Alexis French by ALEX LAKE INSTA @TWOSHORTDAYS

‘Guiding Light’ – Stunning First New Track

https://AlexisFFrench.lnk.to/truth

Acclaimed pianist, composer & producer Alexis Ffrench, today announces his brand-new record Truth – out May 6th on Sony Music. Born from the grief, anger and helplessness he felt following the death of George Floyd – Alexis tried to make sense of it the only way he knew how – sat at his piano composing. 

And with that, the stunning first track to be released, ‘Guiding Light’, is about a higher power and is dedicated to loved ones no longer with us. “My mental health was suffering last year because I felt I wasn’t enough – and because I didn’t tell my father I loved him until the evening before he died,” Alexis comments. “I went to the piano and that sense of helplessness and breathlessness turned into a piece that represented the broad spectrum of emotions I was experiencing.” Watch the video HERE.

Alexis Ffrench isn’t afraid of fusing his music with weighty issues. For years, the pioneering pianist has used his music to highlight mental health, discuss diversity and challenge the classical world to be more inclusive. Truth, his latest album, is his most powerful and political to date, and also his most optimistic.

“I’m usually wary of making any sort of political statement,” says Britain’s best-selling classical composer, whose songs have been streamed half a billion times, “but sometimes you have to put your head above the parapet. Truth was borne out of an intensely personal moment. These songs are my reaction to that.”

Recorded at the world-famous Real World Studios near Bath, he worked remotely with a 70-piece orchestra in a custom-built studio in Vienna. The soaring ‘Broken Sunsets’ reflects the composer’s hope for a brighter future, ‘Golden’ is a shimmering light illuminating the way ahead, and fans may recognise ‘Songbird’ as the follow on from ‘Bluebird’, the breakout track from Alexis’ 2018 chart-topper Evolution.

The artist who normally writes, orchestrates, performs and produces all his own albums, has worked with co-writer John Maguire (Calum Scott, Tom Chaplin) on ‘One Look’ featuring Leona Lewis – a spine-tingling classical-soul anthem. “As I wrote One Look I could hear lyrics on it,” says Alexis. “It’s scary for me to hand my music to anyone else, but John has written so many amazing songs and he has a real ear for pop melodies. Leona had input too. We had many meetings over Zoom, talking about our own experiences and what we wanted the lyrics to express. Her voice is spectacular. I’m immensely proud of the collaboration.”

Alexis doesn’t just talk about change. He frequently posts tutorials on YouTube and social media to help young musicians develop their skills and last year announced the launch of two annual scholarships to study at the world leading Royal Academy of Music, his alma mater, supported by Sony Music’s Social Justice Fund. This January, Alexis was appointed as a governing body member and trustee of the Royal Academy.

Truth is a collection of concise, compelling, thought-provoking recordings which has seen him bring classical music to the masses since he first topped the charts in 2018. An album borne out of feelings of grief, despair, anger and injustice, it is proof of the power of community, positive thought and collective healing.

The maestro may be wary of politics, but as ever, the result is an intoxicating listen.

Alexis Ffrench – Truth track listing

1. Canyons
2. One Look (ft. Leona Lewis)
3. Songbird
4. Hope, Ascending
5. Guiding Light
6. Viva Vida Amor (ft, Jin Oki)
7. Still Life
8. Golden
9. Colours
10. Papillon
11. One Look (Reprise)
12. Evermore
13. Broken Sunsets

The album is available to pre-order HERE

alexisffrenchmusic.com

Following a string of fantastic tracks, including the driving rock n roll menace of ‘Magnificent Hurt’, and stunning piano-led ‘Paint the Red Rose Blue’, Elvis Costello has released his highly anticipated and critically acclaimed new album The Boy Named If.

Tomorrow will also see Elvis host a ‘Pirate Radio’ live stream where he will spin records, tell tales and play a song or two live from the basement of Defend Vinyl in Liverpool at 6.00pm GMT. Be sure to get yourself tuned in HERE.

