Blues & Roots Radio wins LCM 'Best Radio Station' Award for the second time

We are delighted to announce that Blues & Roots Radio have won our annual award for 'Best Radio Station' in 2017. Blues and Roots Radio is a multi award winning global online broadcasting network based in Port Credit, Ontario, Canada and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia with hubs in the UK, Ireland and the USA playing the best Independent artists 24/7. This is the second year running that this excellent radio station and network has won the top spot, this time on a public vote. Huge congratulations to Stevie, Anne, Neil, Megan and the rest of the Blues & Roots Radio family, including all the show presenters.

From September 1st 2017 they are now home to two stations, BRR Essential and BRR Discover, both independent online radio stations playing independent artists from around the world. Over 50 shows are housed on our network from around the world of which a vast  majority are produced exclusively for us playing Blues, Soul, R&B, Americana, Alt Country, Bluegrass, Celtic, Folk, Roots and everything in between. 

Our nominees for the award this year were truly international with radio stations submitted from around the world. Please check them out if you haven't listened to them before.

Our 5 five for 2017 were

• (1) Blues & Roots Radio, Port Credit, Canada
• (2) Radio Walkham, Devon, UK
• (3) BBC Introducing, UK
• (4) Joltin Joe's Radio Nowhere, New Jersey, USA
• (4) Laurel Canyon Radio, Los Angeles, USA

Carousel wins LCM EP of the year for 2017

We are thrilled to announce that Carousel wins our LCM award for 'EP Of The Year' for their self titled debut EP. Huge congratulations to Thomas Eatherton, Chris Hobart, Sarah Holburn, Toby Shaer, who also took home our 2017 LCM 'Favourite New Artist of the Year' award.

Our runner-up this year was the excellent 'Hide' by Hattie Briggs. We are very excited by this one as Hattie released it at one of our LCM London gig earlier in the year, as part of her wonderful 12 Months Of Madness project.

Carousel’s highly anticipated debut EP was released on 22nd September 2017. The 4-piece Indie-Americana music collective are based in Southend-on-Sea on the coast of Essex, UK. Carousel fuse Americana, country, folk, rock’n’roll, blues and roots music into their own unique approach whilst taking full advantage of having 4 accomplished vocalists at their disposal. The band’s influences include an array of artists from Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash to the modern day Americana stylings of Brandi Carlile and The Lone Bellow. The band’s aim is to breathe new life into music venues and street-level performances around the UK, with a view to remove the barrier between artist and audience.

Carousel was founded in the summer of 2015, following the decision that four good friends and solo musicians would come together, with the ideology that they are better together than they are apart. Music is as much a part of one band member as the next and it is something that is a constant staple in each of their lives. Sharing a musical vision that is encompassed by friendship and honesty, Carousel present a fresh take on passionate and heartfelt music. Their songs are both uplifting and sombre. Wistful yet forward-looking.

Two years in the making, Carousel have finally released their debut EP, which includes five of their most energising and emotive songs. They performed on a number of festival bills in summer 2017; most notably Leigh Folk Festival, Live Expressions Festival, Daxtonbury Festival and are becoming increasingly sought after within the UK’s live music scene.

Ange Hardy wins the LCM award for 'Best Live Act' in 2017

We are delighted to announce that as chosen by our LCM Facebook Group members Ange Hardy wins our LCM award for 'Best Live Act' in 2017.

Ange Hardy is a most remarkable singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, the kind that writes songs which are so classic you think they have existed in the folk cannon for centuries. Ange is also unique as she is the only folk performer we know to use a loop station (called Mr. Miyagi), which she does to great effect. Her highly anticipated and recently released album 'Bring Back Home' is already receiving high praise. It's not too hard to understand why.

Our runners-up this year are the all-star Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys, who are rapidly becoming one of the 'must see' live bands on the festival circuit.

Our LCM Top 20

• (1) Ange Hardy
• (2) Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys
• (3) Kim Lowings & The Greenwood
• (4) Tobias Ben Jacob & Lukas Drinkwater
• (5) Daria Kulesh
• (6) The Young'Uns
• (7) Said The Maiden
• (8) Company Of Players
• (9) Gilmore & Roberts
• (10) Emily Mae Winters
• (10) Show Of Hands
• (10) Emily Barker
• (13) Luke Jackson
• (14) Hattie Briggs
• (14) Fred's House
• (16) Merry Hell
• (17) Ninebarrow
• (18) Edgelarks
• (18) Minnie Birch
• (20) Lady Maisery
• (20) Kadia

Emily Mae Winters & Beatrix Players joinly win LCM debut album of the year 2017

We are delighted to announce that 'Siren Serenade' by Emily Mae Winters and 'Magnified' by Beatrix Players joinly win our LCM award for 2017 'debut album of the year'. The award this year was chosen by our LCM core team. Huge congratulations to Emily, Amy. Jess & Amanda.

