The Blue Highways - Long Way To The Ground

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Long Way To The Ground’ - The Blue Highways

Our featured song today is the title track and first single from fast-rising London based Americana and Rock band The Blue Highways. It’s taken from their wonderful debut album set for release on March 13th. The band will be headlining two London launch gigs at The Betsy Trotwood on March 27th and 28th, Don’t miss them.

Named for the forgotten highways and roads that linked American towns and cities, The Blue Highways take inspiration from American roots music and infuse it with their British sound and background.

You can pre-order their new album directly from their website

https://thebluehighwaysband.com/

El Misti - The Rose That Poisoned The Ground

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘The Rose That Poisoned The Ground’ - El Misti

Rocking some serious White Strips vibes our featured track today is the latest single from North-West band El Misti. On 30th March, they will be releasing their self titled debut album. We have an advanced copy and it’s sounding very good’.

Ten years after a chance meeting in a humid Rio de Janeiro hostel, Cheshire/Liverpool band El Misti finally release their debut album. Singer Songwriter Paddy Bleakley and guitarist Kieran Gilchrist, bonded over a mutual love of classic acoustic folk, Americana, rock and roll, west coast psychedelia and Latin culture, as well as a mutual disregard for personal safety, health and well being.

The pair went their separate ways: Kieran embarking on a musical pilgrimage to Central and South America, and Paddy starting a bar and music venue called Kash 22, in his native Frodsham, Cheshire. Eventually reuniting, the pair built a recording studio above the bar and got to work. With countless hours of writing, regular hazy after hours sessions and occasional intimate performances, the duo took their time to create a body of work they believed in.

The bar acted as a creative club house, bringing the rest of the collective together. Mike Gregson, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter was originally pulling the pints. Rory Ballentyne, notable for his production work with Liverpool bands ‘Paul Dunbar and The Black Winter Band’ and ‘The Grande’ came highly recommended by a few of the acts gracing the bar’s stage.

Early 2019 saw them hone their craft in the studio above Kash 22, before checking into the live room at Liverpool’s Ark Studios. Helped along by legendary local musicians such as KD Tagg art on mandolin and percussion, Lee Shone on keys, Adrian Gautrey on organ and classical violinist Daniel Axworthy, the band finally finished an album drawing influences from the sum of its parts. From Nashville to Santiago de Cuba, Memphis to Manchester, Liverpool to Laurel Canyon and Belfast to Woodstock, the needles of musical diversity and political discourse glide elegantly over El Misti’s debut record.

Letitia VanSant - You Can't Put My Fire Out

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘You Can’t Put My Fire Out’ - Letitia VanSant

Baltimore-based singer-songwriter Letitia VanSant’s lyrics are as personal as they are powerful. Our track today is a smoldering reflection on her experience of sexual violence. This live version was recorded at a session at 2640 Space in Baltimore by Beehive Productions. It’s taken from Letitia’s forthcoming sophomore album ‘Circadian’ set for release on February 21st.

Letitia debut album ‘Gut It to the Studs’ established her as an emerging talent on the Americana scene and propelled her on her first UK/European tour. The new album was produced by Nashville-based Neilson Hubbard (Mary Gauthier, Caroline Spence), who assembled an all-star cast of musicians including Will Kimbrough (Emmylou Harris).

Photo credit: Shervin Lainez

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Good Harvest - Lioness

LCM Song Of The Day: '‘Lioness’ - Good Harvest

If you haven’t heard Hanna Enlöf & Ylva Eriksson’s music you are in for a real treat. We have been big fans of this Swedish duo since 2016 and have seen them go from strength to strength. We love their new album ‘Dream Of June’ released earlier this month and we highly recommend that you have a listen. ‘Lioness’ is the wonderful new single.

Hanna And Yiva have been called musical twins and the musical journey they began fourteen years ago has culminated in Good Harvest. This year they both turn thirty and celebrate a “half life” anniversary playing together.

In the Fall of 2016 Good Harvest released their version of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” in a live video that immediately went viral on Facebook with millions of views. Since then their career has been hectic, releasing their first critically acclaimed album, “In a Life and Place Like This” in the Spring of 2017, followed by constant touring in Sweden and chosen gigs in both Europe and the United States, as well as frequently appearing in Swedish media.

During the past year, Good Harvest has done several collaborations together with the symphony orchestra, Dalasinfoniettan, leading to the 2019 release of ”Far Beyond - Live EP” together with the orchestra. This EP contains four of Good Harvest’s original songs with beautiful symphonic arrangements as well as a wonderful version of Joni Mitchell’s ”River”.

