Sarah Darling releases new single ahead of UK tour

Ahead of her 12 date UK & Ireland tour, Nashville’s Sarah Darling releases the single ‘Wasted’. Produced by Mark Bright (Carrie Underwood, Rascall Flatts) and written by Sarah with country hit songwriters Josh Osborne (Kacey Musgraves, Sam Hunt et al) & Marc Beeson (Blake Shelton, LeAnn Rimes) ‘Wasted’ is a beautiful, poignant reflection of the devastating effects of addiction.

The song was previewed to an entranced audience at Sarah’s sold out Christmas 2017 concert at St Pancras Old Church, where she explained it was possibly the most personal song she had ever written; “’Wasted’ is a track that is particularly personal to me as it deals with the emotional distress addiction causes for everyone. It’s not just the person abusing but also the people around.”

Originally written when Sarah first moved to Nashville from Iowa, the song has remained unreleased until now, as Sarah explains “I always felt like it was special but didn’t know what to do with it. Maybe because the subject is so heavy I stopped playing it, but somehow those special tunes always find their way.”

The track also marks an important step in Sarah’s career, it is the first to be released from a late-2017 recording session with producer Mark Bright (whose credits include multi-platinum albums by Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood). “I think the new tunes I’ve recorded take you to a deeper part who I am. My road hasn’t always been an easy one and the new music takes you on that journey of honesty and finding strength. I have a lot to sing about when chasing dreams are like climbing mountains.”

This spring Sarah is due to return to the studio with Mark to complete the new album slated for a 2018 release. This record will follow 2017’s acclaimed ‘Dream Country’, Sarah’s third studio album but the first to receive a full UK release. Named album of the year by ‘Your Life In A Song’ ‘Dream Country’ introduced Sarah, who was recently awarded the [country music blog] ‘Belles and Gals Award 2017’, to a receptive and welcoming UK audience.

Stateside Sarah has toured with stadium fillers Carrie Underwood, Kacey Musgraves, Vince Gill and Tim McGraw, and performed at the Grand Ole Opry more than 80 times. In the UK, as well as her own headline concerts, Sarah has toured with her signature ‘Night in Nashville’ shows, opened for the chart-topping Ward Thomas and performed at the C2C: Country to Country festival both in 2016 and 2017.

Sarah will embark on her biggest UK tour to date on March 5th at the Union Chapel, London.

On this 12 show tour, the BCMA Awards ‘International Touring Artist of the Year’ nominee will be performing songs from her three previous studio albums and previewing songs from the forthcoming album.

Looking forward to the tour Sarah says “I am so excited to return to the UK for a release party of sorts! My newest single is scheduled to release on March 2nd, and I cannot wait to celebrate with my UK fans.”

For one of the brightest new stars in the country music scene, the sky really is the limit.

Tickets for Sarah Darling's UK tour are on sale now. Click here for full details and to purchase.

Lionel Richie to put hand and footprints in cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre

Oscar® & Multi-GRAMMY® award winning entertainment legend Lionel Richie to put hand and foot prints in cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX® forecourt

On March 7, superstar singer-songwriter Lionel Richie will put his handprints and footprints in cement at the TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX® in Hollywood and thus receive the oldest award in Hollywood.

Lionel has sold more than 100 million albums and is the recipient of countless awards, including four Grammy Awards®, an Academy Award® and a Golden Globe Award. In December, he was honored at the Kennedy Center Honors and is currently a judge for the beloved music competition series “American Idol.”

“Oh my God this is absolutely incredible,” says Richie.

“This is my Hollywood dream come true.  Of all the Hollywood awards, this is the one I can share with the public forever."

The TCL Chinese Theatre handprints ceremony is rich in tradition and provides the over six million people a year who visit the site an opportunity to experience the lore of Hollywood up close, for here lay the handprints and footprints of Hollywood’s most notable talents.

Movie exhibitor Sid Grauman, who was one of Hollywood’s best known and most creative showmen, opened The TCL Chinese in 1927 and launched the handprint ceremony a year later, as a promotion to advertise his many premieres and first run films.

Recent celebrants have included Jessica Chastain, Robert De Niro, Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, directors Ridley Scott, Kenneth Branagh and Quentin Tarantino and two-time Oscar® winners Jennifer Lawrence and Jane Fonda, MGM’s “Leo the Lion,” The “Twilight” stars, Robert Duvall, Kim Novak, the late Peter O’Toole, Helen Mirren, Sandra Bullock, Jerry Lewis, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.

Among the first handprints and footprints were those of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.

Within a few years of its debut, the famous forecourt on Hollywood Boulevard was flourishing and has since become an international tourist destination attracting six million visitors a year to the world’s most famous movie palace. 

Lionel Richie brings All The Hits back to the UK this Summer. Full details and tickets here.