With an appearance tonight on The Graham Norton Show, tomorrow morning at 10.00am on Saturday Kitchen, and Monday on BBC Breakfast, the excitement for Elvis’ new record is electric – also reflected in the 4 and 5 star album reviews across the board.

Elvis will return to the UK in June 2022 with The Imposters (Steve Nieve – keyboards; Pete Thomas – drums; Davey Faragher – bass & backing vocals) along with Charlie Sexton for an extensive UK run of dates.

Tickets are available HERE. Elvis Costello & The Imposters play the following dates:

June 2022

Sun 5th Brighton Dome

Tue 7th Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Wed 8th Newcastle O2 City Hall

Fri 10th Liverpool Philharmonic

Sat 11th Manchester Opera House

Mon 13th Birmingham Symphony Hall

Tue 14th Leicester De Montfort Hall

Thu 16th Oxford New Theatre

Fri 17th Bath The Forum

Sun 19th Portsmouth Guildhall

Mon 20th Swansea Arena

Wed 22nd Ipswich Regent Theatre

Thur 23rd London Eventim Apollo

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Today, Eddie Vedder releases a new single entitled ‘Brother the Cloud’. It heralds the arrival of his highly anticipated new album, Earthling, available on February 11th via Seattle Surf/Republic Records. The digital pre-order/pre-save for Earthling just went live on all streaming platforms—HERE and physical pre-order (cd, vinyl & cassette HERE). 

Listen to “Brother the Cloud” HERE

Earthling, which was produced by Grammy Award® winning producer Andrew Watt, is Vedder’s first album since 2011’s Ukulele Songs and his first solo tour in over a decade. 

The track is the latest single off the new album and joins previously released tracks: “Long Way,” which Variety noted, the strident, guitar-driven “Long Way” finds Vedder narrating a tale of a man haunted by a lost love,” and “The Haves” which Stereogum described “a searching heart ballad about personal connection, and it addresses the increasing divide between rich and poor.”

Earthling illuminates every side of Vedder and includes collaborations with some of music’s most iconic legends including Stevie Wonder, Ringo Starr, Elton John, as well as Andrew Watt, Chad Smith, and Josh Klinghoffer.

The Earthlings are drummer Chad Smith, keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Josh Klinghoffer, bassist Chris Chaney, guitarist/vocalist Glen Hansard, and guitarist Andrew Watt. The newly formed group gave their live debut at Vedder’s own Ohana Festival this past September. 

Full details at pearljam.com

EARTHLING TRACKLISTING:

1. Invincible
2. Power of Right
3. Long Way
4. Brother the Cloud
5. Fallout Today
6. The Dark
7. The Haves
8. Good and Evil
9. Rose of Jericho
10. Try
11. Picture ft. Elton John 
12. Mrs. Mills
13. On My Way

“Masterful.” – Uncut 8/10 

“Their bluesy soul is being delivered with newfound heart, spirit and zeal, one that makes The Future jubilantly bright – just the vision we all need after the bleakness of the past year.” – The Line of Best Fit

“We’re not sure what the future holds, but if it sounds anything like “The Future,” we’re good.” – The Independent 

The Times 4*

Following the release of their acclaimed new LP, The Future, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats have announced a run of May 2022 UK dates, including a date at London’s Roundhouse on 27th May. The Future is out now on Stax Records, listen to the new record HERE.

Known for their raucous, electric live shows, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats will play the following May 2022 shows in the UK.  Tickets available on the 19th November at 10am from HERE.

May 2022

Fri 20th Manchester, Academy

Sat 21st Glasgow, Barrowland

Mon 23rd Birmingham, O2 Institute

Thurs 26th Leeds, O2 Academy

Fri 27th London, Roundhouse

Recorded at Rateliff’s own Broken Creek Studio outside of Denver, The Future was produced by Bradley Cook (Bon Iver, Kevin Morby, The War on Drugs) and R.M.B.—the production trio of Rateliff, Patrick Meese (The Night Sweats) and James Barone (Beach House)—who were the team behind Rateliff’s acclaimed 2020 solo album And It’s Still Alright. Additional production was added by musician, engineer and producer Elijah Thompson (Father John Misty, Richard Swift) while Jenny Lewis, Jess Wolfe and Amelia Meath (Sylvan Esso) contributed backing vocals.

