Ray LaMontagne – the celebrated Grammy award winning singer-songwriter – has confirmed the next chapter of his career with a new studio album, Long Way Home, out August 16th.

Ahead of the album, releasing via the highly independent artist’s newly created label Liula Records, LaMontagne will unveil the lead single, ‘Step Into Your Power’ on June 5th with a video created with his son, Tobias – pre save the track here.

The core of Long Way Home reverberates deep into LaMontagne’s youth – at 21-years-old, in a small club in Minneapolis, he recalls seeing Townes Van Zandt perform live. A line from ‘To Live Is To Fly’ has stuck with him ever since; Van Zandt sang, “When here you been is good an gone, all you keep is the getting there.”

LaMontagne reflects, “Thirty years later it occurs to me that every song on Long Way Home is in one way or another honoring the journey. The languorous days of youth and innocence. The countless battles of adulthood, some won, more often lost. It’s been a long hard road, and I wouldn’t change a minute. It took me nine songs to express what Townes managed to say in one line. I guess I still got a lot to learn.”

Produced in tandem with Seth Kauffman (Floating Action, Angel Olsen, Lana Del Ray), Long Way Home’s nine moving tracks recall the folk-rock explosion of the early seventies, while aptly sitting among the modern Americana revival that LaMontagne was integral in fueling. Recorded over the course of a few weeks in his home studio, LaMontagne tapped both long-time and new collaborators across the record—The Secret Sisters provide backing vocals on the first three tracks, while the album was engineered and mixed by the team of LaMontagne, Kauffman, and Ariel Bernstein.

The album artwork furthers that LaMontagne is cracking the window open to his audience: the piece, a woodblock print by artist Barbara S. Beck, hangs above LaMontagne’s desk where he’s written most of his albums. Long Way Home is LaMontagne’s first full-length effort since 2020’s MONOVISION, a stripped back solo-recording heralded by American Songwriter as “soothing, but never clichéd warmth in retro-style.”

LaMontagne has spent the past two decades carving a singular space for himself in modern music. In a career that has seen overflowing critical acclaim, he’s opted out of the spotlight and its accompanying celebrity in the remote hills of Western Massachusetts. The New York Times accounts, “Visiting Ray LaMontagne is like going back to another century.” His signature voice, described by Rolling Stone as an “impeccably weathered tenor croon”, continues to serve as a conduit for era-defining melodies and songwriting.

Across eight studio albums, LaMontagne has let his songs and story speak for themselves, ringing a deep chord in the American subconscious. As has come to be expected through his extensive and awarded discography, LaMontagne delivers yet again on record nine with a cohesive, impressive effort.

LaMontagne has released eight studio albums since his 2004 debut, Trouble, which is certified RIAA Platinum. 2006’s Till the Sun Turns Black and 2008’s Gossip in the Grain saw RIAA Gold certifications. LaMontagne received two Grammy nominations and won the award for Best Contemporary Folk Album for God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise.

In 2010 he began recording as Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs. LaMontagne has received a nomination from the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards for Best New Touring Artist, the BRIT Awards for International Breakthrough Act, the MOJO Awards for Best New Act, and was given the title of Best Voice in 2006 by Esquire.

In celebration of the forthcoming album, he has announced a brand-new series of solo headlining U.S. tour dates with support from The Secret Sisters, including stops in Austin, New Orleans and Orlando. Full show details can be found here.

LONG WAY HOME – TRACKLIST
1. Step Into Your Power

2. I Wouldn’t Change A Thing
3. Yearning
4. And They Called Her California
5. La De Dum, La De Da
6. My Lady Fair
7. The Way Things Are
8. So, Damned, Blue
9. Long Way Home

www.raylamontagne.com

Following on from winning ‘Live Act Of The Year’ at the UK Americana Awards 2024 and ‘Vocalist Of the Year’ at the UK Blues Awards 2024, Elles Bailey

returns with new single ‘If This Is Love’. The track is the third to be taken from her forthcoming album Beneath The Neon Glow, which comes August 9th on Cooking Vinyl Records.

A raw and soulful banger, ‘If This Is Love’ is Elles’ angry love song. Full of sass and taking the power back from heartbreak, Elles’ stunning vocals sit beautifully on top of the blues driven guitar. “I love the expression ‘when you like a flower, you just pluck it,  but when you love a flower, you water it daily. The latter allows the flower to grow and blossom, whilst the former allows it to wither and die.’” Elles says. “This song is written about someone who trampled all over my heart and I totally lost who I was in that relationship. And if I am being honest, I never actually walked away, so I decided to re-write that story 14 years later, and this time I am the one who walks away!” Listen to ‘If This Is Love’ HERE.

