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 two artists have made such a big impression on him!

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 benefit from the same treatment. James addresses all those questions and more in today's episode and laments, again, the mistreatment that Cam's song 'Diane' received at radio. 

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 up the reaction to the evening, the surprises (Kelsea Ballerini and Stapleton) and the disappointments (Miranda?).

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 with 'The Owl' and 'Controversy'?

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 he thinks the Grammy committee were 100% correct to make this decision.

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.

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?

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 advance their careers and attain that nirvana of a fabled record deal.in this episode James addresses head on his thoughts on this issue and the artists that are changing the face of the Country music industry in ways that might surprise you!

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 also poses the question - Can you actually name a 'great' Johnny Cash album that wasn't a live recording!

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' as these artists are all at the vanguard of the latest emerging trend.

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, compassion and understanding about the whole debacle.Episode 76 - James looks at the art of singing in Country music and compares the vocalists to those working in the rock genre. Can you get away with having less of a powerful voice in Country music because the lyrics and the music allow it? Who are the best singers working in Country music right now? There's an eventual Top Ten list.

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 Hailey Whitters and Canadian Country rockers, Petric.

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 scorn on people who think they should or could have any effect on the career of the G.O.A.T. of Country music.

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 think.

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 music.

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 Lewis into the stratosphere or consign him to the group of 'One Hit Wonders' for the rest of time!!Beware - this podcast contains profanities and sexual content. (Hurrah!!)

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 as to why that might be. Is it time for Garth to take some risks and emerge from the protective bubble that is 'Planet Garth'? Find out on this episode of 10 Minute Country.

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 single release in October. He has asked musicians across the world of Rock, Country, Folk and Blues to contribute to a re-recording of Ben E King's iconic track 'Stand By Me' in aid of the 'Help Musicians' Charity. Let Bob tell you all about it, the origins and the way the track was put together. He will also tell you how you can help contribute too.

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 fans, the artists and the record labels to embrace change and think outside the box regarding how we consume and pay for the content we love otherwise it isn't going to be there anymore when we are able to return to the concert halls of the UK again.Today's 'almost episode 69' episode examines what we can all do to get through the next months to ensure that there is still an industry to return to in a post-pandemic world.

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 the ACMs, Billboard and the American Music Awards.In today's podcast we explore why. Let us know your thoughts too.

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 awesome songs like 'Best Side', 'Recycled' and our particular favourite, 'Naked'. You will NOT be disappointed!

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 hopes for the future are and how they are a little bit obsessed with Josh Kerr!! You can also listen to a snippet of 'I Don't Need a Man' - a song UK DJ Matt Spracklen believes will be on many people's end of year 'Best Of...' lists.

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 exactly is an EP and whether they are meaningful or just ways of record labels tossing music out to content-hungry fans with the attention span of a gnat ( or maybe it's just that he's a dinosaur from another time?)

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 while.Whose side are you on? Should there even be sides? Would you go to a concert right now if you had the chance? Let us know in the comments section or on @LYRICmagazine or @RockJames on Twitter

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.It doesn't seem to make sense! We're all at home with nothing to do but listen to music - why would you not want to capitalise on that? That was James' standpoint until he looked into the situation a little deeper. This podcast is an exploration of what he found.

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 to have skipped albums two and three and jumped ahead about five years in terms of growth and learning. 'Never Will' is simply a triumph of Country and Rock, the superb melding of the two in a painful, honest and raw package that is hard to listen to at times but so, so rewarding.

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 industry - he ponders whether this will cause a paradigm shift in the relationship between the artist and the fan and whether there are possibilities to be had for musicians in the coming months ahead.Buy music. Buy Merch. Spend the money you would have spent at gigs on the artists' website. 

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 emotions, which was always going to happen because, understandably everyone has an emotional and financial stake in this festival.This is a special, off the cuff episode of 10 Minute Country with James' reaction to the cancellation. 

