When We Fall - All Our Exes Live In Texas (03/03/17)

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• Artist: All Our Exes Live In Texas
• Genre: Folk
• Release Date: 3rd March, 2017
• Record Label: Whirlwind Entertainment LLC
• Tracks: 12
• Website: www.allourexesliveintexas.com

All Our Exes Live in Texas have had an impressive career to date. They've toured with The Backstreet Boys (USA), Passenger (UK), Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats (USA) and Tiny Ruins (NZ), not to mention Australian icons Megan Washington, Kate Miller-Heidke and Mama Kin. It wasn't until three years ago at an O Brother Where Art Thou show, featuring Sydney folk royalty, that they combined their musical forces. Little did they know they were planting the seeds for a folk foursome of epic proportions.

The Exes share a deep passion for vocal harmonies and heartbreakingly good songwriting. This killer combination has seduced audiences across the country and the world as they criss-crossed Australia from Port Fairy Folk Festival to Darwin Festival, Woodford Folk Festival, WOMADelaide and The National Folk Festival, not to mention closing proceedings at the Sydney Opera House for TEDx, to an audience of 4500 creative innovators who exploded into rapturous applause.

Since the release of their self-titled, widely celebrated EP, 'All Our Exes Live in Texas' has embarked on three national headline tours releasing singles Tell Me, Sailboat and The Devil’s Part from their successfully crowd-funded debut album, 'When We Fall', released on March 3 via ABC Music.

The Exes were shortlisted for the Vanda & Young Songwriting competition and were nominated for four National Live Music Awards. Their Tell Me film clip is an hilarious take on the modern break up and was listed in the top 10 film clips of 2014 by Double J. The Exes also recently showcased their wares to US, UK and Irish audiences, solidifying partnerships for future touring adventures. They amped up the Exes assault at Folk Alliance International and SXSW, turning heads of all varieties from industry taste-makers to music-loving legends. In short, the Exes are on fire.

When We Fall was produced and engineered by Wayne Connolly (Sarah Blasko, Silverchair, You Am I) and features musicians Zoe Hauptmann (Finn Brothers, Lanie Lane, Paul Kelly), Evan Mannell (Faker, Bertie Blackman, Lior), Dave Symes (Boy and Bear, Sarah Blasko), Tim Hart (Boy and Bear) and Hamish Stuart (Lucie Thorne, Jackie Orszáczky).

A testament to their musical strength and vulnerability, this album is a collection of songs that are enough to make grown men cry. But beneath the sweet, potent harmonies and lamentations of love, lie four witty and intelligent feminists who harness their talent for good not evil. When you come to an All Our Exes Live in Texas show brace yourselves to experience four uber talented musicians and gifted song-writers, each with their own unique vocal beauty and individual charm. Add to this, great humour, whip-cracking banter and an on-stage synergy that is as magical as it is alluring, and there’s no chance you can resist the call of the Exes sirens.

Elles Bailey - Wildfire (01/09/17)

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• Artist: Elles Bailey
• Genre: Blues, Country
• Release Date: 1st September, 2017
• Record Label: Outlaw Music
• Tracks: 12
• Website: https://www.ellesbailey.com/

Bristol based Elles Bailey (28) seamlessly weaves rootsy blues, country and soulful rock with a contemporary edge and her trademark ‘smoky vocals’ taking the lead. Her husky toned, lived-in voice sounds like she has a 60-a-day habit, but was actually caused by a serious illness when she was three. Her two EP's, both produced by Brian Banks, (Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie) 'Who I Am To Me' (Feb 2015) and 'The Elberton Sessions' (Oct 2016) were released to critical acclaim, and her debut album is set to drop Spring 2017.