Beneath The Neon Glow sees Elles intertwine British roots, Americana and blues across ten powerfully, uplifting tracks. Produced by Dan Weller (Enter Shikari) and recorded with Elles’ exceptional and trusted live band, the album is an exploration of love’s myriad forms. Through lyrically vulnerable and brutally honest songwriting, Elles delves into the depths of heartbreak, the resilience of friendship, and the enduring power of love that spans a lifetime. From the fleeting moments to the love that withstands the test of time, she fearlessly navigates through the spectrum of human emotion, offering listeners an intimate glimpse into her journey.

“I might be new to some people, but I have been around for quite a long while. I’m not here for a flash-in-the-pan moment. I want a long-term career in music. I love what I do. I love that I get to take it around the world. So if I can continue to do that, and just play to larger audiences and continue to grow, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

Elles and her A list band will be taking her new album on the road for a run of dates in the Autumn of 2024, including a show at London’s Islington Assembly Hall on November 2nd. With a jam packed festival season in the UK and Europe over the summer, playing the likes of Glastonbury, Cropredy, HebCelt, and Beautiful Days, Elles has also just announced a UK In-Store tour to celebrate the album’s release in August. Tickets on sale HERE.

AUGUST IN-STORE SHOWS:

Sat 10th OXFORD, Truck

Sat 10th MARLBOROUGH, Sound Knowledge

Sun 11th BIRMINGHAM, HMV Vault

Sun 1th LEAMINGTON SPA, Temperance

Mon 12th MANCHESTER, HMV

Mon 12th LIVERPOOL, Jacaranda

Tue 13th LEEDS, Vinyl Whistle

Wed 14th BRIGHTON, Resident

Thu 15th BRISTOL, Rough Trade

SEPTEMBER

Wed 25th LINCOLN, The Drill

Thu 26th NORWICH, Waterfront

Fri 27th CAMBRIDGE, Cambridge Junction

Sat 28th OXFORD, O2 Academy 2

OCTOBER

Fri 11th CARLISLE, Carlisle Blues Festival

Sat 12th GLOUCESTER, Gloucester Guildhall

Thu 24th EXETER, Exeter Phoenix

Sat 26th BRISTOL, SWX

NOVEMBER

Sat 2nd LONDON, Islington Assembly Hall

Sun 3rd SOUTHAMPTON, Engine Rooms

Thu 14th SUNDERLAND, The Fire Station

Fri 15th EDINBURGH, Cabaret Voltaire

Sat 16th GLASGOW, Oran Mor

Sun 17th CHESTER, The Live Rooms

Sat 30th WOLVERHAMPTON, KK’s Steel Mill

DECEMBER

Sun 1st LEEDS, Brudenell Social Club

With a top 50 album, achieved independently, an ever growing and adoring fanbase, as well as countless awards and a weekly radio show on Planet Rock already under her belt, Elles is ready to take things to the next step and there’s no better album for her to take that journey with. 

https://www.ellesbailey.com/ 

“Indie pals with the bold ambition of future festival headliners” – NME
“Irresistible indie pop peppered with brilliantly surreal lyrics and infectious hooks” – Rolling Stone UK

“One of the UK’s most exciting new acts.” – The Forty-Five

After a 2023 that launched rising indie-pop duo Dolores Forever into the music stratosphere and saw them hotly tipped across the board, the band today announce their highly-anticipated debut album It’s Nothing – out September 20th.

After releasing two superb tasters in  ‘Someday Best’ & ‘Why Are You Not Scared Yet?’, today brings a third offering from the forthcoming debut in the shape of ‘Go Fast Go Slow’ – a sad banger that tackles body image. “This song is somewhere to place our female rage,” Hannah Wilson & Julia Fabrin explain. “It explodes with a lifetime of frustration about being objectified, limited and defined by our gender. Feminism is far from completed and we’re ready to shout about it.” Listen here.

There’s an infectiously playful, unapologetic feminist energy at the heart of the London-based band, and now, Dolores Forever – the duo who met at a house party in 2018 and instantly became friends – are ready to release their debut album.

It’s a “punchy indie-pop record about feminism, friendship and navigating a messed up world. It blows our minds that the music industry is obsessed with hearing from people who are just 21. As we’ve gotten into our thirties, we have so many more stories, and so much more to say.”

The sincere ballad ‘Split Lip’ honours their protective instincts as friends, inspired by each woman’s individual struggles and a joint desire to help each other out. ‘Why Are You Not Scared Yet?’ and ‘Not Now Kids’ attempt to make sense of universal feelings of futility and powerlessness in the face of a turbulent world in freefall.

