Country

"Kings of Classic Country" is an exciting, all-star tribute show that celebrates the original superstars of Country music...including legendary artists such as Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Hank Williams, Roger Miller, Conway Twitty, Marty Robbins, Charlie Rich, Jim Reeves, and Ray Price. Direct from Canada's premier producer of tribute shows, Bill Culp Productions, "Kings of Classic Country" is an audience-interactive, theatrical performance that combines great music and memories into one unforgettable show. You'll see world-class tributes backed by a sizzling live band, hilarious comedic bits inspired by "Hee Haw" and get an opportunity to meet & greet the cast members after the show! Song highlights include "Wabash Cannonball", "Make the World Go Away", "Walking the Floor Over You", "El Paso", "Your Cheatin' Heart", "He Stopped Loving Her Today". "Okie From Muskogee", "Act Naturally", "Behind Closed Doors" and "King of the Road" amongst the many Classic Country favourites. Get your tickets today to ensure the best seats to this incredible show!!

With nine studio albums under his belt and multiple CCMA, Juno, and Industry award wins, Corb Lund’s three-decade long music career is a force to be reckoned with. His seventh album, “Cabin Fever” (2012) debuted at #1 on the Billboard Canadian Charts. Three of his albums have been certified GOLD, while his latest release, “Things That Can’t be Undone” (2015), cemented his status as one of the top country storytellers, and placed him on Rolling Stone’s “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know.” The record received rave reviews from all parts of the globe.

"Finds Lund flirting in fresh sonic waters, while still keeping his sardonic mix of eerie lyrics and deceptively joyful vamps well intact." - Rolling Stone Country

"The album is a high mark of a long career." - NPR

“Melodically engaging and narratively compelling, Things That Can’t Be Undone furthers the case for Corb Lund as one of the best contemporary country songwriters.” - Popmatters

The Native Albertan has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. Aside from the many summer festival appearances planned for his band, Corb will embark on his first SOLO tour in his home country starting April 30th and running until May 20th covering most of the Maritimes and Newfoundland & Labrador. This follows late ’16 successful USA shows in New York, Washington, LA and San Francisco among others.

Singer/songwriter and musician Barney Bentall emerged on Canada’s music scene in the early 1980s, and has since enjoyed an illustrious and musically versatile career that has bred multiple platinum/gold-selling albums, twenty Top 30 charting radio singles, several acclaimed side projects, and inspired creative collaborations.  Nearly a decade prior to forming the Legendary Hearts, the Toronto-born/Calgary-native Bentall arrived in Vancouver in time for the emergence of new wave and formed Brandon Wolf, who released two EPs as well as a full length album before reforming into a 1960’s cover band called The Revengers.  Playing biker dances, hayrides, funerals and strip clubs in order to afford studio time at the now legendary Little Mountain Sound, the group worked with producer Bob Rock on the demos that would spur CBS Records to sign Bentall to a recording contract and release the group’s debut album as Barney Bentall and the Legendary Hearts.  The eponymous album garnered the group a JUNO Award, and went on to sell over 100,000 copies; achieving Platinum status.  Singles such as “Come Back to Me”, “The House of Love (Is Haunted)” and “Something to Live For” became radio playlist staples during the close of the decade.

On the heels of their successful major label debut, Bentall and the Legendary Hearts followed up with studio albums Lonely Avenue (1990), Ain’t Life Strange (1992) and Gin Palace (1995).  All achieved Gold status, and produced several top ten radio singles including ”Do Ya”, “Crime Against Love”, “Life Could Be Worse” and “Doin Fine”.  In tandem, the group maintained a rigorous touring schedule which averaged over 150 performances per year.

In 1997, the group returned to the studio to record what would be their final album to date, Til Tomorrow.  Following the last performance of their Canadian tour to support the album, Bentall and the Legendary Hearts went on hiatus with each member continuing on with separate musical endeavors.

