Darius Rucker and Fiona Culley Debut Music Video of Duet 'Life on the Line'

Grammy award-winning, multi-faceted artist Darius Rucker has teamed up with emerging British artist Fiona Culley to record “Life on the Line,” the theme song to a major motion picture of the same name.

Written by Culley, Rucker, Meghan Linsey and Tyler Cain, the music video and trailer for the film can be viewed now on iTunes and YouTube. Starring John Travolta, Kate Bosworth and Sharon Stone, Life on the Line opens in limited release this Friday, November 18th in the following major markets; Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia and Tampa. Life on the Line will also be available nationwide via digital and VOD platforms

Rolling Stone Country exclusively announced the collaboration and world premiered the music video.

Having been named the ‘Adele of Country’ by industry vet and hit producer Paul Worley (Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry, Martina McBride, Sara Evans), Culley first raised eyebrows when her cover video of Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” received more than 2 million views overnight. VH1 caught wind of the Culley’s stripped back take on the song and named it one of VH1’s Top 5 Cover Videos to Watch.

Culley is currently in the studio with Worley wrapping up production on her debut EP, due out in the first quarter of 2017.

ALBUM REVIEW: 'Tough Ones to Love' - Amanda Richards

Last week we featured a single called 'Fresh Kill', a single that I enjoyed immensely.

Even though I am someone who considers themselves a fan of most, if not all, of the sub-genres of the broad country genre, I must admit that I do favor the rootsy side over the super-polished and overly produced side. Therefore, Amanda Richards' 'Fresh Kill' was exactly the sort of track that holds a special place in my heart, so I had a good feeling heading into my first listen of her new album.

And man...Tough Ones To Love did not disappoint.

The album is a lovely throwback to traditional country, with songs telling real, interesting and diverse stories. And this is great and, with this album, it is just perfect as Amanda is clearly a natural storyteller, as demonstrated from the get-go with 'Fresh Kill', a song that warns of the dangers of letting life pass you by.

'Last Train' has a wonderful wild west vibe to it as Richards sings about rejecting the advances of a charming yellow-eyed devil. I mentioned in my single review last week about how rich 'Fresh Kill' was in imagery, and in language, and this recurs throughout the entire album, and 'Last Train' is another fine example, as is 'Another Temptation'.

Like her storytelling, Amanda's smoky vocals also shine - particularly on 'Close To Me', a track that shows a more vulnerable side to the singer, increasingly so towards the end of the song where her voice grows and shakes with emotion.

'Lame Tattoos' reminds us that looks can and will fade, whilst 'Cinderella Waltz' is a heartbreaking tale of waiting for a prince that never shows.

This is a diverse album with ten original tracks and three covers, all telling different tales but, ultimately, they're all connected together with an authenticity that makes this album really great. I don't know all too much about Amanda Richards personally but I can tell that this is an album that stays very much true to who she is and I can sense that she's proud of this collection of songs...and she has every right to be.

This is a fantastic album and might just be a sneaky late addition to our top albums of the year list.

Tough Ones To Love is available now. 

For further information on Amanda Richards, visit amandarichards.net.

Folk-Americana Trio Underhill Rose Announce UK November Tour

Harmonies. Soul-touching lyrics. Underhill Rose has become synonymous with beautiful Americana music.

With Eleanor Underhill, playing her distinctive claw-hammer style on a Deering banjo along with harmonica, Molly Rose on guitar, and Salley Williamson plucking the upright bass, the trio has carved out a place in the Americana scene with songs that run the gamut from heart wrenching to sassy and playful to thought-provoking. Eleanor’s salty blues-inspired voice and Molly’s soaring range lead the group in tandem with Salley’s country twang to create three-part harmony music that is real and inspired, rooted in everything life has thrown at Asheville, North Carolina’s pre-eminent female trinity.

Molly Rose and Eleanor Underhill’s musical partnership is the result of a chance meeting at a makeshift performance of ‘Angel from Montgomery’ between classes at Warren Wilson College. Molly Rose’s beautiful voice resonated with Eleanor, and the two eventually started performing live together. Their affinity for the music they make has kept them together for more than 12 years. Underhill Rose formed in 2009, and the addition of Salley Williamson two years later created the foundation for an internationally-recognized female trio known for blending aspects of Americana, rhythm and blues, country and bluegrass into an authentic sound that is all their own – ‘Heartfelt Country Soul.’

2016 has already become a high-spirited year for the boot-wearing trio, with performances at Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour and Folk Alliance International, the band's first-ever international tour to the UK and Ireland, and sold-out shows at clubs and performance centres along the way. On the heels of outstanding UK reviews for their latest album The Great Tomorrow, released to coincide with their first visit earlier this year, Underhill Rose return for a second UK tour in November.

‘After our first trip to the UK, I couldn’t be more excited to return,’ says Eleanor. ‘We met the most incredible people, saw beautiful places, and played on stages we can’t wait to return to play.’