The multi-award winning Emily Mae Winters is one of the fast rising stars of UK Folk and Americana and one of our LCM 'Ones To Watch' in 2017. Already establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with, she has been included in many 2016 'end of year' award nominations. Her wonderful debut EP 'Foreign Waters' released last year produced by the multi award winning Ben Walker announced her arrival. Her new debut album 'Siren Serenade' creates a new watershed moment. A album full of high quality crafted music with the rich promise of more excellent music to come in the future. The album is a wonderful fusion of Irish Traditional folk, Contemporary Folk, Country and Americana. It's a combination of self-penned and traditional folk songs which draw inspiration from poetry, myths and stories of love, loss, fate and memory.

Beatrix Players are a London-based all-female trio who make florid, adventurous music that operates at the interface between folk, singer-songwriter acoustica, prog and quasi-classical baroque chamber pop. There is a light, translucent quality to the music, and yet when it is not being hushed and reverent, it has the attack and thrust, the surging dynamism, of rock. It can be soft and intimate, but it can also be fiery and intense, epic and immense. There are tempestuous passages in their music that you can imagine being delivered by traditional rock instrumentation but it is the very absence of guitars and drums that means that there is nobody out there quite like Beatrix Players. 

2017 has been an excellent year for music and we would also like to give recognition to other wonderful independently released debut albums which also featured strongly this year

• The Beauty Of This Life - Lauren Housley
• Wildfire - Elles Bailley
• A Polyphonetic Life - Tobias Ben Jacob
• She & I - Kirsty Merryn
• 100 Years - Allman Brown
• The Beautiful & The Actual - Rosie Hood
• Matt Tighe - Matt Tighe

Southend based indie Americana band Carousel win LCM 'Favourite new artists of the year' 2017

We are delighted to announce that the winners of LCM 'Favourite new artists of the year' 2017 are Southend-On-Sea based indie Americana four-piece Carousel. Huge congratulations to Thomas Eatherton, Chris Hobart, Sarah Holburn and Toby Shaer. Also congratulations to the producer of their self titled debut EP released this year, Peter Waterman.

https://www.carouseluk.com/

The quality of all our award finalists in this years award was very high. Please check them out, if you haven't listened to their music before.

Our final top 20 are:-

• (1) Carousel
• (2) Kim Lowings & The Greenwood
• (3) Laura Malcahy
• (4) Kitty Macfarlane
• (4) Sam Kelly & The Lost Boys
• (6) Emily Mae Winters
• (7) Minnie Birch
• (8) Said The Maiden
• (9) Saskia Griffiths-Moore
• (10) Kate Ellis
• (11) Little Sparrow
• (12) Hattie Briggs
• (13) Corrie Shelley
• (14) Gitta de Ridder
• (14) Tilly Moses
• (14) Wildwood Kin
• (17) Tobias ben Jacob
• (19) Roxanne de Bastion
• (20) Kirsty Merryn
• (20) Oka Vanga

Danni Nicholls to release her new album at SPOC

Danni Nicholls ‘The Vintage TV Recordings’ - Album Launch

St Pancras Old Church, London – 5th April 2017

Following her much acclaimed Nashville recorded albums ‘A Little Redemption’ and the AMA UK Album of the Year nominated ‘Mockingbird Lane’, Danni Nicholls will be launching her new ‘Live’ album, ‘The Vintage TV Recordings’ at London’s intimate and historic music venue St Pancras Old Church in April with promotion by Laurel Canyon Music and support from Dublin born singer/songwriter Robert Corcoran.

The album will feature nine songs from both albums as recorded live by Vintage TV for three separate episodes – ‘Live With’ recorded at the renowned Metropolis Studios London, ‘Live At’ performed at the famous Water Rats venue with a live audience and ‘The Vintage TV Sessions’ with full band at the historic Dingwalls in Camden London with a live audience.

Some proceeds from this album will go to support the incredible music therapy organisation Nordoff Robbins whose work brings life changing music to vulnerable people.

Advance tickets just £10      http://www.wegottickets.com/event/386494

http://danninicholls.com/

Megan & The Common Threads 'Stories To Tell' album launch

LCM are proud to present the launch of Megan & The Common Threads debut mini-album 'Stories To Tell'

Advance tickets are available at £10  http://www.wegottickets.com/event/388240

Megan And The Common Threads weave a unique tapestry of country, Blues, Folk & Americana. 

Hit US TV show Nashville (ABC/Lionsgate) featured Megan's track Don't You from her debut EP 'Coming Home' which was named UK EP of the Year by public vote at the W21 Music Awards.

Live shows include a special Oscars Week appearance in Los Angeles at the 2015 Oscar Wilde Awards on personal invitation of director JJ Abrams, plus performances for RTE2 Two Tube, Bob Harris (BBC Radio 2), BBC Ulster, BBC London, Irish Independent, Windmill Lane Sessions and Amazing Radio, with a live breakfast show session on Irish national station Today FM with Ian Dempsey. Megan's collaboration with Top 10 UK Chart act The Shires is out now on Decca Records (Universal Music). 

2016 has seen acclaimed shows at C2C Country to Country Festival at London’s 02 Arena, a barnstorming performance to a sold out 700 capacity crowd at Time Out London's Rising Stars of Country show, a headline slot at Weyfest, Nashville Meets London Festival in Canary Wharf and full UK tours with CC Smugglers and W21 Music. 