No stranger to the scene, over the last three years, this captivating, hardworking songstress and her talented band have built up a loyal all-age fan base through relentless touring, through both the UK and Europe. She’s opened for acts like Wille & The Bandits and shared festival line-ups with Lisa Simone, The Mystery Jets & Wilko Johnson. Elles has just finished recording her debut record, at Blackbird studios in Nashville which has played hosts to artists such as Taylor Swift, Kings of Leon and Chris Stapleton to name but a few. Produced by Brad Nowell, the album features world-renowned country and blues musicians, including Grammy Award winner and a two-time winner of the CMA ‘Musician of the Year’ Brent Mason on guitar, pianist Bobby Wood ‘Musician Hall Of Famer’ 3 Times Over and more. One of the tracks on the record has been co-written with Ivor Novello Award writer Roger Cook. ‘Wildfire’ penned by Elles & Joe Wilkins (Elles touring band) will be the first single from the record. In fact, 2017 looks set to be a very busy year for Elles with over 30 dates scheduled in the run up to her debut album release in April. Her festival diary is also filling up very quickly. Elles will feature at The Great British Rock and Blues Festival in Skegness and will be opening for soul singer Jo Harman on her February tour before heading back into Europe in Spring 2017. Like many artists today, Elles is breaking down the barriers of traditional genres, taking inspiration from many and fusing them together to bring you her own unique sound, which is earning her a legion of devoted fans, young and old, from across the UK and further afield. 

'Gritty, southern, smoky vocals that have a real bluesy/country feel to them' (Maverick Magazine)

'One to watch for 2017' (Country Music Magazine)

'A Great Voice' (BBC 6 Music)

'Elles voice just keeps getting better" (Richard Pitt - BBC Introducing in the West)

'Elles Bailey gave it all, the complete package, energy, swagger and soul, whilst her band matched her passion and drive laying down hook after hook. Blues Princess, maybe, but with performances like this Elles will soon be taking the throne by storm' (Blues in Britain) 

Haze - The King's Parade (12/05/17)

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• Artist: The King's Parade
• Genre: Soul, Blue, Pop
• Release Date: 12th May, 2017
• Record Label: The King's Parade
• Tracks: 4
• Website: www.thekingsparade.com

Since their formation in 2012, this four-piece’s assured touch of classic Detroit blues with melodic, crossover pop has evoked the crafted sounds of Jamie Woon, Leon Bridges and Alabama Shakes. 

After releasing their debut EP ‘Vagabond' in 2015 as well as a string of singles including ‘Bunched Up Letters’, ‘Silhouette’ and ‘Gathering the Pieces of a Broken Heart', The King’s Parade have seen themselves picking up wide critical acclaim. They also independently sold out London’s OSLO on the last leg of their debut sold-out European tour – echoing a growing number of hype acts growing fan bases and selling out large venues completely under the radar. 

Their classic sound was honed by musicians that were previously playing together more than 40 hours a week on a Hawaiian cruise ship. Think the Beatles’ unknown early gigs in Hamburg’s strip clubs and you’re just about there. The King’s Parade continue to refine a new soul blueprint that’s seeing a loyal and expectant fan base grow by the day, cementing their status as one of the most naturally talented and hustling young acts this year.

Big Band: Live - Peter Knight's Gigspanner (09/08/17)

• Artist: Peter Knight's Gigspanner
• Genre: Folk and Roots
• Release Date: 9th August, 2017
• Record Label: Self Released
• Tracks: 9
• Website: http://www.gigspanner.com/

The album lineup features Peter Knight, Roger Flack, Phillip Henry, Hannah Martin and Sacha Trochet.

As a trio, Gigspanner, formed by Steeleye Span's erstwhile fiddle player Peter Knight, has built a massive reputation for dismantling traditional music and song and reassembling it into "music of intelligently crafted brilliance" (Songlines).

BBC Folk Award winners (Best Duo) Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin are described by The Guardian as being "Subtle, bravely original...a combination of virtuosity, intensity and charisma"

Their appearances together as the Gigspanner Big Band are a rare but highly sought after affair, thanks to performances of dazzling musicianship and arresting chemistry. Unhindered by the limits of technical ability, they take self-penned material along with music rooted in the British Isles, and with the flick of a bow, a finely chosen chord or slip of a beat, produce richly atmospheric arrangements layered within a wealth of subliminal musical influences “with notes seemingly plucked from the stars and rhythms from the equator”.

