ZFM Country

“The Weekend” by Shane Douthwright has held the #1 and #2 spots for most downloaded and streamed songs on Play mpe Top 10 most active songs in Canada for the past two weeks.

“I would like to thank all the stations who have played my song “The Weekend” and I would like to invite any stations that have not yet added the song to consider this “summer vibe” new country song for their station. I am available for interviews or feedback on my song.”

Shane Douthwright is excited to release “The Weekend” for summer 2023.

This Country release is an upbeat sing-along song that will get you ready for summer and your weekend.

Shane recently completed a solo Country music four-week contract on the Oasis Of The Seas with Royal Caribbean where he was able to showcase some of his newly penned songs and was extremely well received by the guests.

Shane holds a very busy schedule with 66 shows booked for the months of July and August. You can see Shane at the Down River Music Festival as well as Levee on The Lake and Rogersville Bluegrass Festival along with many other venues throughout NB and PEI.

Canadian Singer-Songwriter Danielle Todd Returns With A Sassy New Country-Pop Release ‘Over You’.

Canadian singer-songwriter Danielle Todd is carving her own authentic path in the country music scene on her own terms. Her latest single ‘Over You’ can be described as ‘sweet meets sass’ packaged up in a swinging Country-Americana tune. With an instrumental track reminiscent of Lucinda Williams, ‘Over You’ accounts what it’s like to be entirely fed up with the task of getting over someone. Heartbreak is hidden under the guise of Danielle’s latest single.

“I wrote and recorded this song quite a while ago. It’s my favourite song to sing vocally as it’s one of the most challenging. I feel like it’s the first song I’ve released to radio that’s started to shine a light on my vocal capabilities. I remember sitting with my friend Jazz (absolutely KILLER vocalist) and writing this song. We were stuck on a hook, which is unusual when so many people tend to start writing a song with a hook in mind. I can’t remember who said it first but one of us in frustration said “I am SO over this right now,” and boom! There was the hook. The rest of the song came together quite quickly and working with Jazz as a writer really brought a different sound, that I absolutely adore. I’m very proud of this song and I can’t wait for my fans to hear it!”

Drawing inspiration from female powerhouse artists like Patsy Cline, Martina McBride, Shania Twain and Faith Hill, Danielle commenced her musical career in Ontario, Canada before the bright lights of Nashville beckoned. Working five to seven days a week, Danielle earned her keep under the neon lights of Broadway. Whenever she wasn’t singing, she was honing her songwriting craft, a passion that had stuck as a result of working with acclaimed Ontario songwriter, Ambre McLean, who encouraged Danielle to take up the piano and attend various songwriting retreats.

Over the last few years, Danielle has continued to hone her sound, resulting in a pop-country mix infused with undeniable Stevie Nicks-esque inspiration. Mix that up with a touch of edginess, and a little bit of quirk that Danielle finds indictive of her sound, songs like her debut single ‘Crazy’.

Danielle’s past singles have all enjoyed high impact success on the likes of Canada’s Sirius XM, CMT, KIX Country (Australia) and Australia’s Hottest 50 Country Chart, including her most recent single ‘Heat Of The Moment’ which saw its video debut on CMT Australia. Chart success combined with several tours to Australia including performances on the Southern Hemisphere’s largest country event, Tamworth Country Music Festival have cemented a loyal ban base there.

Her highly anticipated single ‘Over You’ continues to build upon her persona as the cica-1970’s girl next door that keeps it real and relatable.

With sweet, crooning vocals sitting on top of an instrumental track reminiscent of another time and place, this swinging midtempo track joins Danielle’s catalogue as yet another tune on repeat.

Danielle Todd’s new single ‘Over You’ is out to radio on 10th July and on digital platforms on 14th July.

Dynamic and electrifying country music band Hurricane Fall, break new ground with their latest single ” Hoedown”.