In February 2020 they released their second full-length album ”Dream of June”. Immediately prior to that they performed on one of Swedish television’s most popular programs, ”På Spåret” together with Mando Diao.

Good Harvest is known as one of Sweden’s best live acts and has been performing on many of Sweden’s largest stages, among others, Dalhalla, Gröna Lund and Stora Teatern.

Photo credit: Olof Grind

https://www.goodharvestmusic.co

Rob Vincent - Conundrum

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Conundrum’ - Robert Vincent

Filmed and directed in London by Miles Myerscough-Harris of WholeHog Media ‘Conundrum is the latest single from the always excellent Rob Vincent. It’s taken from his wonderful forthcoming album ‘In this Town You're Owned’ set for release on February 14th via Thirty Tigers.

Rob will be touring with his band in late March/Early April with his London date at The Lexington on March 23rd. Don’t miss it.

Rob comments about the new single "We are faced with a conundrum about whether or not to remain as consumers, and continually take from the world we live in, or to start looking after our planet. We take love from this world, try to leave some when you go. We all have a responsibility as individuals to try to fix the damage we are doing. You're born into this world alone, try to leave it better off when you go."

https://www.robertvincentmusic.com/

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Chatham County Line - People Gonna Talk

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘People Gonna Talk’ - Chatham County Line

Playing at Oslo for the AMA UK showcases were the excellent North Carolina-based Chatham Country Line. This is a great live cover version of James Hunter’s ‘People Gonna Talk’ taken from their new eighth studio album ‘Sharing The Covers’ released in April last year via Yep Roc. The video was recorded at the historic Carolina Theatre in Greensboro, North Carolina on October 11, 2019. CCl are John Teer (Mandolin), Dave Wilson (Guitar), Greg Readling (Bass) and Dan Hall (Drums).

The album is a tribute to those whom Chatham County Line hold dear, and a chance for the group to perform modern and traditional classics in the bluegrass-style they're known for best. On the 13-track collection, CCL takes the familiar and adds a touch of originality to create a wholly new and inventive roster of covers by Tom Petty, Alton Delmore, John Lennon, The Louvin Brothers, Beck, James Hunter, and more.

https://www.chathamcountyline.com/

Ilse DeLange - Gravel & Dust

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Gravel and Dust’ - Ilse DeLange

Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be sharing some of artists and bands who really impressed us at the recent AMA UK showcases. First up is Dutch Americana and Country Pop Rock singer-songwriter Ilse DeLange. We love this live version of ‘Gravel and Dust’ taken from a recent live session at Carter Vintage Guitars. The song is the title track of her wonderful latest album released in April last year via Universal.

Ilse DeLange is one of the most respected and best-selling female artists in The Netherlands. Her debut album “World of Hurt”, produced by Barry Beckett in Nashville, was the start of her musical career in 1998. Many hit singles, #1 albums, platinum records and prestigious awards followed over the years.

After a long lasting very successful solo career, Ilse DeLange decided to start an Americana band: ‘The Common Linnets.’ The band participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2014 and stole the hearts of 200 million viewers in Europe. Their debut single ‘Calm After The Storm’ became an instant hit in all of Europe, reaching #1 14 countries.

https://www.ilsedelange.com/

Lullanas - Memphis

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Memphis’ - Lullanas

Lullanas are Philadelphia-based singer/songwriter twin duo Atisha and Nishita Lulla. Their soft, sweet vocals are complemented by warm guitar and soothing harmonies that echo the sounds of artists like the Everly Brothers. Our featured track tonight is the beautiful ‘Memphis’ taken from their forthcoming album ‘Before Everything Got Real’ set for release on April 24th via Nettwerk.

Some of their other musical influences include the Civil Wars, the Lumineers, Kacey Musgraves, and Young the Giant. Atisha and Nishita have been writing their stories into songs since 2012 and are emerging artists in the Philadelphia live music scene.

Atisha and Nishita’s comment “What started as a few scribbles on a page and some acoustic guitar was brought to a level we couldn’t have ever imagined. Everyone has their own version of their ‘Memphis.’ This song takes listeners on their own journey, but in the end, we all end up at the same place with the same feeling. We got to record our debut EP with Grammy Award-winning producer Peter Katis (The National, The Head and the Heart, The Paper Kites) whose work we have admired for years. Seeing our song being built from the ground up was truly a life-changing experience for us. The video was directed by Lenne Chai, and seeing her stunning interpretation of our lyrics really brought the song life.”