Earlier this year, Rateliff and the band made their debut on “Saturday Night Live” featuring the premiere performance of “Redemption,” written for and featured in the film Palmer starring Justin Timberlake. Nathaniel also released a new live album, Red Rocks 2020, which was recorded at Red Rocks Amphitheatre during Rateliff’s mid-September run of socially distanced shows.

https://www.nathanielrateliff.com/

Country superstar Luke Combs won Entertainer of the Year at last night’s 55th Annual CMA Awards. Combs also surprised the world with the release of his new song, “Doin’ This,” coinciding with his live debut of the song during the CMA Awards broadcast. Listen to the song HERE  and watch/share the official music video HERE.

A personal reflection on his own life and career, Combs shares, “This song means a lot to me personally. Not to recite the lyrics, but for me, it’s truly about playing country music for a crowd, whether that’s 70 people or 70,000 people, and playing country music with my buddies in the band. It really doesn’t matter where we’re playing or how many people we’re playing for because it isn’t about the fame, the fortune, the name, or the glory. It’s about getting to make and play country music.” 

Known for his electric live performances, the 6x CMA, 3x ACM and 3x Billboard Music Award-winner is currently in the midst of an extensive headline arena tour featuring a special new in-the-round stage design.

Combs current single, “Cold As You,” is Top 5 and rising at US country radio—his seventh single released to radio from What You See Ain’t Always What You Get. The previous six singles along with his first five singles from his debut album have all gone No. 1—a historic, record-breaking run. Moreover, Combs recently released his new song, “South On Ya,” which has been selected as the official theme song for the SEC Network’s 2021 football season.

What You See Ain’t Always What You Get debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart as well as Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart last fall. The deluxe edition features all 18 tracks from Combs’ double Platinum-certified, global No. 1 album, What You See Is What You Get, as well as five new songs. With the release, Combs reached No. 1 on Rolling Stone’s Top 200 Albums chart, Top 100 Songs chart and Artists 500 chart—the first country artist ever to lead all three charts in the same week and first to top the Artists 500. 

Combs also recently made history as the first artist ever to have their first two studio albums spend 25 weeks or more at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart—breaking Taylor Swift’s previously held record at 24 weeks. The achievement comes as What You See Is What You Get topped the chart for the 25th time last summer, while his 2017 debut, This One’s For You, has spent 50 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1—tying the record for the longest reign atop the chart with Shania Twain’s Come On Over in 1997.  

 Additional notable achievements and recognitions: 

• Winner of two awards at the 54th Annual CMA Awards: Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year (What You See Is What You Get)
• Winner of two awards at the 55th ACM Awards: Album of the Year (What You See Is What You Get) and Male Artist of the Year 
• Recent winner of two iHeartRadio Music Awards: Country Artist of the Year and Country Album of the Year (What You See Ain’t Always What You Get) 
• Nominated for Male Video of the Year (“Lovin’ On You”) and Performance of the Year (“1, 2 Many” with Brooks & Dunn) at 2021 CMT Music Awards. 
• Won three awards at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards: Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist and Top Country Album (What You See Is What You Get)
• Recent winner of three iHeartRadio Music Awards: Country Artist of the Year, Country Album of the Year (What You See Is What You Get) and Country Song of the Year (“Beautiful Crazy”)
• Only country artist to perform on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” Season 45
• Inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry 
• Awarded CMT Performance of the Year at the 2019 CMT Music Awards for his CMT Crossroads performance of “Beautiful Crazy” with Leon Bridges
• Awarded Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist and Top Country Album at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards
• Awarded New Male Artist of the Year at the 54th ACM Awards
• Awarded Country Artist of the Year at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards
• Awarded New Artist of the Year at the 52nd Annual CMA Awards
• Nominated for Best New Artist at the 61st GRAMMY Awards
• Recipient of a CMA Triple Play Award for writing three No. 1 songs in a 12-month period
• First artist to simultaneously top all five Billboard country charts for multiple weeks: Top Country Albums, Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay, Country Streaming Songs and Country Digital Song Sales (dated March 9, March 30 and April 6)
• This One’s For You is certified RIAA Triple Platinum and was also the most-streamed country album of 2019. 
• All five songs on his The Prequel EP charted on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Top 25—a feat not accomplished by any artist in 60 years since Johnny Cash in 1959