Lionel Richie announces his return to the UK this Summer

Lionel Richie's love affair with the UK continues as he announces his return to the UK for the long awaited 2018 Summer tour.

Tickets on sale go on sale Friday 2nd February from 10:00 AM

“…a sincere affirmation of his real standing in pop culture as a hit-maker of the highest order.” 
Daily Telegraph

“…his adaptability produces a show that swings between raucous R&B and chocolate-box ballads, all of it fantastic."
Guardian

“….may just have proven himself the greatest rock star on the planet.”
The Independent

International superstar Lionel Richie will return to the UK in 2018, exploring parts of the UK he’s never visited before. The date is part of a summer tour which will be visiting iconic venues across the country in areas such as Northampton, Perth, London, Lincoln, Shrewsbury, Leigh, Carlisle, Scarborough, Chesterfield, Hove and North Norfolk. Tickets go on sale on February 2nd from 10:00 AM. 

Performing hits from his extensive and much loved repertoire spanning decades, all the way from the Commodores to the present day, Richie’s shows are world renowned for their party atmosphere. Fans will be able to enjoy timeless mega-hits and sing along to classics such as ‘Easy’, ‘Truly, ‘Dancing on the Ceiling’, ‘Say You Say Me’, ‘Hello’ and ‘All Night Long’.

“I’ve been missing the UK and can’t wait to make my long awaited return and to see parts of the country I’ve never made it out to before. The fans are always incredible and they make the atmosphere at every show electric, so I look forward to singing along with them soon.”

— Lionel Richie

These will be Lionel’s first UK shows since receiving glittering reviews for the ‘All The Hits’ tour which included three nights at London’s The O2. The dates followed a phenomenal Glastonbury performance which drew the biggest crowd of the weekend as over 200,000 people flocked to the Pyramid Stage. Lionel’s incredible success continued as his album ‘The Definitive Collection’ topped the charts and provided his first UK Number 1 in 23 years.

Lionel went on to receive British GQ’s Icon Award adding to a celebrated career which includes four GRAMMYs, a Golden Globe and even an Oscar as well as the prestigious Nordoff Robbins O2 Silver Clef Award. In 2016 Lionel launched his on-going Las Vegas headline residency show, ‘Lionel Richie—All the Hits’, at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, where he takes his fans on a spectacular musical journey, performing a variety of his seminal hits. Having sold over 100 million albums worldwide he recently joined the judging panel on ABC’s American Idol.

UK TOUR DATES:

Friday 1 June - Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton
Sunday 3 June - McDiarmid Park, Perth
Tuesday 5 June - Hampton Court Palace Festival, London
Wednesday 6 June - Hampton Court Palace Festival, London
Sunday 10 June - Lincolnshire Showground, Lincoln
Wednesday 13 June - Montgomery Waters Meadow, Shrewsbury
Saturday 16 June - Leigh Sports Village, Leigh
Sunday 17 June  - Brunton Park, Carlisle
Tuesday 19 June  - Open Air Theatre, Scarborough
Thursday 21 June - Proact Stadium, Chesterfield
Saturday 23 June - The 1st Central County Ground, Hove
Sunday 24 June - Holkham Hall, Holkham nr Wells-next-the-Sea

Tickets are available to purchase from:

ticketmaster.com
AXS.com
gigantic.com
alttickets.com

hamptoncourtpalacefestival.com (Hampton Court Festival dates only)

Official VIP ticket experiences | eventtravel.com | 08444 721 222

Elton John bids farewell to the road

After more than half a century on the road and an unparalleled career that has redefined the cultural landscape and seen Elton John claim his place as a true global icon, the superstar today announced via an exclusive VR180 live stream on YouTube, details of his final tour called ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’.

Kicking off in the U.S. on September 8, 2018, the ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour will consist of more than 300 shows across five continents, hitting North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Australasia before reaching its conclusion in 2021. The tour will arrive in the UK in late 2020. These dates mark the superstar’s last-ever tour, the end of half a century on the road for one of pop culture’s most enduring performers. Elton’s new stage production will take his fans on a musical and highly visual journey spanning a 50-year career of hits like no one has ever seen before.

UK shows to be announced and go on sale in September 2018 - Fans should register at eltonjohn.com for regular updates about the tour and UK ticket information.

“Performing live fuels me and I’m ecstatic and humbled to continue to play to audiences across the globe,” said Elton. “I plan to bring the passion and creativity that has entertained my fans for decades to my final tour. After the tour finishes, I’m very much looking forward to closing off that chapter of my life by saying farewell to life on the road. I need to dedicate more time to raising my children.”

Tickets for initial North American shows listed below go on sale to the general public beginning February 2 at 10 a.m. local. Tickets and VIP packages can be purchased at eltonjohn.com.