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 appeared in the pages of 'Hello' magazine.James catches up with Bailey and talks to her all about it and talks about her new single, 'Rounds', a duet with Amy Lawton, which is out on Friday 13th March.*Warning - the podcast ends quite suddenly without the usual outro and theme tune thanks to an annoying technology fail!*

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 informative and interesting watch. Driven by watching the series and by the 'weighty tome' of the accompanying book, James explores the 10 things he learned from the documentary and draws parallels between some of the historical happenings that occurred in Country music and some of the events and trends happening today.

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 often gets the running order and sequencing of albums wrong. In this week's episode James takes a look at what albums he feels have been well put together and what albums haven't. He also speculates on the reasons behind why Country music doesn't seem to be able to often get the sequencing of albums right.

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 and work out what you need to do to get to the next stage. Yes, this is not only a Country music podcast but also a self-help manual for your own betterment and contentment!Get in touch with James on Twitter at @rockjames or on Instagram at @daykin_james and let him know which stage you are at.

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 Country music.Take a listen and let James know how you feel about the rise of this new brand and whether you feel it is a step forward for the genre or whether its time is already done.

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 Reba as co-hosts this year, making it a completely Brad Paisley free zone and many of the performances featured established and emerging female artists. Musicians like, Jennifer Nettles, made bold statements about the lack of gender equality throughout the genre, from radio to tour slots to the pay gap by the record labels but the whole thing was then undermined by what happened with the Entertainer of the Year award.James gives his own thoughts and analysis on the awards in general and tries to make some sense of the mess that is Entertainer of the Year.

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 criteria the ACM's used in order to award this accolade and he exposes the weaknesses and flaws behind it before going on to suggest six albums that would have been more worthy recipients of such an honour.Listen in and let us know what you think about James' alternative choices.You can contribute and interact with James on Twitter (@rockjames) or on Instagram (daykin_james)

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 discussion, dissection, dissent and disagreement as people voice their feelings, both negative and positive, towards the artists chosen to grace that main stage.James decided to weigh in to the debate, but on which side did he come down and what does he think about the lack of women on the main stage bill. We warn you - this podcast comes with opinions that are both nuanced and global as James tries to walk a fine line between seeing things from the fans point of view and from the organisers. There is no 'foaming at the mouth' here or incendiary 'click-bait' opinions. Sorry! 

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 minute, special edition of '10 Minute Country'.

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 whether Brad Tursi (guitarist) will be singing any of the tracks on the new album or whether 'New York at Night' from 'Happy Endings was a 'Black Swan' one-off!!

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, thoughtful podcast about an area of Country music that isn't often talked about and is very different to other genres, like Pop, Rock & R&B.

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 responsibility she feels towards her fans.We dig deep into what life is like as a touring musician and how difficult it can be to form or maintain relationships and then end on a lighter note, complementing each others accents!

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 than the CMA to step in with a guiding hand to make sure interest in Country music continues to expand?So James puts forward a number of ideas and suggestions of how the CMA could get involved more with the artists, the fans and the profile of Country music outside of the Nashville bubble in order to sustain and grow the profile and ultimately make money out of this crazy genre that we love!

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 were and continue to be and how they go about choosing the bill and line up for each festival.Gill and Deborah talk with honesty, openness and humour about the festival and what their plans are for the future. They also reveal who their all-time 'fantasy' choices would be if they could pick any musician or band to appear in the future at Black Deer.If you've ever wanted to know what it takes to take a festival idea from conception to reality and beyond, this episode is for you!

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 to him all day so we hope you enjoy listening to the conversation as much as James did having it. We hope to check back in with Kip in September at the Long Road festival to talk more new music!

