GRAMMY Award-winning trio, Nickel Creek—mandolinist Chris Thile, violinist Sara Watkins and guitarist Sean Watkins—will release Celebrants, their first new album in nine years, March 24th via Thirty Tigers (pre-order). Ahead of the release, the new song, ‘Strangers’, is debuting today. Watch the band perform the song HERE.

Of the song, Thile shares, “This song is an exploration of the ostensibly rewarding but often awkward, even excruciating act of catching up with an old friend. Can the connection be reforged? Should it be?”

Their fifth studio album, Celebrants marks a highly anticipated return for the beloved trio and explores the inherent dynamics of human connection. Across the 18 tracks, the trio addresses love, friendship and time with lyrics both poetic and plain-spoken, as they see bridges built, crossed, burned and rebuilt. Recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A, the album was produced by longtime collaborator Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age, Grace Potter, Weezer) and features Mike Elizondo on bass.

Of the project, the band reflects, “This is a record about embracing the friction inherent in real human connection. We begin the record yearning for and pursuing harmonious connection. We end the record having realised that truly harmonious connection can only be achieved through the dissonance that we’ve spent our entire adult lives trying to avoid.”

In celebration of the release, the band will perform three very special sold-out shows at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium this spring on April 27, 28 and 29. Additional tour dates will be announced soon.

Together a sum of more than their staggering parts, Nickel Creek revolutionised bluegrass and folk in the early 2000s and ushered in a new era of what we now recognise as Americana music.

After meeting as young children and subsequently earning the respect of the bluegrass circuit for a decade, the trio signed with venerable label, Sugar Hill Records, in 2000 and quickly broke through with their Grammy-nominated, Alison Krauss-produced self-titled LP. Since that effort, the trio has released three more studio albums to date: 2002’s This Side, which won Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 45th Grammy Awards, 2005’s Why Should the Fire Die? and 2014’s A Dotted Line.

Each member of Nickel Creek has also taken part in many outside projects over the years. Thile is a 2012 recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and served as the host of the American radio variety show Live from Here (formerly A Prairie Home Companion) from 2016 to 2020. He has also released collaborative albums with world-renowned musicians like Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Brad Mehldau and Stuart Duncan as well as six studio albums with his Grammy-winning band, Punch Brothers.

Sean Watkins is a co-founder of Watkins Family Hour alongside Sara, who has released three albums and maintains a long-running collaborative show in Los Angeles. Sean has also released a string of solo albums, while Sara’s extracurricular projects include the aforementioned Watkins Family Hour, as well as the Grammy-winning roots trio, I’m With Her, which she co-founded alongside Aoife O’Donovan and Sarah Jarosz. Sara has released four studio albums and has contributed fiddle to recordings by artists like Phoebe Bridgers, the Killers and John Mayer.

CELEBRANTS TRACK LIST
1. Celebrants
2. Strangers
3. Water Under the Bridge, Part 1
4. The Meadow
5. Thinnest Wall
6. Going Out…
7. Holding Pattern
8. Where the Long Line Leads
9. Goddamned Saint
10. Stone’s Throw
11. Goddamned Saint, Reprise
12. From the Beach
13. To The Airport
14. …Despite the Weather
15. Hollywood Ending
16. New Blood
17. Water Under the Bridge, Part 2
18. Failure Isn’t Forever

NICKEL CREEK UK TOUR DATES
January
Fri 27th                        London, Union Chapel* (SOLD OUT)
Sat 28th                      London, Union Chapel* (SOLD OUT)
Sun 29th                     Glasgow, City Halls, Celtic Connections* (SOLD OUT)

September
Fri 1st                           London, Barbican Centre (on-sale 27/1)

*with Lau Noah

www.nickelcreek.com

City and Colour – acclaimed singer, songwriter and performer Dallas Green – has announced the highly-anticipated new album The Love Still Held Me Near will be released on March 31 via Still Records, an imprint of Dine Alone Records. The Love Still Held Me Near is a deeply personal and cathartic offering, and the most sonically expansive in the celebrated City and Colour canon.

Soulful new track “Underground” offers a strong message that life is a gift, embrace every moment while you can. Alongside the single comes a new video for “Underground” directed by Michael Maxxis and is the second instalment of a moody, and formidable cinematic series of videos directed by Maxxis set to accompany every song on the new LP. Says Maxxis, “​​Dallas’ walls are down on this album, and I wanted to capture that on film.”

Watch “Underground” Premiere HERE | Listen to ”Underground” HERE

“The Love Still Held Me Near was born out of unimaginable loss and the subsequent journey through the grief and heartache that followed,” explains Green. “It’s about digging deep down into yourself and attempting to unearth hope and light in the things that can comfort you through those times. For me that has always been writing and recording music, so that’s exactly what I did.”

Produced by Green and longtime band member and collaborator Matt Kelly, the 12 songs that comprise The Love Still Held Me Near follow the most difficult period in Green’s life, including the tragic loss of his best friend in 2019. Green poignantly eulogises him in the stunning opening track “Meant to Be,” which was released in November. Watch the cinematic video HERE.

In addition to the standard black, there are 7 exclusive variants available alongside curated The Love Still Held Me Near merchandise. Each vinyl variant is a 2×12” wide spine jacket with spot gold foil gloss & two die cut printed inserts. See below for details on all physical variants available for pre-order.

With six studio albums to date, City and Colour has amassed a legion of passionate fans worldwide who connect with the depth and intimacy of Green’s songs. The Love Still Held Me Near finds the songwriter revealing more of himself amidst new textures, arrangements and soundscapes not previously heard on City and Colour albums. While it was born out of navigating a trying time, it is an album of hope, redemption and inspiration.

PRE-ORDER on January 20th at 15:00 GMT HERE

The Love That Held Me Near Tracklist

1. Meant to Be
2. Underground
3. Fucked it Up
4. The Love Still Held Me Near
5. A Little Mercy
6. Things We Choose to Care About
7. After Disaster
8. Without Warning
9. Hard, Hard Time
10. The Water is Coming
11. Bow Down to Love
12. Begin Again

The Love Still Held Me Near Physical Variants
City and Colour Exclusive (Gold Nugget) – Limited to 5,500

Dine Alone Exclusive (Translucent Tan / Black Galaxy) – Limited to 250

Standard (Black)

Indie Retail Exclusive (Milky Clear / White Galaxy) – Limited to 6,200

BrooklynVegan (US) Exclusive (Black / Blue Galaxy) – Limited to 500

Newbury (US) Exclusive – (Smog) – Limited to 500

Banquet (UK) Exclusive – (Gold inside Milky Clear) – Limited to 500

JB Hifi (AUS) Exclusive – (Black / White Marble) – Limited to 500

About City and Colour
Over the course of six studio albums, Dallas Green has compiled a canon ripe with songs born of adoration and devotion amassing a legion of fans worldwide and garnering him 3 JUNOs, including two Songwriter of the Year awards, plus 1 Triple Platinum, 2 Double Platinum, 1 Platinum, and 1 Gold certification at home in Canada. Alongside these accomplishments, Green has been awarded Platinum-certification for all four of Alexisonfire’s full-length records.