Lo Moon have today released their first new song since 2018.  The track, entitled “Dream Never Dies,” was produced by the band and Yves Rothman (Yves Tumor, Miya Folick).  Filled with piano accents, sprawling guitars, and frontman Matt Lowell’s signature soaring vocals punctuating the chorus, “Dream Never Dies” is equal parts early 2000’s Brit rock, the ache of summer nostalgia, reverb-soaked instruments, and one of the best melodies the nascent, critically-acclaimed band has ever written. It’s the sound of a band whose scope has widened in wholly stunning ways.

A video for the song has been released today as well, directed by Michael Hili (The Killers, Lemon Twigs, John Carroll Kirby). It takes the viewer on a journey through the architecture of dreams, expectations and hope.

Click HERE to watch the video for ‘Dream Never Dies’

“Dream Never Dies” is the first new song since their self-titled debut — a dark, luscious collection of songs full of crescendo rock and sparkling electronics — spanned the breadth of human highs and lows. The record could sit happily among the likes of Talk Talk, Roxy Music, early Coldplay, and the cinematic scope of Sigur Ros.

Says Lowell about the song, “As I get older, I’ve become more and more nostalgic about my youth. I had way less anxiety, I didn’t fear losing the people closest to me, or have to face the bigger questions of life. Hope and optimism were just a little bit easier back then. I work hard not to let the complexities of life suck the hope out of me. This song, if nothing else, is a reminder to try my best and not let that happen.”

Lo Moon received critical international praise from the likes of Vice, NME, The Sunday Times, DIY and many more. Elsewhere, their songs hit the top 3 on Billboard’s AAA chart and the band also appeared on U.S. late night TV shows Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Late Show with James Corden and played more than 150 dates, supporting the likes of The War On Drugs, Phoenix, Glass Animals, Air, London Grammar, and Chvrches along the way. Elsewhere, they capped off their touring with festival performances including All Points East in London.

Lo Moon are:  Matt Lowell (vocals, guitar and keys), Cristanta Baker (vocals, keys, bass), Sam Stewart (guitar), and Sterling Laws (drums).

Lo Moon will be touring through the U.S. and Europe opening for The War On Drugs next year. The tour includes the following UK and Ireland dates: 

April

Mon 11th   BIRMINGHAM, O2 Academy

Tues 12th    LONDON, O2 Arena

Thurs 14th   DUBLIN, 3 Arena

Sat 16th   LEEDS, First Direct Arena

Sun 17th   EDINBURGH, O2 Academy

Mon 18th   EDINBURGH, O2 Academy

Lo Moon:
Website * Facebook * Instagram * Twitter * TikTok

Open Road Films has acquired worldwide rights to horror comedy STUDIO 666, starring Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett & Rami Jaffee. The all-star cast also includes Whitney Cummings, Leslie Grossman, Will Forte, Jenna Ortega and Jeff Garlin. The film, directed by BJ McDonnell, is set for a wide domestic theatrical release in 2,000+ theatres on February 25, 2022. The film’s international release date will be announced soon. 

The announcement was made by Open Road’s Tom Ortenberg and Foo Fighters.  

In STUDIO 666, the legendary rock band Foo Fighters move into an Encino mansion steeped in grisly rock and roll history to record their much anticipated 10th album.  Once in the house, Dave Grohl finds himself grappling with supernatural forces that threaten both the completion of the album and the lives of the band.