The album is inspired by the last ten years weathering unfair treatment as female songwriters in a male-dominated industry. Julia, from Copenhagen, co-wrote the winning 2013 Eurovision entry for Denmark, Only Teardrops, while Hannah, from London, has written with Kylie and Stormzy.

Having already wowed at Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds Festivals and with acclaim across the board from the likes of BBC Introducing, Radio 1, NME, The i, i-D Magazine, The Independent, The Line Of Best Fit, Dummy, Mahogany and more, the duo today launch the next phase of their set-to-be huge career.

Their friendship, concludes Hannah, “really is the band’s life blood. Women connect with each other on this amazing level, even in adulthood, and we wanted to make adult female friendship a little more visible. And to say, actually, we should value friendships just as highly as romantic relationships.”

Dolores Forever are building unstoppable momentum.

LIVE DATES
June
Sun 16^th                      Northampton, A Perfect Day Festival

Wed 19th                   London, Moth Club (Album Launch Show)

July

Thu 4th                       Spain, Vilanova i la Geltrú, Vida Festival

August

Fri 2nd                         Derby, Y Not Festival
Sat 3rd                        Barnsley, Underneath The Stars Festival

Sun 4th                       Oxfordshire, Wilderness Festival

https://doloresforever.com/

Fresh off the back of an raucous, sold-out UK Tour and the release of their acclaimed album The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons, The Hives have teamed up with Spotify Singles to release a very special version of ‘Hooked On A Feeling’.

1974 proved to be the start of the long-lived export success for Swedish music, and contrary to popular belief, ABBA’s Waterloo wasn’t the first song to make waves abroad. Instead, on 29 March in 1974, Blue Swede and Björn Skifs‘ Hookedon a Feeling ended up being the first single by a Swedish artist to take the top spot on Billboard’s US list.

The song has racked up over 660M streams on Spotify to date, and through its feature in movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Reservoir Dogs, it’s still seeing traction around the world.

To commemorate the starting point of Swedish export, Spotify have released a new Spotify Singles out of its Stockholm studio. This time, one of the most streamed Swedish rock bands abroad and live sensations The Hives are releasing a cover of ‘Hooked on a Feeling’ – in a version that will surely extend its longevity further.

Pelle Almqvist commented: “I think there’s a synergy effect of Swedish music having made it abroad, and you feel like it’s possible. We can’t make it more perfect than the original is, so we went the other way instead: ruined it, but made it sound exciting”.

Sweden might be best known for its pop products, but there’s an untold story of how rock music is driving the music export out of the market, made evident by Spotify’s data. In the past 5 years, streams of rock music by Swedish acts have increased 90% globally, with France, Italy, Mexico and Australia being the biggest consumers. Over 40% of the consumption is coming from listeners in the ages between 18-29.

The Hives on the web:

Website // YouTube // Instagram // Facebook // Twitter 

Spotify // Apple // Tidal

“Beautifully evokes the painful process of exiting a relationship no longer working out; think boygenius crossed with Soccer Mommy” – Telegraph

“It’s so beautiful you have to be feeling strong to listen to it.” – Sunday Times

Fast-rising harmony trio Tiny Habits release their highly anticipated debut album, All For Something, via Mom+Pop today along with their latest single “People Always Change”.

Listen to All For Something HERE.

Recorded at legendary studio SoundCity in Los Angeles and produced by Tony Berg and Will Maclellan (Boygenius, Phoebe Bridgers), the record was written over two years while the band; Judah Mayowa, Maya Rae, and Cinya Khan attended Berklee College of Music. All For Something is a love letter to the bond and friendship built by the three band mates who began their career by honing their skill together singing reimagined versions of classic songs and building a viral following in the stairwells and halls of their dorm.

“Making this album has really taught me so much about each of you and myself” reflects Judah.

The album radiates with the band’s trademark angelic harmonies and a richly-layered musical backdrop that ranges from introspective 70s-esque folk to modern-day indie-pop. Lyrically it is a deeply personal and moving journey ranging through challenging themes of relationship dynamics and individual identity. There’s an underlying sense of vulnerability and honesty that weaves the music together.

Tiny Habits were still students in Boston when they began gaining recognition for the harmony-focused song covers recorded in their dorm stairwell and posted to millions of listeners on TikTok. They released their first EP of original songs, Tiny Things, in April 2023 and soon earned a spot opening for Gracie Abrams on her North American tour. Later that year they hit the road again supporting Noah Kahan in Europe. They have performed with Lizzy McAlpine on her Tiny Desk appearance, harmonized with Kacey Musgraves and Laufey among many others, were recently profiled in The New Yorker which touted them “The Prodigies of Harmonies,” and count fans from the late great David Crosby and Phoebe Bridgers to Elton John, who called them “delicious.”