Maren Morris and Zedd, Cam and Diplo, Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus - there are collaborations going on within Country music all the time that are playing with our pre-conceptions of the genre, just this last week even Kip Moore released a disco version of his track, 'The Bull'! But what are our pre-conceptions and where did this whole idea of what a genre is come from? In this week's podcast, James explores the history of the creation of musical genres and uncovers some surprising results.He then goes on the examine why the genre boundaries are coming down and whether we should do anything to resist it happening!

What a great couple of years it's been for Canadian guitarist, singer and songwriter Lindsay Ell. Since the release of her 'The Project' album she's toured the world, possibly more than any other musician in Country music - this year alone she's been to Europe, Japan and now to the UK as well as holding down her own schedule in the USA. With a collaboration with Brantley Gilbert ('What Happens in a Small Town') steadily rising to the top of the charts and a nomination for ACM 'Best New Female Vocalist' under her belt too it's time to think about new music.In this 25 minute interview, Lindsay talks with warmth, grace, humour and intelligence about the past couple of years. She responds with openness and honesty to questions about her music, her personal life and her recent health scare. It is, without doubt, one of the best interviews James has ever conducted - which is mainly down to Lindsay's lovely personality and willingness to connect with her fans - and that is why he wanted you to hear the interview in it's entirety, rather than read words on a screen. By doing it this way you'll hear her warmth, her passion and her humour first-hand.There's no intro this week, no pre-amble - we go straight into the interview. Enjoy the ride!

James was lucky enough to grab 25 minutes on the phone with the very busy Liv Austen this week. Liv has a showcase event in London on Wednesday May 8th with a 'Double A Side' single release of 'Whole Heart' and 'Detour' from her album 'A Moment of Your Time' coming on May 17th. The singles are also being released as a 7'' vinyl too, which you can order from her website www.livausten.comWe talk about the genre-less nature of Liv's music and explore her writing style and influences during the chat. We also talk about her acting and you can find out which of these three shows, 'Game of Thrones', 'Line of Duty' or 'The Avengers' Liv would love to have had a role in.Enjoy.

James was able to grab 20 minutes on the phone with ACM award winning group, LanCo today. (Thursday 2nd May) Being a long-time fan of the band it was great to speak to the guys about the 'Hallelujah Nights' album and really explore what they've learned from being out on the road this past year with the likes of Dierks Bentley and Luke Combs.We talked about new song, 'Rival', it's birth and how it is the perfect melding together of the old and new sounds in Country music. We were also able to explore why it is that there aren't as many bands around in Country music as there are in other genres - the answer might well surprise you!

This week, to celebrate the return of Game of Thrones for its final ever season, we've explored an idea that we first touched on back in episode 17, where we re-imagined the show using musicians and performers from the UK Country scene.Well, this week, we've done a similar thing and re-cast the show using musicians and performers from the Nashville Country music scene.It's a bit of fun and no disrespect is meant to anyone offended by who their character is! All the characters in Game of Thrones are awesome in their own way!

This week James had a great 15 minute chat with RCA recording artist, the Grammy nominated Chris Young. With a rich recording history, multiple number ones, ACM and CMA awards and sold out tours, Chris Young is one of the biggest artists in Country music right now but did you know that he won a reality TV show in 2006? Did you know he struggled to succeed early in his career?Chris talks with warmth and humour about his career up to his last album, 'Losing Sleep' and gives us all a hint about the music to come, which we might hear some of on his UK tour with Lindsay Ell in May. We also get some insight into songs like, 'The Man I Want to Be', 'Where I Go When I Drink', 'Blacked Out' and 'It Must be Christmas'!!!!

Country music and the influences surrounding it, like the rural farming communities, the church, the Friday night lights and the sports, the drinking and the blue collar lifestyles have not been as progressive or as openly welcoming towards the LGBT communities as they possibly could have been.However, scratch a little deeper beneath the surface and you will find both major label artist support and a progressively more vocal acceptance from both artists and writers alike. In this week's episode of '10 Minute Country', James looks at the issue of homosexuality and more in Country music and puts forward a suggestion that the genre is more supportive of LGBT communities than you might, at first, have thought.