City and Colour’s last studio album A Pill For Loneliness – released on Green’s Still Records, an imprint of Dine Alone Records – debuted at #1 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart, his 4th consecutive chart-topper in Canada. His previous #1 LP If I Should Go Before You made serious waves internationally debuting at #16 on the U.S. Billboard 200 Chart and #5 in Australia where Green’s LP Little Hell was certified GOLD. In 2014, Green collaborated with international superstar Alecia Moore (aka P!nk) on a new project titled You+Me. The duo’s acclaimed Platinum-certified first record, rose ave., debuted at #4 on the U.S. Top 200 Chart, #1 in Canada, #2 in Australia culminating in memorable performances on The Ellen Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Green was personally invited by Alice in Chains to perform alongside Metallica, Korn, members of Soundgarden, Jane’s Addiction, Nirvana and other legendary artists when the Seattle quartet were honoured as the recipients of the 2020 Founder’s Award from the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPop).  In 2022, Green was honoured with the SOCAN National Achievement Award at the JUNO Awards in recognition of his philanthropic contributions to music education in Canada.

City and Colour: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram |
Still Records | Dine Alone Records

Today, Madonna announced Madonna: The Celebration Tour, in an iconic viral video with a wink to her groundbreaking film Truth or Dare. The video (https://youtu.be/FBUpN99s1Hg) features notable names such as Diplo, Judd Apatow, Jack Black, Lil Wayne, Bob The Drag Queen, Kate Berlant, Larry Owens, Meg Stalter, Eric Andre and culminates with Amy Schumer daring the global superstar to go on tour and perform her four decades of mega hits. Madonna, the best-selling female solo touring artist of all time, rises to the challenge announcing The Celebration Tour which will be highlighting her unmatched catalog of music from the past 40 plus years.

Produced by Live Nation, the 35-city global tour will kick off in North America on Saturday, July 15th at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC with stops in Detroit, Chicago, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and more before making its way to Europe where she will hit 11 cities throughout the fall, including London on Saturday 24^th October, continuing onto, Barcelona, Paris, and Stockholm, among others. The Celebration Tour will wrap in Amsterdam, NL on Friday, December 1st at Ziggo Dome.

The Celebration Tour will take us on Madonna’s artistic journey through four decades and pays respect to the city of New York where her career in music began. “I am excited to explore as many songs as possible in hopes to give my fans the show they have been waiting for,” states Madonna.

The Celebration Tour will offer a one-of-a-kind experience with special guest Bob the Drag Queen a.k.a. Caldwell Tidicue across all dates on the global tour.

TICKETS: Tickets go on sale starting Friday, January 20th at 10am local time at madonna.com/tour.

FAN CLUB PRESALE: Legacy members of Madonna’s Official Fan Club will have a pre-sale opportunity beginning on Tuesday, January 17th at 12pm ET through Wednesday, January 18th at 5pm ET for all North America based shows and from 9am GMT/10am CET to 5pm GMT/6pm CET on Wednesday, January 18 for UK and European shows. Visit madonna.com for complete tour and ticketing information.

VIP: Fans can also purchase VIP Packages, which may include premium tickets, exclusive access to a behind the scenes tour, group photo on-stage, pre-show reception, limited edition lithograph & more. For more information, visit vipnation.com.

THE CELEBRATION TOUR NORTH AMERICAN DATES: 

Sat Jul 15 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena

Tue Jul 18 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena

Sat Jul 22 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center

Tue Jul 25 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena

Thu Jul 27 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center

Sun Jul 30 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center

Wed Aug 02 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse

Sat Aug 05 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena

Mon. Aug 07 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena

Wed Aug 09 – Chicago, IL – United Center

Sun Aug 13 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena

Sat Aug 19 – Montreal, QC – Centre Bell

Wed Aug 23 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

Thu Aug 24 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden

Wed Aug 30 – Boston, MA – TD Garden

Sat Sep 02 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena

Tue Sep 05 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena

Thu Sep 07 – Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena

Sat Sep 09 – Miami, FL – Miami-Dade Arena

Wed Sep 13 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center

Mon Sep 18 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center

Thu Sep 21 – Austin, TX – Moody Center ATX

Wed Sep 27 – Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena

Wed Oct 04 – San Francisco, CA – Chase Center

Sat Oct 07 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena

THE CELEBRATION TOUR EUROPE DATES: 

Sat Oct 14 – London, UK – The O2

Sat Oct 21 – Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis

Wed. Oct. 25 – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena

Sat Oct 28 – Stockholm, SE – Tele2

Wed Nov 01 – Barcelona, ES – Palau Sant Jordi

Mon Nov 06 – Lisbon, PT – Altice Arena

Sun Nov 12 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena

Mon Nov 13 – Paris, FR – Accor Arena

Wed Nov 15 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena

Thu Nov 23 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum

Tue Nov 28 – Berlin, DE – Mercedes-Benz Arena

Fri Dec 1 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome

To connect with Madonna:

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

The Songs of Bacharach & Costello, personally compiled by Elvis Costello, brings together all of the published songs that Costello has written with the legendary Burt Bacharach, one of the great composers of popular music in the 20th and now 21st Century.

Releasing March 3 via UMe, The Songs of Bacharach & Costello, celebrates a collaboration which began in 1995 and which continues to this day.

Those who were surprised by the writers of “I’m Not Angry” and “What’s New Pussycat?” working together perhaps overlooked that Bacharach was engaging in musical collaboration for only the second time in his storied career – the first resulting in just a handful of songs musically written with Neil Diamond.

It was Costello who wrote the first musical draft of “God Give Me Strength,” communicating from Dublin to Los Angeles by fax – back in the 20th Century – and far from being offended by this presumption, Bacharach sent back an amended copy, laying out the signature intro motif for flugelhorn, adding the expansive bridge section and making all sorts of subtle but crucial amendments to the melodic and rhythmic phrasing of Costello’s first draft.

This song was a commission for the Allison Anders’ motion picture, “Grace Of My Heart,” and though both song and movie were overlooked by the Academy Awards, the song did place in the GRAMMY nominations of the following year, as Costello remarked in his book “Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink”: “To have written a song like “God Give Me Strength” and simply stopped would have been ridiculous.”

So began a series of face-to-face songwriting sessions in both California and New York City.

Their working methods ranged from one writer responding to the other’s opening musical statement to Costello trying to put lyrical substance and definition to a complete Bacharach composition that did not need any such musical reply. By the end of their initial sessions, there were occasions when they were seated across the room at two pianos, writing successive bars of the new tune.

Recorded in Hollywood in 1998, the album, Painted From Memory – orchestrated by Bacharach with the exception of the title track which was arranged by the great Johnny Mandel – has gone on to capture an appreciative worldwide audience far beyond its initial release. The song “I Still Have That Other Girl” even managed to wrestle a GRAMMY away from both Celine Dion and Van Morrison – no easy task in the crowded field of the “Best Collaboration With Vocals” category of the 41st Awards.