The band are currently on the European leg of their first ever headlining tour after selling out their biggest rooms yet in the US this Spring, and will play Lollapalooza this Summer before opening for Vance Joy at venues including Radio City and The Hollywood Bowl in the Fall.

Tiny Habits play the following UK shows:

May 2024

Fri 24th​​DUBLIN, Opium Rooms

Sun 26th​​GLASGOW, St. Luke’s

Tue 28th​​BIRMINGHAM, Institute 2

Wed 29th​​BRISTOL, Thekla

Thu 30th​​LONDON, Koko

Tiny Habits on the web:

TikTok: @TinyHabitsOfficial

Instagram: @TinyHabitsOfficial

X: @TinyHabs

https://www.tinyhabitsofficial.com/

“The hype is now theirs to own”- The Forty Five

“VEPS are leaning hard into a very rough and ready DIY aesthetic, and I am absolutely here for it” – Far Out Magazine

“The band was born out of friendship, with their playfully subversive songwriting fusing alt-pop with indie rock elements” – Clash Magazine

Rising Norwegian alt-indie pop quartet Veps release new single ‘Say What?’. The track is the final drop ahead of their forthcoming sophomore album Dedicated To, which comes out via Miktam Records/Universal Music on June 14th.

A throwback to the beginning of the century, the track is an emotionally driven ear worm. “‘Say What?’ is a tune about waiting for a special someone,” the band explain of the new single. “We tried to describe the variety of feelings you have whilst falling for someone. Using different communication devices in the lyrics, we tried to emphasise how impatient you can feel when you’re waiting for someone to reach out,” Listen to ‘Say What?’ HERE.

Veps deliver another collection of indie pop bangers on second album Dedicated To. Finding a sound with a new sense of maturity and freedom, the band haven’t strayed far from their raw, DIY ethics on the LP. Opening with the beautiful, piano driven track ‘Break & Entry’, the album includes raucous new single ‘Greetings From Peru,’ the jagged, dark synth popper ‘For Thirsty Dogs’ and future live favourite ‘So Speak’.

Formed when the girls were 14 years old, Veps, now 20 years old, have already achieved more than they could have imagined at that age. Releasing their debut EP Open The Door to acclaim in 2021, the band followed with their beautifully frantic debut full length Oslo Park in 2022. Already ticking off a plethora of international festivals including The Great Escape, Reeperbahn and Stag & Dagger, as well as Norway’s biggest festival Øyafestival, Veps completed their debut UK headline tour in spring 2022, culminating with a headline date at Sebright Arms in London.

Now signed to new label Miktam Records/Universal Music and with a craft of song writing well beyond their tender years, Veps, with their seamless blend of 90s indie aesthetic with classic pop hooks, are ready to take 2024 by storm.

Veps are Helena Mariero Olasveengen (keys/vocals), June K. Urholt (bass), Laura Dodson (guitar/vocals) & Maja B. Berge (drums)

https://www.vepsofficial.com/

James Blunt announces full details of his forthcoming special remastered version of Back To Bedlam, one of the top ten best-selling albums of the Noughties, on October 11th, twenty years to the day of its initial release. Pre-order HERE.

James will also take to the road in February next year to embark on a special run of UK arena dates for the ‘Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour’, where he will perform the Back To Bedlam album in its entirety, along with other classic hits from his career.  The tour will also mark James’ return to London’s O2 Arena on February 16th. Tickets HERE.

Included in this special 20th anniversary release comes a special version of the original album remastered for 2024 by Stuart Hawkes at Metropolis, in addition to previously unreleased demos of the core songs from the album, plus previously unreleased songs from the Bedlam era.

Formats include a single red recycled colour vinyl, 2 CD, 6 panel softpak with 16 page booklet, and available digitally.

In true James Blunt fashion, he explains; “I’ve released seven studio albums, but Back To Bedlam was the one people actually bought. So on its twentieth anniversary, the record label and I thought we should repackage it with some early demos, and milk it for all it’s worth. It was one of the biggest selling albums of the Noughties, so here’s hoping it makes a dent in the 20’s.”

Back To Bedlam featured the global smash hit ‘You’re Beautiful’ and is one of the top ten best-selling albums of the Noughties. He’s won two Brit Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards and has received five Grammy nominations. As James humbly approaches national treasure status in his native UK, he is widely regarded for his honesty, wit and charm, as showcased on record, on stage and with his ever-engaging social media banter.