Register your interest at eltonjohn.com to be updated when additional shows are announced and on sale around the world.

The ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour’ pre-sale is powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan (Ticketmaster’s fan-first technology, built to help artists combat ticket bots and get tickets into the hands of fans that intend to go to the event). Tickets for the tour will be available through registration using Ticketmaster Verified Fan. Registration opens Wednesday January 24 and continues until Saturday January 27. Pre-sale will begin Tuesday January 30 at 10 a.m. and run through Wednesday January 31 at 10 p.m. (all times are local); supplies are limited. Registration is required to participate in the ™ Verified Fan Pre-sale. For more information and to register, visit eltonjohn.com

“It is truly an honor to be associated with Elton John, one of music and pop culture’s most legendary, innovative and unrivaled performers,” said Jay Marciano, Chairman and CEO, AEG Presents, promoters of the global ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour. “In a manner and style that could only be conceived by such a renowned artist, Elton’s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ concerts will be the ultimate and final opportunity for his millions of fans around the world to experience this generation’s most incomparable and iconic entertainer.”

The news was announced to the world in the very manner that has defined Elton and his creative output over a dazzling career - innovative, daring and constantly taking bold strides into the future.

Centred around a marquee event at Gotham Hall in New York City, the announcement was live streamed globally exclusively on YouTube in VR180, and simultaneously transmitted to venues in Los Angeles and London. The immersive experience at the event - and all around the world thanks to YouTube’s VR180 technology - allowed fans to revisit some of the defining moments that set Elton on his unstoppable path to global superstardom. Transformation, after all, is part of Elton’s DNA, and he adeptly used the latest technology to help him defy space and time, connecting his past and future. Event footage along with additional 'behind the scenes' videos in VR180 tracking Elton's journey, supported by YouTube, will be available at youtube.com/eltonjohn.

“Elton John is always up for doing things differently, using technology to push the boundaries of storytelling and reach fans in new ways. Last year, Elton's YouTube-supported project "The Cut" gave undiscovered talent the chance to create new music videos for his iconic hits, and now his final farewell tour announcement takes experimentation to the next level – live streaming in VR,” said Vivien Lewit, Global Head of Artist Services at YouTube. “We're honored to deepen our relationship by supporting the exclusive live stream and 'behind the scenes' videos in VR for this special moment in pop music history.”

It was also announced at today’s launch that Gucci will be exclusively designing Elton’s ‘Farewell Yellow Brick Road’ tour wardrobe. Resplendent at Gotham Hall in a bespoke outfit, Elton discussed his passion for the Italian fashion house which last year unveiled its S/S 2018 collection - designed by Creative Director, Alessandro Michele and inspired by Elton’s inimitable style, referencing original items taken from his iconic style archives.

For more information and to purchase tickets visit eltonjohn.com

Supports announced for Sarah Darling’s London and Manchester shows

Sarah Darling returns to London and Manchester as part of her UK tour this March, and today details of who will be joining her as support has now been confirmed.

At London’s Union Chapel on Monday 5 March, Sarah will be joined by London-based Country-Pop songwriter Twinnie and Nashville-based songwriter Katie Pruitt.

In 2016, Twinnie self released an EP that she co wrote with Jon Green (James Bay, Tor Miller, James Morrison) which reached #2 on the Country iTunes Chart.

After recently supporting Chase Rice in December and performing at Country Music Week, she is currently focusing on writing her debut album and having recently been signed to BMG Records worldwide, Twinnie is splitting her time between Nashville, LA, Sweden and London working with top collaborators to create a unique record set for release in 2018.

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Katie Pruitt is a young, talented, and fiercely passionate songwriter within Nashville’s music community. Embracing her new city for the past three years, Katie has swiftly built a reputation around her dynamic vocals and soulful, bluesy sound.

Splitting her time between writing songs and waiting tables at 12 South’s Mafioaza’s, Katie wasted no time getting her foot in the door of Nashville’s music scene. Alas, Katie’s first big break wasn’t until she landed a Tuesday night residency at The Basement where she truly started to see her fan base explode. Not long after that, she charmed her way on to the Music City Roots stage in Franklin, Tennessee and fostered a relationship that secured her a spot on Nashville’s Americana Festival lineup.

In Manchester, Sarah is joined at the Night & Day Cafe on Tuesday 20 March by British singer-songwriter Emma Stevens.

A multi-instrumentalist, Stevens first picked up a guitar at the age of two and has since learnt cello, piano, banjo, ukulele and mandolin. Playing the majority of the instruments on her albums herself, Emma has achieved four consecutive play-listed singles on BBC Radio 2, extensive radio play in the UK, Europe and Australia, and an iTunes single of the week for her song "Riptide”.

Tickets for both shows are on sale now. Further details here.