"It takes a very special inner peace to have the confidence to do what these five do...no egos, no pretensions, no nonsense - it is music from the heart presented by five top class performers for the sheer pleasure of it" Grapevine Magazine

Sound samples from The Gigspanner 'Big Band' Album, to be released August 2017. The lineup features Peter Knight, Roger Flack, Phillip Henry, Hannah Martin and Sacha Trochet. As a trio, Gigspanner, formed by Steeleye Span's erstwhile fiddle player Peter Knight, has built a massive reputation for dismantling traditional music and song and reassembling it into "music of intelligently crafted brilliance" (Songlines). BBC Folk Award winners (Best Duo) Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin are described by The Guardian as being "Subtle, bravely original...a combination of virtuosity, intensity and charisma" Their appearances together as the Gigspanner Big Band are a rare but highly sought after affair, thanks to performances of dazzling musicianship and arresting chemistry. Unhindered by the limits of technical ability, they take self-penned material along with music rooted in the British Isles, and with the flick of a bow, a finely chosen chord or slip of a beat, produce richly atmospheric arrangements layered within a wealth of subliminal musical influences “with notes seemingly plucked from the stars and rhythms from the equator”. "It takes a very special inner peace to have the confidence to do what these five do...no egos, no pretensions, no nonsense - it is music from the heart presented by five top class performers for the sheer pleasure of it" Grapevine Magazine www.gigspanner.com www.edgelarks.co.uk

Under Blues Skies - CALICO the band (15/09/17)

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• Artist: CALICO the band
• Genre: Country, Americana
• Release Date: 15th September, 2017
• Record Label: California Country Records
• Tracks: 13
• Website: https://www.calicotheband.com/

Calico are a Californian Americana Country group led by the female duo of Manda Mosher and Kirsten Proffit, who are known for their signature intimate and tight harmonies. They are a California band in the deepest, most natural sense of the term, their name is shorthand for California country. Their music echoes what Gram Parsons famously dubbed 'Cosmic American Music'. The sound and feel of 'Under Blue Skies' is inspired by the duo’s shared love of Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Eagles, the Everly Brothers, Fleetwood Mac and of course the Beatles. Their songwriting touchstones also includes Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, The Band and Tom Petty. Manda and Kirsten feel so connected to this classic and timeless music, that they’re able to bring it into the present tense and make it their own.

“Because we’ve spent so much time together, we feel more comfortable expressing vulnerability in the lyrics; there are definitely more love songs. There’s certainly meaning to our debut album 'Rancho California', but it’s more broad strokes; on Under Blue Skies, we were able to dig in and get more personal.” comments Manda.

Beginnings - Hannah's Yard (12/05/17)

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• Artist: Hannah's Yard
• Genre: Pop, Jazz, Folk, Country
• Release Date: 12th May, 2017
• Record Label: Superphonix Limited
• Tracks: 14
• Website: https://www.hannahsyard.com

We head to Buckinghamshire for our next excellent young LCM featured artist. At the beating heart of the musical collective known as 'Hannah’s Yard' lies the beautifully understated voice of 21 year old singer Hannah Layton Turner. Think Nora Jones with touches of Katie Melua. The band's music is on the acoustic pop side with a heady fusion of Jazz, Folk and Country. Their debut album ‘Beginnings’ was released on 12 May 2017 and features 14 songs recorded in Hannah’s home town of Olney (not far from Milton Keynes)…the small English town where ‘Amazing Grace’ was written in the 1770s. This wonderful collection of meaningful songs about life and love includes a recording of Hannah at just 15 years of age, when she first met fellow musicians Barnaby Pinny and James Reader.

An upload of the collective’s song and our LCM #TrackOfTheDay 'Why Would I Know' to the BBC Introducing website in September 2015, resulted in a first national radio play on Mark Forrest’s BBC Introducing show the following November. Local station BBC Three Counties Radio immediately awarded the song ‘Introducing Track of the Week’ resulting in cross-station airplay and invitations to perform live on the station.  

An official launch of the song was expedited and by February 2016, following a live performance on his BBC Radio Oxford show, Alex Lester played ‘Why Would I Know’ on his Radio Two programme. Hannah’s Yard went on to appear on Robert Elms’ BBC Radio London show at the end of February marking a remarkable six months of progress for Hannah and her musicians.