Atlanta based rapper Lil Nas X crashed into the Billboard Country charts last week with his song, 'Old Town Road'. A viral phenomenon, with it's origins in both Tik Tok and Soundcloud, it was then removed by Billboard from the charts.Is the decision based on music grounds? Racial grounds? Or something more suspicious?This episode, James Daykin looks at the issue and discusses why it might actually be a good thing, in the long term, for the music industry and for fans of music alike.You can find 'Old Town Road' on Youtube or on www.lyricmagazine.co.uk from Friday (29th March)  in the news update and from Saturday (30th March) in the podcast update.

In honour of Lady Antebellum appearing on the podcast we thought we ought to smarten ourselves up a bit so we've got a theme tune now! Look at us, going up in the world!Saturday night C2C festival headliners, Lady Antebellum, spoke with openness and honesty about their love for the UK, their newfound vulnerability and their upcoming album at the official press conference and you can listen to the whole thing here.Some of the questions are a little hard to pick out at times but the answers are clear and easy to hear.Enjoy!

UK fans have been waiting for two years to see Carly Pearce live and it finally happened last weekend at the C2C festival in London. Opening the show on the Saturday night, Carly gave a powerful and nuanced performance full of heart and soul. Her strong vocals and charismatic stage presence were everything we had been waiting to see.James interviewed her backstage before that performance and the audio quality was so good we decided to bring you that interview in full, unedited.It begins and ends with no introductions, just the chat in full, enjoy!

Listen to all of Drake White's press conference from the third and final day of the C2C festival in London, 2019.Drake recently underwent quite a professional change, leaving Big Machine records and losing the long term members of the Big Fire, his backing band too. Drake speaks candidly and openly about the changes and exudes such positivity about moving forward.He talks about his upbringing and we ask him a question about trying to manage to capture the intensity of his live shows in his recorded work.Enjoy.

Big Machine recording artist Lauren Jenkins releases her debut album, 'No Saint' this Friday (March 15th). She played all over the C2C festival in London this year and this week's episode is my recording of the press conference she did.We are big fans of hers at Lyric Magazine (www.lyricmagazine.co.uk) and haven't been this excited about a debut album since Cam's 'Untamed'.I also got to interview Lauren on the Saturday of C2C and that interview will appear on the website later this week.

On the eve of the biggest and most expensive festival in the UK Country music calendar, why have the genre's promoters suddenly gone 'on-sale' crazy?There's been a deluge of concert announcements and ticket on-sales in the week leading up to this year's C2C festival and that continues in the week after too.James speculates why this is and argues that some tough choices may be having to be made in ranches, homesteads and corals around the UK this week as surely people can't afford to go to everything?

Thomas Rhett released his new single, 'Look What God Gave Her' on Friday 1st March. It prompted James to get all philosophical about Rhett's musical journey and our own evolution as fans and as consumers of music.Is Thomas Rhett doing a 'Taylor Swift' and transitioning into a pop artist or should we all accept the blurring of the genres and the breaking down of the barriers between styles?

In this week's episode James looks at the car crash of a song that is 'Women' by Florida Georgia Line. Released last Friday (Feb 1st) in anticipation of the the February 15th release of their new album, 'Can't Say I Ain't Country' and featuring Jason Derulo - 'Women' is the third in a trilogy of songs performed by male Country artists after Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley also added their voices to the conversation last year.Is this is a case of 'down with the patriarchy' or have the FGL boys something meaningful to add to the ongoing discussion of gender politics in Country music?Listen in and you'll soon hear what James has to think about the whole thing.