Just last year, he released his seventh studio album Who We Used To Be. With “Tunes that press emotional buttons with military precision” (Financial Times) and Retropop Magazine hailing it as “His best in a long time”, Who We Used To Be was James’ first studio album since the acclaimed, Top 3 Once Upon A Mind in 2019. His recent greatest hits collection, The Stars Beneath My Feet, went Gold, selling over 100,000 copies, and James took on a world tour, and brought his show to arenas all across the globe.

Next year, James will play five dates across the UK, kicking off February 11th in Belfast, and finishing February 16th at London’s O2 Arena on February 16th. Tickets on sale at www.jamesblunt.com

“I’ve been touring now for twenty years, and really, it’s only Back To Bedlam that people want to hear… so on that album’s twentieth anniversary, what better way to celebrate than to head out on the ‘Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour’!” explains James. “I’ll play all the songs from Back To Bedlam in full, from start to finish, and chuck in the better known songs from later albums to finish. It’s going to be, well, it pains me to say it… beautiful.”

And that….it will be.  It’s time to celebrate one of the UK’s most esteemed solo artists of our time.

Back To Bedlam 20th Anniversary Tour Dates
February 2025
Tue 11th BELFAST, SSE Arena

Thu 13th LEEDS, First Direct Arena

Fri 14th GLASGOW, OVO Hydro Arena

Sat 15th MANCHESTER, Manchester AO Arena

Sun 16th LONDON, The O2 Arena

Back To Bedlam – Reissue Track Listing

1. High (2024 remaster)
2. You’re Beautiful (2024 remaster)
3. Wisemen (2024 remaster)
4. Goodbye My Lover (2024 remaster)
5. Tears and Rain (2024 remaster)
6. Out Of My Mind (2024 remaster)
7. So Long, Jimmy (2024 remaster)
8. Billy (2024 remaster)
9. Cry (2024 remaster)
10. No Bravery (2024 remaster)
11. High (demo)
12. You’re Beautiful (demo)
13. Wisemen (demo)
14. Goodbye My Lover (demo)
15. Tears and Rain (demo)
16. Out Of My Mind (demo)
17. So Long, Jimmy (demo)
18. Billy (demo)
19. Cry (demo)
20. No Bravery (demo)
21. Sugar-Coated (bonus b-side)
22. Butterfly (bonus demo)
23. Dancing Days (bonus demo)
24. Close Your Eyes (bonus demo)
25. Standing All Alone (bonus demo)

https://jamesblunt.com

Fresh off the back of a tour as special guest to Liam Gallagher and John Squire, UK rock troubadour, Jake Bugg, returns with his forthcoming sixth album A Modern Day Distraction, out September 20th on RCA records. Alongside the announcement comes his new single ‘Zombieland’ and a run of winter 2024 UK and EU dates.

A bone-crunching Beatles-via-Nirvana guitar driven banger, ‘Zombieland’ is a rollicking ode to the many broken by the inescapable daily grind, trudging on with a stiff upper lip. “It’s fucking brutal,” he says of the people he’s known who exist in “a constant cycle of working to live”. “They’re not paid what they’re worth. People have the same routine every day, they’re at work more than they see their kids, then the government puts the retirement age up. It’s not right.” Listen to ‘Zombieland HERE & watch the video HERE.

Produced by Metrophonic at Metrophonic Studios in London, Jake returns to his roots on the rock-driven A Modern Day Distraction – a record that turns up the noise while shining a light on the injustice he’s seen dealt to the family and friends he grew up with. Fiery and engaged, the record was born out of a frustration of societal inequality. Bugg found that a time had come when he just couldn’t look away. “People might say ‘What do you know?’ or ‘Just stick to music’. I’ve got a bit of money, but we all know the people this affects. I was just writing it because it was the way I felt. It pisses me off – especially in a country like ours where we have the means and funds to take care of the people suffering the most, but we choose not to.”

Now 12 years and six albums since he emerged with his streetwise and spritely, Mercury-nominated, chart-topping, self-titled debut, one might forget he was just 18 at the time. He’s put in the hours and achieved so much, but he’s only 30 and still seeing the front rows of his shows getting younger.

In that spirit, Bugg still feels his best work is ahead of him: “You just have to put your songs out into the universe and hope for the best.”

With a string of shows already announced for summer, Jake will return to the road in November this year for a run of UK and EU dates, including a date at London’s Roundhouse on November 19th. Tickets for the dates will be available across artist & O2 presales on May 22nd and promoter presale on May 23rd. General on sale will be 10:00 BST on Friday May 24th from HERE.