Nearly a decade later, Barney Bentall would return to the studio on his own to record what would be his first album in ten years, the JUNO Award- nominated Gift Horse.  Recruiting producers John Ellis and Blue Rodeo frontman Jim Cuddy, the album was released to great critical acclaim by True North Records, who have since released Bentall’s albums The Inside Passage (2009), and Flesh And Bone (2012).

Between recording projects and touring, in 2007 Barney Bentall launched what is now known as The Cariboo Express tour.  This Old West-inspired troupe is helmed by Bentall and features a regular cast of some of Canada’s finest roots and country musicians who host a one-of-a-kind fundraising event in cities throughout Western Canada each year to support local charities.  To date The Cariboo Express has raised $1 million in charitable funds.  Bentall is also a member of the JUNO Award-nominated bluegrass group The High Bar Gang, is one-third of trio Bentall Taylor Ulrich (with Tom Taylor and Shari Ulrich) and occasionally reunites with the Legendary Hearts for select tour dates.

This coming Fall 2017, Bentall will release his next studio recording The Drifter and The Preacher via True North Records.

For over 25 years Skydiggers' friends and fans have reunited over the holidays at Toronto’s Legendary Horseshoe Tavern to celebrate the season to the soundtrack of the band's distinctive rootsy Christmas tunes and Skydiggers' classics, and this year they're taking it on the road. "We've realized that the most moving moments of the season are more than just expressions of glad tidings and comfort and joy,” says Skydigger Andy Maize. “That there are moments of melancholy, regret and truth that are in their own way as much a part of the Christmas experience as any joyous carol. We want to put on a show that both celebrates the season while leaving room for quieter, more personal moments."

As an added bonus, this season's show will feature songs from the band's new album, Warmth of the Sun. The 12-track album, which reflects the group’s elemental guitar-based origins and plaintive layered vocal style, arrives in a time of confusion, anger and division as an eloquent and vital plea for compassion, honesty, healing and reckoning with the truth, rendered in the group’s classic folk-rock style.

“I don’t think it was intentional, but I can hear a thread on these songs about reaching out, being honest with yourself and making a connection with people, in order to get to a better place. That’s definitely a goal for us, it always is,” says singer Andy Maize.

The result can only be described as a classic Skydiggers album, one that can sit shoulder to shoulder alongside milestone records in the group’s catalogue like Restless, Just Over This Mountain and Road Radio. “It’s a privilege to have had this opportunity to share our music with people for so many years,” says Finlayson. “Warmth of the Sun reflects our lives right now, and we’re lucky to share it with people and let it become part of their lives.”

Calling all Country music fans! Direct from Las Vegas, "Kenny and Dolly: Together Again" is the ultimate tribute to country music’s favourite couple...Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton! This international touring show stars the incredible Marty Edwards, who truly captures the look, sound and charisma of Kenny Rogers in concert, alongside the dazzling, talented and sexy Wendy Engler as the legendary Dolly Parton...backed by a sizzling, all-star band! Together, they combine to create an “on-stage magic” in the style and timeless tradition of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. You'll hear all your favourite Kenny and Dolly hits including “The Gambler” “Jolene” "Coward of the County," "Working 9 to 5"  "Lucille," "Here You Come Again" and of course the classic duet “Islands In the Stream” amongst the many audience favourites. Get your tickets early for this one, and don't miss this world-class tribute show when it comes to London!

Long recognized and praised as a creative force in acoustic music, Claire Lynch is a pioneer who continually pushes the boundaries of the bluegrass genre. Her career has been decorated with many accolades including two GRAMMY nominations, six International Bluegrass Music Association awards and the prestigious United States Artists Walker Fellowship.

Dolly Parton credits Claire with "one of the sweetest, purest and best lead voices in the music business today." Her harmonies have graced the recordings of many stellar musicians. Equally gifted as a writer, her songs have been recorded by The Seldom Scene, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea, Cherryholmes, The Whites and others.

Blazing her own trail in the mid 70's when there were few role models for young women in the genre, Claire Lynch made history when she led the Front Porch String Band which evolved in the 80’s and 90’s into “one of the sharpest and most exciting post-modern bluegrass bands on the circuit.” She formed her own Claire Lynch Band in 2005 and has since consistently been a top pick of prestigious publications, critics and audiences across the U.S. and beyond.