Hometown: Worcester, Pennsylvania

Ashley McBryde - Martha Divine

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Martha Divine’ - Ashley McBryde

We love this new cheatin’ song and murder ballad with a twist from the multi award-winning Ashley McBryde. It’s taken from Ashley’s forthcoming second album ‘Never Will’ set for release on April 3rd. The video is part 1 of the story. Watch out for part 2 coming soon.

https://www.ashleymcbryde.com/

The Petersens - California

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘California’ - The Petersens

We head to Branson, Missouri today to meet the multi ward winning family band The Petersens. This lovely live version of ‘California’ was written by the oldest sibling, Katie Petersen. The band consists of Katie Petersen on fiddle, Ellen Petersen on banjo, Matt Petersen on guitar, Julianne Petersen on mandolin, Karen Petersen on bass, and Emmett Franz on dobro.

The Petersens are an award-winning bluegrass band in their ninth season of shows at the Little Opry. The Petersens give audiences a taste of the authentic Branson music scene with their refreshingly all-acoustic show. The family regularly tours throughout the United States, Canada, and Ireland. Audiences will be entertained as the band performs bluegrass standards, gospel favorites, original music, and are sure to laugh at the sibling humor on stage.

Mapache - Life On Fire

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Life On Fire’ - Mapache

Our next featured artists today California based Sam Blasucci and Clay Finch have been brilliantly described as the ‘Everly Brothers wearing Tied Dyed Nudie Suits’. Their latest single is the smooth ‘Life On Fire’ taken from their forthcoming album ‘From Liberty Street’ released on March 20th via Yep Roc.

Sam and Clay will be performing as part of the Yep Roc sessions at the AMA UK showcases in Hackney next week at Oslo on January 29th. Tickets available from the AMA UK via a wristband.

Formed in January 2016 Mapache is a folk, blues, rock, bluegrass and psychadelic duo born in Los Angeles. Though Mapache (Spanish for “raccoon”) only recently began recording, the duo’s roots stretch all the way back to high school, where Sam and Clay struck up a friendship over a shared love of skateboarding and classic songwriters. After graduation, Clay headed north to study music at Chico State (birthplace of The Mother Hips, who recently invited Mapache to perform at their beloved Hipnic festival in Big Sur), while Sam headed South to Mexico, where he served as a missionary for two years.

The duo’s sound is not an exercise in pop nostalgia, but rather a distinctly independent link in a chain that stretches far behind and ahead of them.

Photo credit: Paul Collins

https://www.mapachesounds.com/

Good Harvest - Row Row

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Row Row’ - Good Harvest

Our LCM featured track today is the brand new single from the excellent Swedish duo Good Harvest. Hanna Enlöf and Ylva Eriksson are releasing their highly anticipated second studio album ‘Dream of June’ on February 7th. We are big fans of their beautifully crafted songs, delivered with stunning arrangements, flawlessly interwoven harmonies and exceptional guitar playing.

They have been called musical twins and the musical journey they began fourteen years ago has culminated in Good Harvest. This year they both turn twenty-eight.

In the Fall of 2016 Good Harvest released their version of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock” in a live video that immediately went viral on Facebook with millions of views. Since then their career has been hectic, releasing their first critically acclaimed album, “In a Life and Place Like This” in the Spring of 2017, followed by constantly touring in Sweden and doing chosen gigs in both Europe and the United States.

They have toured with Kris Kristofferson, Per Gessle (of Roxette fame) and can often been seen on Swedish television. The Dalecarlia Music Awards in central Sweden recently awarded them “Musical group of the Year”.

In the Summer of 2018 they released their latest single ‘Never Could You Ever’ and in the same period of time Good Harvest has been playing on many of Sweden’s largest stages, among others, Dalhalla, Gröna Lund and Stora Teatern. They also did a series of concerts together with Dalasinfoniettan, one of Sweden’s most well-reputed symphony orchestras and a live-EP from this collaboration was released last year.

Photo credit: Olof Grind

https://www.goodharvestmusic.com/

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The Wandering Hearts - Jealous

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Jealous’ - The Wandering Hearts

We love a very good cover here at LCM HQ and we love this one with its beautiful vocals and string arrangement from Tara, Ches & AJ. The original song was a Top 10 hit for Labrinth back in 2014. It was written by Labrinth, Josh Kear and LCM favourite Natalie Hemby.