November

Sat 9th​Trabendo, Paris, FR

Sun 10th​Luxor, Cologne, DE

Tue 12th​Lido,  Berlin, DE

Wed 13th​Melkweg OZ, Amsterdam, NL

Thu 14th​Botanique,  Brussels, BE

Mon 18th​O2 Academy Leeds, UK

Tue 19th​The Roundhouse, London, UK

Thu 21st​National Stadium, Dublin, IE

Sat 23rd​Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow

Tue 26th​O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

You can also catch Jake live this summer.

June

Wed 19th ​Cyprus Avenue, Cork, IE

Thu 20th ​Black Box, Galway, IE

Sat 22nd ​Dolans, Limerick, IE

Sun 23st ​Sea Sessions, Donegal, IE

July

Fri 19th​Robin Park, Wigan, UK

Thu 25th​Fat Sams, Dundee, UK

Fri 26th ​Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, Inverness Shire, UK

Sat 27th ​Lemon Tree, Aberdeen, UK

August

Sat 10th ​Lakefest, Eastnor Castle, Hertfordshire, UK

September

Sun 22nd ​Liam Gallagher & Friends Malta Weekender Festival, Malta

October

Sat 19th​ Isolation, Budapest

https://www.jakebugg.com/

The debate over AI-generated vocals continued this week with an exclusive Variety feature article by executive music editor Jem Aswad reporting on a still-growing list of celebrated musicians uniting with Mollie Marriott, daughter of the late Steve Marriott, in objection to plans by the Marriott Estate to release “new” recordings from the legendary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame singer created with AI-powered technology. A wide range of Marriott’s close friends and fellow artists have joined together in opposition to the project, including Marriott’s former bandmates Small Faces’ Kenney Jones and Humble Pie’s Peter Frampton and Jerry Shirley, along with Robert Plant, David Gilmour, Paul Weller, Paul Rodgers, Joe Brown, Bryan Adams, Matt Sorum, Glenn Hughes, Gary Kemp, Bob Harris, and others. 

As reported by Variety, Los Angeles-based independent label Cleopatra Records has engaged in discussions with the Marriott estate about completing some of his unfinished demos with the aid of AI technology, though the label ultimately plans to release the recordings in their original form “for now” via three as-yet-unscheduled compilations.  Chris France, who has been managing director of Marriott’s estate since 1997, admits that while “there are no confirmed plans to use Steve Marriott’s voice on AI recordings, that does not mean a deal will not be done with one of several suitors who have made offers…I am afraid that [Mollie Marriott’s] opinions are of no consequence to me or his estate.”

Humble Pie founding member, drummer Jerry Shirley, confirmed an attempt by Cleopatra to create a version of the “Georgia on My Mind” with AI-generated vocals “by” Marriott which he could then compare the result with his memories of Marriott’s own informal renditions of the song. The AI recording was “horrible,” Shirley told Variety. “It sounded like someone trying to sound like someone trying to sound like Steve Marriott.” 

“The Marriott Estate is due to release an AI solo album of old and new songs of my father, Steve,” said Mollie Marriott in a previously released official statement. “Sadly, the surviving family which comprises just my siblings Lesley, Toby, Tonya, and I, have nothing to do with the Estate as there was no will. It is run by my stepmother who was only with my father for two years prior to his death and has since been re-married.

“We, along with his bandmates of Humble Pie and Small Faces are looking to stop this album from happening as it would be a stain on my father’s name. Someone who was known as one of the greatest vocalists of our generation, with such a live and raw vocal, it would absolutely break his heart if he were alive to know this. This is only for money, not art nor appreciation.

“It is the start of a campaign I wish to lead against this sort of thing, where deceased artists have no rights and that everything natural in this world is truly dying, including creativity and the arts, as AI comes into play. It’s a sad world to behold.”

Widely regarded among the greatest rock ‘n’ roll singers of all time, Steve Marriott who passed away in 1991 at the age of 44, was among the most gifted and iconic artists in the long-storied history of British music. In a career which spanned two decades, the singer-songwriter-guitarist co-founded two of the most acclaimed and influential bands of the 1960s and 1970s, Small Faces (with whom he was posthumously inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) and Humble Pie. Small Faces proved as influential as any band of their extraordinary era, bridging R&B, pop, soul, psychedelia, and the primal power of what soon became known as punk rock. The band’s distinctly English sound and vision later provided a blueprint for the Britpop movement of the 1990s. Upon Small Faces’ dissolution, Marriott co-founded Humble Pie and once again left his mark on rock ‘n’ roll with a new kind of hard rock built upon riff-driven no-frills boogie and simple raw power. 

