James, in his guise as editor of Lyric Magazine (www.lyricmagazine.co.uk), is lucky enough to receive a lot of albums and songs in advance from record labels and PRs. He's got advances of TWO albums being released in March that have blown his mind in a way that only really Carly Pearce's 'Written in Stone' did last year. Listen in to find out which…

Kip Moore released a re-recorded version of fan-favourite 'Crazy One More Time' two weeks ago and sent the song to radio. The song originally appeared on his debut album over a decade ago. Is it a good idea? Which other artists have done this, if any? Is it the start of a new trend? If so, what other five songs from five different artists would ben…

In the first episode of 2022 James looks to the year ahead and identifies where the great Country music is coming from. He gives a shout out to a series of artists to watch out for, albums to check out and predicts three big trends that he expects to see in the industry. Oh, and he doesn't mention Covid at all! (Spoiler - he does)…

It's that time of year again folks! In true Ross Geller style, James has made a pros and cons list about Country music for the year of 2021. What have been the good and bad things that have happened in Country music this year? James takes a look and finds some reasons to be cheerful about the genre for the year ahead.…

Last night (Weds 10th November) Bridgestone Arena in Nashville hosted the 2021 Country Music Association awards. It was great to have them back, restored to in-person glory. Every award evening is not without debate and intrigue, supposition and speculation and last night's was no exception. In today's episode James analyses the winners and rounds …

Zac Brown Band's new album, 'The Comeback' is a triumph after years of messy, almost legacy killing rubbish! In today's episode, James explores whether Zac means it this time or whether we will get more experimental, 'Swayze'-style tripe in the future. Can you really like 'The Comeback' without worrying that it might all go to pot again like it did…

The big controversy this week in the world of Country music was the announcement that the new album from Kacey Musgraves, 'star-crossed' would not be eligible for a Grammy this year in the Country music category. Well, talk about meltdown. In this podcast James, an arch liberal progressive inclusionist when it comes to Country music, explores why h…

Announced last week, the nominations for the 55th CMA awards in November make for interesting reading. They seem to suggest that there is a shift in focus and a changing of the guard quietly happening in Country music. James explains why.By James Daykin in association with Lyric Magazine

James comes to the conclusion that with their new album, 'Good Things' Dan + Shay have transitioned out of Country music in the same way that Taylor Swift and The Band Perry famously did. Does it matter? Are the genre rules breaking down these days? What do you think?By James Daykin in association with Lyric Magazine

It's gone viral!!!!!! Yep, Country music has never been as popular as it is now..............on TikTok. The recent success of Walker Hayes' 'Fancy Like' song combined with the emergence of artists like Priscilla Block, Ashley Cooke and Tigerlily from The 615 House in Nashville has focused attention on TikTok as a platform on which musicians can adv…

The craft and the art of making great albums is something that isn't valued in Country music as much as in other genres. Country music is all about the hit and the radio single and has been since at least the 1950s. In this episode James looks into why and name-checks a few artists that are beginning to bring back the art of making an album. He als…

Made for You by Jake Owen is just coming to the end of a two week stay at number one in the Country music charts. James thinks it may well be the most remarkable Country song of modern times. Find out what he means by remarkable and learn a little more about the fascinating life story this song has had.…

We had Bro-Country and then we had Boyfriend Country and now James has detected the latest trend emerging in commercial and mainstream Country music right now. To find out what he thinks that is you need to listen in as he talks about what links Lady A to Jimmie Allen to Brett Young to Eric Church's forthcoming triple album release 'Heart & Soul' a…

Recorded on the day the 'Morgan Wallen N-Gate' scandal dropped, James decided that no-one else needed the opinions of a middle aged white man adding into the mix so he pressed ahead and recorded the scheduled podcast instead whilst feeling mightily proud of how the big corporations and institutions in Nashville showed themselves to have guts, compa…

James has started a new feature for 2021 this month: a monthly round-up of our favourite album and song releases - designed to catch you all up on what was good in the world of Country music this month. Your one-stop re-cap in case you missed a pivotal album or single release in January 2021. Featuring everyone from Kip Moore and Blake Shelton to H…

James recorded this podcast on January 20th, the day of Joe Biden's inauguration as President of the United States. Garth Brooks (as well as Tim McGraw and Tyler Hubbard) has been asked to play the inauguration party - prompting a wave of 'cancel Garth' comments across social media. James examines the ridiculousness of this situation and pours scor…

This week James expands on the review of Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous: The Double Album' he did for www.lyricmagazine.co.uk and dives deep into examining whether or not the confines and the expectations of the Country music genre might well prevent Wallen from becoming the artist that he could well go on to be. Have a listen and let him know what you…