The song, described as a "heart-breaking ballad" by MTV, is addressed to one of Labrinth's parents, who left the family when he was four years old. Speaking about the lyrical content of the song, Labrinth comments:

“ A lot of people have been through that experience. It’s kind of written from the perspective of how my family felt at the time, but I wanted to write it so anyone could dig into the song and relate to it to their own situation.”.

The Wandering Hearts will be on an intimate UK tour in April with their London date at Nell’s on April 16th. If you haven’t seen them iive yet, they come highly recommended. Also, watch out for new music coming soon.

https://www.thewanderinghearts.com/

Lauren Morrow - Do Better

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Do Better’ - Lauren Morrow

Rocking a cool Sheryl Crow vibe our LCM featured track today is the wonderful ‘Do Better’ by US singer-songwriter Lauren Morrow. Lauren released her solo self titled four-song EP in October after over a decade as the centerpiece of popular Americana band The Whiskey Gentry. It’s filled with stories; some real, some fiction, all universal yet personal.

Founded on a collaborative mentality, Lauren and her husband, guitarist, and co-producer Jason recruited an all-star lineup of Nashville’s most notable players for the new project, including drummer Jerry Pentecost, pedal steel player Whit Wright, bassist Ted Pecchio, guitarist Adam Meisterhans, and former Deer Tick member Robbie Crowell on keys. Recorded at the historic Nashville studio Creative Workshop with producer/engineer Parker Cason, the Lauren Morrow EP not only showcases Morrow’s flawless vocals and intricate songwriting but her willingness to take risks — an edge that makes her stand out from the Nashville norm.

Photo credit: Todd Cooper (Pickathon)

http://www.laurenmorrow.com/

Stuart Landon and The Angels With Dirty Faces - Taking It Back

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Taking It Back’ - Stuart Landon And The Angels With Dirty Faces

We head to Nottingham today to meet the multi-award winning British singer, songwriter, musician and producer Stuart Landon and his band The Angels With Dirty Faces (Neil Cook, Jack Donald, Chris Bucknall and Daniel Jordan). We love the very catchy mandolin and keys rich ‘Taking It Back’. More new music coming soon.

With a wealth of experience, Stuart began his career in the critically acclaimed, BCMA award winning country band, Young Country who then went on to become The Landon Brothers. The success of this band led to them working with acts such as The Bellamy Brothers, Paul Overstreet and Billy Joe Shaver.

Continuing from the success of The Landon Brothers, Stuart then went on to sign with Indie band The Establishment, working with acts such as Status Quo, Ocean Colour Scene, Cast and other notable names within the music industry.

The Establishment released their debut single ‘Be That Way’ which achieved high profile radio play on Capital FM, BBC Radio 5 live and included TV appearances on BBC Question of Sport, Sky Sports and ESPN Talk of the Terrace with a live performance at the 2011 FA Cup Final.

Accompanying the single, the band released a video featuring cameo roles from legendary ex international England players including Stuart Pearce, Teddy Sheringham and Les Ferdinand and gained the attention of ex footballer Dion Dublin who went on to manage the band.

Whilst touring with Ocean Colour Scene, the band managed to capture the services of Ocean Colour Scene and Paul Weller guitarist Steve Craddock who co-produced and performed on their debut album alongside renowned producer Matt Terry (The Enemy, One Night Only).

After the success of touring, Stuart was drawn back to his country roots and formed award-nominated country band Angels With Dirty Faces. The band’s debut single ‘Shatter Like Glass’ was released in October 2016 and debuted at number 4 on the charts just behind The Shires, Ward Thomas and the CMA 50th Anniversary song ‘Forever Country.

The song went on to be awarded Semi-Finalist position in the UK Songwriting Competition and the band were nominated for UK Country Group of the Year in the 2017 UK Country Music Awards.

All of these elements form a solid musical base for Stuart’s songwriting skills and the band released a 4 track original acoustic EP. With high profile gigs at venues such as Barclaycard Arena and Genting Arena where they played pre-show for audiences attending Lady Gaga and ‘Nashville’ events, their fan base continued to soar and cemented them as one of the most popular bands on the music scene.

With a successful solo single debuting at number 1 on the iTunes and Amazon country charts and a solo EP due to be launched with high profile radio play including performances on BBC Radio Sheffield, BBC Radio Stoke and other prolific stations, the next year looks set to be a very busy and successful year as Stuart continues to release and perform solo material as well as continue the band Angels With Dirty Faces.

http://stuartlandon.co.uk/

Hailey Whitters - Ten Year Town

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Ten Year Town’ - Hailey Whitters

Originally from Shueyville, Iowa singer-songwriter Hailey Whitters is based in Nashville. We love this reflective track about the frustrations of chasing the Nashville dream. Written with Grammy nominee Brandy Clark, the ballad takes a stark look at what happens when life doesn't work out as planned and how rejection can ultimately lead to empowerment. "I didn't come this far, to only go this far," sings Hailey. It’s taken from her latest EP ‘The Days’ released last September.