Marriott was already a star by the time he co-founded Small Faces, first as a child actor performing on London’s West End as The Artful Dodger in Oliver! and then as 16-year-old leader of the popular R&B group, The Moments. Marriott came together with drummer Kenney Jones and the late bassist-songwriter Ronnie Lane as Small Faces in 1965, joined the following year by keyboardist Ian MacLagan. The band immediately ascended to the forefront of the Mod scene with their high energy sound, fronted by Marriott’s unmistakable soul-influenced vocals. Over their short but blazing lifespan, Small Faces scored eight UK Top 10 singles, including “Whatcha Gonna Do About It” (later covered by the Sex Pistols), “Here Comes The Nice,” “Itchycoo Park,” “Lazy Sunday,” “Tin Soldier,” and the #1 hit, “All or Nothing.” Their final album, 1968’s classic Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake, spent six weeks atop the album chart and to this day stands tall as a British psychedelic rock landmark for its singular collage of rousing lysergic R&B, folk eccentricity and pop-art imagination. 

Marriott departed Small Faces in 1969 and teamed with guitarist Peter Frampton, bassist Greg Ridley, and drummer Jerry Shirley as Humble Pie. Considered one of the first supergroups for each members’ previous involvement in other popular bands, Humble Pie instantly proved a momentous outfit, their crushing blend of hard rock, boogie, and blues providing an early example what came to be known as heavy metal. Marriott led Humble Pie through UK and US success in a range of incarnations, encompassing a further range of influences – from country to soul – but all were hailed for their charged live performances and of course, Marriott’s irrepressible vocals and songcraft at the forefront. A variety of reunions, collaborations, and solo efforts followed Humble Pie’s initial success. Marriott carried on through the 1980s, lighting up live stages in the UK and the US with over 200 gigs each year before his death in a fire at his Essex home on April 20, 1991.

Good news! Foo Fighters will release extra tickets for all seven of their eagerly anticipated, must see, upcoming UK stadium shows this Summer! 

Dubbed the Everything or Nothing at All UK Tour, these seven monumental stadium dates will take place in Manchester, Glasgow, London, Cardiff and Birmingham over the course of 13th June through 27th June. Final tickets go on sale Friday, May 10th at 9.00am BST HERE.

Support on Foo Fighters’ Everything or Nothing at All UK Tour will come from Wet Leg, Courtney Barnett, Chroma, Himalayas, Honeyblood, Hot Milk, and Shame. See below for a complete list of dates and corresponding support acts.

‘EVERYTHING OR NOTHING AT ALL’ UK TOUR
JUNE

13th Manchester, Emirates Old Trafford Stadium (Wet Leg + Loose Articles)

15th Manchester, Emirates Old Trafford Stadium (Courtney Barnett + Chroma)

17th Glasgow, Hampden Stadium (Courtney Barnett + Honeyblood)

20th London, London Stadium (Wet Leg + Shame)

22nd London, London Stadium (Courtney Barnett + Hot Milk)

25th Cardiff, Principality Stadium (Wet Leg + Himalayas)

27th Birmingham, Villa Park Stadium (Courtney Barnett + Hot Milk)

This summer’s dates will mark Foo Fighters’ most extensive UK trek since the June 2nd release of their unanimously acclaimed 11th album, But Here We Are, which smashed into the UK charts at #1 — the sixth Foo Fighters album to do so — while generating some of the most positive critical notes of the band’s career.

Cage The Elephant, the GRAMMY® Award winning rock band share their new single ‘Metaverse,’ taken from their forthcoming album Neon Pill (May 17, RCA Records). The song follows recent singles from the new album including ‘Good Time,’ ‘Out Loud’ and ‘Neon Pill,’ which scored the band their 11th #1 song on Billboard’s Alternative Chart. Listen to “Metaverse” here and watch the new lyric directed video by Robert Beatty here.

Ahead of the release of their new album, Cage The Elephant will perform their song ‘Rainbow’ on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 8th. The band will perform on the show’s outdoor stage and their appearance will air on ABC at 11:35 PM ET on May 8th.

Neon Pill finds the Kentucky-bred six piece—brothers Matthew Shultz [vocals] and Brad Shultz [guitar], Daniel Tichenor [bass], Jared Champion [drums], Nick Bockrath [lead guitar], and Matthan Minster [guitar, keys, backing vocals]— forging new musical ground, while maintaining their uncompromising creativity and wildly cathartic performances. “To me, Neon Pill is the first record where we were consistently uninfluenced, and I mean that in a positive way,” observes Matthew. “Everything is undoubtedly expressed through having settled into finding our own voice. We’ve always drawn inspiration from artists we love, and at times we’ve even emulated some of them to a certain degree. With this album, having gone through so much, life had almost forced us into becoming more and more comfortable with ourselves. We weren’t reaching for much outside of the pure experience of self expression, and simultaneously not necessarily settling either. We just found a uniqueness in simply existing.” The album is available to pre-order on all formats here. 

