Chris Rose – Hometown

The singer-songwriter has always been blessed with ample helpings of the perfect combination of beach and bush in Port Macquarie to inspire his musical output and the new single is the perfect summer ode to home.

“Hometown is inspired by my time living in Sydney and that feeling of excitement and longing to get on the road back home,” said Chris Rose. “It talks about all my favourite things. Parties on the sand with my mates, summer nights in late December, surfing, camping and more. Although it’s an upbeat/uplifting track, there’s a little nostalgic sadness buried in there.”

It’s the perfect time for nostalgia, especially with borders opening and Australians getting to visit home or see loved ones, many for the first time in over a year. Rose’s love for his home will be mirrored across the country’s highways and airports right around Australia this holiday season and this track will become the anthem we didn’t expect to need in 2021.

Despite being a relative newcomer to country radio, Chris has been a stalwart of the live music scene, getting his break as part of the TDP (Talent Development Program) which has helped shape the early careers of artists including Morgan Evans, Brad Cox and Tom Jordan (Seaforth). He supported some of Aussie music’s most iconic artists like The McClymonths, Black Sorrows and Daryl Braithwaite and is now stepping out to do his own shows, including his ‘Hometown’ launch party on December 3 at ‘Hello Sailor’, Port Macquarie.

Priscilla Block – Peaked In High School

Mercury Nashville rising star Priscilla Block has released her latest song ‘Peaked In High School’ for all of those who feel more grateful the school years are over than thanks for the good time. Written by Block with Sarah Jones, Josh Beale and Kate Hasting, Block taps into her high school years, feeling on the outside and coming to grips with friends who turned “too cool” – but Block executes the song with her playful, signature wink.

“I was the girl that had no interest in doing things how everybody else did them,” Block shares with PEOPLE. “This song kinda just goes out to anybody that that’s ever made me feel not enough. And to any young people out there, people tell you that high school will be some of the best years of your life. I am living proof that it is not. I wish I knew that back in the day. I would have saved so many fricking tears.”

Known for her relatable, candid lyrics, Block continues to prove to that her best years are still ahead. She released her self-titled major label debut earlier this year and is currently one of CMT’s Next Women of Country, is November’s Opry NextStage featured artist, has her smash single ‘Just About Over You’ climbing US country radio airplay charts, and earned critical praise including American Songwriter which notes, “Priscilla’s songs emanate authenticity, making others feel they have a place at the table, and someone new to relate to.” Block has toured with Ashley McBryde, Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi and more.

About Priscilla Block

Country artist Priscilla Block draws listeners in with her unfiltered, relatable songwriting and catchy melodies. Pegged as a 2021 Artist to Watch by Amazon Music, PANDORA, Spotify, CMT, The Boot, MusicRow, HITS, Sounds Like Nashville, Country Now, Music Mayhem and more, Priscilla’s honest and upfront approach promotes self-love, empowerment, and acceptance through her own blend of country pop and southern rock, dubbed the Block Party sound.

In early 2020, Priscilla was struggling to make ends meet after losing her job and her apartment. Unable to get out and play in person due to Covid-19, Priscilla began experimenting on TikTok and quickly developed a rabid fanbase with songs like ‘Thick Thighs,’ ‘PMS’ and ‘Just About Over You’. Fans rallied together to independently fund Priscilla’s recording and since its release, ‘Just About Over You’ peaked both the iTunes Country and All-Genre song charts, the song was named one of The New York Times Best Songs of 2020, and it is now Top 20 on US country radio. ‘Just About Over You’ along with ‘Wish You Were the Whiskey’, ‘I Bet You Wanna Know’ and three more originals written by the young star comprise Priscilla’s self-titled major label debut EP released April 30.

Originally from Raleigh, NC, Priscilla moved to Nashville to pursue music shortly after high school. In Nashville, the affable, hardworking, student of life worked multiple jobs to make ends meet, then a chance encounter with her idol – Taylor Swift – was the sign she needed to dive all the way in on her music. Priscilla is a seasoned performer sharing the stage and opening for artists including Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Kelsea Ballerini, Rodney Atkins and more. She is currently on the road with Ashley McBryde.

Darren Coggan & Olivia Coggan – Dear August

Multi award winning performer, Darren Coggan and his daughter, seventeen-year-old singer/songwriter Olivia Coggan, collaborate to release a stunning collection of songs celebrating family, hope and home on their debut EP, ‘Dear August’.

The seven songs that feature on the EP are uplifting affirmations of the universal values we all hold true. In the world we live in today, being reminded that life is beautiful and to love one another is a mantra we all need.

