glasgow, Scotland^ February 9 – Limelight 2, Belfast, Northern Ireland^ February 11 – Whelan’s, Dublin< Republic of Ireland^ February 12 – Castle Hotel, Manchester, England^ *supporting Ian Noe ^supporting Sean McConnell

Grammy nominated duo The Secret Sisters have released their new single Hand Over My Heart, which will feature on their upcoming record, ‘Saturn Return’. You can listen to the track here. The record itself was produced by Brandi Carlile and recorded at her home studio in Washington, with it set to be released on February 28, with the album being named after the astrological occurrence that takes place approximately every 29 and a half years. Speaking about working with The Secret Sisters, Carlile said that it was a truly unique experience and that to see them work in the way that they do is one of the highlights of Carlilile’s career so far. “It’s really uniquely unified and harmonious when they’re in tandem and very tumultuous and deep when they’re not in tandem and I think for a brief, beautiful moment on this album we caught The Secret Sisters not in tandem for the first time,” Carlile said, “To be a harbinger for their honesty in these songs and to watch them work together to see the tension was one of the greatest gifts of my career, because those are two very powerful people in a very interesting point in their lives.” The album is the first to be released since 2017’s ‘You Don’t Own Me Anymore’, which was nominated for Best Folk Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards.

Jess and the Bandits have returned in style with the release of their brand new EP, ‘Riding Shotgun’, which they have self-released. You can listen to the EP below. The five-track EP is their first substantial release since they shared their ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ album back in 2017 and has seen the group work with some of the finest writers in Nashville. Previously, the group had released Bulletproof as a single from the EP, which appears on the EP as the second song, while the EP title name closes the release. Some of these writers include Emily Shackelton (Carly Pearce, Lauren Alaina, Cassadee Pope), Josh Osborne (Kacey Musgraves, Tim McGraw) and Victoria Banks (Jessica Simpson, Sara Evans, Johnny Reid). In April, the group are gearing up for an intimate acoustic tour around the UK, with dates set to be revealed in due course. Since their emergence as a group, Jess and the Bandits’ profile in the UK has grown from strength to strength and they have played at some of the core country festivals the UK has to offer, including Country to Country, Nashville Meets London and Black Deer Festival. The track listing for ‘Riding Shotgun’ by Jess and the Bandits is: 1. Love Don’t Give a Damn (Scott Stepakoff, Josh Osborne, Kelleigh Bannen) 2. Bulletproof (Amber Carrington, Victoria Banks, Emily Shackelton) 3. Build On It (Jessica Clemmons, Jessica Sharman, Mary Erskin) 4. Gotta Be Out There (Clemmons, Stephanie Lambring) 5. Riding Shotgun (Clemmons, Laura Oakes, Julie Strickland)

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville had a hugely successful 2019, with 1,297,443 guests walking through the door in that time period. 2019 marked the fifth year running where the establishment welcomed over a million visitors and out of the almost 1.3 million, 114,400 visitors engaged in over 1600 educational programmes. The last 12 months saw the organisation – among other things – open exhibitions on Keith Whitley, Kacey Musgraves, Brooks & Dunn and Boudleaux and Felice Bryant. Speaking about the success over the last 12 months, Kyle Young – CEO – explained that being part of the Nashville community for half a century has played a key part in their success, but by being able to move downtown, the rewards have continued to grow. “We’ve been around and part of Nashville’s community for over 50 years,” said Young.  “We rolled the dice and came downtown in 2001. Then, we expanded in 2014. “These moves allowed us to double our space, grow our staff and broaden our offerings to tell the ever-evolving country music story. I’m proud to share that our attendance numbers continue to grow and that in 2019, we welcomed a record number of visitors.” The Country Music Hall of Fame can be found on 222 5th Ave S, Nashville

Una Healy gave her fans a Boxing Day surprise when she shared her second piece of new music in the space of a month in the form of Wild Grasses. You can watch the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]gKDIAALQu5k[/wpdevart_youtube] At the start of December, Healy released her cover of Set You Free by N-Trance and had promised to release an original song as well, which we now have with Wild Grasses. Speaking about the song, Healy explained that by working with Eric Bazillian in a writing capacity opened up a whole new channel for the track, which seemed to fall into place incredibly quickly. “I had a melody in my head for weeks and met with Eric and started humming it and the first words just came out and it flowed from there,” Healy said. “It has a real Celtic folk sound to it too. It is a very comforting song for anyone who has lost someone close to know that their spirit will always be there with them.” Healy spent the majority of 2019 writing new material and recording bits and pieces, with the plan of making 2020 a memorable year, though as of yet, there are no definitive dates as to when she will be sharing new material. In addition to creating music, Una Healy is also a presenter on Country Hits Radio.  

Country rock artist Rachele Lynae has announced her comeback in spectacular fashion, with a new album due on May 22 that will be flanked by five singles. The first of which, Braggin On Ya is set to be released on January 10 and will be the first piece of music that Lynae has released since Guy in the Sky in December 2017. The album, which is as of yet untitled, marks Lynae’s first full length record since she released her self-titled debut back in 2014 and she is set to tour quite heavily in 2020. More details about where Lynae will be touring will be available in due course. Speaking about Braggin On Ya, Lynae said that in the time between records, she has been hard at work writing music and then eventually taking those creations forward, while also explaining that the song itself is about her husband. “I have been so immersed in songwriting, writing so much music, but when it came time to release a new project as an artist Braggin On Ya was an obvious choice for the first single,” she said. “The song practically wrote itself, because it’s so me… braggin on my husband and being a little sassy about it.”

Rascal Flatts have decided to call it quits as a band after 20 hugely successful years and will soon be embarking on a farewell tour to say goodbye properly. The group – made up of Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney – have been a huge part of the genre over the last two decades, winning six CMA Awards, becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry, having a star on the Music City Hall of Fame and also winning a Grammy. With hits such as Bless the Broken Road, What Hurts the Most and I Like the Sound of That, the group have firmly cemented themselves as one of the most important and best country music groups of all time and it’s fitting that the tour is named after another one of their colossal hits in Life is a Highway. Speaking about the decision on their Twitter account, the group said that they could not have foreseen the levels of success that they have achieved and that there are no tears being shed about the decision, just a focus to make new memories. “When we started out 20 years ago, we could not imagine all of the people, places and gifts we would encounter,” they posted. “As we head out on the Rascal Flatts Farewell – Life is A Highway Tour, there is no sadness. Just new chapters, new journeys and new beginnings.This year and this tour, is all about YOU.” So far, all of the dates are in America, though many are hoping that the group do a worldwide farewell tour – including a stretch in the UK and Europe. People can register for tickets for the Rascal Flatts farewell tour here.