Darius Rucker & Russell Dickerson Royal Albert Hall, UK Sunday 28th October   The Royal Albert Hall is a notably iconic venue in London, UK, and to headline is a major achievement for any artist. Taking to the stage on the 28 October was Grammy winning artist Darius Rucker, and he didn’t disappoint. Opening with Homegrown Honey, Rucker was greeted with just as warm a welcome as you would expect – and the love from the crowd only grew.  With such an extensive back catalogue, the hits kept coming. From Southern State Of Mind to For The First Time, Rucker had the entire place on their feet within just a few songs. Any initial resistance to the majority standing crowd was futile come the third or fourth song of the set, as everyone was up. One song that Rucker himself introduced as “one of those songs you write that ends up being a game changer”, If I Told You, certainly went down well with the audience. Taking a break from his own tracks, Rucker spoke about how some songs are just good songs, no matter the genre. This prompted an interesting line up of Friends In Low Places segued into No Diggity. An interesting combination, but one that the crowd seemed to enjoy. Rucker also introduced his latest UK release, a song he recorded with Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, and Jason Aldean: Straight To Hell. Despite only just being released in the UK, the dedicated crowd already knew the words well enough to sing along.  Rucker then invited support act Russell Dickerson out onto the stage again to perform a song with him, after which, he went on to sing his final song before the encore.  He introduced this song by saying that it is not a part of their usual set, but that he was inspired to sing it in Manchester the night before, and so wanted to replicate that. Rucker, his band, and the crowd then broke into a hearty rendition of Oasis’ Champagne Supernova.  As Darius Rucker left the stage, I can honestly say I have never heard such a deafening call for an encore. Expecting a highly anticipated version of Rucker’s most famous song, Wagon Wheel, the whole venue roared.  It was a surprise, then, when Rucker and his band returned to sing an impromptu verse and chorus of Adele’s Someone Like You;a set addition I don’t think even the band were prepared for. That said, it went down well with a crowd hanging off Rucker’s very move.  He then went on to sing Hands on Me, cruelly delaying the inevitable peak everyone awaited.  And, of course, he delivered. Rucker and his talented band ended the night with a crowd-pleasing rendition of Wagon Wheel, much to everyone’s delight.  Rucker described at one point, the significance of this performance, sharing how the Royal Albert Hall was the last venue on his bucket list that, until tonight, had yet to be ticked off. “This is one of the greatest nights of my musical career; playing at the Royal Albert Hall.”  It seemed to be as monumental a night for him as it was for his huge crowd of fans that sold out the venue. So much so, in fact, that they had to open up the choir seats to meet the high demand.  The audience were in for a treat as soon as the entered the venue, with Russell Dickerson kicking off proceedings in a brilliant way. Dickerson is a country showman: confident, talented, and endearing. He can bound around the stage like he owns the place, with the talent to match, making his perceived self-assured persona not only likeable, but infectious.  Opening with Twentysomething, it didn’t take much to have the crowd on his side. His bountiful energy was also matched by his genuine humility, pausing to express his gratitude to be performing on such a hallowed stage a number of times throughout his 45-minute set.  Dickerson has a voice that he commands with such ease, holding notes far longer than the crowd could match in their eager singalongs.  He was clearly having a blast, huge smiles beaming across his face, particularly as he got among the crowd to have a dance party in the centre of the floor.  He did an amazing job of warming up the crowd ahead of Darius Rucker’s headline set. In fact, he gave Rucker a bit of a run for his money.  Assessing the night as a whole, the buzz of adrenaline was palpable, and the roar of the crowd almost unmatched in my experience. Both artists brought their A-game, clearly aware of the gravity performing at such a venue entails, and they did not disappoint. There was a lot of fun to be had at the Royal Albert Hall on this final night of Country Music Week, and it was had by all – both performers and audience alike.   Danielle Smith

Warner E Hodges Boom Boom Club, Sutton, Surrey 23 October, 2018 It all started so, well…sensibly. The crashing, exuberant twin-guitar thrill of Right Back Where I Started, the lyrics “power chords on speed” particularly apt. Hodges has been through a world of country and rock, notably as guitarist in post-punk Nashville country ensemble Jason and the Scorchers and, over the last several years, as duelling partner with former Georgia Satellite Dan Baird in his band Homemade Sin. Tonight’s not a quiet night off from the real job. “If you were looking for Americana on a stool, that ain’t what I’m gonna do,” he chortles in a down south accent that belies the fact that he was born on a US army base in Germany. And he’s true to both his word and the title of his new Nashville-recorded album, ‘Right Back Where I Started’. Armed with a rip-roaring British guitar/bass/drums band, there’s almost two solid hours of what might have been southern rock, but what was certainly a lot more. There’s John Fogerty’s It Ain’t Me, the Scorchers’ If Money Talks, Hodges’ one gentle song, Time Marches On, and more – a melee of chugging guitar and razor-sharp breaks, dancing bass and neat, solid drums. Then it starts to get weird, as Hodges relives his youth… something, I’m not quite sure what, by AC/DC, the band that inspired him to play, a majestically doomy Wizard from the first Black Sabbath album, and a never to be beaten version of Back In The USSR. A set that’s like a home-made cassette keeps on rolling, through Tom Petty’s Running Down a Dreamthen finishing with a rollicking take on Country Roads, that I’d like to think would have had John Denver laughing rather than crying. Given how many youngsters play country that veers towards heavy rock, they could look to Hodges for true inspiration. Nick Dalton