Embracing a transformative change in direction, while adding a fusion of traditional and contemporary influences, “Hoedown” showcases Hurricane Fall’s captivating melodies and introspective lyrics. Taking listeners through an enthralling journey of uncharted musical territories, the new song symbolizes a compelling evolution for Hurricane Fall’s sound.

Hailing from Newcastle NSW, Hurricane Fall is led by two charismatic front men in Pepper Deroy and Jesse Vee. Their sibling like harmonic blend, combined with the band’s exceptional musicianship, creates a musical experience that resonates with fans from all walks of life. The band members, Luke Wheeldon (Lead Guitar), Lachlan” Dusty” Coffey( drums/percussion) and Tim Hickey (Guitar, Keys), share an undeniable chemistry on stage, bringing their individual talents together to create a cohesive and dynamic sound.

From heartfelt lyrics to catchy melodies, and rich harmonies, their music reflects the experiences, emotions, and stories of everyday life. Whether it’s a tender ballad that tugs at the heartstrings or an energetic anthem that gets the crowd on their feet, Hurricane Fall’s songs are crafted to leave a lasting impact.

With a growing fan base and an impressive list of accomplishments under their belt, Hurricane Fall has been making waves in the country music scene. They have performed at renowned venues, festivals, and events, while joining forces with the legendary Lee Kernaghan in late 2022, creating an explosive live experience. Their combined talents and electrifying stage presence create a night of unforgettable entertainment for fans of all ages.

http://www.hurricanefall.com

Prepare to be captivated by the soulful sounds of rising Country artist, Hudson Rose, as she unveils her latest single, “Rules of Breaking Up”. With her clever melodies and catchy lyrics, Hudson takes listeners on an unforgettable journey through the unspoken guidelines of navigating life after a breakup.

Exploring the complexities of love, loss, and moving on, “Rules of Breaking Up” is wrapped in an infectious melody that will have listeners singing on repeat in the shower and car. Hudson Rose effortlessly blends traditional country elements with a contemporary twist, creating a fresh and dynamic sound that appeals to a wide audience

“Rules of Breaking Up” is a true testament to Hudson’s ability to craft music that resonates with her listeners. Already early into her social media campaign, her insightful lyrics and relatable storytelling transported fans to a place where they find solace and strength in the aftermath of heartbreak.

‘After getting dumped in my driveway one New Year’s Eve I had so many questions. What are the dos and don’ts after a breakup? What can and can’t you do? If someone had handed me a textbook that day, I would’ve studied it harder than anything else.’ Hudson said.

About Hudson Rose:

Hudson Rose grew up listening to a variety of music and in 2016 received her first guitar, a mini Maton and just three weeks later, in January 2017 she set off for her first Tamworth Country Music Festival. That combined with a trip to see her idol Keith Urban had her hooked.

Hudson arrives in life with a glass half full attitude and a commitment to her music and regional community. Hudson Rose diffuses her music with an irresistible mix of hope, honesty, and fearless authenticity revealing layers of herself with each single and showing her ability to put it all out there while crafting catchy and deep melodies.

Hudson Rose is an incredibly humble musician who unfailingly holds her own with industry veterans as she shares the stage, studios and airways cultivating her honest and optimistic style everywhere she goes.

With over 220,000 Spotify streams, 2023 Vanda and Young top 40 song writing finalist, 2019 Tamworth Country Music Festival Top 10 Busking finalist, recognised as the 2021 Most Promising Young Artist in Australian Country Music and a solid presence across social media platforms, expect to hear even more of the name Hudson Rose in 2023.

With six tracks released, this young Regional NSW artist has seen a steady rise in her short career following the independent release of debut single in 2020.

“Fireflies in Tennessee” (2023) peaked at #30 across the CountryTown National Airplay Chart, while it was added to high rotation on KIX Country, iHeart Country Radio, Triple M Country and Triple A Murri Country within two weeks of release. The songs streaming figures quickly climbed to 45,000 on Spotify, and also featured on ABC – ‘Saturday Night Country’ program.

