Well its another week completed in lockdown at Chromedome Towers. Who would imagine that 12 weeks have passed so quickly, thankfully with the help of our great country family. As usual we have not been let down with another week of great streams.
Georgia Barker took the helm on the Jorvik Radio stream and this started my week of viewing and what a great performance from the young lady. Meanwhile I popped on and off the Open Mic stream from DC Brown and caught the lovely voice of Rebecca Whitehead for a little while. Monday nights are the night The Rising, star in their very polished show and this week they had a theme of classic country. The way Chantelle and Chris put their own spin on some of the classics was very encouraging. Some of these songs would not be out of place on their setlist when they get back to touring. I had to take a second and third look at the calendar on the computer to see if I had lost a few days when a face appeared on screen. Kezia Gill on a Monday via Nashville Meets London and it was good to see a lot of the Friday night crew on to support her.
Tuesday night was not what I was used to as the lovely Robyn Taylor was unable to do her weekly stream but there was still a fantastic stream from SaraBeth and Glen. Glen has been remarkably busy in the studio working on rejuvenating some of their older tracks and also working on new material. It was great to hear that some of the Nashville scene is starting to open up slowly as it may mean a few of the artists can get back to what they love, performing live. Hope its Country has supplied me with a lot of new acts during lockdown and Tuesday was no different with a fine display from Boxes, who are a Manchester based country rock band. Ags Connolly also streamed on The Lost Highways platform. Ags is another act that really takes little describing with his incredible take on traditional country.
Now what do I expect from the next act especially when teaming up with another chirpy female. Samantha Lloyd is always such a chirpy, cheeky kind of person and she had teamed up with Mary Jane from Glasgow and although the two of them behaved mostly this stream came with a hint there might be a little bit of mischief through it. Scotland was well represented on Wednesday night with the lovely Elaine Lennon and her Homebird Sessions and included singer songwriter David Arcari who is a bluesy type of singer. Another stream from across the water now with Lockeland and after seeing them in Millport they are a band I am enjoying more and more. They produce some fantastic harmonies when singing and this certainly shone through in their new single Made For Mornings.
For me Thursday proved to be a quieter day but William Hope and his page Hope Its Country themed the day as Georgia day with two great sets from Georgia Music and Georgia Barker and both certainly made the most of the opportunity to provide some lovely music. Thursday Night just wouldn’t feel the same without the usual banter fest from the Batley Babe and BBQ king, Jade Helliwell and Luke Thomas have that kind of relationship on screen that would make you think they were a married couple (Jades still hoping) and these guys deliver a stream that is as good as you get from originals and covers and Luke even took the lead on one song this week.
Friday saw another stream from Samantha Lloyd and is a set which anything goes in her choice of music and requests. Ags Connolly was again streaming this time on the Lost Highways platform and another great set was guaranteed. Laura Oakes showed her incredible talent during her stream on the Nashville Meets London stream. There is no stopping my final watch on a Friday when the utterly fantastic Kezia Gill takes to the living room with her Pour Me A Strong One gig and along with husband Lloyd who had earlier posted a video of their Dirty Dancing lift sequence get going. This week the requests through up a lot of fantastic night of music and this was the 12th week of streaming. There is a great crew of regulars appearing online and some of the interaction among everyone shows how this lockdown period has brought a lot of people together. As with the mix of music we always get a look at the drink of the week which included a new cocktail mix exclusive to the Friday crew.
Saturday was an interesting mix of streams which included Katy Hurt and I am becoming more and more impressed with this lady’s voice. Scotland’s own Katee Kross along with Ross Baron are also a stalwart of the Saturday night streams and Katee always throws a curved ball in to the set with some remarkable covers. Lockdown Buddies had a stream from two north of Scotland acts who had teamed up for the night, Keith Macleod and Mikie Henderson. For those of you who think I come from as far up the Uk as you can get, these two guys are from around 2 hrs or more north of me. Keith has been around for a while now appearing in many bands in the north and he is a very accomplished singer and songwriter in his own right. Mikie started out as a singer with north band The Chicken Pickers but is now a solo artist. Both these acts have new music due to be released soon. Jessica Lynn popped on via her page and gave us a selection of songs along with a teaser of her upcoming single. Watch out for this one!!!
Sunday saw the weekly edition of Songs and Stories Collective with Donna Marie, Sarah Yeo, and Tennessee Twin and this is another great collection of music from the 3 acts and this week they had The Rising as guests. The lovely Laura Oakes did a selection of Dixie Chicks songs on her usual Sunday slot and again I always say it, but Laura is an incredible artist. The scheduled stream from Gary Quinn, Jade and Kezia in which they are to be singing each other’s songs had to be cancelled but Gary streamed on his own and provided some great music to help the afternoon pass.
This week I am going to end with a mention to what I think will be a rarity this year, and that means award sessions. This week Silverball Country announced their award winners for this year. Rik and Francesca from Silverball Country are more than likely to be found at various country events and festivals throughout the year either djing or providing stage management and they can also provide a service to artists reviewing new music or gigs. Having announced an extraordinarily strong line up in all 10 categories it must have been a hard decision to pick the winners. Well done to all those nominated and here is a list of winners.
International visiting act: Lewis Brice Best duo/Group: Morganway
Entertainer of the Year: Stevie O’connor Musician of the Year: Sarah Jory
Best Event of the Year: Country On The Coast International Touring Act: William Michael Morgan
Best Song: Kezia Gill Local Mans Star Best video: Kezia Gill Local Mans Star
Male Vocalist of the Year: Tim Prottey-Jones
Female Vocalist of the Year Kezia Gill.
Congratulations to all the very worthy winners.
As normal please Stay Safe and Stay Well until next week.
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