You’re less than a month out from the UK tour, are you excited to be back?

I am, yeah, it’s going to be fun, I feel like I was just there but I’m excited to be coming back.

Is it a big part of what you want to do, being over here in the UK and Australia, getting your music out there, rather than just in America?

Oh yeah, for sure, I want to play everywhere, I want to play Japan, I want to play India, I want to play everywhere.

I feel like we can’t really talk about your debut album, without a bit of context, so you first came to the industry for many years playing the fiddle, and playing the bar scene. Did you think for many years that that would sort of be it, or did you always think you’d release an album in your own right?

No, I was just going to play at Robert’s forever, that was my plan. When I moved to Nashville, I moved to Nashville to play the bars, and my plan was always to not have to have a real job, to make enough money just playing music and that’s what I was doing, and I was happy, and all of this sort of just fell into my lap…

You settled quite quickly into the Nashville scene, playing at Tootsies’s? How did that happen, given that some people struggle for so many years before finding their place? I know a lot of people sort of struggle for many years but you settled right in?

Yeah, I started visiting Nashville when I was 12 in the summertime, and I would get up at the bars in the afternoon and sit in with my fiddle. I met one guy who was playing at Tootsie’s, his name was Jessie Taylor, and I reckon I was probably about 15 or 16 and he said, ‘hey if you ever move here, you know you’ve got a gig,’ and I called him a few years later. I don’t think he thought I’d ever take him up on that, but he gave me a gig when I moved to town.

And I’m obsessed with the sound of your record, it’s really got that feeling of nostalgia. Do you sort of gravitate towards the older country music, is that something you grew up with or has it just always been that thing you naturally gravitate towards?

Yeah, I’ve always felt most connected to that sound and the subject matter of the songs and stuff. I grew up playing it and I think because I grew up in that bar scene playing those cover songs, that when it came time for me to write my own songs, that’s what came out because that’s what I had studied and I didn’t know anything else.

And I know people have defined your sound as ‘Outlaw Country”… do you like that definition or do you prefer just country? Because it is just country and I don’t know when we sort of erected these random boundaries?

Well, first of all, it’s like there’s no such thing as outlaw country anymore, except for Willie Nelson and Billy Joe Shaver and Bobby Bare, they’re still alive. Outlaw country came from rebellion, it came from artists like Willie and Waylen fighting for the right to use their own band in the studio and record their own songs and stuff, and I don’t have to make that plaint today because they already did it. I’m kind of making the same music that they were rebelling against, so it’s so funny to me to have my sound described as ‘outlaw.’ And I’m not an outlaw by any means, if I’m not on the road, I’m usually at my house smoking weed, that’s my life, it’s not very outlaw.

Going back to talking about your album, do you feel, because you’d had so many years in the industry and obviously made so many contacts, I know Skylar Wilson and Jordan Lenning produced your record… do you feel that you sort of knew, a. what kind of record you wanted to make and b. it was almost like you’d already created that network of people you knew would understand you – do you sort of count yourself lucky that it sort of came later, after you’d already had so many years in the industry?

Yeah, for sure, I was lucky enough to make a lot of friends playing, and Skylar is one of the first friends I made when I moved to town, so I’ve known him forever and we worked together with Justin Townes Earle. A lot of the band on the record is a band called Steelism, and it was just a bunch of us who like playing together, so when I made the phone calls I didn’t have to make too many phone calls. It was nice because I have some good friends.

Did you have a concept going into the record for ‘Mr Jukebox’, or was it just a collection of songs that summed you up, if that makes sense?

I have a full vision of kind of everything I want to do, I don’t know why, I don’t know how it happened. When I was writing ‘Don’t Waste Your Tears,’ I had the string part in my head while I was writing it, and of course, the first recording of that is on this EP I made for Australia. There’s no strings on it and when we made ‘Mr Jukebox’ we used that same track from the EP, but we added some strings to it, and remixed it and you know that was sort of the first time I got to see my vision played out. I know exactly what I want to do, I have a full, confident vision of what I want to do, so we’ll see how it plays out.