The idea that the songs and lovelorn themes of Painted From Memory might be realised on the Broadway stage were perhaps an unlikely prospect, given that, as Costello puts it in his essay, such a show might feel, “Like Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” only with less tap-dancing.”

Nevertheless, this was the belief of dedicated Painted From Memory aficionado and television comedy mogul, Chuck Lorre, who together with Tony Award-winning writer, Steven Sater, set about threading a story through the original folio of songs, creating a tale and set of characters who demanded that Bacharach and Costello write more than a dozen additional songs.

Writing the lyrics of these new songs, Costello told us, “These reflect the stories and impulses of a group of people who are, obsessive and vain, who are betrayed and become disappointed in life but long tenderly for a happier time, who are unfaithful, dishonest, destructive and turn out to be the inventors of a dangerous past, who are guilty, haunted and romantically deluded, desperate, vengeful and even cruel.”

“In their musical form they are different kinds of dark love songs that anyone might sing if they happened to be an artist, his model, a wife, a fantasist, a lover, a philanderer or disillusioned daughter.

You know, fun for all the family.”

These songs are all found on Taken From Life, opening and closing with “You Can Have Her” and “Look Up Again,” arranged by Vince Mendoza and recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood in September 2021 under the direction of Bacharach.

The Taken From Life collection also brings together performances on which Bacharach led The Imposters for the GRAMMY winning album, Look Now, and songs from the proposed score from the E.P. Purse and the Decca Records release, The Sweetest Punch, on which guitarist Bill Frisell arranged the then brand new Bacharach/Costello songs for the voice of Cassandra Wilson and the clarinetist, Don Byron.

The Taken From Life title track is a 2022 recording with The Imposters produced by Sebastian Keys and the collection is completed by startling and beautiful vocal performances of other songs from the “Painted From Memory” musical score by Audra Mae and Jenni Muldaur with the piano accompaniment of Jim Cox and Thomas Bartlett, including the tragic, “I Looked Away” and the deranged catalogue song, “Shameless,” just two of the 19 previously unreleased tracks included in the set.

Along with multiple lyrical drafts of “This House Is Empty Now” which reveal the harrowing disillusionment beneath the more measured tone of the finished lyric, pages from the draft script are also reproduced with pencil annotations proposing lyrical changes and even other unwritten songs.

Opportunities to see Bacharach and Costello perform on stage were rare. Their 1998 tour opened at Radio City Musical Hall, NYC and closed five shows later at the Royal Festival Hall, London, after just a handful of television and radio appearances.

However, Costello and Steve Nieve began the “Lonely World Tour” – taking its title from a line in the Painted From Memory song, “What’s Her Name Today?” – opening with an appearance with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra at Berwaldhallen in Stockholm on the Feast Of The Epiphany, 1999 and proceeded to place the Bacharach/Costello songs central to their concert repertoire from Toronto to Tokyo, and closing in Osaka on December 18th, in a concert in which forty songs were performed.

A selection of these performances can be heard on the third disc of the box set: “Because It’s A Lonely World – Live.”

Bacharach’s songs written with his greatest lyricist, Hal David (as well as those written with Bob Hilliard and Mack David) were heard on English radio and television from his latter collaborator’s earliest memories.

Costello’s 10,000 word essay is illustrated by a number of photographs including detail from a shot of the entire company of the Royal Variety Performance of 1963, in which The Beatles – who had recently recorded Bacharach’s “Baby It’s You” – are seen flirting with Marlene Dietrich, whose accompanist, Bacharach can be found in the third row back, just four places along from Costello’s father, Ross MacManus, who was also heard at the famous “rattle yer jewellery” show, singing with The Joe Loss Orchestra.

Aside from this strange coincidence that his father appeared on the bill with two songwriters with whom “Elvis Costello” would write more than thirty songs, Declan MacManus’ upbringing was like anyone else who grew up in England during the early 1960s in that he lived in the shadow and under the spell of BBC Light Entertainment on which Bacharach/David songs were first heard sung by Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield or Zoot Money and The Big Roll Band before these renditions were chased up the hit parade by the “original” recordings by Dionne Warwick and many other great American vocal artists.

From his first concert hall dates with the Attractions as part of the “Live Stiffs” package tour in 1977, Costello turned to the Bacharach/David songbook for “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself,” the first performance of a tune other than his own to make it on to vinyl.

The fourth disc of the box set, “Costello Sings Bacharach/David,” traces the singer’s relationship from that date through a duet with Nick Lowe on “Baby It’s You,” a version of “Please Stay” recorded in Barbados, all the way to a trio of Bacharach/David classics performed at the Royal Festival Hall in 1999, including “Make It Easy On Yourself,” “My Little Red Book,” and “Anyone Who Had A Heart.”

Another studio collaboration yielded a rendition of “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” recorded for the Austin Powers – The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack, in which both artists made a cameo appearance.

Indeed this in turn led to exploratory workshops with Mike Myers for a possible stage adaptation of “Austin Powers” and further songwriting sessions with the Bacharach/Costello team completing or sketching up to fifteen more songs, one of which would have been a “secret track” back in this collection in the carefree days before algorithms ruled the waves but which is tucked on the end of the Taken From Life album, in the form of Bacharach’s tender and intimate vocal and piano performance of one of the more unexpected drafted subplots – the song of a disillusioned spy entitled: “Lie Back And Think Of England.”

Painted From Memory has been newly remastered for its 25th anniversary from the original tapes by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios. The new remaster is presented on CD as well as 140-gram 2LP black vinyl. Side D of the double vinyl showcases six songs from Taken From Life, including the three newly recorded compositions.

Pre-order The Songs of Bacharach & Costello

The comprehensive 45-song set also includes live performances of Bacharach and Costello performing several of the songs from Painted From Memory, as well as other beloved Bacharach numbers, with orchestras in New York and London; Costello performing stripped down versions of the songs on his “Lonely World Tour” with Nieve (the classically trained pianist and keyboard player in both The Attractions and The Imposters); and a selection of Bacharach and Hal David songs Costello has performed and recorded over the years, including “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again,” which Bacharach and Costello famously performed together on screen in “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.”

Housed in a lavish 12.75” x 12.5” box, the expansive set features a 20-page booklet with photography from William Claxton and Rankin, in and out of the studio, early drafts of lyrics, studio notes, pages from the “Painted From Memory” musical script, and a newly written 10,000-word essay by Costello that beautifully details his nearly three-decade long friendship and prolific musical partnership with Bacharach, and how influential the legendary songwriter has been throughout his life.