“After decades of ridiculous music videos and numerous music documentaries under our collective belts, it was finally time to take it to the next level… A full length feature horror comedy film,” said Dave Grohl. “Like most things Foo, STUDIO 666 began with a far fetched idea that blossomed into something bigger than we ever imagined possible. Filmed at the same house where we recorded our latest album “Medicine at Midnight” (told you that place was haunted!) we wanted to recapture the classic magic that all of our favourite rock and roll movies had, but with a twist: hilarious gore that fucking ROCKS. And now, with the help of Tom Ortenberg and the team at Open Road Films we can finally let this cat out of the bag after keeping it our best kept secret for two years. Be ready to laugh, scream, and headbang in your popcorn. STUDIO 666 will fuck you up.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to team up with Foo Fighters for a movie sure to make audiences scream and laugh,” said Ortenberg. “The Foos bring their comedic chemistry and the musical talent we all love to the big screen in this hysterical horror film.” 

Commented director BJ McDonnell: “STUDIO 666 is a perfect combination of all things I love. Rock, horror, and comedy all tied together in a very thrilling motion picture. I am so excited to have teamed up with the Foo Fighters to create an old school “Band” movie. It’s been years since we’ve seen something like the Beatles “Help!”, The Monkees “Head”, or “KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park”. Take that 60’s / 70’s old school band film fun, mix it with horror and STUDIO 666 is born! I am so ecstatic for audiences of film and music to come together and enjoy our film.”

“Over the past decade we have had the good fortune to collaborate with Foo Fighters on a variety of great projects,” said producers John Ramsay and James A. Rota. “Whether it be documentary films, TV series or music videos, they always bring their great talents and legendary sense of humor. STUDIO 666 takes this to a whole new level and we couldn’t be more proud of this movie. We can’t wait to share it with the world.”

Based on a story by Dave Grohl and screenplay by Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes, STUDIO 666 is produced by Roswell Films’ and Therapy Studios’ John Ramsay & James A. Rota. Executive Producers are John Silva, Kristen Welsh, John Cutcliffe, Gaby Skolnek, Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, James Masciello, Matthew Sidari, Mitchell Zhang and Tom Ortenberg.

The deal was negotiated by Tom Ortenberg and Matthew Sidari on behalf of Open Road Films and by WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers. 

For more information visit studio666movie.com.

ABOUT OPEN ROAD FILMS:

In a partnership with Raven Capital Management, industry veteran Tom Ortenberg relaunched Open Road Films, of which Ortenberg was formerly the Founding CEO. Key past Open Road titles include the Academy Award winner for Best Picture Spotlight, The Grey, Chef, The Nut Job, End of Watch and Nightcrawler. Most recently Open Road released back-to-back Liam Neeson box office hits Honest Thief and The Marksman, as well as CopShop starring Gerard Butler. Open Road is set to open Foo Fighters horror comedy Studio 666 on February 25, 2022. 

ABOUT THERAPY STUDIOS:

Founded in 2006 by executive producer John Ramsay, VFX artist Wren Waters, and editor Doobie White, Therapy Studios is an Emmy award-winning production and post-production company in West Los Angeles, CA. With projects ranging from feature films, television, commercials and music videos, the company’s work includes original content from feature documentaries like Transcendent Man and Sound City to the HBO docu-series Sonic Highways.

Tickets on General Sale Friday 12 November at 9am at LiveNation.co.uk    

Multi-platinum selling, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-inducted recording artist and songwriter Dave Gahan, along with long time musical partner Soulsavers (Rich Machin), will present an exclusive, intimate performance of their new album Imposter at the historic London Coliseum on 5 December 2021. Tickets go on general sale Friday 12 November at 9am at LiveNation.co.uk 

In speaking with journalist Chris Black about Imposter, Dave commented, “To get to play this special album on a stage in front of people, with the same group of musicians who recorded the album, that’s really important to me. I’m incredibly excited to present it live.” 