Excitingly the band supported Gordon Haskell on his UK tour earlier this year.

Strangers - The Young'uns (29/09/17)

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• Artist: The Young'uns
• Genre: Folk
• Release Date: 29th September, 2017.
• Record Label: Hereteu Records
• Tracks: 10
• Website:

Twice BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Best Group winners (2015 & 2016), The Young'Uns' 4th studio album Strangers' is a collection of folk songs for our times - a homage to the outsider, a eulogy for the wayfarer and a hymn for the migrant.  

The Young'Uns interweave inspirational stories from the past with tales from today's world to create a timely, thought provoking and ultimately uplifting piece in which Syrian refugees, Gay Rights campaigners, aid workers and have-a-go heroes rub shoulders with First World War soldiers, Caribbean immigrants and Victorian mavericks. Their boldest most resonant work to date.

The Young'uns have proved themselves a unique proposition – writing and performing a cappella or subtly accompanied songs that tell it how it is alongside traditional songs from their native North-East and further afield – songs of conscience, songs of warmth and wit, songs to provoke, songs to inspire.

Renowned for their pitch perfect harmonies and rapid fire humour, their live show undeniably has the human touch. Always engaging, frequently heart-warming, they have built an enviable audience rapport. They are an act that truly takes the cliché out of the "make you laugh, make you cry" tag.

Just two years after giving up their day jobs, Stockton Folk Club's star pupils have had a milestone year with the release of their third studio album Another Man's Ground, an appearance at America's Folk Alliance, collectively celebrating their 30th birthdays and racking up accolades including Best Group in the FATEA Awards and Best Live Act in the Spiral Awards.

A decade of performance around the country, national radio sessions, more than 40 festival appearances (Cambridge to Glastonbury) and increasingly acclaimed album releases has delivered a gregarious, sharply honed, pull no punches act that clinched the Best Group trophy at the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in Cardiff – a hugely popular result that saw them beating off opposition including the mighty Bellowhead.

Beguiling audiences around the world, they seamlessly switch from beautiful ballads to brilliant banter, from profoundly poignant songs to infectiously irreverent humour. This, combined with their passion for storytelling and commitment to maintaining the tradition of social commentary, has led to five star reviews, live sessions on BBC Radio 2, 3 and documentaries on Radio 4 as well as countless sell out shows and main stage festival appearances throughout the UK and abroad.

Kenny Foster - Deep Cuts (17/04/17)

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• Artist: Kenny Foster
• Genre: Country, Americana, Roots, Rock
• Release Date: 17th April, 2017
• Record Label: Kenny Foster
• Tracks: 12
• Website: https://kennyfostermusic.com/

While Kenny Foster isn’t exactly ‘new’ to country music, the momentum behind the unmistakable balladeer’s 2017 release ‘Deep Cuts’ has a host of new fans flocking to the raw grit and brutal honesty of Foster’s remarkably mature, thoughtful and unapologetic songwriting. Lush with real instruments, astute observations and the deconstruction of one man’s head and heart, Foster has built a monument to the American experience that seeks to universalize the specific, and embody the very specific ways that we are all very much the same. While the pop-laden sounds of country radio have been trending away from the genre’s organic roots in recent times, Foster makes a case for preserving the foundations of country music while still allowing it the chance to comment on and even pine over the ever-evolving landscape.

Authentic. Accessible. This timeless collection of songs will echo through the annuls of the story that birthed a great American tradition, and gave words to a nation seeking to reflect its own identity. A welcomed ‘new’ voice may just have us longing for our past, and at the same time, looking ahead at how we will preserve what has always been good, and right, and true.

Foster has shared the stage with artists including Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion, Lady Antebellum, Marc Broussard, Butch Walker, Buddy Miller and countless others, along with multiple appearances at the ACM and CMA music festivals. He has received press in Rolling Stone, the New York Times, Washington Post and Forbes - who referred to him as a 'country music superstar.' He has been featured in two Super Bowl commercials with Sheryl Crow and Danica Patrick, respectively, and has appeared in numerous episodes of ABC's ‘Nashville’ and had songs placed in ‘Extreme Home Makeover’ and ‘Boston Med’, along with videos featured on national US music channels CMT and GAC.