Cage The Elephant’s 45-date North American US tour, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on June 20 in Salt Lake City with shows in cities including Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City, with support from Young The Giant & Bakar on most dates.  Tickets and VIP available for all dates are on sale now here. 

From their humble beginnings in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Cage The Elephant have gone on to become one of the generation’s premier rock bands. They have earned dozens of Gold, Platinum, and Multiplatinum certifications, tallied over 5 billion streams, and notched eleven #1 records on Alternative Radio and 5 #1 records on Triple A Radio. Their previous two albums Tell Me I’m Pretty [2015] and Social Cues [2019] garnered consecutive Best Rock Album GRAMMY® Awards. They are maybe most celebrated for their live show. The stage is their home turf, where they are most comfortable, and their performances, ecstatic and unchained, as well as cathartic and soul bearing are what Neon Pill achieves in documenting.

Neon Pill, produced by John Hill, materialized during sessions at Sonic Ranch in El Paso, Electric Lady in New York, Sound Emporium in Nashville, Echo Mountain in North Carolina, and at Hill’s own studio in Los Angeles, and alchemized a season of tragedy and turbulence into the twelve tracks on their sixth full-length album. Nine months into the pandemic, Matthew and Brad lost their father. The band weathered the back-to-back deaths of friends, while Matthew experience depression and a mental breakdown, culminating in hospitalization. Coming out on the other side, he learned quite a bit about himself, and gained a whole lot of strength and wisdom. Neon Pill came to life in the eye of the storm.

https://www.cagetheelephant.com/

Following the announcement of her forthcoming album and fresh from picking up the ‘Vocalist Of The Year’ award at this year’s UK Blues Awards, UK based genre-blending roots singer songwriter Elles Bailey releases her stunning new single ‘Leave The Light On’. The track is the second to be taken from Beneath The Neon Glow, which comes August 9th on Cooking Vinyl Records.

An infectious, guitar driven anthem packed to the brim with emotion, ‘Leave The Light On’ is Elles at the top of her game. “You have to be a certain selfless type of person who supports another to realise their dreams and that’s exactly the type of person I married,” Elles muses. “So this is my autobiographical open and honest love letter to my husband. The track is inspired by the time I missed my train home from London and ended up coming back really late at night feeling exceptionally guilty as I had been away so much, but as I arrived home, outside our house, the light has been left on and this small gesture just felt so welcoming and supportive and the next day this song was penned.” Listen to ‘Leave The Light’ On HERE & watch the video HERE.

Beneath The Neon Glow sees Elles intertwine British roots, Americana and blues across ten powerfully, uplifting tracks. Produced by Dan Weller (Enter Shikari) and recorded with Elles’ exceptional and trusted live band, the album is an exploration of love’s myriad forms. Through lyrically vulnerable and brutally honest songwriting, Elles delves into the depths of heartbreak, the resilience of friendship, and the enduring power of love that spans a lifetime. From the fleeting moments to the love that withstands the test of time, she fearlessly navigates through the spectrum of human emotion, offering listeners an intimate glimpse into her journey.

“I might be new to some people, but I have been around for quite a long while. I’m not here for a flash-in-the-pan moment. I want a long-term career in music. I love what I do. I love that I get to take it around the world. So if I can continue to do that, and just play to larger audiences and continue to grow, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

Elles will also head out on a huge UK headline tour later this year, which includes a date at London’s Islington Assembly Hall on November 2nd. Tickets on sale HERE.

SEPTEMBER

25th LINCOLN, The Drill

26th NORWICH, Waterfront

27th CAMBRIDGE, Cambridge Junction

28th OXFORD, O2 Academy 2

OCTOBER

Fri 11th CARLISLE, Carlisle Blues Festival

Sat 12th GLOUCESTER, Gloucester Guildhall

24th EXETER, Exeter Phoenix

26th BRISTOL, SWX

NOVEMBER

2nd LONDON, Islington Assembly Hall

3rd SOUTHAMPTON, Engine Rooms

14th SUNDERLAND, The Fire Station

15th EDINBURGH, Cabaret Voltaire

16th GLASGOW, Oran Mor

17th CHESTER, The Live Rooms

30th WOLVERHAMPTON, KK’s Steel Mill

DECEMBER

1st LEEDS, Brudenell Social Club

With a top 50 album, achieved independently, an ever growing and adoring fanbase, as well as countless awards and a weekly radio show on Planet Rock already under her belt, Elles is ready to take things to the next step and there’s no better album for her to take that journey with. 

https://www.ellesbailey.com/