With Imposter, to be released worldwide through Columbia Records on 12 November, Dave takes listeners on a personal journey of 12 meticulously chosen reimagined songs from across genres and time periods, including selections from Neil Young, Bob Dylan, PJ Harvey, Charlie Chaplin and Mark Lanegan, amongst others. One would be remiss to refer to Imposter as a cover album. Rather, Imposter is a story of songs, which Dave Gahan & Soulsavers listened to, studied, absorbed, and gave a new life. All of the songs have deep meaning to Dave, making Imposter a reflection of Dave’s life – a story told by others, but in his own distinct voice. 

Imposter is Dave and Soulsavers third album collaboration, following their critically acclaimed 2015 release Angels & Ghosts and their first release, 2012’s The Light the Dead See. On the first song released from the album, the group’s take on Cat Power’s “Metal Heart,” Brooklyn Vegan wrote, “His version starts much like Cat Power’s spare original, from 1998’s Moon Pix, with just his voice and a guitar, but it soon grows into a full-on, stadium-sized rock epic,” and mxdwn praised, “The soft sentimental song floods the listener’s ears with magnificent harmonies alongside the slow building percussive elements that crescendo towards an uplifting end.” Additional acclaim so far has come from The Guardian, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, and Stereogum, among others, with Clash noting, that Imposter is “a rare chance to hear Dave Gahan sing other people’s material, but it’s also much more than a standard covers record.”

Dave Gahan & Soulsavers play the following UK date. Tickets go on general sale Friday 12th November @ 9 AM from HERE. 

December 

Sun 5th LONDON, London Coliseum

Visit www.DaveGahan.com and Instagram.com/theimposter for additional album information and updates.

Twin Atlantic today unveil the tongue-in-cheek video for their brand new single ‘Get Famous’, taken from upcoming new album Transparency – out January 7th – which sees a new chapter unfold in the Scots’ prolific career.

Following the recent charismatic and swaggering ‘Bang On The Gong’, as well as the frantic offering of ‘One Man Party’, new track ‘Get Famous’ is a part Glasgow rap, part punk rock rant – a diatribe on fast fame references from football, pharaohs, algorithms and student loans. No topic is off limits, and the video sees frontman Sam McTrusty embrace every single one – all filmed himself from his phone. Watch here.

“Essentially, it’s me having a meltdown”, says Sam. “I’ve been obsessed with the Instagram account ‘Influencers In The Wild, which captures the best and worst of how desperate people can be for online clout. Makeup tutorials, juicing, landmark tours, kissing pets, posing in all your expensive clothes……it’s all mental, but I can’t seem to pull myself away from it – I’m addicted. In filming this video, I also became elements of what I hate. Even still, it was fun to make and indulge in all these guilty pleasures. Keeping little snippets of setting up and failed attempts was important. Those are the darkest moments of social media that we rarely get to see.”

‘Transparency’ is Sam McTrusty spilling his guts on everything from marriage, male friendship and the absurdity of social media to parenthood, medication and his mum.  Written in strained circumstances and recorded remotely with Sam’s mate and mentor Jacknife Lee, the album arrived more by accident than design when the world went into lockdown last spring.

Sam says; “After the challenges put in front of everyone in 2020 and 21 I did what I’ve always done in moments of turmoil, stress or anxiety and started to write songs. It slowly evolved into an album and something we feel puts a new stamp on our band which really excites us.”

The band delivered a triumphant UK tour earlier this year, welcoming hungry fans back with a rapturous sold out headline show at London’s Electric Ballroom. The band will embark on a fresh run of May 2022 shows, including London’s Roundhouse, and Glasgow’s iconic Barrowland, to celebrate 10 years of their career-changing Free album.

For an album made quietly in lockdown, Transparency is begging to be played loud and live. Bold, adventurous, and a load of fun. This is a new era for Twin Atlantic.