The band will be releasing their debut EP as a six-piece in February 2017 titled 'Stories to Tell' and produced by the legendary Guy Fletcher (Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler, Roxy Music) at British Grove Studios. With touring and festival dates being added all the time, the future's looking bright for the 'Threads'...

http://meganandthecommonthreads.com/ 

Jess Morgan to headline The Winemakers Club on 6th May

We are thrilled to announce that Jess Morgan will be headlining at The Winemaker's Club in Farringdon on the 6th May. Our special guest for the evening will be Tom Hartley Booth who will be opening the show and then performing with Jess on some of her songs. With it's great acoustics and intimate candle-lit setting in the heart of London, this is not to be missed.

Doors are at 7PM

Limited advance tickets are just £10 and available from our Website or via We Got Tickets. We only have a 70 capacity at the venue so purchasing a ticket in advance is highly recommended. http://www.wegottickets.com/event/387258

Liv Austen & The Southern Companion @ The Green Note (Wed 15th March 2017)

Laurel Canyon Music are proud to present an intimate evening of acoustic music with two of the finest rising stars of UK Country & Americana in one of London's favourite music venues.

Limited adv Tix just £11 http://www.wegottickets.com/event/383150

Liv Austen is a very talented Norwegian singer-songwriter who grew up in a musical home and sang from a very early age. As a teenager she started writing her own songs and in August 2014 she released her first record, the four track EP "Workin' Man's Dream" which was awarded the esteemed W21's EP of the year.

Liv started gaining momentum and received praise from other musicians and bands and got rave reviews from blogs such as '4000 Miles to Nashville' and 'For The Country Record'. The first single from her debut EP was the very catchy 'Rain On My Side' and the audience favourite 'The Guts You Always Had' followed soon thereafter.

Liv's single 'Don't Regret a Single One' from her 2016 EP 'Who I Am Today' was her first song to be played on BBC Radio2. Just two years after her debut EP she is now considered a main player on the UK country scene and her new single 'Over', written by Ben Earle (The Shires), was released through Decca Records to amazing reception from audience and reviewers alike. Liv is currently working on new music to be released in 2017.

"Liv shows incredible versatility on her voice and style and is obviously a very talented singer/songwriter, appealing to both fans of modern and traditional country music....... after seeing her live I firmly believe she's the best female country singer in the UK right now and has every tool at her disposal to go a very long way." (Steve Riley, 4000 Miles to Nashville)

"Combining her stunning voice with artful lyrics and beautifully crafted songs, Liv Austen never fails to impress. Expect to be entranced." (Live Manchester)

http://www.livausten.com/

The Southern Companion are a Country and Americana band from the South Coast of England. Their sound is a fusion of all the music they love," a sonic whirlpool where the UK and US currents meet". They are a band on the rise, recent winners of two British Country Music awards (The Horizon (best newcomer) and Album of The Year for '1000 Days of Rain'). At the very beating heart of the band is their singer-songwriter and lead vocalist Darren Hodson.

The band's collective CV is long and varied with individual members having played for Tom Jones, Lulu, Rumer, James Morrison, Lana Del Ray, Pete Townsend (The Who), Jon Allen, John Isley and Vanessa May amongst others. They have played together on and off for over 20 years in various projects which all finally lead to The Southern Companion and the album '1000 Days of Rain'.

In 2015 Darren toured the UK and Europe as the support act and guitarist for Rumer, including a career highlight opening at The City Winery in Nashville to a "roof raising" reception. Also in 2015 the band stormed the CM&T International Artist chart with the single "Drive" peaking at Number 3 twice! 2016 saw the bands best year so far with a UK tour supporting Lulu and numerous festival appearances including Europe's biggest Country Festival Country 2 Country at the O2 in London.

The next few months will be busy for the band as they are currently recording their third album, which is due to be released in 2017. 

**** Americana blend that delivers a lot of impressive moments (Maverick Magazine)

http://www.thesoutherncompanion.com/

LCM launch the brand new "Jacaranda Sessions" at the Lookout Mountain Music Club

LCM are proud to launch a brand new weekly one-hour podcast and playlist called the "Jacaranda Sessions" at the Lookout Mountain Music Club featuring some of our favourite music old and new. 

"This ain't no disco....it ain't no country club either.....this is"....the "Jacaranda Sessions" at the LMMC ....and everybody is invited. Pop over, bring some friends, a few beers & join us in our new Laurel Canyon home, high in the Hollywood Hills :)  

"It's not about the money......it's all about the music!"

#Country #Americana #Folk #Singer-Songwriter #Blues #Acoustic

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Jess Morgan Trio to release their new single 'Natalie' at SPOC on 26th May

We are pleased to announce that our next LCM showcase at St. Pancras Old Church on the 26th May will be the official release concert for 'Natalie', the brand new single from The Jess Morgan Trio. Natalie with be the first single taken from their great new album.

Special guests on the night include Jack Harris and Steve Jones (Stylusboy). Our host for the evening will be the excellent Tom du Croz. It would be great to see you all there

Advance concession tickets are just £10

http://www.wegottickets.com/sct/R5SrthZsJf