Claire grew up in Kingston, New York until the age of 12 when her family moved to Huntsville, Alabama. There she began her education in country music and got caught up in the Bluegrass revival of the 1970's, joining a band called Hickory Wind. Later, the band changed its name to the Front Porch String Band with Claire’s vocals as its centerpiece.

In 1981, after their first nationally released recording, the group retired from the road and Claire pursued dual careers in addition to raising a family, spending seven years as a staff writer at two of the most prestigious publishing houses on Music Row in Nashville. At the same time, she became a much-sought-after session vocalist.

In 1991, the Front Porch String Band was resurrected with the album Lines and Traces on Rebel Records - a move that ultimately led to the launching of Claire’s solo career in earnest. Friends for a Lifetime was released on Rounder Records in 1993 followed by Moonlighter in 1995 (Claire’s first GRAMMY nomination) and Silver and Gold in 1997 (also nominated for GRAMMY glory). She was named the IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year in 1997 and enjoyed many chart successes. The band kicked off the new millennium with the album Love Light in 2000. At that time Claire took what she thought would be a full-fledged break from music, stepping away from the grind of daily touring. She wasn't sure when - or if - she would return. “I hadn’t planned to come back… One day I opened my catalog of songs and realized that I'd written my life,” she said.

Little by little, the lure of music worked its way back. She sang harmony on The Grass is Blue and Little Sparrow which led to promotional touring as backup vocalist for Dolly Parton. She graced albums by other artists with her background vocals including Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Pam Tillis, Alison Brown, Patty Loveless, Kathy Mattea and Ralph Stanley. Today, the impressive list of other guest appearances continues including spots on albums by Donna the Buffalo, Sara Watkins, The Infamous Stringdusters, the Gibson Brothers, Jonathan Edwards, Jesse Winchester, The Special Consensus and Kristin Scott Benson.

In 2005, Lynch struck out on her own, forming the Claire Lynch Band and releasing the aptly named New Day CD. It was a hit on the bluegrass charts and earned her IBMA nominations for “Song of the Year” and “Female Vocalist of the Year.” In 2007, Rounder Records featured a brilliant catalog of music from her previous five albums and titled the anthology collection, Crowd Favorites. More IBMA nominations followed as well as an induction into the Alabama Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.

Whatcha Gonna Do, Claire’s next release (2009), was called “a stripped-down production with sumptuous acoustic atmospheres showcasing…the instrumental brilliance of her four-piece band.“ After a busy touring schedule in 2010, she received three IBMA nominations including “Song of the Year” and “Recorded Event of the Year,” and won the 2010 trophy for Female Vocalist.

Ms. Lynch’s 2012 USA Walker Fellowship Award ($50,000.) was one of 50 salutes given from United States Artists (USA). The USA Fellows represent the most innovative and influential artists in their fields - including cutting-edge thinkers and traditional practitioners from the fields of architecture and design, crafts and traditional arts, dance, literature, media, music, theater arts, and visual arts.

In January 2013, after a long successful stint with Rounder Records, Claire signed a recording agreement with esteemed Nashville roots label Compass Records, called by Billboard Magazine, “...one of the greatest independent labels of the last decade.” With their co-founder Garry West producing, she released the ninth solo recording of her career titled Dear Sister. The title track – a tear-inducing masterpiece co-written by Claire with Southerner Louisa Branscomb - is an intimate farewell letter shared between a brother and sister, their lives ravaged by the destruction of the Civil War, and delivered with all the tenderness Lynch is known for.

By Summer 2013, and over a period of almost two years, the album reached the #1 position seven times on the Roots Music Reports Top 50 Bluegrass Chart. It received an “Album of the Year” nomination at the 2013 IBMA Awards and twelve months later in October 2014, Claire and Louisa were aptly awarded IBMA’s “Song of the Year” trophy for their brilliant piece, Dear Sister.