May 2022 (Free 10 Year Anniversary Tour)

Thu 5th Ireland, Dublin, Opium

Fri 6th Belfast, The Limelight

Sun 8th London, Roundhouse

Mon 9th Newcastle, Boiler Shop

Wed 11th Inverness, Ironworks

Thu 12th Glasgow, Barrowland SOLD-OUT

Fri 13th Glasgow, Barrowland

Sun 15th Leeds, Stylus

Tue 17th Manchester, O2 Ritz

Wed 18th Bristol, O2 Academy

Thu 19th Birmingham, o2 Institute

Pre order the album HERE. Physical formats include transparent vinyl, standard CD and transparent cassette tape.

Instagram // Twitter // YouTube // Spotify // Facebook 

twinatlantic.com 

A VERY CHILLY CHRISTMAS

« Christmas is a time of very mixed intense emotion for me, and the existing canon often sounds like a forced smile. Christmas is a typical time for superficial happiness, but also a time for reflection and mourning the sad events throughout the year, and to play the songs in a minor key makes Christmas more authentic and realistic.”  

From feudal oldies to newer holiday pop canon, A very chilly christmas surveys a broad scope of seasonal repertoire and sentiment. There’s grandeur and solemnity, there’s austerity and merriment, and there’s Mariah Carey. From Wenceslas to Wham, the great revelation of this collection is the restrained, distilled beauty of Gonzales’ signature minor key interpretations. In 2021, Chilly Gonzales returns to the holiday season with renewed optimism and an original recording of White Christmas, in a major key.

To coincide with the release Chilly Gonzales will also play a special show at London’s Royal Festival Hall on December 3rd. Tickets on sale now from HERE.

White Christmas*

Silent Night

Good King Wenceslas

Silver Bells

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Last Christmas

The Banister Bough (feat Feist)

Jingle Bells

All I Want For Christmas Is You

In the Bleak Midwinter (feat Jarvis Cocker)

Snow Is Falling In Manhattan (feat Jarvis Cocker and Feist)

O Tannenbaum

Maria Durch Ein Dornwald Ging

O Come, All Ye Faithful 

We Three Kings

Auld Lang Mynor

Sir Rod Stewart today releases “I Can’t Imagine,” the music video for the third release from his highly anticipated 31st studio album, THE TEARS OF HERCULES – out November 12th. 

The video spotlights Stewart with his band as they perform the upbeat love song inside a magnificent lakeside mansion near Las Vegas. Available now, “I Can’t Imagine” is the third release from the upcoming album, following “Hold On” and “One More Time.” THE TEARS OF HERCULES will be available on CD and LP, as well as through digital and streaming services. Fans can pre-order and pre-save ‘The Tears of Hercules’ now at https://rhino.lnk.to/TTOH 

Stewart’s latest is his fourth new album of original songs since 2013, when he reconnected with his songwriting muse to record Time, a chart-topping, double-platinum album in the U.K. For TEARS OF HERCULES, Stewart wrote nine of the album’s 12 songs, including the latest single “I Can’t Imagine,” which he penned in dedication to his wife, Special Constable Penelope Lancaster Stewart.

To make THE TEARS OF HERCULES, Stewart once again worked with Kevin Savigar, the keyboardist-songwriter-composer who has co-produced Stewart’s last three studio albums: Time (2013), Another Country (2015), and Blood Red Roses (2018). They’re long-running collaboration began in 1978 when Stewart invited Savigar to join his studio and touring band. In addition to “One More Time,” they also co-wrote the standout tracks “Hold On” and “All My Days.” Stewart co-wrote “Born To Boogie (A Tribute To Mark Bolan)” with Emerson Swinford, the guitarist in his band. Stewart, Savigar, and Swinford share songwriting credit on the new single, “I Can’t Imagine.”

Stewart has always had a gift for making any song sound like it was written just for him. That’s certainly true of the album’s title track, a powerful ballad written by Marc Jordan. Through the years, Stewart has recorded other songs written by Jordan, including “Rhythm Of My Heart” (#5 U.S./#3 U.K.) from Vagabond Heart and “This” from his gold-certified album, A Spanner in the Works. Additional covers include Stewart’s joyful take on Soul Brother Six’s “Some Kind Of Wonderful” and his stirring rendition of Johnny Cash’s “These Are My People.”

