Rising Canadian star Tenille Arts will release her much anticipated album ‘Love, Heartbreak & Everything In Between’ on January 10. You can pre-order the album here. The album follows in the footsteps of Arts’ 2017 release ‘Rebel Child’, which was also re-released last year as a deluxe edition, featuring four new songs. Arts has worked with five different producers on the record in Alex Kline, Grant Vogelfanger, Derek George, Adam Wheeler and Matt Rovey, with the album featuring I Hate This and her current single Somebody Like That. Speaking about the album, Arts said that the tracks within the record describe everything that she’s been through over the past 12 months, which include love songs, break-up songs and other songs that map out things that she’s experienced in her life. “I’m so excited about this album,” said Arts. “It’s everything I’ve been through this past year, so I decided to title it ‘Love, Heartbreak & Everything in Between.’ It’s four love songs, four breakup songs and four songs about everything else in life. I got to collaborate with new songwriters and producers and I’m so proud of the creativity on this album.” ‘Love, Heartbreak & Everything In Between’ by Tenille Arts will be 12 songs in length and is to be released on Reviver Records.

Lindsay Ell has made huge headway in America with her new track I Don’t Love You, with 54 radio stations putting the song in circulation. You can listen to the song here. As a result of the volume of radio stations endorsing the track, the single has become one of the most added tracks on Country Radio this year, which is a huge boost for the Canadian artist. Speaking of the song, Ell said that she realised the importance of the track – which she feels is something that everyone can relate to – to other people when she performed it on her recent tour in Germany and saw audience members visibly break down. “I feel that I Don’t Love You is a song that everyone can relate to,” said Ell.  “We all know what it feels like to fall in love with someone, fall out of love and then still miss them sometimes. The impact that I’ve felt with this single for the few short weeks it’s been out already has been crazy. “Even at our first few shows in Germany…here we are on the other side of the world, where English isn’t even most people’s first language and when I sang I Don’t Love You, there were two girls crying in the front row hearing it for the first time. I think it’s just a real song that hopefully can make everyone feel something.” During that tour, Ell spoke to Maverick about what she has planned for the near future, which you can read in full here.

Lee Brice will be touring in the UK in the summer of 2020, with four dates pencilled in for July – including one at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Tickets are available here from 10am on December 13. The Grammy nominated artist will be venturing into the major cities in the UK during his stay, with his tour starting in London and then finishing in Glasgow, with Birmingham and Manchester wedged in-between. At present, Brice is currently enjoying chart success with his duet with Carly Pearce, with I Hope You’re Happy Now making its way into the Top 30 of the charts, while he has also had five Number Ones in his career for A Woman Like You, Hard to Love, I Drive Your Truck, I Don’t Dance and Drinking Class. Brice’s last album – his self-titled fourth record – was released in 2017 and there is belief that new music will be available for fans to consume before he jets off to the UK. In his career, Brice has been nominated for two CMA Awards (New Artist of the Year and Song of The Year for I Don’t Dance), two Grammy Awards (Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song – both  for I Drive Your Truck) and four ACM Awards (Song of the Year and Single Record of the Year for Love Like Crazy, Top New Male Artist and Song of the Year for A Woman Like You). Lee Brice will be playing: July 7 – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, England July 9 – O2 Institute, Birmingham, England July 10 – O2 Ritz, Manchester, England July 11 – Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Scotland