Yeah, a musical sixth sense… And you’ve said before that you kind of wanted to make a short and sweet record, why was that important to you not to have this mammoth collection?

Well I think country songs in general are just naturally short. That’s something Justin Townes Earle actually said to me a long time ago, when we were making ‘The Good Life,’ that record is also really short and he said he wanted to make a record that people could listen to the whole thing on their way to work, and that always stuck with me. When we had our release show in Nashville, I had a couple come up, they came out from Memphis, which is about three, three and a half hours away with stops, and he said ‘Man we listened to your record the whole way there, we listened to it like four times.’

And did you have a lot of the songs already in hand and was it a case of just filling it out, or did you have all the songs ready?

Erm, I had all the songs ready by the time we were going to record the record, but I wrote a lot in between the EP and the record, I quit drinking, and I just started writing, and by the time it came down to start doing pre-production for the record I had about twenty songs.

My final question was just, have you thought much about album two or what’s up next, or is it just a question of getting songs out on the road and seeing the response and then going from there?

We’re talking a couple of projects here, we’re actually going to get in the studio in a couple of weeks and start working on a new project. It’s not album two yet but it’s something that people are going to really like, like an appetiser for album two.

The post #OfftheRecord: Joshua Hedley talks about the journey to, and story behind his debut album ‘Mr Jukebox’ appeared first on off the record.

For episode 32 of the podcast, we chatted to Joshua Hedley about the inspiration behind ‘Mr Jukebox,’ touring the UK and the evolution of his music.

You’re less than a month out from the UK tour, are you excited to be back?

I am, yeah, it’s going to be fun, I feel like I was just there but I’m excited to be coming back.

Is it a big part of what you want to do, being over here in the UK and Australia, getting your music out there, rather than just in America?

Oh yeah, for sure, I want to play everywhere, I want to play Japan, I want to play India, I want to play everywhere.

I feel like we can’t really talk about your debut album, without a bit of context, so you first came to the industry for many years playing the fiddle, and playing the bar scene. Did you think for many years that that would sort of be it, or did you always think you’d release an album in your own right?

No, I was just going to play at Robert’s forever, that was my plan. When I moved to Nashville, I moved to Nashville to play the bars, and my plan was always to not have to have a real job, to make enough money just playing music and that’s what I was doing, and I was happy, and all of this sort of just fell into my lap…

You settled quite quickly into the Nashville scene, playing at Tootsies’s? How did that happen, given that some people struggle for so many years before finding their place? I know a lot of people sort of struggle for many years but you settled right in?

Yeah, I started visiting Nashville when I was 12 in the summertime, and I would get up at the bars in the afternoon and sit in with my fiddle. I met one guy who was playing at Tootsie’s, his name was Jessie Taylor, and I reckon I was probably about 15 or 16 and he said, ‘hey if you ever move here, you know you’ve got a gig,’ and I called him a few years later. I don’t think he thought I’d ever take him up on that, but he gave me a gig when I moved to town.

One of the most exciting tours of 2018 just got even bigger… fast-rising newcomer Jimmie Allen has been confirmed as the tour support for BBR Music Group label-mate Chase Rice on his forthcoming UK tour dates in October; adding to Allen’s previously announced Country Music Week appearance at the Bluebird Cafe – full dates below. This follows the release of the music video for debut single ‘Best Shot’ and more recently the title track to Jimmie’s Slower Lower sessions, out last Friday.

In his own words: “As an fan of international music, I’m really looking forward to my first trip to the UK. It’s going to be a great adventure taking in the musical culture of a country I admire as well as sharing my music with their listeners. It shall be the beginning of a life long connection. See ya real soon!”

TOUR DATES:

23rd October 2018 – Bush Hall, London (CMW)*
24th October 2018 – Ruby Lounge, Manchester*
25th October 2018 – Oran Mor, Glasgow*
27th October 2018 – O2 Institute3, Birmingham*

28th October 2018 – The Bluebird Cafe @ Bush Hall, London (CMW)

(* – with Chase Rice)

ABOUT JIMMIE ALLEN:
The epitome of the phrase “persistence pays off,” Jimmie Allen laid it all on the line to make his dreams a reality. Now signed to BBR Music Group’s Stoney Creek Records, Jimmie Allen released his self-titled debut EP (10/2017) featuring a cutting-edge mix of country, rock, R&B, and pop produced by Ash Bowers and Eric Torres.