Sir Rod Stewart is one of the best-selling artists in the history of recorded music with more than 250 million records and singles sold worldwide. Stewart has earned countless of the industry’s highest awards, including two inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the ASCAP Founders Award for songwriting, New York Times bestselling author, Grammy™ Living Legend, and in 2016 he officially became “Sir Rod Stewart” after being knighted at Buckingham Palace for his services to music and charity.

In support of the release of his 31st studio album THE TEARS OF HERCULES, Stewart will once again hit the road in 2022 with a massive tour including dates in the U.S., U.K., Australia and New Zealand.  Visit RodStewart.com information on his upcoming 2022 tours and Las Vegas residency dates and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and his just launched TikTok.

TOUR DATES:

November 2022

Weds 16th NOTTINGHAM, Motorpoint Arena 

Tues 22nd LONDON, The O2

Tues 29th GLASGOW, Ovo Hydro

December 2022

Tues 6th LIVERPOOL, M&S Bank Arena

Fri 9th BIRMINGHAM, Utilita Arena 

Tues 13th LEEDS, First Direct Arena 

Weds 14th MANCHESTER, AO Arena 

Sat 17th NEWCASTLE, Utilita Arena

On November 19th, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss will return with new album Raise The Roof, delivering a fresh, cosmic collision of early blues, country deep cuts, revolutionary folk-rock and lost soul music written by a dozen legends and unsung heroes of the past century. The long-awaited reunion marks the duo’s first record in 14 years, produced by T Bone Burnett, and the track list reflects both deep-rooted influences and recent revelations. 

On “It Don’t Bother Me,” the final preview of the album shared today, the two artists transform Bert Jansch’s solo acoustic composition into an empowering arrangement led by Alison Krauss, simmering with spectral flourishes of dolceola, marxophone and pedal steel, handclaps and percussion, and interplaying guitars of Marc Ribot and Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo. Listen to “It Don’t Bother Me” HERE.

On the inclusion of “It Don’t Bother Me” on Raise The Roof, Robert Plant says, “I’ve been a big follower of Bert Jansch’s work since I was a teenager, and of that whole Irish, Scottish, English folk style that has a different lilt and different lyrical perspective. I was very keen to bring some of that into the picture.”

“One of my favourite parts of this is the songs and songwriters that I had never heard of, ” adds Alison Krauss. “Working with Robert, and with T Bone, is always a great education in music history.”

“It Don’t Bother Me” arrives on the heels of Raise The Roof’s lead single, “Can’t Let Go,” which just spent 10 consecutive weeks at #1 on the Americana radio charts, as well as the album’s sole original song, “High and Lonesome,” penned by Robert Plant and T Bone Burnett. 

Following the monumental debut of 2007’s platinum-certified Raising Sand, which won all six GRAMMY Awards for which it was nominated (including Album and Record of the Year), Robert Plant and Alison Krauss “are still proof that sometimes the best things come from unlikely collaborators” (Entertainment Weekly). Across Raise The Roof, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer and 27x GRAMMY-winning Bluegrass Hall of Famer step further outside their comfort zone, expanding their unexpected, unparalleled partnership in remarkable new directions. 

While sessions for the album began in Nashville in November 2019, wrapping just weeks before the world went into lockdown, Krauss remembers sending Plant the Randy Weeks/Lucinda Williams classic, “Can’t Let Go,” at least 10 years ago – and “it seems like time hasn’t passed at all” (NPR Music). Elsewhere on Raise The Roof, Plant and Krauss reimagine songs from Merle Haggard, Allen Toussaint, The Everly Brothers, Anne Briggs, Geeshie Wiley, Ola Belle Reed, Brenda Burns and more, with arrangements even more evocative and hypnotic than those on Raising Sand. 

Pre-order Raise The Roof HERE

Follow Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

http://plantkrauss.com

https://www.robertplant.com

https://alisonkrauss.com

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