Happy New Year listeners. In this episode James looks at the year ahead for the Country music industry and tries to make some predictions as to what might be in store for us faithful fans. Some of it might not be what you want to hear, but then Country music is about truth, right? The good, the bad and the ugly about the coming year in Country musi…

A new name and a new viral song exploded into the Country music scene this week. 'Dicked Down in Dallas', one of the rudest, most profane Country songs of all time has exploded on TikTok in the same way that 'Old Town Road' did for Lil Nas X. We examine the lyrics of DDID and speculate as to whether the song is going to launch the career of Trey Le…

G.O.A.T. and all time legend Garth Brooks released his new album, 'Fun' last week. Despite having the worst title of any of his albums it is probably the best of the three albums he has released since his 2014 comeback, although that's not saying much. This week James examines why Gath's post-comeback recording career has been so poor and theorises…

There are landmark episodes in the life of any podcast. Episodes 50 and 100 being the two biggest but it's also worth celebrating episode 69 so what better way to mark the auspicious occasion than a chat with legendary broadcaster Bob Harris. Bob, who is celebrating 50 years in the industry himself this year, is the brains behind a new project and …

We're 6 months into this 'no live music' pandemic now and with a winter of discontent apparently ahead of us it doesn't appear that there will be any big tours, live shows or live music anytime soon either. With the prospect of C2C in March being cancelled again and potentially no live shows for the whole of 2021 ahead of us it's now time for the f…

The nominations for the 2020 CMA awards were released yesterday (Tuesday 1st September) and once again, the name of Kane Brown is conspicuous by its absence. Kane Brown, with multiple number ones, commercial success and personal creativity has never once received a single CMA nomination despite gaining nominations and awards from other bodies like …

We speak to Mae Estes about her life and career to date. Mae is one of Nashville's brightest talents and has just released her sassy new song, co-written with the awesome Kenny Foster. Mae is playing a three song set for Destination Country on Sunday 23rd August as support to Canadian writer & performer Victoria Banks. We suggest you check out her …

James speaks to UK artists Emma & Jolie on the day that their debut single, 'I Don't Need a Man' is released. Join in the celebrations as they talk about the release of the song, how it was written in Nashville with Emily Hackett and the inspirations behind it. The girls discuss how they deal with unwanted male attention on social media, what their…

This week, James vents his frustration with the way the labels and record companies in Nashville are currently releasing music. (or maybe it's just that he's a dinosaur from another era?) James explores whether or not content is just being tossed into the bottomless ether of social media and Spotify and gets into the weighty analysis of what exactl…

James returns from 'Country Music Furlough' and looks at the controversy raging in the genre right now between those fans and artists who want to be playing and attending concerts and those who think it is way too soon. He also has some suggestions for the way forward for artists that are far from ideal but about as good as it is going to get for a…

So many artists in the past month have announced the delay or postponement of their scheduled album releases. Luke Bryan, Margo Price, Wille Nelson and the Dixie Chicks have all announced delays in the Country world, whilst artists like Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys, The Pretenders and Lady GaGa have also joined them from other areas of the music industry.…

Today is 'Never Will' release day. April 3rd 2020 and amongst all the rubbish and angst that the world is going through there shines a rare beacon of hope, light and creativity. James reviews Ashley McBryde's new album and finds himself in awe, nay, shell-shocked as to what he finds. Bigger, bolder, ballsier than 'Girl Going Nowhere', McBryde seems…

The cancellation of this year's C2C festival has major ramifications going forward. In this episode James explores the possibilities that the organisers have going forward and then realises that there isn't an ideal solution to this problem. In the second half of the podcast James examines the wider impact the Coronavirus is having on the music ind…

Today is Friday 13th and we're not ones to fall prey to superstition but with yesterday's cancellation of the Country to Country festival in London we are feeling particularly unlucky right now. James was on site at the O2 arena yesterday. It was an eerie and unusual place to be. Social media was aflame with rumour, supposition and super-charged em…

Cornish singer-songwriter Bailey Tomkinson has had an amazing last few weeks. Her last three singles have reached #2 on the iTunes charts but recently, thanks to articles that have appeared in The Metro, The Times and then the Daily Mail her name has been everywhere as she has been put forward as the UK's answer to Taylor Swift. She's even recently…

Airing in the USA last year and in the UK on BBC4 recently, 'Country Music', the documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns, was an absolute delight and treasure trove of historical information about the world of Country music and the people that populate it. Despite each episode being cut to only 50 minutes here in the UK James found it to be an…