The Songs of Bacharach & Costello is being previewed today with the release of three rare and unreleased live performances from 1998 and 1999, including a stark and gripping “In
The Darkest Place,” recorded as a duo with Nieve at the piano in Australia on the Lonely World tour, and an arresting performance of “Painted From Memory,” recorded in Stockholm, Sweden with Nieve and The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Finally, we hear Costello and Bacharach live with an orchestra at London’s Royal Festival Hall, performing a sensational version of the latter’s 1963 Dionne Warwick (and Cilla Black’s) 1963 smash, “Anyone Who Had A Heart.“ Listen to the live tracks here: https://elviscostello.lnk.to/TSOBACPR

In addition to the Super Deluxe Edition box set, which will also be available digitally for streaming and download, The Songs of Bacharach & Costello will also be available in a variety of abbreviated formats, including on 2CD, which features both the newly remastered Painted From Memory and the entirety of Taken From Life; and on 2LP, with Painted From Memory and selections from Taken From Life, available with an exclusive lithograph or without. Additionally, Painted From Memory has been mixed in immersive Dolby Atmos. For more information about the formats and to pre-order visit: https://elviscostello.lnk.to/TSOBACPR

Meticulously compiled and thoughtfully sequenced with the invaluable help of compilation producer, Steve Berkowitz, The Songs of Bacharach & Costello is the complete picture of the two songwriters enduring partnership and friendship. 

THE SONGS OF BACHARACH & COSTELLO – SUPER DELUXE EDITION TRACKLISTING
CD1 – Painted From Memory
1. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – In The Darkest Place (2023 Remaster)
2. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – Toledo (2023 Remaster)
3. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – I Still Have That Other Girl (2023 Remaster)
4. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – This House Is Empty Now (2023 Remaster)
5. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – Tears At The Birthday Party (2023 Remaster)
6. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – Such Unlikely Lovers (2023 Remaster)
7. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – My Thief (2023 Remaster)
8. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – The Long Division (2023 Remaster)
9. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – Painted From Memory (2023 Remaster)
10. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – The Sweetest Punch (2023 Remaster)
11. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – What’s Her Name Today? (2023 Remaster)
12. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – God Give Me Strength (2023 Remaster)

CD2 – Taken From Life
1. Elvis Costello – You Can Have Her *
2. Cassandra Wilson & Bill Frisell – Painted From Memory
3. Elvis Costello & The Imposters – Don’t Look Now
4. Elvis Costello & The Imposters – Everyone’s Playing House
5. Audra Mae – I Looked Away *
6. Elvis Costello & The Imposters – Taken From Life *
7. Don Byron & Bill Frisell – My Thief
8. Jenni Muldaur – Shameless *
9. Elvis Costello & The Imposters – Photographs Can Lie
10. Audra Mae – In The Darkest Place *
11. Elvis Costello & The Imposters – Why Won’t Heaven Help Me?
12. Jenni Muldaur – Stripping Paper *
13. Elvis Costello & The Imposters – He’s Given Me Things
14. Audra Mae – What’s Her Name Today? *
15. Elvis Costello – Look Up Again *
16. Burt Bacharach – Lie Back & Think Of England *

CD3 – Because It’s A Lonely World – Live
1. Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve – Toledo (Live In Tokyo, Japan, Nakano Sunplaza Hall – February 8, 1999) *
2. Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve – In The Darkest Place (Live In Melbourne, Australia, Athenaeum Theatre – February 16, 1999)
3. Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve – My Thief (Live In Tokyo, Japan, Shibuya Hall – February 10, 1999) *
4. Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve – I Still Have The Other Girl (Live In Tokyo, Japan, Shibuya Hall – February 10, 1999)
5. Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve – I’ll Never Fall In Love Again (Live In Toronto, Ontario, Massey Hall – June 16, 1999) *
6. Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve – God Give Me Strength (Live In Toronto, Ontario, Massey Hall – June 16, 1999) *
7. Elvis Costello, Steve Nieve & The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra – Painted From Memory (Live In Stockholm, Sweden, Berwaldhallen – January 5, 1999) *
8. Elvis Costello, Steve Nieve & The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra – What’s Her Name Today? (Live In Stockholm, Sweden, Berwaldhallen – January 5, 1999) *
9. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – This House Is Empty Now (Live In New York City, Late Night with Conan O’Brien – Nov. 27, 1998) *

CD4 – Costello Sings Bacharach & David
1. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself (Live in Norwich, UK, University of East Anglia – October 17, 1977)
2. Elvis Costello & Nick Lowe – Baby It’s You
3. Elvis Costello – Please Stay
4. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – I’ll Never Fall In Love Again
5. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – Make It Easy On Yourself (Live in London, UK, Royal Festival Hall – October 29, 1998) *
6. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – My Little Red Book (Live in London, UK, Royal Festival Hall – October 29, 1998) *
7. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – Anyone Who Had A Heart (Live in London, UK, Royal Festival Hall – October 29, 1998) *
8. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself (Live In New York City, Sessions at West 54th – October 18, 1998) *

2LP – Painted From Memory
Side A
1. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – In The Darkest Place (2023 Remaster)
2. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – Toledo (2023 Remaster)
3. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – I Still Have That Other Girl (2023 Remaster)
4. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – This House Is Empty Now (2023 Remaster)

Side B
1. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – Tears At The Birthday Party (2023 Remaster)
2. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – Such Unlikely Lovers (2023 Remaster)
3. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – My Thief (2023 Remaster)
4. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – The Long Division (2023 Remaster)

Side C
1. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – Painted From Memory (2023 Remaster)
2. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – The Sweetest Punch (2023 Remaster)
3. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – What’s Her Name Today? (2023 Remaster)
4. Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach – God Give Me Strength (2023 Remaster)

Side D – Selections From Taken From Life
1. Elvis Costello – You Can Have Her *
2. Audra Mae – Don’t Look Now *
3. Audra Mae – I Looked Away *
4. Elvis Costello & The Imposters – Taken From Life *
5. Audra Mae – What’s Her Name Today? *
6. Elvis Costello – Look Up Again *

* Previously unreleased  

ELVIS COSTELLO
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | YOUTUBE | WEBSITE

MAX IS BACK!  The most-recently-talked-about, American singer/songwriter and Iowa native Max Jury today announces his brand new third studio album Avenues – out March 31st.

The news follows the release of his infectious single ‘Is This Love?’ – a duet with rising British star, Delilah Montagu – produced by London Grammar’s Dan Rothman. The track was warmly received by the UK Press: “The two voices intertwine like whiskey and ice, with the pair steering their music in a warming, organic, acoustic vibe” – Clash. The I declared it “a folk earworm that gets better with every listen”, and The Star described the track as a “fab duet”.

Today also sees the release of a second track, the Nick Drake-esque – ‘Feel Free’. “This is a song about the creative process and all the peaks and valleys that come along with it. It’s dedicated to the people and places that have helped and inspired me along the way. “ Listen here.

Max has been travelling without moving, exploring without leaving, getting ahead without getting out. And now, with his glorious third album, he’s taking us all with him, on a country-soul odyssey into the canyons of his mind. The American singer-songwriter is taking us down Avenues.

In the first year of the pandemic, Max bunkered down in North Carolina. He worked out of a studio run by an old friend next to his old friend’s parents’ house. True to form, Max started travelling once more. Destination… once again, London. Connecting with another new collaborator, Dan Rothman of London Grammar – they met after sharing mutual appreciation on Instagram – he realised he had even more songs ready to be fleshed out. Even more journeys to share. Working too, with Jimmy Hogarth, the Grammy-winning, London and Dorset-based writer/producer (Amy Winehouse, Suzanne Vega, Paolo Nutini), Max sought to colour the vision he and Harden had sketched in North Carolina.