The Southern Delaware native’s talent for songwriting is undeniable, having written a song that was featured in a Super Bowl commercial and appeared in a Diet Coke ad with megastar Taylor Swift. “Blue Jean Baby,” off his debut EP, immediately caught the attention of country music fans and critics alike with its soulful groove— rocketing it to #8 on Spotify’s Viral Top 50 chart and #5 on Spotify’s Wild Country playlist. Allen is currently introducing his music at festivals across the country sharing the stage with the likes of Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Kane Brown, and superstar Toby Keith. The hot newcomer has already been heralded as one of the top “artists to watch in 2018” by Rolling Stone, Billboard, Pandora, and Sounds Like Nashville, has earned spots in CMT’s “18 for 2018” Listen Up program, Bobby Bones’ Class of 2018.

Twitter: @JimmieAllen
FB: www.facebook.com/jimmieallenmusic
IG: www.instagram.com/jimmieallen
www.JimmieAllenMusic.com

The post #FortheRecord: Jimmie Allen confirmed as support act for Chase Rice’s UK tour appeared first on off the record.

Hey Russell, thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me.

No problem.

I know you are really excited for trip number three over here to the UK. How have your experiences been over here? Do you notice a big difference between the US and the UK fans?

Oh yeah, I mean I was not expecting for these amazing fans, even to really know who I was and know my songs, but they knew the deep album cuts which means a lot to me, because I write every song. I wrote every song on my album and so for them to really dig deep into my music means a lot to me and that blew me away when I first came over. It was really a special moment.

Has it been important to you to garner that international presence rather than just being a US-focused artist?

Absolutely, that’s kind of always been the journey – to take this career as far, and as big and wide as you can. I mean, it helps that the UK is amazing, with amazing fans and great people, which makes it so much fun to come over there and play.

And obviously the past few years have just been amazing for you and your career, has there been a turning point, when it just clicked and you thought it’s all coming together?

I mean there’s been little moments, when we shot the music video for Yours, that was such a breakthrough for us, because that’s when we took that video to Sirius XM, then from XM to Spotify, and the numbers on Spotify, you know, were bigger than songs on the radio, and all of these moments kind of snowballed into where we are now, which is kind of crazy.

There’s also been quite a big evolution in your sound, from your tracks before the album, to the one you’ve got now, which is just full of energy. Was that something that was really important to you, introducing yourself with this really upbeat energetic personality?

Yeah, anyone who knows me really well can testify to the depth that this album is true to who I am. It’s bright and upbeat. I’m not the guy who’s going to sit around and mope and moan, I’m going to be the life of the party and make sure everyone’s pumped up and happy to be alive.

Absolutely, and I love the fact that it is kind of that representation of where you are at now in your life. Was that a conscious thing that you fought for when you were making the record – making sure that it was something you could look at and think ‘this accurately sums up where I am at in my life right now, it’s a proper story of me’?

Yeah – and that’s the point. I was always kind of nervous of that. You know, when I make my first record, I want to make sure it’s real and authentic and it kind of happened without me trying to put on this creative, album of ‘me.’ It just kind of happened and that’s what I love about it. I wrote ‘Yours,’ within less than a year after we got married, and just being in that honeymoon life, and just being broke and in love – and still in love now. That’s where I was at, and the last song on the album is called ‘Twentysomething’ and that really sums up where we were at too.

And you wrote most of the album with two of your friends from college, was that really important to have people working with you who have known you through the years, so you don’t need to come in and explain yourself and your story, because they know you from the inside out?

Yeah it was, I mean first of all, we just love hanging out together, because we were friends before we had even written a song together, so that was a big part of it, and they know my story better than I can explain in a three-hour writing session. I mean the second song we ever wrote together was ‘Yours’ and so, I just thought ‘these are my people’ and we just kept writing and writing. I love that we get to have all these firsts together, you know our first single – for all of us that was our first number one – and first number one party and all of that stuff and that’s really, really something to celebrate.