‘Deep Cuts’ is out now worldwide, and Kenny Foster is on tour in the UK/Ireland later this month.

Hannah Johnson - Shaken (10/07/17)

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• Artist: Hannah Johnson
• Genre: Country, Blues
• Release Date: 10th July, 2017
• Record Label: Wood Ville Music
• Tracks: 11
• Website: http://hjbrokenhearts.com/

The album was recorded at The Ameripolitan Studios in Austin, Texas. It features some of Hannah's favourite musicians including Stewart Johnson, Bryce Clarke, Chris Shirley, Beth Chrisman, Joshua Hoag, Emily Gimble, Tom Lewis, Sophia Johnson, Brian Kremer and Devin Jake. 

Hannah delves deep into her influences of old country, the blues and honky tonk music. The choice of material is imperative to Hannah, who has spent a long time studying the vocal styles of country greats such as Faron Young, George Jones & Ray Price.

At a time when it is fashionably cool to be “Americana” and dressing “vintage” is de rigueur, it is easy to feel tired of the cliches around the modern country scene. Much of the music coming out of Nashville today seems to be either watered down country pop, or stylistically affected Americana with chanted choruses and stomping bass drums.

However, there is also reaction against these extreme ends of the industry machine and artists like Hannah Johnson are approaching their music with a refreshing honesty and commitment to the core principles of ‘old’ country music, celebrating the heritage and history rather than diluting it. Undoubtedly spending so much time in Austin, Texas has influenced her immensely, as the music she is making falls much more under the bracket of what Dale Watson is doing with his “Ameripolitan” genre than the new country from Nashville. Hannah sings classic country songs about drinking and heart ache straight from a Honky Tonk, her sultry and smokey voice taking on the likes of Patsy Cline, Skeets McDonald and Willie Nelson. But what also cannot be ignored in her voice is the strong influence from the blues, as exemplified on her cover of an old Charlie Patton number and her powerful rendition of ‘Trouble In Mind’.

The stand out tracks however, are her own compositions, ‘Your Girlfriend Hates Me’ could perhaps be seen as a modern, less aggressive take on Loretta’s “fist city”, clearly placing relationships between women at the centre of her experience, and proving not always easy being the only girl in the band. ‘Morning Cocktail’ then takes her in a more soulful and reflective direction, lamenting a highly destructive lost love, the dangerous numbing qualities of alcohol, while demonstrating her vocal prowess. ‘Nowhere Train’ immediately hits an infectious country groove, delivering classic twangy telecaster and providing a strong catchy chorus as the album’s opener.

Hannah's fans include Imelda May, Robert Plant and Ronnie Wood, indeed Hannah and her band provided the entertainment for Ronnie’s recent 70th Birthday party. She is set to spend the summer 2017 gigging and promoting her record in Austin, TX.

Midland - On The Rocks (22/09/17)

Artist: Midland

Genre: Country Music

Release Date: 22nd September, 2017

Record Company: Big Machine Records

Tracks: 13

Website: http://midlandofficial.com/

Originally formed in Dripping Springs, Texas, Lead vocalist Mark Wystrach fronts Midland’s rich sound, rounded out by lead guitarist Jess Carson and bass player Cameron Duddy. Rooted in tradition both in sound and style, the band initially garnered attention playing clubs in the Texas region. Their self-titled debut EP features five tracks, boasting songwriting credits from each member. Midland intentionally nods to the wild west with Country music that is reminiscent of the 1970s and 80s with a modern day twist. They’ve opened for idols Dwight Yoakam and Willie Nelson and have been in the studio with Shane McAnally (Sam Hunt, Reba McEntire, Kacey Musgraves) working on their full length release 'On the Rocks' for Big Machine Records.

Album pre-orders and other signed goodies are available through through website (above) via Pledge Music.