‘Peace of Mind’, is a tripped-out blast of folk-rock freakery: written with his partner in North Carolina, scuzzed up in the studio in London with Rothman. ‘Is This Love?’ and ‘Happiness To Myself’ are further products of the UK sessions.  Equally, other songs on the album were left as they were when he recorded them in North Carolina, notably ‘Is There A Light?’ – a symphonic wonder that starts off quite hymnal, and ends up like The Zombies.

“Avenues is the album I’ve always wanted to make.” Max explains. “It’s the closest I’ve come to being my true self as an artist, and it re-inspired me to keep pursuing this whole music thing. It’s about self-reflection and discovery, it’s about rebirth, and it’s about not giving up on a dream. But most importantly it’s about being present for the journey.”

Max Jury is a footloose songwriter, a troubadour in the classic sense. Someone who’s always followed the music. Ahead of his self-titled 2016 debut Max Jury, Max set off for London, which marked the start of his unique musical journey.  The debut album went on to receive great critical acclaim, with the first single ‘Numb’ connecting with new fans alike across the UK, France and America, garnering more than 40 million global streams to date.

For his second album, 2019’s Modern World, Max decamped to Los Angeles to work with award-winning producer, Robin Hannibal (Kendrick Lamar, Little Dragon).  However, the Covid 19 pandemic descended soon after the album’s release, bringing the campaign to a halt before it had a chance to get started.

Max returns to London early in 2023 for a residency at The Slaughtered Lamb with a hat trick of special headline shows and a few surprises. Tickets on sale here.

Settle down and lean into the yearning, restless, reassuring and wholly wonderful sounds of the first tastes of his third album, from a musician who’s still roaming far by digging deep. It just might be the best trip you take this year.

Avenues tracklisting

1. Real World
2. Is This Love? (ft. Delilah Montagu)
3. Peace Of Mind
4. Avenues
5. Happiness To Myself
6. Feel Free
7. Love Too Fast
8. Is There A Light?
9. Not Over You
10. All Along The Way

https://www.maxjury.com

“Superb garage rock from Costa Rica” – Clash

“Fuzzed-out Costa Rican garage rippers” Gorilla vs Bear

“Las Robertas serves up a sunny set of tunes tinged with surf-rock and psychedelia and surrounded by its hallmark sylphic vocals” NPR

Following the release of their wavey single ‘Awakening’, Costa Rica’s Las Robertas kick start 2023 with new track ‘Our Imperium’, the second to be taken from their forthcoming new album Love Is The Answer. The album comes out February 3rd on Kanine Records.

Produced by Owen Morris (Oasis, The Verve, New Order), ‘Our Imperium’ is a sonic trip back to the 90s, soaked in reverb and driven by a vibey bassline and lead singer Mercedes Oller’s hazy vocals. “Being a woman in this world and these times is not easy, we all have to fight situations and train to become the best warriors we could ever be,” Mercedes said of the lyrics. “We all wish for a promised land, and we’ll get there together.”

The track comes alongside a cosmic video directed by Costa Rican designer Alejandro Arturo, known as El Rayo. “Inspired by 90s psychedelia and high contrast videos from that decade, we came up with this dramatic and soothing sequence,” El Rayo said of the video. “The lyrics really struck me at first glance. When Mercedes explained to me where they came from, I felt a need to deliver her message in the visuals too.” Watch the video for ‘Our Imperium’ HERE.

A labour of love, the band began recording Love Is The Answer with Owen Morris in December 2019 in Hermosillo, Mexico and with factors out of their hands finished the project sporadically throughout 2020 back in San José. A blend of 90s rock, shoegaze and drenched in influence from psyche rock, the album delivers nine measures of raw, fuzzed out, guitar driven brilliance with an infectious pop edge. Lyrically the LP finds love towards the universe, individual freedom and hope in a time where the world seems ever closer to being consumed in chaos. “It is what pain sounds like,” Felipe says of the album. “But if you go beyond the sad layers of the songs, you’ll end up with guidance  full of hope and strength to keep on going.”

Growing up in Costa Rica, an ecological country known for its biodiversity, the band found solace in the nature that surrounded them and gravitated towards each other at a young age for their joint love of music. Having played in various bands together over the years the group has built a small, but strong scene in a place where music venues are sparse. Now with a debut record in their hands the band has a will to take their music to all corners of the world.

With tour dates in the works for 2023 and excitement already brewing for their debut full length, Las Robertas are set to soundtrack next summer. Don’t sleep on them!!

Las Robertas are: Mercedes Oller, Russell Davis, Felipe Oller, Daniela García and Fabrizio Duran.

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Tuesday 10th January – The BRIT Awards 2023 with Mastercard today confirm the return of Mo Gilligan as host, after a triumphant stint last year at the helm of the biggest night in British music.

A surefire hit with viewers at the 2022 ceremony, Mo will be back to seamlessly take those watching from home and those in the room through the awards presentations and live performances, with his inimitable humour and panache.

Mo said: “Hosting the BRITs last year was one of the most phenomenal moments of my life. I’ve been so honoured to get to know the incredible team behind the biggest night in music and so proud to bring our amazing audiences even closer to their favourite artists. I promise you, we’re going to go even bigger this year… Let’s go!”

2023 BRIT Awards Chair and Managing Director and President of Promotions at Atlantic Records (part of Warner Music UK) Damian Christian added: “Making sure we got Mo back to host this year’s awards was a huge priority for us. He is one of the biggest names in UK entertainment right now and he did an amazing job hosting his first BRITs last year. We’re looking forward to working with him and watching as he brings his unique humour and style to our stage and screens once again.”

With his high-energy style and stunning physicality, triple BAFTA winner Mo Gilligan is one of the UK’s biggest comedy stars. Named “The Funniest Man in Britain” by The Times, Mo’s debut Coupla Cans stand up tour was a total sell out, including a huge two week residency in London’s West End. The show went on to be recorded as his debut Netflix Original Momentum, which was globally released in 190 countries. In 2021, he went back on tour with There’s Mo to Life which achieved another total sell out run including a remarkable 10 dates at the Hammersmith Apollo and a history making O2 Arena show. In 2022 he released his second highly anticipated Netflix Special of the smash hit live show to great critical acclaim. Mo fronts his own multi award winning entertainment format The Lateish Show with Mo Gilligan, which saw him win his first BAFTA for Best Entertainment Performance in 2020 followed by his second for Best Comedy Entertainment Programme in 2022. Mo is also a judge on The Masked Singer (Saturday nights on ITV1 and ITVX) and hosts the UK version of Jimmy Fallon’s That’s My Jam for BBC One.

