Ruthie Collins To Make Anticipated Return To The UK Next Month

Ruthie Collins will be returning to the UK next month to play two highly anticipated shows - Millport Music Festival (20 August) and Nashville Meets London (24 August), completing the trio of major country festivals that started back in March with her debut appearance at C2C. 

Ruthie's return also follows a successful run of UK shows with Americana singer-songwriter Sam Outlaw earlier this year.

Collins' released Cold Comfort + in January, an expanded version of her critically acclaimed 2020 release, Cold Comfort. Cold Comfort + features 'Joshua Tree' which was co-written with Luke Sheets. It's a cathartic combination that underscores her ability to blend various sounds into her own potent delivery. 

Speaking on her return to the UK, Collins commented, 'I’m counting the days till I get to return to the UK and perform again for the audiences that have quickly become so dear to my heart. This will be my third trip and every time is better than the last. I couldn’t be more excited to share some brand-new material, and also the fan favorites with the audiences at the Millport and Nashville Meets London Festivals!'

Praised by Billboard for its mix of 'ethereal vocals alongside soaring string features, minimal piano parts, and delicate percussion', Cold Comfort was initially released during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unable to tour behind the album, Collins temporarily left her adopted hometown of Nashville and headed home to her mother's place in upstate New York. There, she recorded acoustic renditions of three Cold Comfort highlights: 'Hey Little Girl', 'Joshua Tree' and 'Wish You Were Here'. Those homemade, reimagined versions appear on Cold Comfort +, demonstrating Collins' ability to deliver a knockout performance with little more than her voice and an acoustic guitar.

Ruthie Collins' 2022 UK Dates

Saturday, 20 August - Millport, UK - Millport Music Festival

Wednesday, 24 August - London, UK - Nashville Meets London Festival

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For more information about Ruthie and these dates, visit her website.

Jennifer Crook Releases New Single 'Brand New Day' From Forthcoming New Album

Jennifer Crook is a singer, songwriter and musician from Bath, UK. Musically rooted in the world of Folk, Roots and Americana, her classic songwriting - with its vivid storytelling, beautiful imagery and poignant mix of hope and experience, is both timeless and right on time. 

Following well received singles 'Battle Scars' and 'Where Words Don’t Go' released earlier this year, Jennifer returns with her hopeful and  uplifting new single 'Brand New Day', featuring Canadian musician Brent Jones. This is the third single from her forthcoming new album The Broken Road Back Home due for release in September. 

LISTEN to the track on Spotify.

'Sometimes someone comes into your life for a short time and lifts your spirits when you need it most - like touring musician Matt who, many years ago, inspired the opening lyric of the song,' Jennifer says. 'Or when I first met Canadian artist Brent Jones, whose music touched me at a personally difficult time.'

'I first met Jennifer while performing in Box, England,' Brent explains. 'We had just finished mixing my album Coincidence Makes A Miracle at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studio located nearby. Jennifer and I chatted after the performance – suggesting one day to collaborate on a musical project from across the pond.'

Brand New Day is that project. Many of the songs on the new album reflect the struggle between the dark and the light and Brand New Day embraces the hope that together we can create a brighter future. 

The song was a long time coming, Jennifer shares. 'Although the song was written around 10 years ago, I’d never recorded it, so it’s about time it saw the light of day! With the new band and the new record it finally found its home, and as the track took shape it developed into something much bigger than I’d ever imagined.'

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For more information about Jennifer, visit her website.

Ashley Cooke Shines In National US Television Debut On ABC's 'The Bachelorette'

Rising country artist Ashley Cooke made her striking national US television debut on ABC’s The Bachelorette on Monday, July 18th. The episode featured an intimate performance of Cooke and country superstar Brett Young’s love song 'Never Til Now' on episode two of the hit romance reality series with the newest Bachelorettes, Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey. 

After unwavering support of each other through a devastating dual breakup in the season 26 finale of The Bachelor, fan favourites and fierce women Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey stand by each other's side once again as they set out on a journey to find love. Monday's show featured Rachel's first one-on-one date with Jordan V, before it came to an abrupt end when the professional racecar driver was sent home during the first date. In what should have ended in an intimate moment for the couple, Cooke and Young performed their 'tender, romantic ballad' (Billboard) at the iconic Los Angeles Theater to the solo and somber co-Bachelorette, Rachel.

'Getting to make my TV debut is unbelievably exciting in general.. but especially getting to debut on The Bachelorette! It was so fun to get to marry the two worlds of TV and music and to do it all with my friend and duet partner, Brett Young,' shares Cooke. 'It’s been incredible to see how my song 'Never Til Now' has resonated with so many people in every phase of love whether they’ve found their person or they’re manifesting it through these lyrics. It’s an honor to get to be the voice behind the story and to get to be a small part of Rachel and Gabby’s journey to finding love.'