Jamie Lawson - Happy Accidents (29/09/17)

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• Artist: Jamie Lawson
• Genre: Acoustic, Singer-Songwriter
• Release Date: 29th September, 2017
• Record Label: Gingerbread Man Records
• Tracks: 13
• Website: http://www.jamielawsonmusic.com/

Ivor Novello award winning singer-songwriter Jamie Lawson is set to release his highly anticipated new album 'Happy Accident' through Ed Sheeran's 'Gingerbread Man Records'

Exclusive signed copy

Chloe Chadwick - Dustbowl Jukebox (30/06/17)

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• Artist: Chloe Chadwick
• Genre: Country, Country-Pop, Americana
• Release Date: 30th June, 2017.
• Record Label: Independent
• Tracks: 10
• Website: https://www.chloechadwick.com/

Boo Hewerdine - Swimming In Mercury (28/04/17)

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• Artist: Boo Hewerdine
• Genre: Singer-Songwriter
• Release Date: 28th April, 2017
• Record Label: Reveal Records
• Tracks: 12
• Website: http://www.boohewerdine.net/

Boo Hewerdine's first new studio album in eight years. 'Swimming In Mercury' will be released by Reveal Records on April 28th 2017, 12 new songs including the radio single "Satellite Town". "One of the country's most consistently admired songwriters' Folk Radio UK "Simple, poetic reflections on life and love" The Guardian Boo Hewerdine is well known as one of the greatest songwriter performers in the business, but incredibly, it's been 8 years since Boo released his last studio album of original material God Bless The Pretty Things (Reveal Records 2009). Not that Hewerdine has been inactive, far from it, the period has been the most productive of his career. Boo wrote Radio Ballads for the BBC's Olympic and recent Child Migration series. There has been a huge array of writing and producing with both established and upcoming artists and 'passing something on' to budding writers via his much loved song-writing workshops. Boo spent three years writing a daily blog which lead to podcast fun with that staff of The WORD (RIP) and invitations to join Radio broadcasts such as The Verb (BBC Radio 3) and a moment of personal satisfaction when his work was included in the radio round up Pick Of The Week on BBC Radio 4. Boo formed the duo State Of The Union with American guitarist Brooks Williams and recorded and released two albums and an EP, live in the studio with engineer Mark Freegard, the duo appeared on BBC1 TV Andrew Marr show performing their cover of Pet Shop Boys Rent. Hewerdine has written lyrics and played on over 30 new recordings by and with other artists during the period including the acclaimed 2014 album (Vagabond) and 2015 EP (Back The Dogs) with Scottish singer Eddi Reader, Last Man Standing Ep (2015) with Kris Drever of Lau and Duke Special. Reveal Records compiled the first document of his career to date with a fine Best of compilation "My Name In Brackets" and swiftly followed that with an album of lost recordings found in a box!  This album was Open which received five star reviews and was number 5 in the Telegraph Albums of The Year 2015 . There wasn't a moment when Boo Hewerdine has not been working on something creative. His every day continues to be full of music and he waited patiently to tell some older personal stories that feature on his new album Swimming In Mercury. Mid-way through 2016, the first of his new material emerged via the limited edition Born EP, then in Autumn 2016 Boo played songs from Swimming in Mercury live on BBC TV's Quay Sessions (re-broadcast in January 2017).

Glen Campbell - Adios (09/06/17)

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• Artist: Glen Campbell
• Genre: Country, Singer-Songwriter
• Release Date: 9th June, 2017
• Record Label: UMC
• Tracks: 28 (Double album)
• Website: http://www.glencampbell.com/

ADIÓS is Glen’s farewell album. It was recorded in 2011-12 at the end of his final world tour. Friends and family recently revisited the recordings last year and decided it was time to finish the record. The album was a true family affair as Glen’s daughter Ashley and sons Cal and Shannon, all play on the record. It is a collection of songs he always sang but never had a chance to record including four Jimmy Webb penned songs, a duet with Willie Nelson on “Funny How Time Slips Away” and a version of “Everybody’s Talkin’” best known for Harry Nilsson’s version used in the film Midnight Cowboy. ADIÓS is a fitting swan song to a career that has spanned six decades, touching tens of millions of lives along way. Includes a second disc featuring a compilation Glen's greatest hits.