And did you know when you were writing Yours that it was going to be as big as it is, did you get that sort of feeling that, this is it?

Yeah, you hope every song you write is going to be big, but when we wrote ‘Yours,’ I knew. I mean I didn’t know how big it was going to be, but I just felt something different. I felt excited. I felt inspired. It gives you chills when you write a good song like that, and there was that different feeling and we just looked into it over and over, and I just couldn’t stop. Everyone around me just knew and confirmed that feeling of ‘yeah this is a massive song.’

And you wrote it in 2014, so then there was a little bit of time before it was released, was there this feeling of impatience to get it out now?

Oh it was the worst. We even took it to other labels and they still passed, they couldn’t hear it, and I was like ‘OK maybe these guys are just closing their ears or something,’ and so I was just freaking, I know this song is huge… and so that’s when we shot the music video. We just thought ‘OK, we’re going to do this on our own.’ We shot the music video and, like I said, that was just the jump start of it. So yeah, I got very impatient because I knew how special this song was.

The success of Yours has come up a bit later, but do you feel a bit glad that you had those years of struggling together to put the music out? Like in a sense that you’ve got the music now that you really want to put out?

Oh yeah 100%, I wouldn’t trade it for a quick ride any day, it’s like that’s the fun part, the fun part is the work – you know working your tail off, those are the memories that you make along the way. Everyone kind of pushes towards this plush, pampered life, I mean not to make it philosophical but I love the grind. I love working hard, so I wouldn’t trade that at all.

Do you have a favourite song from the record, that you’re really excited about, that just gives you that buzz?

Yeah, so at the moment we kick off the show with Twentysomething and I just love it, it’s one of my favourites. It’s a story song, and it’s really special to me and really true to my life, so to hear the crowd… I love playing that song for sure, it’s got the big Os and I get to play a big guitar solo, so that’s one of my favourites to play.

And apart from obviously coming to the UK, what’s left for 2018 for you, are you already thinking about the next project, or is it just hit the road as much as you can?

Yeah I just try and keep the songwriting wheels turning, and keep writing and writing and writing better songs. I know Thomas Rhett and Tyler and I just take advice from them. They’ve already recorded their next record but they just keep writing and keep beating those songs, and writing better songs and better songs, and that’s how it works…

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me, and we can’t wait to hear you over here in the UK!

Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to come over there it’s going to be so much fun!

Listen to the full interview with Russell on the podcast here.

Full UK tour dates:
21st Oct – Birmingham Symphony Hall (w/ Darius Rucker)
22nd Oct – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (w/ Darius Rucker)
23rd Oct – Gateshead The Sage (w/ Darius Rucker)
25th Oct – Bristol O2 Academy (w/ Darius Rucker)
26th Oct – Manchester Albert Hall (w/ Darius Rucker)
27th Oct – London Borderline (headline)
28th Oct – London Royal Albert Hall (w/ Darius Rucker)

The post #OfftheRecord: Russell Dickerson on ‘Yours,’ his UK tour and working with his wife Kailey appeared first on off the record.

Singer-songwriter Charlie Worsham has announced a return visit to the UK in September 2018, including headline shows, a run of dates with Lee Ann Womack and an appearance at The Long Road festival alongside Carrie Underwood, Striking Matches and Catherine McGrath. This ties in with the release of his new UK/European radio single ‘Southern By The Grace Of God’, taken from critically acclaimed second album ‘Beginning Of Things‘ (out now on Warner Music Nashville), which received rave reviews from NPR and American Songwriter among others, and was described by Rolling Stone as “a quietly excellent set of songs that show off both Worsham’s thoughtful storytelling and his serious musical chops” – RS Country also featured the release as one of their 40 best albums of 2017. Stream the single on Spotify / Soundcloud / Youtube.