Dustin Lynch has whipped up the anticipation for his fourth album ‘Tullahoma’ – due on January 17 – by unveiling the tracklist for the record. You can pre-order ‘Tullahoma’ here. The album will be 11 songs in length and Lynch has been working on some big hitters for the record, including outside cuts from the likes of Old Dominion’s Matt Ramsey, Dylan Schneider and the late producer busbee amongst others. In addition, Lynch has teamed up with Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley, Rhett Akins, Ashley Gorley and Dallas Davidson for other songs on ‘Tullahoma’, while Lauren Alaina lends her vocal skills on Thinking ‘Bout You. Speaking about the album, Lynch said that everything is very much there for a reason and the content harks back to his upbringing and the people who made it so memorable, while also saying that despite being a Grand Ole Opry member and having six Number Ones to his name, he feels as if he’s still at the beginning of his career. “Every song on ‘Tullahoma’, there’s a reason it’s there,” Lynch said. “A lot of that points back to the people who raised me, and growing up with a lifestyle where I could go outside and have fun, explore and try new things in the great outdoors. It’s kind of about being that kid and learning all those things. “That’s my story, but I think we all can relate to the kid who’s discovering, the kid who’s figuring out love for the first time – all that good stuff. In a weird way, I feel like I’m just getting started. I feel like we’re just approaching the launching pad and I feel like we have songs that will take us to the next level.” The tracklist for ‘Tullahoma’ is: 1. Momma’s House (Dylan Schneider, Michael Lotten, Rodney Clawson, Justin Wilson 2. Dirt Road (Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip, David Garcia) 3. Thinking ‘Bout You ft Lauren Alaina (Dustin Lynch, Andy Albert, Hunter Phelps, Will Weatherly) 4. Ridin’ Roads (Lynch, Ashley Gorley, Zach Crowell) 5. Old Country Song (Josh Miller, Bryan Simpson, Josh Jenkins) 6. This World Ain’t Yours and Mine (Matt Ramsey, Luke Laird, Rodney Clawson) 7. Country Star (Lynch, Brian Kelley, Corey Crowder, Jordan Schmidt) 8. Workin’ On You (busbee, Gorley, Akins) 9. Little Town Livin’ (Lynch, Ben Hayslip, Crowell, Akins) 10. Red Dirt, Blue Eyes (Lynch, Kyle Fishman, Dallas Davidson) 11. Good Girl (Lynch, Justin Ebach, Albert)

Jess and the Bandits have released a new song in the shape of Bulletproof, which is the first to be shared from the band’s upcoming EP ‘Riding Shotgun’. You can listen to the track here. The group – fronted by Texan vocalist Jessica Clemmon and also featuring Chris Howard, Luke Thomas, Jake Woodward and Callum Williams – have been very productive in 2019 and Bulletproof follows in the footsteps of Love Don’t Give A Damn, which was shared back in September. Bulletproof – written with Victoria Banks (Jessica Simpson, Sara Evans, Johnny Reid) and Emily Shakelton (Carly Pearce, Lauren Alaina, Cassadee Pope) – was chosen as the lead single from the upcoming EP due to the fact that it went down so well with audiences on their last UK tour, with it appearing that ‘Riding Shotgun’ will be released in the first part of 2020. Jess and the Bandits sought the production skills of Latin Grammy Award winner Femke for ‘Riding Shotgun’, who has also worked with The Adelaides and Belle Mt. The band gave continued to grow in profile in the UK, having appeared at C2C and the inaugural Long Road Festival. In addition, they have also made BBC Radio 2 playlists down the line.  

Hot on the heels of his latest release Grandpa’s Hands, Rob Mayes has unveiled his new Christmas song, titled It’s That Time of the Year Again. You can listen to the track here. The singer/actor has been steadily releasing new music over the last few months, with the aforementioned Grandpa’s Hands and Closer being put out for public consumption. Mayes has now turned his hand to releasing festive music, with the Christmas track premiering on Your Life in a Song yesterday (December 5). Speaking about the track, Mayes said that Christmas is a very important time in the calendar year, but it always comes with a tinge of sadness for him as it reminds him of someone he dearly misses – which he tries to convey as best he can in It’s That Time of the Year Again. “Christmas is a special time for gratitude and family and giving…nostalgia,” Mayes said. “But with that, at least for me, comes a bit of sombreness. There’s an inherent sadness. And I feel that so few holiday songs capture that sentiment of longing and melancholy inherent in the beauty of togetherness and annual celebration and missing the one you want to be with most.” “And to me, Christmas is a time for jazz – jazz is cozy, there’s a beauty and almost perfect flaw in dissonance – which is why I wanted to write a song that melds country and jazz, hope and longing, with sadness and I hope the stripped-back production of piano, pedal steel, and vocal lends itself to that feeling of lonesomeness and open sonic space.” Rob Mayes will soon be appearing on the silver screen once more as he is set to star in ‘Soldier’s Heart’ alongside Val Kilmer, AnnaLynne McCord and Jake Busley, while he was recently in ‘The Road Home For Christmas’ with Marla Sokoloff and Marie Osmond.