There have been three albums released already in 2020 by Dustin Lynch, Little Big Town and Tenille Arts that are superb examples of the good, the bad and the ugly of the sequencing of albums in Country music. How to put together an album so that it flows and takes the listener on an aural and emotional journey is such a skill and yet Country music …

James has identified seven stages that Country music fans need to work through to find contentment and happiness. Each stage has it's ups and downs although (spoiler alert!) stages 3 & 6 are the hardest stages to get through before the light at the end of the tunnel is reached! Take a listen to the podcast and see which stage you are currently at a…

A new offshoot of Country music, termed 'Boyfriend Country' by Billboard magazine, has emerged over the past couple of years. In this episode, James looks at what Boyfriend Country actually is and who its leading lights are. He also examines why songs about the redemptive power of women might well be holding back & hampering female artists in Count…

The CMA awards are, traditionally, not without controversy and this year was no exception. Taking place last night (Weds November 13th) at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, the awards were dogged by the continued narrative about the involvement of women in the Country music industry. The CMA's decided to pair Carrie Underwood with both Dolly and …

As we move towards the end of the decade various organisations are giving out '.....of the decade' awards. The Academy of Country Music (ACM) is no different. They recently awarded Luke Bryan's 'Crash My Party' the 'Country Music Album of the Decade' award causing James to choke on his afternoon high-tea. In this episode James looks at what criteri…

STOP!!!! This is part 2 of a two part look into the C2C festival announcement. If you are tempted to listen to this first, DON'T! Check out Episode 51A, which is part 1, first. This is the concluding part of the double-parter, in which James concludes and wraps up his reaction to the C2C Festival announcement and looks forward to the event in March…

It's always a red-letter day each year, for us fans of Country music here in the UK, when the organisers of the Country 2 Country festival announce the line up for the annual shindig at the O2 Arena in London each March. This year's announcement happened on Monday (October 21st) and since then message boards and Facebook groups have been abuzz with…

Happy birthday to us! A landmark episode today, episode 50!! To celebrate, James decided to take us on a tour of everything he has learned in the past 27 years about Country music. Will it amount to a whole hill of beans? Who knows? So, strap yourself in for the ride as we go deep into the murky waters of all the stuff that James has learned about …

Inspired by the recent release of songs by Old Dominion and the Zac Brown Band, James examines the phenomena of songs that are clearly designed to come across as romantic but cross the line into being creepy. James looks a little at the history of 'creepy' songs and reads out the lyrics to some famous songs that have blurred or crossed the line bet…

Freshly back home from a field in Leicestershire, James has uploaded his review of this year's Long Road Festival, which took place last weekend (September 7th) at Stanford Hall. James analyses the USP of the festival and really digs down into the heart of the Long Road and what the festival is about. He also looks at what improvements were made fr…

Absolutely fantastic chat with Matthew Ramsey this week, lead singer of Old Dominion. So fantastic, in fact, that James forgot his own intro music!! So the podcast starts right in the thick of it as the conversation starts. Old Dominion are poised to release their third, self-titled album in October and are touring the UK the week before that relea…

Country music is unlike any other genre when it comes to the age that the musicians, song-writers and performers working within it get married. In this episode, James looks at what the average age of marriage is and explores in depth the many instances of performers in Country music who got married way below the national average. James also specula…

James was lucky enough to grab 20 minutes with Country powerhouse vocalist Lauren Alaina this week ahead of her appearance on Saturday at the Dixie Fields Festival in Essex and the ensuing UK tour which sees her criss-crossing the UK like a seasoned road warrior! It was a great chat. Lauren talks about her memories of appearing at the C2C in London…

The voting period for the 2019 CMA awards opens soon. James will be voting in the CMA awards this year for the first time ever and he wants to take you behind the scenes of the whole process. He also has a couple of suggestions for new categories that the CMA could introduce to reflect some of the changes that have happened in Country music over th…

It's CMA Fest in Nashville this weekend (June 8th) and as the town grinds to a halt, James considers what the CMA (Country Music Association) could do to aid and develop the growth of Country music across Europe and the wider world. The past 6-7 years has seen a tremendous growth and interest in Country music in territories like the UK, Australia a…

In today's episode, James speaks to Gill Tee and Deborah Shilling, the organisers of the Black Deer Festival. Held in Kent, the festival opens its doors to the public for its second year soon, on the weekend of the 21st of June. After the accolades and awards that the festival won in its inaugural year in 2018, James was fascinated to know how Gill…

James managed to grab 15 minutes with Country rocker and 'adopted British citizen' Kip Moore before his show in Birmingham on May 29th. Kip spoke with his usual openness and honesty about the longevity of previous single, 'Last Shot' and how that was a blessing and a curse, about who he is when playing acoustic shows and the difference between the …