This week, James reacts to the announcements from the C2C festival regarding the artists chosen to play the Spotlight stage, the Indigo stage and all the other stages and rooms around the O2 site in London this March.Tickets for Aftershow parties go back on sale this week and James helps guide you through his recommendations of which singers and bands to check out across the three days.Two things to add to the podcast:1. Caroline Jones should have featured but for some reason James missed covering that bit from his notes. Please check out her 'Bare Feet' album, one of the best produced, multi-layered and damn catchy Country albums you'll hear this year and catch her at C2C too2. We recommended Foreign Affairs and billed them as Lyric Magazine Class of 2019 Artists, which they aren't, unfortunately! It's wishful thinking on our part - we wish they were and we would have them join the group in a heartbeat because they are that good.Enjoy and start planning your weekend now!

This week James looks at his own changing tastes and those of the people he sees around him and proposes a philosophical statement that the longer you are into Country music, the more Country you become.He goes on to suggest this is why mainstream Country music, so derided and shunned in some quarters of the genre these days, is still important and that you have to see people's musical journey's as an ongoing, fluid evolution and not something static.

This week 10 Minute Country is more like 40 Minute Country!! We have a big chat with Lars Pluto, who is a larger-than-life musician and character on the UK scene right now. His band, The Reavers, have new music, 'Dear Country Music' coming out on January 24th.Lars is an American, born in Georgia to a family of professional musicians but he has lived over here in the UK for about 8 years now, playing gigs and appearing on stage in touring productions playing the likes of Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison.He has strong opinions about Country music and speaks on subjects like UK Country, the Nashville scene and the American Country charts, The Wandering Hearts, Ags Connelly, the BCMA and the UK festival scene with passion. You may not always agree with what he has to say but it is fascinating to listen to Lars speak.So, sit back - grab a coffee and enjoy a huge conversation about American and British Country music with someone who was born right in the beating heart of Georgia.

Welcome to the first episode of 2019. In this one, James looks forward to the year ahead and tries to pinpoint some of the highlights on the way. Whether it be album releases, tours or festivals, James gives a shout out to the events he is most intrigued and excited by.

This week James looks at his top ten albums of the year. He also examines a few close misses and gives a shout out to some awesome Country Christmas albums.It will be the final podcast of the year but he will be back and talking all things Country in early 2019.Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

James was blown away, again, by seeing The Wandering Hearts live in Birmingham. They are well on their way to becoming national treasures with their brand of undefinable Country-Folk and with Ruston Kelly in tow, someone who, in 'Dying Star', has produced one of the best albums of 2018, this was a gig not to be missed.Going to see a 'roots' gig in Birmingham is a double edged sword these days - listen and find out why.

Country radio is never far away from the news these days. Whether it's because of a lack of female artists or because a lot of the songs sound the same on there, social media is continually awash with chatter about it.The top 60 Country chart is particularly weird this week and James explores some of the oddities surrounding it and poses the question, ultimately, does anybody actually need Country radio anymore?

This week James examines whether you have to have a good album out to win the coveted Entertainer of the Year award from the CMA. He looks at the criteria for the award to see if Keith Urban was a deserving winner and then goes further to look at artists that he feels have been overlooked in this category before. James also predicts, almost a year in advance, which artist will win the award in 2019!

In this week's episode James, inspired by a recent review he did for Lyric Magazine of Lucy Grubb's new EP, 'Dear Walter', re-imagines the TV show Game of Thrones and the great ruling houses of Westeros by replacing the actual characters with singers, writers and performers from the UK Country music scene!It's a bit of fun and no offense is intended to anyone, particularly not Robert Gulston from Holloway Road, who might have got the rough end of the deal for no reason whatsoever really!Good luck to all the UK artists featured in the upcoming BCMA awards event in Harrogate across the weekend of the 24th November - you're all winners in our book!

Social media has been full of tales of people's Country concerts being spoilt this Autumn by people talking, shouting and using their phones during Country music concerts in the UK. This is a worryingly new development so, this week, James is addressing the issue of why it might be happening and what we can do about it.