Nominations for the 2023 BRIT Awards will be announced this coming Thursday,  via an exclusive live stream on the official BRITs channels, hosted by TV and Radio broadcaster Vick Hope along radio host and alternative music champion Jack Saunders, starting from 4pm GMT. Vick and Jack have also enlisted the help of a team of celebrities to help announce this year’s key categories. Olympian Tom Daley, YouTube’s Yung Filly, Euro 2022 winner Jill Scott and Gogglebox’s Joe and George Baggs are just some of the names entrusted to reveal this year’s nominations across their own social channels. The celebrities have been handed locked BRITs boxes to keep safe before revealing their categories on the day of the live stream. You can follow their progress with @BRITs across the next week.

The BRIT Awards 2023 with Mastercard will take place on Saturday 11th February – the first time the show will be held on a Saturday in its history – and will broadcast live on ITV1 and ITVX – from The O2 arena. 

Tickets for the public are on sale now from HERE.

This year the BRIT award has been designed by Slawn, the Nigerian-born, London-based artist known for his large-scale canvases filled with a blend of caricature like pop figures and bold colourful forms, who follows in the footsteps of an illustrious list of creatives including Dame Vivienne Westwood, Sir Peter Blake, Tracey Emin, Dame Zaha Hadid, Sir David Adjaye and Es Devlin and Yinka Ilori, who have all previously imbued the iconic BRIT award with their own unique and artistic flair and vision.

R&B girl group FLO have already been announced as the winners of the 2023 Rising Star award, celebrating another future star of British music.

2023 will mark 30 years of ITV as broadcast partner, 25 years of Mastercard as headline sponsor and 13 years with the show held at The O2 arena. All three long-standing partners support The BRITs’ ambition to host an unforgettable and far-reaching evening of live music and entertainment that, additionally, helps raise money for The BRIT Trust, the charitable arm of the awards, who distribute funds to charities that promote education and well-being through music, including The BRIT School and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy.

Mastercard returns as headline partner of The BRIT Awards for the 25th year, bringing cardholders closer to their passion for music through a range of BRITs experiences. This year, Mastercard will continue to partner with The BRIT School to celebrate and give a platform to the next generation of creative talent and will again sponsor the much sought after Mastercard Album of the Year award, as well as Song of the Year with Mastercard.

YouTube Music is the Official Digital Music Partner and will bring fans closer to the BRITs than ever before. As the home of the official livestream on YouTube, audiences around the world will be able to watch the whole journey of the BRITs unfold, from the nominations, through the run-up, to the awards themselves and the performances on demand afterwards. Fans will also be able to watch exclusive behind-the-scenes footage on the night on YouTube Shorts, a short-form video experience right on YouTube, as well as listening to their favourite artists’ playlists on YouTube Music. 

Further campaign announcements will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Notes to Editors

About The BRIT Trust  www.brittrust.co.uk

The BRIT Trust is the music industry’s charity, with a mission to improve lives through the power of music and the creative arts.  It is funded in large part through monies raised annually by The BRIT Awards and the Music Industry Trusts (MITS) Award.  Since its founding by UK record labels and the BPI in 1989, the Trust has distributed around £28 million to a broad range of progressive charities that promote education and wellbeing through music, with over half this amount going to The BRIT School, the UK’s leading performing and creative arts school that is free to attend, and Nordoff Robbins, the UK’s largest music therapy provider.  Other charities among many others supported include Mind, to promote good mental health in schools, the music industry and the workplace; Music Support, the addictions and mental health charity; East London Arts & Music (ELAM), the free school sixth form; and Key4Life, which seeks to help young men in prison, or who are at risk of ending up there, a way out from a life of crime by drawing on their passion for music. 

About Mastercard (NYSE: MA):

Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

www.mastercard.com

About YouTube Music: 

YouTube Music is a completely reimagined streaming music service with music videos, official albums, singles, remixes, live performances, covers and hard-to-find music you can only get on YouTube. It’s ALL here! YouTube Music serves music based on your tastes and what’s moving the community around you. Discover something new or keep up with what’s trending. Basic functions such as playing music and watching videos are totally free, and you can upgrade to YouTube Music Premium to explore the world of music ad-free, offline, and with the screen locked. YouTube Music is now available in over 90 countries and regions. For additional information, visit www.youtube.com/musicpremium.

Babatunde Aléshé is one of the fastest rising stars in British Comedy. After recently warming the hearts of the nation with his incredible stint in the jungle as part of this year’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, he today announces a host of extra dates, due to phenomenal demand, for his upcoming Babatunde Aléshé: Babahood UK headline tour, kicking off in January.

A powerhouse performer, his stand up presents a hilariously fresh perspective, oozing charisma whilst showcasing impeccable stagecraft and comic timing.

A firm TV favourite, the hugely popular award winning comedian, actor and podcaster has appeared in shows including Guessable (Comedy Central), House of Games (BBC), Sorry I Didn’t Know (ITV), The Stand Up Sketch Show (ITV2), Rhod Gilbert’s Growing Pains (Comedy Central), Comedians Giving Lectures (Dave) as well as a cast regular in the BAFTA nominated Celebrity Gogglebox (C4).

In 2022 Babatunde’s Mission Imagination podcast series won a prestigious ARIAS Award. 

Today’s newly announced extra dates in bold. Tickets on sale HERE.

UK HEADLINE TOUR DATES
January

Thu 26th – Brighton, Komedia SOLD OUT

Fri 27th – Reading, South Street SOLD OUT
Sat 28th – Guildford G-Live SOLD OUT

February

Thu 2nd – Nottingham, Glee Club SOLD OUT

Fri 3rd – Northampton, Royal & Derngate SOLD OUT

Sat 4th – Newcastle, The Stand SOLD OUT

Sun 5th – Glasgow, The Stand SOLD OUT

Wed 8th – Cambridge Junction J2 SOLD OUT

Thu 9th – Leeds, The Wardrobe SOLD OUT

Fri 10th – Birmingham Glee Club SOLD OUT
Sat 11th – Newbury, Corn Exchange SOLD OUT

Sun 12th – Milton Keynes, Stables SOLD OUT

Wed 15th – Brighton, The Old Market

Thu 16th – London, Leicester Square Theatre SOLD OUT

Fri 17th – Bristol, Hen & Chicken SOLD OUT
Sat 18th – Swindon, Arts Centre SOLD OUT

Sun 19th – Bath, Komedia SOLD OUT

Thu 23rd – Derby, Theatre

Fri 24th – Leicester, Y Theatre

Sat 25th – Manchester, The Stoller Hall SOLD OUT

March

Fri 3rd – Nottingham, Playhouse

Sat 4th – Birmingham, Glee Club SOLD OUT
Sun 5th – Sheffield, Leadmill

Thu 9th – Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms

Fri 10th – Oxford, Glee

Sat 11th – Bournemouth, O2 Academy
Sun 12th – Exeter, The Barnfield

Fri 17th – High Wycombe, Town Hall

Sat 18th – London, Leicester Square Theatre SOLD OUT
Sun 19th – Colchester, Arts Centre SOLD OUT

