10 Minute Country

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 Country music, on both sides of the Atlantic. The definitions, the evolutions, the people and places - all come under discussion in this whopping 28 ...

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 between romance and creepiness before going into depth on new songs from Old Dominion and the Zac Brown Band.

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 from last year to this year and speculates on what artists he would like to see on the bill in 2020.

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 release so there was lots to talk about. We also dip into the writing process of one of the most prolific set of musicians out there and also find out wh...

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 speculates on what the reasons could be behind the trend for young marriage in Country music and why those trends still continue now. It's an eye opening, t...

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 a few years ago and how busy and successful the following 2-3 years have been. She also talks about her music, her writing style and the responsibi...

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 the last couple of years and widen the parameters of who is eligible to win certain awards.

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 and Scandanavia but are we heading towards the ceiling and what can be done to avoid a plateauing or tailing off of interest in the genre? Who better...

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 and Deborah felt in the aftermath. He also talks to them about what it took to get the festival off the ground last year, what the stress points we...

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 electric ones and he gives a major update on the writing and delivery of his new album, due later in the year. As ever, we could have talked t...