“Misery” (2022) achieved the #17 spot on the CountryTown National Airplay chart, charting for 14 weeks, and was added to KIX Country (#6 chart position), iHeart Country, ABC Country, Triple M Country and Triple A Murri Country. Misery was also a regular on the ABC – ‘Saturday Night Country’ program.

Hudson’s fourth single “Iconic” (2022) debuted at #5 on the iTunes Country Charts and has gone from strength to strength. With the single added to high rotation on Triple M Country, ABC Country, KIX Country, and iHeart Country it saw the track stake claim at #10 spot on the CountryTown National Airplay Charts, charting for 14 weeks. The track now has nearly 75,000 streams on Spotify. CMT Australia also added the video on high rotation and was #9 in the CMT video chart.

” Drivin’ To You” (2021) premiered on KIX Country and debuted at # 5 on the iTunes Country Charts. The single was added to KIX Country, Triple M Country, Triple A Murri Country and was #10 on the CMT video chart.

Hudson’s “One More Kiss” (2021) premiered at #1 on the iTunes Country Charts with Triple M Country and ABC Country adding the single to full rotation.

http://www.hudsonrosemusic.com.au

Jo Dee Messina Releases Anthemic, Highly-Anticipated New Single ‘Just To Be Loved’

Award-winning country music artist, Jo Dee Messina, released her brand new single, ‘Just To Be Loved,’ available everywhere now!

‘Just To Be Loved’ stemmed from Jo Dee’s experience raising two young boys. “I’m seeing things that are coming across my phone from 12, 13-year-old girls and it’s blowing my mind,” she told Taste Of Country. The song centers around a young girl grappling with her sense of self-worth due to her habit of comparing herself and her life to what she sees on social media. The uplifting message in the lyrics is something we could all benefit from hearing.

Fans have been thrilled about new music from the country music star, as she has teased the songs for tens of thousands of them at live shows ahead of its release.

Messina said, “The gist of the song is, don’t change who you are just to be loved because God made you perfect. He made you priceless and He already loves you with a perfect love.”

You look around at everybody’s highlight reel

Picture perfect, pretty lies it makes you feel like

Your life is underrated

You get lost when you start chasing

Everything you think you’re missing

But think what you’ve been missing

Just to be loved

Just to be loved

Just to be loved

Don’t be somebody else to be loved

Just to be loved

Just to be loved

Written by Jo Dee, Jess Cates, Jordan Mohilowski and Tim Nichols, Jo Dee told the Gazette in Central City, Iowa, “I’ve been writing a lot, I’ve been so inspired. Melodies are pouring out of me. Prepare for lots of songs from me. I’m just so thankful, since looking back on my life, it wasn’t pretty. I’m grateful for every day. I grew up poor and I’ve been so blessed with my career and family – and then there are the fans who come out and who have been so supportive.”

With a noteworthy career spanning over two decades, Jo Dee Messina has become one of country music’s most beloved artists. Her unique ability to infuse her songs with genuine emotion and her unwavering dedication to her craft have earned her numerous accolades. Messina’s remarkable talent and down-to-earth persona have drawn fans from all over the country to see her on her wildly successful Heads Carolina, Tails California Tour, which is running through November.

I’m In For Love shows singer-songwriter Ian Burns at his most positive, reflected in his music and life.

Ian, a horse chiropractor who has just relocated to the NSW mid-north, said his latest song was inspired by the things most important to him in life.

“I was seeing all the things going on in the world and I asked myself what was my biggest motivation,” he said.

“I’m in for love. Instead of the world being a brutal place, we should love and care for each other and want each other to succeed.”

Co-written with fellow artist and mate, Jamie Lindsay, it’s a more modern take on country music for Ian, as he stretches his creativity on I’m In For Love.

“I’d come across so much negativity at the time of writing this song and people being really spiteful to each other, but I thought this helps none of us advance,” he said.