The trio will play the following dates:

Nov 10th: The Hut, Corby
Nov 11th: The Square Tower, Old Portsmouth
Nov 12th: Green Note, London
Nov 13th: Santini's, Kenley
Nov 14th: The Castle Hotel, Manchester
Nov 18th: Woodend Gallery, Scarborough
Nov 19th: The Studio in Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne

For more information on Underhill Rose, including ticket information for their tour dates, visit underhillrose.com.

Yola Carter Debuts On NPR Ahead Of 'Orphan Offering' EP Release Next Month

Noted as a “breakthrough performance” artist by The Guardian at AmericanaFest 2016, Yola Carter has debuted a new song ‘Fly Away’ as an exclusive stream, alongside an interview feature on NPR this week.

With a soulful, country-gospel style voice that lives between the purity of Gene Clark and the grit of Mavis Staples in her prime, the response to this singer/songwriter among fans, critics and industry has already been overwhelming. Her debut acoustic EP Orphan Offering - out 1st November 2016 worldwide - is an introduction to Yola Carter’s vision, a revival of classic Americana.

Check our the feature here via NPR.

You can catch Yola on the following dates this December:

5th - The Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol
15th - The Con Club, Lewes
16th - The Square Tower, Old Portsmouth
19th - The Borderline, London
22nd - The Sage, Gateshead

About Yola Carter

Yola Carter is a country-soul singer/songwriter from Bristol, UK, whose recent successes include a much-hyped performance at Americana Fest in Nashville, having been selected by AMA UK as a showcase artist and noted as ‘one to watch’ by publications including The Guardian, NPR, Pitchfork and Wall Street Journal. Heavily influenced from an early age by Sixties country, Stax-era soul and gospel ranging from The Staple Singers to Otis Redding, Yola was raised in a small seaside town in the South West of the England and “always wanted to be a country music artist”.

Unafraid to address difficult issues in her lyrics, Yola’s real-life story - both heartbreaking and inspirational - naturally finds its way into her songs. Coming from a poor, broken home and a parent suffering from mental illness who ‘banned’ her from making any music, Yola’s experience of growing up was one of truly living below the breadline. In a working class community in denial of its status where discrimination and even violence fuelled by racism were not unusual, writing music quickly became an outlet and a means of expression, and touring a means of escape.

From her late teens, Yola Carter (born Yolanda Quartey) worked hard to earn credibility and respect throughout the industry as one of the UK's top singers and a uniquely gifted songwriter. Realising that her soul voice was soon getting attention, Yola graduated to touring internationally straight out of school with critically acclaimed acts such as Bugz in the Attic on their world tour, and later Massive Attack, most notably headlining Glastonbury Festival's Other Stage to 60,000 people and broadcasting live on the BBC.

She began her journey into Americana music performing with her band Phantom Limb, based in her hometown of Bristol. The band self-released the eponymous debut album and the later more country-leaning effort of ‘The Pines’ produced by Marc Ford of The Black Crowes, taking to the road with acts such as Dr John, Solomon Burke and Candi Staton. Despite this success, Phantom Limb eventually disbanded, leaving Yola to focus on her own projects.

Yola Carter has since combined her two skillsets of singer-writer and writer/producer to write, record and produce her debut solo EP Orphan Offering out November 1st 2016. A set of songs that manage to be autobiographical and intensely personal while speaking to wider socio-political issues, the EP is a living example of an artist building something from nothing: In ‘Dead and Gone’ Carter sings 'there was a time when my people were product to you; if we can’t supersede that now, where on Earth am I heading to?' - an explicit reference to assumptions about the role of black female singers in the modern music industry.

Throughout the summer, Yola has been on the road, including appearances at various festivals including Canary Wharf’s ‘Nashville Meets London’, and support slots for St Paul and The Broken Bones, Sam Outlaw and Imelda Mae, along with an increasing focus on her much anticipated debut release.

For further information on Yola, including details for her upcoming dates, visit yolacarter.com.

Silverado Records Adds Country Music Icon Joe Diffie To Roster

Rising independent label Silverado Records is today proud to announce the signing of country music icon, ACM and Grammy Award winning, multi-platinum selling artist Joe Diffie to their roster.

'Working with Joe Diffie is a true honor,' said Silverado Founder and CEO, Scott Thomas. 'There isn’t a Silverado team member who isn’t already a huge Joe Diffie fan, and working with Joe on new music is something that we’re all extremely excited about.'

With thirteen albums, more than twenty top ten singles and twelve number one tracks to his name, Diffie is best known for his smash hits, 'Third Rock from The Sun', 'Ships That Don’t Come In', and 'John Deere Green'. He is a recognized artist of the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame and has been a proud member of the Grand Ole Opry for over twenty years. Diffie has signed a multi-project deal with Silverado:

'Working with an iconic artist like Joe starts to put into perspective the mission we have here at Silverado Records to build a label that’s steeped in equal parts traditional country music, and also country music that leans new or different,' said Thomas.

Aaron Chesling, A&R Director at Silverado said: 'I am so excited for the chance to work with an artist like Joe along with the Silverado team. I am truly humbled to be a part in developing his next record.'