Blue Rose Code - The Waters Of Leith (27/10/12)

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• Artist: Blue Rose Code
• Genre: Celticana, Folk Singer-Songwriter
• Release Date: 27th October, 2017
• Record Label: Navigator Records
• Tracks: 12
• Website: http://www.bluerosecode.com/

A nomad both geographically and musically, Ross Wilson, aka Blue Rose Code, writes from the heart eschewing any specific genre and the twelve new songs on his new album 'The Water Of Leith', addressing themes of love, loss, travel, home, accepting the past and embracing the future, are painted with colours of folk, jazz, soul and pop; an eclecticism that has become a hallmark of Blue Rose Code and has seen him compared to John Martyn, Van Morrison and Tom Waits.

Underlining the sense of movement and place in Ross's work, The Water Of Leith is rooted in his return to his Scottish homeland. There, he reconnected with the stellar musicians who were to become an integral part of the new album's sound: multi award-winning singer Julie Fowlis, celebrated Gaelic singer Kathleen MacInnes, BBC Folk Award Winner, Ross Ainslie, 2017's Scottish Jazz Awards' instrumentalist of the year Konrad Wiszniewski, leading violinist Seonaid Aitken and three of Scotland's finest jazz musicians; John Lowrie, Colin Steele and James Lindsay, to name just some of the contributors. Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter Beth Nielsen Chapman features on the opening track. Ross co-produced the album with Angus Lyon.

In the space of a few short years and the release of well-received albums North Ten, The Ballads Of Peckham Rye, and And Lo The Bird Is On The Wing, Blue Rose Code has built a growing reputation as a powerful writer and performer, gaining extensive radio play and the praise of key broadcasters including Edith Bowman, Mary Ann Kennedy, Bob Harris and also actor Ewan McGregor who made a cameo appearance on And Lo The Bird Is On The Wing after commenting: "My uncle Denis Lawson (star of Local Hero) gave me a copy of The Ballads Of Peckham Rye, it's beautiful and I can't stop listening to it."

Findlay Napier - Glasgow (13/10/17)

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• Artist: Findlay Napier
• Genre: Folk, Singer-Songwriter
• Release Date: 13th October, 2017
• Record Label: Cheerygroove Records
• Tracks: 11
• Website: http://www.findlaynapier.com/

In 1997 I moved from the banks of the River Spey to the fourteenth floor of the Red Road Flats in Springburn. I was born in Glasgow and had visited the city periodically over the years, the Garden Festival in ‘89 and City of Culture in ‘90 being particular highlights. I remember the buildings being black. I remember being jostled by the people on Buchanan Street. I remember the sound and the shoogle of the Clockwork Orange. I remember the people and their patter. I remember it like the first time I watched Blade Runner. I remember it like the first time I saw Billy Connolly. 

Mostly I witnessed Glasgow from afar. On the telly it was a place full of humour: Francie & Josie, Naked Video and Rab C. Nesbitt. Taggart, bookended with Maggie Bell’s ‘No Mean City, was Glasgow’s darker side. 

I heard the music, I even sang some of the songs; street songs, folk songs, mimicking Frankie Miller’s Tennent’s selling growl or howling along to City to City on long car journeys north. Yet I was so out of touch with the city’s music I didn’t know that Del Amitri bloke with the leather trousers off the telly was from Glasgow. Rab Noakes’ Standing Up introduced me to The Blue Nile and Michael Marra. I came round to The Bard of Dundee very quickly but I confess it was years before I understood the wonder of those four immaculate albums by The Blue Nile. 

By ‘97 Glasgow was undergoing a kind of spring cleaning for the forthcoming City of Architecture. It was the gleaming champagne and red sandstone promised land. I was seventeen and about to enroll on the first ever BA in Scottish Music at the RSAMD. ‘Jock Hawk’s Adventures in Glasgow’ would be a good soundtrack for the next few years of my life in Glasgow, that or ‘Erin Go Bragh,’ a clueless country bumpkin falling in every pitfall the big smoke had to offer. 

