Holloway Road Announce Release of New EP, Roots.

Following the release of their single 'Little Harder' and two great performances at C2C in London, UK country-pop duo Holloway Road have announced the release of their second EP - Roots.

This record finds Holloway Road going back through previous genres they've written and played over the years, fusing a little bit of everything into the tracks in one way or another. Robert & Jack locked themselves in their home studio for a couple of months, emerging with five brand new songs they wanted to hear, including their first ever 'slow jam'... ever.

In their own words: "It's the most personal record we've made to date, but it's still fun! We had some songs written, but then some (female related) things happened and we wrote new ones, which turned out to be even better material. Love can be a horrible thing but we've realised it helps make a kick-ass record! It doesn't matter if we sell 5 or 5,000 copies - we'll still be proud of it. We've made the record we wanted to make."

Roots was self-recorded; produced; mixed and mastered, and is an independent release. The EP comes out on 18th April via digital stores, but a limited first press CD will be available at their UK tour dates with Dexeter, which started this past weekend:

March 26th - The Basement York (w/ Dexeter)
March 27th - The Palomino Glasgow (w/ Dexeter)
March 28th - The Castle Manchester (w/ Dexeter)
March 31th - Hanekam Norway

April 1st - Backstage Norway
April 2nd - Duffys Leicester (w/ Dexeter)
April 3rd - The Swan Addingham (w/ Dexeter)
April 6th - Green Door Store Brighton (w/ Dexeter)
April 7th - Chaplins Bournemouth (w/ Dexeter)
April 8th - The Garage London (w/ Dexeter)


Download their debut EP here and keep up-to-date with the boys on their Twitter, Facebook and website.

Mandy Bo's PledgeMusic Campaign Goes Live

Canadian singer-songwriter - and an artist that we at Somethin' Country think you should keep an eye on - Mandy Bo's PledgeMusic campaign is now live.

Mandy has released a short video to introduce the project, along with a cover of 'Folsom Prison Blues'. The campaign will support a live album and summer tour, promoting her new EP Making Herstory which fans can receive as an immediate download by taking part in the campaign. The tour will begin in Toronto on 30th June, with a show that will be mad
e available to stream to PledgeMusic backers, and later will become the live album that fans can pre-order as part of the campaign.

Read our review of Mandy's latest single and check out her take on Cash's classic Folsom Prison Blues and consider supporting this lady and her new and fresh take on country music.

About Mandy Bo

Born into a life of hard luck and poverty in the projects of Windsor, Ontario, Bo had a rough  start.  Yearning  for  something  more,  something  different,  she made the daring trek to Toronto at just 17. Among the buzz that she found among a hub of musicians, she started writing and producing original songs, eventually finding her sound as a country girl at heart, seamlessly blending diverse influences from classic and contemporary country and EDM into her music.

Produced by award-winning producer Mark Zubek, the new EP  Making  Herstory, from which  the  recent  single ‘Pay  The  Price’ was released, is the culmination of two years of work for Mandy Bo and a step towards the next level in her career.

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James Shead Releases Debut Album

Gravel-voiced folk rocker James Shead will release his debut album ‘A Light For The Fires’ on Friday 18th March. The album follows two iTunes-charting EPs which established him as one of the best new singer-songwriters in the South West. Now, ‘A Light For The Fires’ will propel him to national recognition.

If you're a fan of artists like Jason Isbell, Ray Lamontage and Paolo Nutini then it's worth checking Shead out. At the bottom of this page, you can check out the official video for Own Way Home, the first single to be released from this album.

About James Shead

Although he shares musical DNA with some of the current crop of singer-songwriters, what sets James Shead apart from the crowd is a knack for soaring choruses and a rich, powerful voice that can alternate between a cathartic holler and a soothing whisper. Backed by a talented collective of musicians, the eight tracks on the album display quality musicianship and a craftsman’s ear for melody throughout.

After only two years as a solo artist, Shead has made a name for himself locally and further afield as a compelling live performer and passionate songwriter with repeated radio support from BBC Introducing and a string of sold out shows and festival performances around Cornwall and London. With the release of his debut album, he’s set to gain more media plaudits and new fans as his fiery brand of country-infused folk-pop reaches new ears around the UK.

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ICYMI: Brantley Gilbert Announces May 'Blackout Tour'

Having rocked last year’s C2C Festival at The O2 in London last year, hard-hitting country outlier BRANTLEY GILBERT will return to the UK this May as part of his international Blackout tour. Among the concerts is a date at London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire.

UK DATES
Thu 05 May 2016 – Glasgow Oran Mor (SOLD-OUT)
Fri 06 May 2016 – Manchester Academy 2
Sat 07 May 2016 – Birmingham O2 Institute 2
Sun 08 May 2016 – London O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

Gilbert is a force to be reckoned with. He’s notched six number one singles, including Jason Aldean’s ‘My Kind of Party’ and the CMA Song of the Year nominee ‘Dirt Road Anthem’, and earned back-to-back platinum albums with Halfway To Heaven and Just As I Am, the latter being the 2014 American Music Awards Favourite Country Album. With a storied stage show, one that is high velocity as it is long on songs drawn from the rough hewn artist’s own life, the Jefferson, Georgia-born and –raised songwriter believes in cutting deep veins of truth into his music.