Monday's episode of The Bachelorette is available to watch in the UK on NOW TV and Amazon Prime (via Hayu).

Originally released on her debut project Already Drank That Beer in Aug. 2021, 'Never Til Now' resonated with fans far and wide across social platforms, prompting Cooke to release the reimagined love song with Young's superstar power in April 2022. Penned by Cooke alongside hit songwriter Matt Roy, the romantic song about finding love when you least expect it topped Sirius XM's The Highway's Hot 30 Weekend Countdown and makes its TV debut as it continues to soar at US country radio. Upon Monday's performance, the 'superb vocal blend' (Billboard) rose to the top of the US iTunes Country charts.

With her first major TV appearance under her belt, the Big Loud Records / Back Blocks Music artist continues to tour across the US this summer at some of the summer’s most anticipated fairs and festivals before Cooke gearing up to head back out on Cole Swindell’s Back Down To The Bar Tour as direct support this Autumn.

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For more information about Ashley, visit her website.

Zach Bryan Releases New EP 'Summertime Blues'

Oklahoma country star Zach Bryan shares Summertime Blues, a new 9-track EP, which arrives only a couple of months after his record-breaking, critically-acclaimed Warner Records debut American Heartbreak. 

Summertime Blues follows in the footsteps of American Heartbreak with its honest and poignant storytelling, further underscoring Bryan’s reputation as one of the most vital and singular songwriters of his, or any other generation.

Over the course of Summertime Blues, Bryan sings about working class lifestyle; (the dark and muscular 'Quittin’ Time'); paints a bittersweet portrait of a summer night across America on the title track; tells a longing story about the one that got away ('Oklahoma Smoke Show'); and dives deep into the frustrations of a relationship gone sour (the fiery 'All The Time'). He shifts from epic to intimate with the songwriting mastery fans have become accustomed to, exploring the many textures of life without flinching at their complexities. 

Bryan also announces a handful of new concert dates, including his first proper headlining gig in Los Angeles at The Wiltern on October 18. His summer tour thus far has found him forging profound connections with fans thanks to his simple, undiluted, genuine, and captivating music. A list of  Bryan’s upcoming tour dates can be found here. 

American Heartbreak, the Navy veteran’s third album and first for Warner Records as well as his first studio-recorded album, made the second-highest streaming country music album debut in history, breaking the 2022 record for single album streams in a 24-hour period and pushing Bryan well past 1 billion streams globally. Capping five years of what Bryan himself called 'a true tall-tale,' American Heartbreak’s unforgettable vignettes of modern life in America—the rambling 'From Austin', stirring 'Something In The Orange', and down-home 'Highway Boys' to name just a few—earned him a spot in the canon of the country’s great narrative songwriters. 

'Something in the Orange' peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot Country charts and was the #18 global streaming track overall. 'From Austin” claimed #1 Country Song on Apple Music and debuted at #4 on Spotify’s Global Country chart. On the strength of its deeply personal story, the track has garnered over 37 million global streams. Bryan is now a regular presence on the most coveted playlists in country music.

Summertime Blues proves that the once-in-a-lifetime songwriter has a deep well to pull from, and American Heartbreak was just the beginning. 

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For more information about Zach, including upcoming tour dates, check out his website.

Ellur Shares Video For New Single 'Close To You'

Northern indie-pop artist Ellur returns with a video for her new single 'Close To You'. The single follows on from the 21-year-old Halifax artists’ empowering EP titled Moments, which came out in 2021 via Dance To The Radio Records.

With her inspirations ranging from HAIM to Cocteau Twins, Ellur writes self-detrimental love letters to herself in the form of danceable guitar anthems, which reflect on rejection, craving validation, and independence. Her new single 'Close To You' is a shining examples of Ellur’s ability to write deeply infectious, feel good indie-pop anthems, combining warm guitar lines with hook heavy vocals and powerful drums.

Speaking on the single Ellur says, ''Close To You is a song about rejection and coping with it. I decided, last year, I wanted to write more songs that were about me and my relationship with myself. I think this process birthed some of my favourite lyrics I’ve ever written.'

The single is also accompanied by a new video which sees Ellur performing in a kissing booth across multiple locations in Bridlington before smashing it to pieces as the song reaches it’s climactic ending.

With more new music on the horizon for 2022 and further live shows TBA in the near future, 'Close To You' is a declaration of intent that sees Ellur make a huge leap forward. Speaking on her new material she says, 'I’m immensely proud of these songs, the lyrics and the sound really feel like a sneak peak inside of my brain and I can’t wait to release them and I’m even more excited to play them live. I’ve been watching a lot of Top of the Pops at the moment too so expect to see some wild dance moves at shows to come.'

Live dates:

13th August: BBC Introducing stage at Humber St Sesh, Hull 

15th October: Live At Leeds ‘In The City’, Leeds

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For more information about Ellur, check out her website.

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