Meanwhile, Claire and her band also released a seasonal project on her own label, Thrill Hill Records’ Holiday! (Sept 2014). The recording, a USA Today Season pick described as “a charmer” they “couldn’t help but love”, included her unusual take on some old chestnuts, a couple originals (Claire Lynch/Steven Sheehan's Heaven's Light and Henry Hipkens' Snow Day) and even a rendition of In the Window, a traditional Chanukah song.

That same year, DigitalJournal.com listed Claire as “One of the 10 Best Angelic Voices of Our Time”. She shared that honor with such luminaries as Judy Collins, Alison Krauss, Sarah McLachlan, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris.

In September 2016, Claire released North By South – a tribute to America’s northern neighbor. Produced by Compass Records’ co-founder Alison Brown, the recording pays homage to some of her favorite Canadian songwriters, interpreting tracks from greats above the Great Lakes like Gordon Lightfoot and Ron Sexsmith. Backed by the CLB alumni and some of the world’s finest acoustic heavyweights (Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, David Grier), Lynch infuses the collection with her signature Bluegrass treatment producing an elegant blend of foreign songs and domestic artistry.

Lynch’s Canadian leanings all started when a fan’s email suggested places for her to play in Toronto. When she emailed back, it sparked a long correspondence about Canada’s culture, history and diverse art scene. She eventually did score a gig in Toronto and what’s better, she fell in love with her pen pal leading to their marriage in 2014. North By South is the product of a growing love for Canada that is now one of the centerpieces of Lynch’s life.

The current Claire Lynch Band is a powerful juggernaut, a quartet that has the innate ability to perfectly interpret the beauty, subtlety and genre-defying sophistication of Claire’s music. The group features like-minded musicians blending tradition and innovation – two-time IBMA-winning bassist/clawhammer banjo player/dancer/percussionist Mark Schatz, soulful mandolinist/guitarist Jarrod Walker and young string wizard Bryan McDowell who, at age 18, won an unprecedented triple win at the Winfield, Kansas National Flatpicking Championship.

As one observer writes, “Listening to Claire Lynch sing is not something to be undertaken casually. Her songs and stage presence demand the listener’s rapt attention. She’s an intensely soulful singer, whose distinctive voice resonates with power and strength, yet retains an engaging innocence and crystalline purity. She’s also a songwriter of extraordinary ability who can bring listeners to their feet with her buoyant rhythms or to their knees with her sometimes almost unbearably poignant and insightful lyrics.” (Dave Higgs-WPLN Nashville)

Led by husband and wife songwriting team Tom and Tara Dunphy, the Rizdales have been playing their unique brand of hard core honky tonk music since 2003.   With 6 critically acclaimed albums under their belt, including 2014's standout "Blue Ain't The Word: A Tribute to the Music of Ray Price", The Rizdales have forged their own path in the world of country music.

Their songs carry a truth that is reminiscent of the classic country era, tales of liquor, loneliness, heartbreak and humour and while they honour their influences, The Rizdales have created their own style and fresh sound.

In February 2016 The Rizdales will attend the Ameripolitan Awards in Austin Texas, where Tara is nominated for a third year in the Honky Tonk Female category.  They have also been nominated in a number of categories, incluing group of the year, at the 2016 Pure Country awards by the Academy of Western Artists, which will be announced in March 2016 in Irving, Texas.

We Walk The Line is a true Johnny Cash Experience that celebrates the music and lives of 'The Man In Black' and his fun loving wife, June Carter. The performance features Ward Cornforth as a 1960's era Johnny Cash with the signature 'Boom-Chicka-Boom' sound of his long time touring band the Tennessee Three. The show also includes duets performed by Johnny Cash with the late "June Carter". The concert covers the entire career of Johnny Cash from the 1950's at Sun Records to 2003 with the American Recordings label and includes Johnny's biggest hits 'Ring of Fire', 'Boy Named Sue', 'I Walk The Line', 'Folsom Prison Blues', 'Hurt' and the famous duet with June Carter 'Jackson' amongst other classic songs. The Rockabilly Pioneer, Country Legend and American Poet left his mark upon many millions of fans. Don't miss this Johnny Cash show when it comes to London!