“People everywhere like to raise hell and have a good time,” says Gilbert. “It’s one of the things, no matter where I go, people seem to agree on. But they also want their music to dig a little deeper – and maybe show a little bit more of how life really is. I may write drinking songs and fighting songs, but I also write songs about faith, about hitting your knees and being lost and trying to be the best man I can be. I think the most hardcore rowdy people, when you look inside, need that just as much. I know I do... These songs are all about making my way through world, so they’ve been road-tested.”

Just As I Am topped Billboard and iTunes’ Country Albums chart upon release, ultimately becoming the third-highest Country seller of 2014 Featuring the Multi-Platinum number one ‘Bottoms Up,’ the nearly-double platinum number one ‘One Hell Of An Amen’ and Gold-certified ‘Small Town Throwdown,’ Just As I Am remained in the Top 5 best-selling Country Albums of 2015 as well.

Given the demand for his music – and wanting to deepen the story, Brantley released Just As I Am - Platinum Edition on May 19, one year after the original album’s release. Having written each of the 19 tracks on the expanded version, The Platinum Edition shared a more intimate glimpse into this chapter of his life with songs like the title track ‘Just As I Am,’ as well as his current single ‘Stone Cold Sober’.

Given his loyal fanbase and ever-expanding BG Nation, last year Gilbert took home the first ever fan-voted Renegade Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Recognizing artists who break boundaries while remaining true to themselves, Gilbert was honored to given an award recognizing his conviction to be honour his truth, his intensity and his full-tilt approach to making music.

Tickets for Brantley Gilbert’s headline UK tour are £16.00 (£18.50 London) and are on sale now.

Single of the Week: 'The Girl on Christopher Street' - Sean C Kennedy

Winner of the Best Acoustic Act at Scottish Alternative awards 2015, Sean C Kennedy releases his new single 'The Girl on Christopher Street' this Friday.

Sean C Kennedy, a Scottish singer-songwriter travelled to New York in 2011 to run the Marathon for Neurocare, a charity doing research into motor neuron disease. Sean took his guitar with him on his trip, and before he ran the marathon he performed in the Path Café on Christopher Street.

While he was performing a girl came into the café and he was totally struck by her, one of those ‘love at first sight’ moments. By the time he finished, she was gone. She had asked the barman to get Sean’s details but she never did get in touch. It’s been 4 years.

He was so inspired, he had to write about his experience in a song called ‘The Girl on Christopher Street’. This song is the 2nd single from his debut album 77.

We first caught Sean when he opened up for The Shires and Ward Thomas on their Homegrown Tour at the end of 2014 and were wowed by his storytelling skills - this single is the perfect example of such skills.

Get 'The Girl on Christopher Street' and the album, 77 on iTunes.
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Holloway Road Release New Single 'Little Harder'

One of the UK's most exciting new acts Holloway Road  have released a brand new song to stream via Soundcloud today! The song 'Little Harder' is taken from their forthcoming second EP, the follow-up to 2015's self-titled debut which made it into the iTunes UK Top 10 Country album chart.

You can listen to 'Little Harder' here.


The band will also be performing at this year's Country to Country festival in London and can be caught at the following times and places:

Saturday 12th March - 10:30am - Town Square Stage
Sunday 13th March - 6:00pm - Brooklyn Bowl

ABOUT HOLLOWAY ROAD:

Holloway Road are Jack Cooper and Robert Gulston, both originating from sunny Southend-On-Sea. But these aren't your ordinary Essex Boys: Instead of tanning or getting their vajazzles done, they're creating 'free big in your face' country pop music. Jack and Robert, being in their mid-twenties now, have had their fair share of experience writing and playing around the world. After attending the same school and working on musical projects together in the years since, Jack and Robert's ability to write and produce stems from the idea of being able to write about being real and having a good time. Their influences include Florida Georgia Line, Kacey Musgraves, The Eagles, Mumford and Sons, and drinkin' a beer!

Along with their debut, self-titled EP entering the Top 10 UK iTunes Country album charts, the duo have spent time in Nashville, been invited to play the Martin Guitar stage at the CMA Festival, toured with #1 hit writers John & Jacob, and performed at Country to Country Festival at the O2 Arena in London two years in a row. And they're just getting started - with a string of UK and European dates in the spring and their second EP on the way, Holloway Road are well on their way to imprinting their own footprint in the country community.

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Mandy Bo Announces PledgeMusic Campaign

Following the success of Mandy Bo’s single ‘Pay The Price’ in February, the Canadian country singer-songwriter has announced a PledgeMusic campaign. The campaign will launch on 10th March 2016 to support a live album and summer tour, promoting her new EP ‘Making Herstory’. The tour will begin in Toronto on 30th June, with a show that will be made available to stream to PledgeMusic backers, and later will become the live album that fans can pre-order as part of the campaign. We will follow up with more details on the campaign when it launches next week.

In the meantime, check out our review of her single, 'Pay The Price' here and you can follow her on her social media channels below:

Follow Mandy on Twitter
Like Mandy on Facebook
Visit Mandy's Offical Site.