After graduation it never occurred to me to leave Glasgow. It became my home. I’ve been here for almost exactly twenty-one years to the release date of this album. I’ve lived all over the place, mostly in Dennistoun and Haghill, a year on North Street (above The Bon Accord), a year in Bridgeton, some time in Cathcart and I am now settled in Pollokshields. First I was staying here, then I was living here, now this is my home. 

This album is for Glasgow and for the fantastic people I’ve met; unique formidable characters like Big Jim McKenna who told me before walking on stage one night that, “No-one wants to hear you singing your own fuckin* songs. Your sad fuckin songs about your boring fuckin life. They want to hear something they know. Maybe something about their home. Mix them up a bit.” He liked my songs though. He told me when I came off stage. He said I should learn that Hamish Imlach song. I fuckin did. 

*In Glasgow swearing is considered a form of audible punctuation"

Wildwood Kin - Turning Tides (18/08/17)

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• Artist: Wildwood Kin
• Genre: Indie Folk
• Release Date: 18th August, 2017
• Record Label: Silverstone / Sony
• Tracks: 11
• Website: https://wildwoodkin.com

A family trio – two sisters and their cousin – Wildwood Kin borrow heavily from early folk influences, not least in their hypnotic three-part harmonies. But their extraordinary debut album, delves deeply in to other genres, featuring both electric and acoustic instruments and it boasts inventive electronics and spectral atmospherics.

Guitarist Emillie Key, her bouzouki/keyboard-playing sister Beth and their drumming cousin Meghann Loney all sing, swapping leads on songs they write themselves, and joining forces on harmonies that have remained their trademark.

Rosie Hood - The Beautiful & The Actual (16/06/17)

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• Artist: Rosie Hood
• Genre: Folk
• Released Date: 16th June, 2017
• Record Label: Rootbeat Records
• Tracks: 12
• Website: http://www.rosiehood.co.uk

'The Beautiful & The Actual' displays Rosie’s artistic progress and creative partnerships that have developed since releasing her eponymous E.P. in 2011. 'From A Furlong of Flight', lamenting an 11th Century monk’s unrealised dreams, effortlessly enhanced by the Barber Sisters’ strings arrangements, to the tragic traditional ballad 'Lord Lovel', sung in classic duo harmony style with Folk Award winner Jefferson Hamer, and 'Undaunted Female', the story of a bold young woman, simply accompanied by Emma Smith’s driving double bass, Rosie’s vocal holds these songs together. John Archbold’s poignant war song 'The Hills of Kandahar' features Ollie King’s sensitive melodeon playing, whilst the stark and haunting version of 'The Cruel Mother' is sung with Folk Singer of the Year nominee Emily Portman. These sparse accompaniments allow each track to breathe and for Rosie’s timeless singing to tell the stories that make up this superb debut album.

Rosie Hood a young folk singer from Minety in Wiltshire, is known for her strong, pure voice and engaging solo performance. A BBC Performing Arts Fellow in 2015 and a 2016 Horizon Award nominee at the Radio 2 Folk Awards, Rosie has become more than purely a traditional singer. Having started learning folk songs at an early age from her family, Rosie has a keen interest in the history of traditional songs, particularly those of her native Wiltshire, where she has spent time researching in the local archives and developing a broad repertoire of local songs. Rosie’s Fellowship year with the English Folk Dance & Song Society proved a pivotal point in her career giving her time and space to develop as an artist. The year saw Rosie develop her song-writing with mentor Emily Portman, hone her instrumental skills and even resulted in a transatlantic collaboration with New York based singer and guitarist Jefferson Hamer.

Lauren Housley - The Beauty of This Life (28/07/17)

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• Artist: Lauren Housley
• Genre: Americana, Blues, Rock
• Release Date: 28th July, 2017
• Record Label: Absolute Marketing
• Tracks: 10

Thea Gilmore - The Counterweight (02/06/17)

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• Artist: Thea Gilmore
• Genre: Folk, Rock, Pop
• Release Date: 2nd June, 2017
• Record Label: Cooking Vinyl
• Tracks: 13
• Website: https://theagilmore.net/