“If we help each other achieve something, we all achieve and the positivity gets this great circle of positivity going. It makes a happier vibe, rather than taking a negative one all the time.”

The song is also reflective of where Ian is in his life, with plenty of positive changes.

“The change in the music wasn’t deliberate; it just came naturally with the song,” he said.

“As the song progressed, it lent itself to go in this direction. I enjoyed the challenges of making the song and working with new people.”

I’m In For Love was mixed and mastered by Billy Decker in Nashville featuring Jamie Lindsay on production duties along with guitars, bass and backing vocals, Evan Mannell on drums (has worked with Tim Freedman, Kasey Chambers, Tim Minchin, and Katie Noonan) and Shannon Stitt on keys (has worked with artists including Guy Sebastian and Keith Urban).

With the new sound and new single, Ian hopes to spread the love.

“I hope that people enjoy the feeling and the happy vibe of the song,” Ian said.

“I would love the audience I already have who have been so supportive for a really long time to enjoy where this song takes them, and enjoy that it’s a bit different to my other music, but it would also be great to encourage new people to my music via this song.”

‘Ghosts’, the third single from Jeremy Edwards’ soon to be released album of the same name, is the gentle, plaintive centrepiece of the upcoming album release. Initially written as a gift to Edwards’ friend Felicity Urquhart after the passing of her husband and dear friend of Nicholson and Edwards, Glenn Hannah.

Jeremy explains ‘I had to find a way to talk about being ok after Glenn. So many of us had to find a way to go on. The Ghosts aren’t all bad. They’re not baggage. They’re just with you. Always. Good and bad. We all have to find our way of dealing with them’.

‘Can you handle the ghosts?’ the wary central character asks. The ghosts are my past, your past, our loves and histories. Are we brave enough to face them?

My heart is in your hands

A feather, not a stone

So gentle, your commands
It feels like home

‘Ghosts’ has a sweet, ethereal, dreamlike quality weaving throughout. The superb, layered instrumentation and Bon Iver-esque harmonies come from no other than 15 time Australian Country Music Award, and 3 time ARIA winner Shane Nicholson (Jeremy’s boss-man in Shane Nicholson and The General Waste). Edwards’s folky fingerpicked acoustic guitar part providing a rolling counterpoint for Nicholson’s beautifully subtle and trademark work.

The Irishman has been entertaining Australian audiences for several years now, all the while crafting his own catalogue of original music. Originally from the small seaside town of Portaferry on the North-East Coast of Ireland, Reid’s thoughts often turn towards the simple joys of his hometown.

“I have very fond memories of where I was born and grew up, and I haven’t forgotten where I’ve come from. A simple life to some, but it was everything to me”.

The follow-up work to his iTunes number #1 debut album, ‘Portaferry’ sits somewhere between Keith Urban and Kip Moore, with Jonny letting his raspy voice shine throughout. It’s one to play loud, and one to play often.

2021 saw the release of his long-awaited debut album, ‘Another Life’, which reached number #1 on the iTunes Country Album Chart, and number #3 on the iTunes All Genre Album Chart. That success saw Reid play headline shows in the UK, Ireland, Switzerland and Australia in 2022.

Having previously toured with acts such as Nanci Griffith (USA), Ritchie Sambora (USA), Hermitage Green (Ire), and upcoming tours with acts Andrew Swift (Australia) and The Coronas (Ire), Reid is no stranger to performing live.

July 7th sees the release of Reid’s new single ‘Portaferry’, and the first since joining up with in demand Australian producer, Michael J. Bono (Avril Lavigne, Blink 182) creating a fresh radio friendly sound.

An electric live performer and a busy touring schedule … this year looks to be Reid’s biggest yet.

The title track to Luke O’Shea’s forthcoming album, ‘Next Best Thing’, sees Luke teaming up yet again with his multiple Golden Guitar winning musical mate, Ashleigh Dallas.