Robert Vincent has released his second single in the space of a week in the shape of My Neighbour’s Ghost, which also comes with a video. You can see that below. [wpdevart_youtube]QPi-rD4c5LQ[/wpdevart_youtube] The single, which follows in the footsteps of This Town and both singles will feature on Vincent’s upcoming album, ‘In This Town You’re Owned’, which is due for release on February 14 – Vincent’s first record on his new label, Thirty Tigers. Working on Vincent with the album was Brit Award winning producer Ethan Johns, with the record being described as his most socially and politically poignant album to date. Speaking about the song, Vincent explains that there is a great deal that we can learn from everyday life and will always continue to do so, but we as humans also contemplate several factors about whether we do enough or whether we should do more. “There is so much we can all learn from life,” Vincent said. “‘Life will take you, if you like it or if you don’t, so live it’. Do we sometimes take our lives for granted? Do we always live life to the full? Should we take in what is going on around us more?” Ever since Vincent was picked as ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris’ Emerging Artist Award at the 2016 UK Americana Awards, the Liverpool based artist has gone from strength to strength. Earlier this year, Vincent appeared multiple times at C2C and was also a part of Harris’ ‘Under the Apple Tree Sessions’ at Bush Hall as part of Country Music Week.

Upcoming duo O&O have released a special live acoustic video to accompany the release of their single Here We Are, which dropped on November 15. You can watch the video below. [wpdevart_youtube]q19EPN8REfw[/wpdevart_youtube] After a year long wait, the London based Israeli-American pair, made up of Orian and Obadiah, released the single but have now opted to put out an accompanying video for it, which was shot at North 17 Studios in the English capital. The track was premiered on Country Hits Radio when it came out and in addition to that, the duo also got TV airtime to discuss the song as they appeared London Live TV to open up about the meaning of the song. In addition to the video, which features a lot of the colour pink, O&O have released their first batch of dates for a 2020 tour in the UK, which includes dates in Bristol, Manchester and London. The tour announcement comes in the aftermath of the duo’s headline date in London at the Finsbury, while they also recently performed at Country in the Afternoon – a sold out event – at The Half Moon in Putney. In addition to the new music, O&O have also been working hard on their YouTube account by launching a series of collaborations on their channel, which is growing in popularity quite noticeably. O&O will be playing: February 25 – The Bristol Fringe, Bristol, England February 27 – Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre, Barnoldswick, England February 28 – Old School BBQ Bus, Manchester, England March 5 – The Bedford, London, England Ticket information regarding the dates will be released in due course.

In a rare public interview, Willie Nelson has revealed that he has stopped smoking weed after realising that his vice “almost killed” him. The 86-year-old’s past tendencies have gone down in country music folklore, but they have also had a different impact as they have inspired many others within the genre to feel that they could sing about the vice without being ridiculed. Speaking to KSAT TV in Houston, Texas, Nelson reflected back on his past and believes that his current respiratory issues are probably down to his old habits, before opening up on his path to marijuana and how it has almost proved fatal. “I have abused my lungs quite a bit in the past, so breathing is a little more difficult these days and I have to be careful,” Nelson said. “I started smoking cedar bark, went from that to cigarettes to whatever…and that almost killed me. “I don’t smoke anymore. I take better care of myself.” However, when pressed about his general health and how he was faring, Nelson responded in typical outlaw fashion before revealing that he believes he’s just fortunate to be walking the planet. “I don’t give a f***. I’m here and I’m glad to be here. I’m lucky to be here.” Nelson has had a very busy 2019, with the legendary artist releasing a new album in ‘Road I Call Home’ – of which, the title track subsequently received a Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Performance – and also appearing at the CMA Awards for a duet with Kacey Musgraves. The pair sung Rainbow Connection from ‘The Muppet Movie’.

The Spotlight Stage artists for C2C 2020 have been revealed for the London dates, with Willie Jones and Kassi Ashton pencilled in for London and Glasgow. The Spotlight Stage artists for London will include Mitchell Tenpenny, Niko Moon, Caylee Hammack, Gabby Barrett, Twinnie, Kyle Daniel and Noah Schnacky, while Seaforth will be a Glasgow exclusive. The Spotlight Stage is a key component of C2C, as the platform offers artists a 15 minute slot inside the Main Arena in-between the Main Stage acts. Tenpenny, Daniel and Barrett will be in London on the Friday for when Eric Church headlines, Moon, Ashton and Twinnie will be performing on Saturday night when Darius Rucker tops the bill and Jones, Hammack and Schnacky are pencilled in for when Luke Combs closes the festival. By contract, Jones will be in Glasgow on the Friday, Seaforth will be performing on the Saturday and Ashton will be at the Hydro on the Sunday. In addition to the Spotlight Stage announcements, C2C have also revealed that the Aftershow Parties will also be taking place at C2C 2020, located in the indigo only this year, as opposed to All Bar One at The O2 as well. For the Aftershow Parties, Tenpenny will be there on the Friday, Ashton on the Saturday and Jones on the Sunday. In addition to these three, Nashville’s DJ High will also be behind the decks spinning songs. You can buy tickets for C2C 2020 here.