Wed 22nd – Cardiff, Glee

Thu 23rd – Birmingham, O2 Institute

Fri 24th – Liverpool, Philharmonic SOLD OUT

Thu 30th – Lincoln, Engine Shed

April
Sat 1st – Southend, Palace

Thu 13th – Salford, Lowry

Fri 14th – Bradford, The Studio

Sat 15th – Bromley, Churchill Theatre

Wed 19th – Bristol, Tobacco Factory Theatre

Thu 20th – London, Leicester Square Theatre

Fri 21st – London, Leicester Square Theatre

Sat 22nd – London, Leicester Square Theatre

Thu 27th – Canterbury, Gulbenkian

Sat 29th – Leeds, City Varieties

May
Thu 4th – Edinburgh, The Stand

Fri 5th – Glasgow, Oran Mor

Sat 6th – Newcastle, Tyne Theatre & Opera House

Fri 12th – North Finchley, Artsdepot

Fri 19th – Reading , Town Hall

Sat 20th – Cambridge, Corn Exchange

Fri 26th – St Albans, Alban Arena

Sat 27th – Guildford, G-Live

Follow Babatunde Aléshé:
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WEBSITE

Today, with a prescient and plaintive new single called “Lydia,” Margo Price shares her latest preview of Strays.

Out January 13th, the forthcoming album marks the loudest, lushest and most liberating music to date for the Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and published author, but “Lydia” serves as one of the LP’s sobering respites.

Recorded in 2021 and written years before the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the somber and string-laden story sees Price abandon traditional song structure in favor of a stream-of-consciousness character study, illustrating the internal strife and self-doubt of a struggling woman who finds herself pregnant and unable to raise a child. Vivid images of methadone clinics, bleeding mascara and used needles fill the seven verses alongside references to gentrification, health insurance issues, and the impending pressure of a life-altering decision.

Watch Margo Price perform a stunning live rendition of the song at Nashville’s Downtown Presbyterian Church, backed by a string quartet of Chauntee Ross, Nicole Neely, Kristin Weber and leader Larissa Maestro, Americana Awards’ 2022 Instrumentalist of The Year: https://i.margoprice.net/LydiaVid

“I wrote ‘Lydia’ in one sitting in a tiny hotel room after walking around the city of Vancouver one day. I was jet lagged and feeling really depressed, hopeless, but instead of taking a nap, I picked up the guitar and the words just flowed out all in one quick moment. I hit record on my phone to make a demo and sort of blacked out or went into this meditative state, and boom – eight minutes later, I had this song. It’s one of the only songs I’ve ever written that doesn’t have any real melody or even rhyme, but somehow it still works. Songs like that are rare and don’t come often.

It was inspired by a cacophony of things. There was a women’s health clinic and a methadone clinic with a needle exchange right outside of our venue. I was looking into the eyes of the people I passed and thinking about their stories and really being a conduit for pain.

The song feels like a premonition now, with women’s rights being stripped and all the abortion bans happening. When I listen back, I hear what might go through a woman’s mind when she has a difficult decision to make about her body, her choices and her future.”

Produced by Jonathan Wilson (Angel Olsen, Father John Misty), “Lydia” follows the “hard-living swagger” (New York Times) that was put on full display in recent singles and music videos such as “Been To The Mountain” and “Change of Heart,” each of which further showcases the resilient proclamation at the heart of Strays. From navigating her way through loss, lies, failure and substance abuse, Margo Price has learned how to let go of trauma, pain and addiction, and this collection of ten original songs celebrates freedom in its many, feral forms. Penned primarily during six mushroom-powered days that Price spent in South Carolina with her husband and collaborator Jeremy Ivey in summer 2020, and recorded at Jonathan Wilson’s Fivestar Studios in Topanga Canyon, California the following summer, Price tackles self-image, self-worth and other demons that came in the wake of her recent decision to quit drinking. She sings unabashedly about orgasms, love, bodily autonomy and more on songs that feature Sharon Van Etten, Mike Campbell, Lucius and her longtime band of Pricetags.

Since announcing the release of Strays, Margo Price has also published her debut memoir Maybe We’ll Make It to acclaim from Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly and beyond, in addition to performing trailblazing song “The Pill” live for CMT’s Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of The Life & Music of Loretta Lynn, entering the Triple A radio charts with “Change of Heart,” wrapping the first season of her Sonos Radio podcast Runaway Horses, completing a national fall book tour, and detailing her first full-band, headline tour in nearly five years.

Follow Margo Price

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Ward Thomas are back! After the brilliant lockdown album release of Invitation, the Hampshire-duo return with Music In The Madness – their fifth studio album – out March 10th, 2023.

The record’s first offering is the captivating ‘Justice & Mercy’ that was revealed in full last night by Bob Harris on his infamous Radio 2 show – listen here & watch lyric video here. Begun on a Nashville trip, the creepy country corker is a fictional tale, inspired by the pair’s shared love of true crime podcasts.

“It’s a fun story song about a wrong ’un who ruins lives on his travels and meets a sticky end,” says Lizzy. “I imagine it set in the ‘20s Western States, although we partly based the psychopath on Putin. There are two outcomes when you listen to true crime – one merciful, one justice-driven. Either the perpetrator has to die or his soul can be saved. There were some deep discussions in that writing session. If one of us was murdered, would the other be team justice or team mercy?”

Music In The Madness is both a harmony-soaked balm for shattered souls and an uplifting reminder of what really matters. Love, family, unity and the healing power of music are recurrent themes on an album begun as war broke out in Ukraine and the world went into a post-Covid tailspin.

“In Ukraine in particular we witnessed these wonderful, moving moments of music in the madness,” says Catherine. “Soldiers singing the national anthem and getting married on the front line. The viral video of the girl in a bomb shelter singing Let It Go. In times of crisis, music matters even more. That’s what we set out to celebrate.”

An aforementioned trip to Nashville in February – the Hampshire sisters’ second home since they recorded their debut in the city while still at school – nailed the spirit of the album.

Ward Thomas then returned to Hampshire with half a dozen songs captured mostly as voice memos on their mobiles. In a first for the duo, the songs were recorded with their long standing live band, at the suggestion of producer Ed Harcourt, which brought their live chemistry into the studio.

Before a second trip to Nashville in July, following a celebratory Glastonbury set, there was a time out for Catherine to get married. Both hen-do and wedding were typical Ward Thomas. Catherine may insist that little has changed, but the love in the air left its mark.

One of the album’s key tracks from the second Nashville trip is the acoustic spine-tingler ‘Love Does’, on which unusually the duo harmonise from start to finish and the lyrics will bring you to tears.

Co-written and produced by former Cage The Elephant guitarist Lincoln Parish, ‘All Over Again’ is an emphatic ode to no regrets steeped in synths and shimmering guitars. ‘Next To You’ the sisters call Carry You Home 2.0, a follow-on from the lead single from 2016’s chart-topping Cartwheels, which could be about their own bond or a romantic relationship.

‘Joan of Arc’ is a battle anthem co-written with Ed Harcourt, about fighting back and standing up for yourself, while the closer of Side A on the vinyl is a spectacular reworking of Razorlight’s ‘America’ drenched in the twins’ trademark harmonies.