Inspired from the passing of songstress Nanci Griffith, Luke was exploring a sweet, melancholy melody found in a new open-tuning of the guitar when an impromptu telephone conversation with Ashleigh left him with the striking words ‘next best thing’.

“Imagery is everything with songwriting,” Luke said.

“And when you hear, or rather when you can paint a big visual canvas with just a few, very select words, then that is the eureka moment!”

Luke knew exactly what to do with that new melody and later that evening called Ash up to declare that they had a new duet.

“Thankfully Ash loved the song as much as I did, and she could easily relate to the various ebbs and flows of our favourite things in life,” Luke said.

“I also loved the double entendre of ‘Next Best Thing’ which seemed a perfect title for my upcoming album.”

Ashleigh said she enjoyed working with Luke on another collaboration and was looking forward to listeners hearing this new release.

The joyous video for ‘Next Best Thing’ sees the award-winning trio of Luke, Ash and video co-director Jay Seeney, of Blacklist Productions, reuniting for the first time since the success of the 2022 CMT Video Clip of the Year Golden Guitar-winning ‘Long Way ‘Round’.

“There really is a special friendship and chemistry between Ash and myself,” Luke said

“The unique ability of Jay to be able to encourage and capture that connection, and that joy, is what makes him so easy to work with and such an in-demand director.”

The Long and Short Of It release their brilliant cover version of the global smash hit, ‘Wake Me Up’. A song by Swedish DJ and record producer Avicii, ‘Wake Me Up’ was released as the lead single from his debut studio album in 2013. It reached number one in Europe and was a top charting single in various countries worldwide including Australia.

The Long and Short of It are David Baird and Patsy Toop OAM, who first met in 2007 and already have an impressive resume to boot that includes six album releases, two EPs, and have earnt themselves a slew of awards including a Tamworth Songwriters Award (2011), a Tasmanian Independent Country Music Award for Most Popular Duo (2016), three-time winner of an Indie Country Music Australia (ICMA) Award for Most Popular Independent Country Duo (2017, 2019 & 2021), a Southern Star Awards Award for Best Duo or Band (2016) and a two-time winner of a Gold Media Medallion Award for Best Duo Nationally (2015 & 2018) – to name a few.

The pair’s sumptuous harmonies have been described as “honey-coated chocolate.” David and Patsy continue to uphold their commitment to penning songs that are relatable, inspirational and are storytelling. Since their first release in 2009, the pair have continued to grow musically with every release.

The duo’s 2013 release of ‘You Made Me Stronger’ earned them a Songwriter, Composers and Lyricists Association (SCALA) Festival Of Original Music (FOOM) Award, describing their title track as a “Brilliant Masterpiece” with four of the album’s tracks peaking at number one on Australia’s leading national country music airplay chart. The pair’s 2016 album ‘The Night Of Our Life’ jumped into ARIA Chart at number 3 and remained in the charts for over 20 weeks, whilst also producing four number one independent radio airplay hits. Their ‘Limited Edition Requested Favourites’ album debuted at Number 5 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart. The album is an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary country music. From ballads to beer-drinking songs- all are heartfelt renditions to inspire happy thoughts and good times.

Self-described as their “best work to date,” ‘Midnight Choir’ is their most recent album from the award-winning Melbourne country duo, which blends traditional and contemporary country. The album debuted at #1 on the ARIA Country Music Albums Chart.

Leading its charge was the single ‘Cowboy Lonesome’, that paints the picture of a lonely cowboy missing his partner in the wilderness and how that rural and outback isolation presents a whole new level of loneliness.

The single was the debut collaboration between the pair and Nashville-based producer, Kenny Royster, whom the pair met during a trip to Nashville in 2013 and is credited for his work with US country superstar Luke Combs. The single ‘Midnight Choir’ has also been released with abundant success.

On the live circuit, their captivating and engaging live shows have earned the adoration of fans and critics alike and have frequented country music festivals in Tamworth, Mildura, Canberra, Mt Gambier, Ballina, amongst others over the past decade.