Hailey Whitters was closing in on her first decade in Nashville, that mythologized milestone when artists are supposed to finally start reaping the fruits of their labor. But despite 10 years of hard work, Hayley singer-songwriter still hadn't had her breakout moment and, fed up with pushing the boulder uphill, she took a step back to reassess.

"I hit my 'f**k it' point," says Hailey. I felt like I was watering myself down to try and fit in with what this town was doing, and I was looking for Nashville to define my happiness. When I quit doing that I was able to dig into why I am on this journey in the first place: to create music that I love on my own terms. And that's when I wrote 'Ten Year Town.'"

While it's a song of frustration laid bare, Hailey isn't bitter or jaded. Rather, she's encouraged and inspired — "This next song could turn it all around" goes the final verse of "Ten Year Town" — looking ahead to the release of her new album ‘The Dream’, a project that she's splitting up into two acts. The first half, titled "The Days," looks at where she came from, while the second part, also called "The Dream," explores where she's going.

http://www.haileywhitters.com/

Aubrie Sellers - Far From Home

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Far From Home’ - Aubrie Sellers

Another fast-rising current Nashville star is Country singer-songwriter Aubrie Sellers. Talent definitely runs in the family, as she is also the daughter of Lee Ann Womack. We think 2020 will be Aubrie’s breakthrough year. We love her wonderful pure vocals on this title track of her forthcoming second album ‘Far From Home’ due out February 7th. They remind us of a cross between Alison Krauss and Dolly. Aubrie is an honest storyteller with a strong and singular personality. She can move from a beautifully constructed and personal love song to full-on country-rock.

“I feel like I’m film in a digital world,” says 27-year-old singer-songwriter Aubrie “There are so many slick, clean-sounding records that are designed for quick consumption, but that’s not me. I make dirty, grungy-sounding records, and the emotions spill all over the place. They’re messy at times, but I find beauty in that.”

For anybody who’s ever felt as if they didn’t quite fit in, Aubrie’s second album the follow-up to her sensational debut, ‘New City Blues’, is essential listening.

https://www.aubriesellers.com/

Tanya Tucker - Bring My Flowers Now

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Bring My Flowers Now’ - Tanya Tucker

Our next featured song is currently Grammy-nominated for ‘Best Song’, ‘Best Country Song’ and ‘Best Country Solo Performance’. It’s fantastic to see US Country legend Tanya back performing again This is a great track and features the excellent Brandi Carlile, who also produced Tanya’s new album “While I’m Livin’ along with Shooter Jennings. The video was filmed in Carthage, Tennessee and directed by Trey Fanjoy.

You can see Tanya and the band live in #London at C2C this year on March 15th

Molly Tuttle - Sleepwalking

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Sleepwalking’ - Molly Tuttle

Our featured track today is the beautiful, very personal and reflective ‘Sleepwalking’, taken from Molly’s latest album ‘When You’re Ready’.

"'Sleepwalking' is one of the more personal songs on the album," comments Molly. "I wrote it by myself, digging into the anxiety I have felt for many years about the effects of climate change and the ever-rising cost of living in the San Francisco Bay Area (where I grew up). I wanted to symbolically incorporate my experience as a woman with total hair loss (Alopecia Totalis) into the video for the song, because that part of who I am also informed the lyrics, in a subtler way. I lost my hair early on in life, and at times that experience has made me fear change and hold onto the past. With the visual, I wanted to raise the question of what it means to 'be yourself' again after a part of who you are disappears. What do we cling to in times of change? Hopefully each person who watches what we made will find a personal meaning in it."

Photo credit: Adam Gasson (Guitarist Magazine)

https://www.mollytuttlemusic.com/

Bless This Land - Our Atlantic Roots

LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Bless This Land’ - Our Atlantic Roots

Our featured track today is the latest single release from Cornwall based husband and wife duo Laura and Mac Johnston. It’s taken from their wonderful EP ‘Little Bird’ which was released in September. Video by Cory Jacobsen Films

Photo credit: Checkered Photography and Videography Collective

https://www.ouratlanticroots.com/