Up and coming all-female trio Remember Monday marked the launch of their new single Drive with a huge bang on 21 October, with a spellbinding performance well beyond their years. The gig at the Troubadour in London, England, was hosted by new specialist country music and Americana app CountryLine, and the tiny venue was rammed full of people eager to see the trio in action. Kicking off proceedings was Jess Thristan, who pretty much had the audience eating out of her hands within the first 30 seconds of her set – an amazing feat for any artist on a bill – while Tally Spear overcame a few technical difficulties to deliver a rousing show. Remember Monday then took to the stage, and as soon as Your Kinda Love got started, it became very clear as to why the group – formerly known as Houston – have so much hype around them at this moment in time, as the trio set about making the night their own. Racing through a number of songs that showcased the band’s versatility – from being able to completely nail covers, to a number of upbeat tracks, to emotion evoking efforts – it seemed as if there was nothing that Holly-Anne Hull, Lauren Byrne and Charlotte Steele couldn’t do together, especially with their superb harmonies. The real lump in the throat moment of the night came when the group performed Dear Debbie – a song that was written by Hull’s grandparent for her mum when she moved away, and was so emotionally charging that guitarist Byrne had to step in and take control of talking duties before the track started. The song was played beautifully and was arguably the best received track of the evening, and the group recomposed themselves to play a few more songs before closing the set on Drive, which brought the house down. Remember Monday played: Your Kinda Love Make Me Fall What He Sees Cowboy Take Me Away (Dixie Chicks cover) Pretty Good Heart Daddy’s Lessons (Beyoncé cover) Home To Me I See Fire (Ed Sheeran cover) Fake Pretty Bird (Hazel Dickens cover) Free Fallin’ (Tom Petty cover) Dear Debbie Benefit of the Doubt Jailbreaker Drive

Following the release of her new self-titled album (which we gave 4 stars in the current issue) BBC Radio 2 favourite Callaghan heads back to the UK this month for her latest headline tour. Kicking off on October 30 in York, the 8-date tour takes in Edinburgh, Leeds, Preston, Birmingham, a show at Dingwall’s, Camden for the London Roots Festival, and Bristol before the final show on November 9 on the Wirral. Callaghan will be supported by UK Americana Music Association double award nominee Danni Nichols. We asked Callaghan what we can expect from this tour: “I’ll be performing songs from my previous albums, as well as lots of tracks from the new record, and I’ll be joined by some amazing musicians. I always aim to take the listeners on a journey throughout the show, with songs to tap their feet to, some to make them cry, as well as lots of stories and laughs. This tour will be going from Bristol to Edinburgh and lots of places in between so hopefully I’ll be coming to a town near you!” Originally from Lincolnshire Callaghan moved to the USA in 2010 to tour and record with Atlanta based Grammy nominee Shawn Mullins. In 2015 she recorded her second album A History of Now in Nashville and, after five years of building her audience across the USA, returned to Britain to tour. Long championed by the BBC’s Bob Harris who calls her “a wonderful artist…hugely talented” she went on to appear at C2C and have three singles added to the BBC Radio 2 playlist and has made appearances at multiple UK festivals including Cornbury, Cambridge Folk Festival and SummerTyne. Her UK touring has continued to grow along side her US shows, and in July Callaghan played in Hyde Park as part of Barclaycard British Summer Time, sharing the bill with Paul Simon, James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt. Her latest album has been getting a great response, with Maverick’s review describing it as “a euphoric collection of piano led songs” and Callaghan as “a singer-songwriter of a seriously high standard” . Callaghan’s Album Release Tour offers her UK fans a chance to hear the songs live! Catch Callaghan on tour: OCT 30 – NCEM – YORK NOV 1 – VOODOO ROOMS – EDINBURGH NOV 2 – THORNER VICTORY HALL – LEEDS NOV 4 – PRESTON LIVE – PRESTON NOV 6 – CUBAN EMBASSY – BIRMINGHAM NOV 7 – DINGWALLS – LONDON ROOTS FESTIVAL NOV 8 – THE FRINGE – BRISTOL NOV 9 – THORNTON HOUGH VILLAGE CLUB – WIRRAL For more information tickets visit: www.callaghansongs.com/live