Still only 28, Catherine and Lizzy are on a roll and already working on a sixth album which they plan to release before they turn 30.

“We look up to artists like Brandi Carlile, whose career has grown organically. Of course, we love success, but the artists we admire are the ones who keep showing up and don’t sell out. We do what we do because we love music and we have something to say.”

For as long as that continues, there will be Ward Thomas.

Ward Thomas hit the road in March & April next year and will play the following headline dates. Tickets on sale 18th November HERE

March 2023
Thu 30th                     Glasgow, Old Fruit Market
Fri 31st                         Gateshead, Sage

April 2023
Sun 2nd                      Liverpool, Olympia
Tue 4th                       York, Barbican
Wed 5th                     Manchester, Albert Hall
Thu 6th                       Birmingham, Town Hall
Mon 10th                   Cambridge, Corn Exchange
Tue 11th                     Cardiff, St. David’s
Thu 13th                     Bexhill, De La Warr Pavilion
Fri 14th                        London, Barbican
Sat 15th                      Southampton, Central Hall
Mon 17th                   Reading, Hexagon
Tu 18th                        Bath, Forum

Music In The Madness – Track Listing
Music In The Madness
Next To You
All Over Again
If It All Ends Today
Justice & Mercy
America
Love Does
Joan Of Arc
I Think I Hate You
Unravel
Loved By You
Flower Crowns

Pre-Order the album HERE

Wardthomasmusic.co.uk

Following an epic debut performance at Glastonbury last month, The Snuts have released the video for their new single ‘The Rodeo’. Directed by Alice Backham (Coldplay, Wet Leg, Rachel Chinouriri) and shot in Mexico City across the band’s recent dates, ‘The Rodeo’ is the fourth taste from their highly-anticipated new album Burn The Empire, out October 7th on Parlophone Records. The album follows their acclaimed, number 1-selling debut album, W.L.

“We went to Mexico to play some shows and were lucky enough to discover the amazing world of Escaramuza Charra, the only female equestrian event in the Mexican charrería, whilst we were there,” lead singer Jack Cochrane said of the video. “We loved it so much, we asked Regina Segura Martinez to feature in this video.” Watch the video HERE.

A care-free, four to the floor, singalong indie anthem, set to ignite live crowds across the world, “’The Rodeo’ is about knowing that your life is more often than not completely out of your control. It is about finding merit in the madness and celebrating the journey and not just the destination,” Jack said of the track. ”We want it to encourage the feeling of absolute pure, inclusive escapism through guitar music.’

One of the most exciting acts in the UK right now, The Snuts deliver 11 slices of sonic brilliance on Burn The Empire. Produced by longtime collaborators Detonate and Clarence Coffee Jr the album continues the band’s evolution both sonically and lyrically. A voice for the next generation lead singer Jack Cochrane attacks subjects affecting the youth of today. Opening with the album’s title track, a no holds barred protest against the corrupt corporations and politicians, the album delves into the negative effects of social media on ‘Zuckerpunch’ and ‘13’ tackles the lack of mental health services and the lethal effects of poverty across Britain and its impact on society.

“The universe delivered us time to create a record where we finally felt we could address some of the topics, be it societal or spiritual, that we have been dying to scream out,” Jack said of the album. “There are songs about the highs & lows, stuff we really want to talk about and things we cannot help but feel, but have just never made the space to.”

Infectious, euphoric, heartfelt and packed to the brim with hooks, Burn The Empire is the work of a band living in the moment, with an eye to the future. Armed with a chart-topping album and an arsenal of adoring fans up and down the country, these four lads from Whitburn, West Lothian, are well on their way to being one of the most vital bands of recent years.

The Snuts play a string of summer festivals in the UK this summer, including a return to Glasgow for a huge slot at TRNSMT Festival this weekend. Tickets available HERE.

July

Sat 9th Glasgow, TRNSMT

Sat 16th Glasgow, Hampden Park w/ Gerry Cinnamon

Fri 29th Matlock, Y Not

Sun 31st Penrith, Kendall Calling

Nov

Sat 19th Liverpool, M&S Arena w/ Jamie Webster

The Snuts are Jack Cochrane, Callum ‘29’ Wilson, Joe McGillveray and Jordan ‘Joko’ Mackay.

thesnuts.co.uk / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook / TikTok / YouTube

Hot off the back of a captivating performance of the track at this year’s Britain’s Got Talent final in June, Brooklyn-based vocal powerhouse Loren Allred releases her heartfelt anthem ‘Last Thing I’ll Ever Need’ – listen here.

Written by Loren, Michel Heyaca and James Shelley, the track showcases her effortless vocals, and with the Britain’s Got Talent final performance watched and celebrated by over ten million people to date, Loren’s career is soaring.

“I have attended so many weddings over the years and am always smitten by the look in newlyweds’ eyes during their first dance,” Loren said of the track. “Everyone dreams of finding that special kind of love that makes you feel like you are “home” and I wanted to encapsulate that feeling in the lyrics of a song.”

Best known for her jaw-dropping vocal performance in the multi-platinum song ‘Never Enough’ from the Oscar nominated and Grammy award winning The Greatest Showman soundtrack and film, as well as her duet with Michael Bublé on his 2019 ‘Help Me Make it Through the Night’, Loren is now starting to garner significant recognition, stepping out from behind the curtain and drawing comparisons for her incredible vocal talent with all-time greats Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion.

Loren was almost a musical secret until April 2022 when she first appeared on Britain’s Got Talent performing ‘Never Enough’. The story of finally connecting her face to the song, has generated more than 100 million views across all platforms, and launched her into the semi-finals and finals of the competition.

Live, Loren will hit the capital on July 28th with a highly anticipated show at London’s Omeara – Tickets Here – which will come hot off the back of her joining this year’s A Capitol Fourth – the annual televised US Independence Day concert, featuring a celebration of West Side Story‘s 65th anniversary, taking place in Washington DC.

During Loren’s high school years, the family moved from Pittsburgh to Salt Lake City, Utah. Aged 12, Loren discovered her own “belt” listening to the singing styles of her early inspirations, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and Toni Braxton. Her first break in music began as a teenager, after YouTube covers resulted in a major record deal with Island/Def Jam that would ultimately be shelved. It provided Loren with lessons on the good and bad of the music business, and the singer-songwriter subsequently decided to take a break.

In 2014, now based in New York, things drastically changed and Loren was asked to record demos for the soundtrack of the film The Greatest Showman. Her demo of ‘Never Enough’ was so beloved by the film’s production team, it was used as the final version for the soundtrack. She had earned her way back into the industry as well as establishing herself as a voice to be reckoned with.

In 2021 and 2022, Loren began to release original music via her EP ‘Late Bloomer’. Singles ‘Til I Found You’ and ‘This Summer’ received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Loren also toured with Andrea Bocelli and David Foster through 2022.

Loren’s recording career includes hundreds of songs, in collaboration with some of the industry’s most decorated songwriters and producers. Some of these songs will sound familiar. Now, with the chance to go out on her own, step out from behind the curtain and be her own artist, the future is extremely exciting.

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