Philippa Hanna announces April UK tour including London Bush Hall date

Following the release of her chart topping album Come Back Fighting, Philippa Hanna will be heading out on the road this April for her most exciting run of headline shows to date. Her country-tinged 6th release hit Number 1 on the iTunes UK Country Chart on the day of release and topped the OCC Christian & Gospel chart in December 2017.

Fans can expect to hear Off The Wagon, the lead single that has drawn comparisons with the likes of Dolly Parton as well as the acoustic reggae-infused Dorothy and the hard-hitting bluesy title track Come Back Fighting. In additional to established favourites and classic country covers, Philippa will be championing upcoming singles Getting On With Life and The Hero.

Joined by a small ensemble of accompanists on stage, in her signature style, Philippa will share the stories and insights behind the songs in tandem with her daily inspirational YouTube blog.

Having captivated UK audiences on tours supporting Lionel Richie, Leona Lewis, Anastacia, Wet Wet Wet, Collabro & Rebecca Ferguson, her reputation as an outstanding acoustic entertainer is hard to rival. With just 4 dates planned for the tour, fans are advised to get tickets early to avoid disappointment. Tickets go on sale on Friday 12th of January.

Philippa will be appearing live on Good Morning Sunday on BBC Radio 2 on Sunday 4th February after recording an Under The Appletree live session with Bob Harris

Tour dates

Tuesday 3rd April - O2 Academy 3, Birmingham
Wednesday 4th April - Night & Day, Manchester
Thursday 5th April - Bush Hall, London
Friday 6th April – The Plug, Sheffield

Sarah Darling announces UK tour around March London date

Following her opening slots for chart toppers Ward Thomas, touring the UK with her own  “Night in Nashville” shows, and performing at the C2C: Country to Country festival (2016 & 2017), Sarah Darling announces her biggest UK headline tour to date.  On this 12 show tour, the BCMA Awards ‘International Touring Artist of the Year’ nominee will be performing songs from her three studio albums – including the acclaimed 2017 release ‘Dream Country’ (which was named album of the year by ‘Your Life In A Song’) – and previewing songs from her forthcoming 2018 album.

Looking forward to the tour Sarah says “I am so excited to return to the UK for a release party of sorts!  My newest single is scheduled to release on March 2nd, and I cannot wait to celebrate with my UK fans.” 

Sarah previewed some new material from the upcoming album during her sold out Christmas concert at St Pancras’ Church last December – where she also revealed she has been working with Mark Bright, the producer responsible for some of the greatest albums by Carrie Underwood and Reba McEntire among many others. Included on the Christmas setlist, and sure to be performed on this upcoming tour, was a track co-written with Ward Thomas and another, "Angel Wings", which was described by W21 Music as “a song that we should all be singing around a fire in an Irish bar, as if it was already a classic,” in their glowing live review of the show. Sarah’s intimate performances are definitely not one to miss.

For one of the brightest new stars in the country music scene, the sky really is the limit.

“We had witnessed and not for the first time for some in the crowd a fabulous artist, amazing singer whose honesty and emotion shines through”

— The Live Review

Tour dates

05/03 - Union Chapel, London
10/03 - Unitarian Church, Brighton
12/03 - The Waterfront, Norwich
13/03 - Gateshead 2, Gateshead
14/03 - Studio 2, Liverpool
15/03 - Oran Mor, Glasgow
17/03 - Unitarian Church, Cambridge
18/03 - Basement, York
20/03 - Night & Day, Manchester
22/03 - Empire Music Hall, Belfast
23/03 - Grand Social, Dublin
27/03 - Lantern, Bristol

Max Restaino announces headline London show for April 2018

Fresh from wowing arena crowds across the UK Max Restaino, the 21-year-old songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, has announced he will bring his live show back to London next April.

O2 Islington Academy2 will see Max play his biggest London headline show to date on Thursday 19 April.

Tickets go on sale on Friday 8 December at 9AM.

The gifted young musician made his first TV appearance at the age of 9, and by 16 he made his first recording with Gary Barlow, playing the accordion on the track 'Let Me Go', which reached No.2 in the UK singles chart in 2013. 

Since then Max has won a PRS Song Writing Award for the Sky TV series Tin Pan Alley. He’s worked with LA Film director Mark S Jacobs (of Glee & Kitchen Nightmares USA), Olly Murs, Geri Halliwell, Donny Osmond, and even Peter Kay, singing on his Car Share TV Series and Phoenix Nights Live.  

In 2016 Max toured theatres across the UK with Rebecca Ferguson and this year he has supported STEPS on their sold out Arena tour including dates at The O2 and SSE Wembley Arena, building a firm fan base.

His recent single ‘Sugar Rush’ has been tearing up dance floors across the UK, (Top 10 in the Music Week Pop Club Chart), with new product planned for 2018.