The first single and title track of the EP, ‘Dear August’, is a song that will resonate with so many, a prayer for the sun to break through to a new day.

“During the endless months of lockdown throughout 2021, my version of ‘home schooling’ was to record this EP of some of our favourite songs that Olivia and I have naturally gravitated towards over the years. I am incredibly proud of Olivia and what we have captured and I hope that the songs bring joy to the listeners” commented Darren.

“Singing together is something that Dad and I have always done for as long as I can remember. In fact, there is a bonus track on the EP of a recording of Dad and I singing the Kasey Chambers song ‘Dad Do You Remember?’, when I was 8 years old, it’s pretty cute and a nice little time capsule to reflect upon” says Olivia

Olivia Coggan is emerging as a fabulous young singer/songwriter, gathering high praise from some of the music industry’s most respected performers including Kasey Chambers, Felicity Urquhart and Emma Pask. Olivia is currently writing songs for her debut release scheduled for 2022.

Darren Coggan is one of Australia’s most exciting and diverse artists – a masterful storyteller who has carved an impressive career in the Australian country music industry. Darren is equally at home in musicals and on screen, currently presenting the lifestyle TV program Sydney Weekender, but is probably best known for his critically acclaimed portrait of Cat Stevens, which has inspired audiences in the most prestigious theatres around the world, including sold out performances at the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and Liverpool Philharmonic.

Johnny Dan – Going Home For Christmas

Going Home For Christmas features Johnny Dan on vocals along with world famous musicians Matt Bissonnette (Elton John, David Lee Roth), Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr, David Lee Roth), Paul Bushnell (Tim McGraw, Faith Hill), Matt Laug (Alanis Morrisette, Slash), Bob “Boo” Bernstein (Dwight Yoakam, Tanya Tucker) and was mixed by LA legend and Grammy Winner Tom Weir at Studio City Sound and Mastered by Grammy winner Gavin Lurssen.

Kaylee Bell (feat. Lindsay Ell) – Living Free

Kaylee Bell is ecstatic to announce her next single “Living Free”, a collaboration with US superstar Lindsay Ell, will be out from November 5. “Living Free” is an anthemic single about living in the moment.

Living Free was written in Nashville by Bell along with Sam Sumser (produced Lizzo and Keith Urban), Michael Lotten and produced by Grammy nominated Lindsay Rimes and Simon Oscroft (Midnight Youth, Disney USA Producer).

Bell comments, “It was an honour to team up with Lindsay on this track, despite the global pandemic we were still able to work together from opposite sides of the world. This song is message of empowerment, and we can’t wait to play live together! I hope it’s a positive reminder for us all right now to focus on what really matters.”

Following the release of “Living Free”, Bell will also be releasing her next album “SILVER LININGS” on November 26, featuring collaborations with artists such as Lindsay Ell, The McClymonts, Josh Mirenda and more.

Bell was recently selected by Spotify to represent New Zealand Australians artists as the face of EQUAL Global Music Program, profiled on a massive billboard in Times Square New York. Bell’s single “Keith”, written as a tribute to Keith Urban, recently passed 5 million streams on all platforms making Bell the first Australasian artist since Kasey Chambers to pass five million of a song, an amazing achievement for a self-funded and self-managed independent artist.

Bell’s recent single “That Summer” was the most added song to mainstream radio in New Zealand for the month of May and Bell continues to reign as the Most Streamed Female Artist for Australasia.

www.kayleebellmusic.com

Courtney Keil – Little Heartbreak

Courtney Keil continues her ascendancy as one of the best new talents on the Australian country scene with her latest single ‘Little Heartbreak’. The Melbourne based singer / songwriter has seen her previous three singles ‘Where Does All The Love Go’, ‘Hummingbird’, and ‘I Just Wanna Hold You’ all hit No.1 on the iTunes Country Singles charts, with the latter also peaking at #15 on TMN CountryTown Hot 50 airplay chart and earning a semi-finalist spot in the 2020 International Songwriters Competition.

‘Little Heartbreak’ is a song that adds to the rich, time-honoured tradition of lovelorn breakup songs in Country music. “This song is inspired by the challenges of dating and facing ‘little heartbreaks’. Events build on each other: the ‘what if’s,’ first date failures, falling for someone then being rejected”, Keil says. “Our main focus can be on major losses, long term relationship breakdown, and divorce which can underscore the pain and heartache of an ongoing dating cycle.”