Diffie is currently working on his Silverado debut - slated for release in 2017 - with renowned songwriter and producer Phil “Philbilly” O’Donnell, who has myriad credits with country music mainstays like Blake Shelton, Craig Morgan, George Strait, Trace Adkins and Clint Black. 'I’ve been hanging on to some really great songs for a while, so when Scott invited me to release them on Silverado Records, it was a motivator for me to record them,' said Diffie. 'I’m looking forward to sharing them with my fans real soon.' The pair previously teamed up for Diffie’s most recent single 'Girl Ridin’ Shotgun' the video for which has amassed nearly 10 million YouTube views, and features cameo appearances from superstars like Shelton, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith, Lee Brice, McGraw and Keith Urban.

About Silverado Records

Launched earlier this year, Silverado Records hosts offices in Nashville and Las Vegas and is quickly becoming a haven for both established and rising country artists working to carve their own path in the music industry. Founder and CEO Scott Thomas, a serial entrepreneur and entertainment industry veteran, is also the CEO of Silverado’s parent company, Exegan Music Group, which owns or controls more than a dozen other record label catalogs. The first half of his career was rooted in the radio business, as a radio DJ, production manager, and program director before co-founding Zeo Radio Networks in Denver. Thomas moved to the record side in 2008 with the launch of Jake Records. Thomas is joined on the Silverado Records team by accomplished industry professionals with storied careers at landmark labels and organizations. A&R Director Aaron Chesling formerly served as Logistics Coordinator for Big Machine Records and Heather Cramsie serves as the Marketing Director after a successful run as the Director of Southeast Promotion at Sidewalk Records. Social Media Director Tim Stewart hails from Las Vegas where he did freelance social media seminars for tech startups in Silicon Valley, now working out of the Exegan Music headquarters.

Silverado's roster also contains talented singer/songwrites and creatives HISH, Zack Dyer, Ali Morgan and Melissa Mickelson.

For more information on Silverado Records, visit silveradorecords.com.

Single of the Week: 'Fresh Kill' - Amanda Richards

Country music has never been short of great female artists although in recent years, it's fair to say that the genre has not been too kind to its ladies. I mean it's 2016 (!) and just last year there was that absurd 'tomato-gate' incident.

But you can't keep a good woman down as proven by the recent successes of Maren Morris, Margo Price and Aubrie Sellers, who have all been carving out quite the name for themselves this past year. Instead of adhering to country radio's apparent current formula of songs about drinking and trucks, they've done their own thing and produced some of this year's best music...and if you like those ladies, then I think you're gonna love Amanda Richards.

With her 2011 LP, Play Dead, being a zombie apocalypse-concept-performance album from the perspective of a feminist country singer who is soon to be the last person on earth, it is fair to say that Richards is the exact opposite of what's on country radio at present. I don't know Richards but I'm certain that doesn't bother her and instead she loves the freedom of being able to write and perform whatever she wants.

There may be a lack of zombies in 'Fresh Kill' but it's still just as gritty with a great message at the heart of it. The imagery is vivid in this song but it is the line 'the vultures start to circle when you're standing still' that screams the loudest. Nothing good will happen if you don't keep moving on with your life is the moral of this song and I think it's a very beautiful, and true, sentiment expressed through some haunting imagery.

Richards' new album, Tough Ones to Love, comes out November 4th. Check back soon for our review.

For more information on Amanda Richards, visit amandarichards.net.

ALBUM REVIEW: Little Seeds - Shovels & Rope

I've had Shovels & Rope's new release Little Seeds in my possession for a while but have lacked the time to be able to properly articulate my thoughts on it until now.

For those unfamiliar, the duo are comprised of husband and wife, Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst from Charleston, South Carolina. They already have a few albums to their name, both as a duo and as artists in their own right, but this is the first LP I've listened of them in full. It wouldn't be the last.

Little Seeds is an album rich with lyrical quality and emotional depth. Powerful is perhaps the best way to describe this collection of tracks as it kicks off with the thumping, grungy 'I Know' and 'Botched Execution' - the latter of the two has such incredible imagery that I couldn't help but immediately replay it a few times to fully soak it all in.

Yet, it also packs a heavy emotional punch. This album is easy to listen to, yes, but at the same time is hard to listen to. At times, you'll be brought crashing back to reality. 'Invisible Man' is about the heartbreaking effects of Alzheimer’s from the point of view of a sufferer who, as a result of the horrific disease, is lost in themselves. Another haunting track is 'BWYR', a minimalist in style, cry to stop the many number of hate fueled killings that keep happening - it's a stunning number with a message that really needs to be heard, perhaps more now than ever before.

'BWYR', a track about how precious life is, leads nicely into the beautiful 'Eric's Birthday', a song that celebrates the birth of a child before concluding with 'This Ride' which reflects on the other end of the spectrum - death. This album is a wonderful tapestry of emotion, so well crafted and so well put together.

I went into this album as a casual listener of the duo and left as a fan. Little Seeds is, quite simply, a masterclass in storytelling.

Little Seeds is out now. For more information on the band, including information on their upcoming UK dates, visit shovelsandrope.com.