Tickets are on sale for all shows now – full dates below:

In his own words: “UK fans are my people! they were the first to hear the songs that became ‘Beginning Of Things’, and I can’t wait to be back trying out more new songs. It’s thanks to touring in the UK that I figured out how to close my acoustic shows with ‘Southern By The Grace Of God’, and singing it across the pond makes me think of my own family roots – after all, us Worshams originated near Bexhill by the sea.”

“I guarantee you these shows will influence the evolution of my music, and I’m especially excited to perform shows with a band at the Long Road Festival.”

ABOUT CHARLIE WORSHAM:
Beloved within the Nashville community, Charlie Worsham continues to receive widespread attention for his new album, ‘Beginning of Things’. NPR Music praises the way his music exhibits “deep musicality…great playing, [and] sophisticated lyricism…” with Rolling Stone naming the album to their 40 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2017 calling it “The Most Vulnerable Country Album” of the year. Variety, CMT, and PopMatters are just a few of the esteemed outlets who included his sophomore effort on year-end best of lists.

Born and raised in Mississippi, Worsham attended Grenada High School and went on to study at Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music. In addition to his life as a musician, Worsham is actively involved in music education and, last year, founded the Follow Your Heart Scholarship Fund in partnership with The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. The fund supports the youth of Grenada, Mississippi—his hometown—who possess uncommon talent and desire to achieve great things in the arts. In its first year, the organisation has raised nearly $50,000.

More information can be found at www.FollowYourHeartArts.org and www.charlieworsham.com. Follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/thecharlieworsham and on Twitter @charlieworsham.

The post #FortheRecord: Charlie Worsham returning to the UK in September appeared first on off the record.

Australian-born, US-based singer-songwriter-actress Clare Bowen, is releasing her debut album in the UK just in time for her first ever headline UK tour. Released on Aug 31st 2018 via BMG, the eponymous album will be preceded by the beautifully crafted single ‘Let It Rain’, which showcases Clare’s striking vocal abilities perfectly and is the album opener. ‘Let It Rain’ was debuted on the legendary Bob Harris’ Radio 2 show yesterday to incredible reactions.

Best known for her leading role as Scarlett O’Connor on the hit TV series NASHVILLE, Clare is a gifted performer, both on screen and in a live arena setting. She returns to the UK just months after selling out the O2 London with her NASHVILLE cast mates, who also sold-out three nights at the Royal Albert Hall last year. Bowen will be releasing her debut album, produced by Brooklyn, NY’s Josh Kaufman, just before her tour kicks off at Symphony Hall, Birmingham on September 2, and tickets are on-sale now.

“..The largely balladesque album skillfully combines Country & Folk and captivates with great melodies and a bell-clear voice of the protagonist.” – COUNTRY.DE

Years before launching her career as a singer-song writer, a young Clare Bowen was growing up in rural Australia, miles from the nearest city, writing down everything she felt, heard, saw and dreamed. “Music was my connection to the rest of the world,” she says. “I was brought up on my parents’ vinyl collection – everything from Vivaldi, to Elvis, to Dolly, to Springsteen, Edith Piaf and Etta James.”

Along the way, she established herself as an in-demand actress on both sides of the Atlantic, earning critical praise in the highly controversial Australian film, The Combination, directed by David Field, and as the leading role of Wendla in the Sydney Theatre Company’s musical production of Spring Awakening. Fresh off the set of NASHVILLE after six years of filming, she is happy to take a moment this Autumn to focus on music and promoting her new album which she has been writing and recording for years.

CLARE BOWEN | 2018 UK TOUR DATES
(With Special Guests Striking Matches)

Sep 2 | Birmingham, UK | Symphony Hall

Sep 4 | Gateshead, UK | Sage Gateshead

Sep 5 | York, UK | York Barbican

Sep 6 | Manchester, UK | Bridgewater Hall

Sep 8 | Glasgow, UK | Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Sep 9 | Cambridge, UK | Cambridge Corn Exchange

Sep 10 | Guildford, UK | G Live

Sep 12 | London, UK | Royal Festival Hall

Sep 13 | Brighton, UK | Brighton Dome

Tickets and VIP upgrades for the UK tour are available here.

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