Working with Rod McCormack at his Music Cellar studio on the NSW Central Coast, Keil took inspiration from one of the greats of 90s Country and worked with a few legends to bring the track to fruition. “I had the pleasure of writing this with Gina Jeffreys, Rod McCormack, Sam Gay and Templeton Thompson. We were musically inspired by Lee Ann Womack’s 1997 release ‘Man With 18 Wheels’.”

‘Little Heartbreak’ is a bouncy and upbeat song that cleverly hides the pain within the lyric. As Keil sings “I know paper cuts aren’t deep, they still sting and bleed,” this is a song to be uplifted with, after an emotional knock-down. “I hope this song gives the listener space to process the ‘little heartbreaks’ and to honour the pain that comes with them, even if not as outwardly noticeable as the big breaks!” she says.

Keil is set to kick off 2022 in a big way as part of the ‘Country Girls’ Night Out’ tour playing with Gina Jeffreys and Tania Kernaghan, which commences in January at the 50th Tamworth Country Music Festival. She has also been playing the role of June Carter Cash alongside Daniel Thompson in “Johnny Cash: The Concert” throughout 2021 (pre-lockdown) which will be continuing in 2022.

Courtney Keil is well on her way to making an indelible mark on Australia’s country music landscape. ‘Little Heartbreak’ is the latest in a string of singles that has enchanted the hearts of fans everywhere and is set to find and even bigger audience. She is that rare talent to make sunshine out of rain, and that magic is why she is one of the most remarkable up-and-coming talents in Australia right now.

Michael Jay Hughes – Dirt Road Whiskey

Hello, you’ve heard MICHAEL JAY HUGHES’ hard-hitting song “Dirt Road Whiskey”….But you haven’t heard his two recently released singles….until now, and they are getting international attention. Check out new originals from MJH “Playing With Fire” and “Keith Whitley Songs”.
Additionally, Michael Jay sat down recently and answered some questions with Nashville Voyager Magazine. More to come and more music coming soon!!

Emma Dykes – Walk A Mile

Emma Dykes is shining a light on homelessness and spreading kindness with her latest single, ‘Walk A Mile’. Released on October 29, Emma was inspired to write ‘Walk A Mile’ after seeing how a homeless man was treated on the subway in New York.

The North Coast singer-songwriter joined forces with Golden Guitar winner Roger Corbett, and they crafted the song to show the human side of homelessness and to remind people to be kind.

“I went to Nashville to record the album, ‘The Riddle of Life’, and (husband) Aaron took me on the subway. There was a man who was telling his story of how he became homeless,” Emma said. “People pretended he wasn’t there and ignored him, but halfway through the trip, a lady and her Son got on the train. The little boy started playing with the man who was homeless and as people watched on, he became just a normal person on the train.

“I’ve always loved the saying ‘walk a mile in someone else’s shoes’. It could be that someone is having a bad day, it’s not necessarily about you, but they may have had rough times. We don’t know, and shouldn’t judge, without walking a mile in their shoes.” Emma said, from the outside looking in, you didn’t know what the man’s story was until he explained that his father had cancer and his family had ended up with no home.

“I wrote it with Roger Corbett when he offered to spend some time with me writing and mentoring. I knew Roger from the Academy of Country Music and it was so good to catch up with him and write something with the same essence but still a bit different to what I normally write,” she said.

“Walk A Mile reminds us that although we might not feel we have much to give people, you can always give them a smile and that’s really needed at the moment. It’s a nice time to release this song for that reason because it has a happy vibe and an inspirational feel.” Emma said we all needed a reminder to choose kindness now and then.

After becoming a mum to her son, Ryder, 18 months ago, it’s been a while between new singles for Emma, but she’s ready to pick up the guitar and get back into making music. “Being a mum now, ‘Walk A Mile’ hits home more than ever,” she said. “I want to make sure we’re going in the right direction in the world for him to grow up in. Our kid’s futures depend on the world we create today”.

Dave Herrera – Hella Country

Dave Herrera was inspired to write the song Hella Country after working and taking care of his family ranch which is located in a small town surrounded by rice fields, orchard farmers, cattle, vineyards and the hard working blue collar families that keep the small town going.

It’s not just music, it’s a lifestyle, living through and relying on a good or bad season where we might not get necessities like water, when we’re delivered a summer full of droughts or wild fires that alter the growing environments.

Herrera said “what Hella Country means to me is a culture of hard working, never giving up, and doing what we can to provide for our families with the environment that surrounds us.

Herrera wrote the track with the help of Cory Coppin co-writer and produced the track with co-producer Jeff Balding. “Hella Country” was recorded at WestRoc Studios.