James caught up with Chase Rice in Birmingham this weekend and managed to grab a quick 10 minutes with him on his tour bus before showtime.The interview starts with Chase 'sound checking' a new song, 'Buddy's Bar' which he then played for the first time anywhere that night.We talked about the success of 'Lambs & Lions', Chase returning next March for C2C, 'Cruise', Manchester City and much, much more.

In this episode we get to hear all about Sarah Darling's exciting new project, 'Wonderland', which is due for release on March 1st 2019. She talks about the feel and theme of the album, drops a couple of teaser song titles and discusses the Pledge Music Campaign behind it.For more details about our chat, including her thoughts on the artwork and imagery for 'Wonderland', Christmas time & Christmas music and life as an independent artist versus record label check by Lyric Magazine's website - www.lyricmagazine.co.uk - on Monday 29th of October for the full interview.

James is back, with a 10 Minute Country special, recorded on the evening of Monday 22nd October after the announcement of the 2019 C2C Festival line up.Listen to his thoughts on the bill and reactions to Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum and Chris Stapleton being confirmed as headliners.

This week James looks at the issue of 'authenticity' in Country music. Being 'authentic' is something that a lot of artists are applauded or criticised for and we look at what that means and whether 'authenticity' is in the eye of the beholder or whether it can be defined and analysed. 

In this week's episode James looks at what he considers to be the five greatest Country albums of the past 25 years although in reality it's really the past 28 years, he'll explain why in the podcast. There are some shout outs to some honourable mentions too that nearly made the top five.

In this episode, which is episode 11 and not 10 as stated by James in the podcast, we catch up with UK singer/songwriter Danny McMahon to discuss his entrance into the UK Country scene, his influences and his two EP's. You can also hear clips of Danny playing live. He has recently been nominated for two BCMA awards so we are not the only people catching on to his talents!

As a long time fan of Carrie Underwood, James was looking forward to getting his hands on new album, 'Cry Pretty', particularly after loving pre-release songs, 'Cry Pretty' and 'Love Wins'. And then he listened to it all weekend. Listen in to find out why he's struggling to connect with it and why, in his opinion, Carrie might have made the first 'bad' album of her career. ('Bad' being an incendiary word so that you all listen in - it's not a 'bad' album - but it's not that good either!) Check out our interviews, reviews, playlists and content at www.lyricmagazine.co.uk

James sat down for a chat with Jack and Rob of Holloway Road at the recent Long Road Festival in Leicestershire. The boys have just released their new, 6 track EP, 'Broke' and it's the best thing they've ever done. Cracking mix of country guitars and pop sensibilities in that inimitable Holloway Road style. The chat was so good we decided to put it out so you can hear it in full rather than read words on a page. It's a bit noisy in the background because of the other interviews but you can hear James, Jack and Rob perfectly fine. Enjoy. Check out our other interviews from the Long Road Festival at www.lyricmagazine.co.uk

In this special edition of the podcast, James caught up with Jess and the Bandits for a chat before their performances at the Long Road festival in Leicestershire. The interview went so well it wasn't really like an interview, more like a chat between friends so we decided to release it in it's entirety. Jess & the boys talk with warmth and humour about current album, 'Smoke & Mirrors' and about their place in the UK Country scene and even drop of few hints of what we can expect from them in the future. Enjoy. Check out our other reviews and interviews at www.lyricmagazine.co.uk

In this episode James explores what a night of UK Country music looks like. He went to see Nashville Sounds in the Round in Birmingham in late August, co-promoted by Dan Wharton of 'Your Life in a Song' and Sally Rea Morris of UK duo Gasoline & Matches. Artists included Emma Jade, Izzie Walsh & Danny McMahon - three very different artists and three very different interpretations of Country music. The UK scene is strong and thriving right now so let's all make an effort to support our local musicians and not just the Americans! Check out our other interviews at www.lyricmagazine.co.uk

In this episode James looks ahead to March 2019 and tries to predict which artists will make the main stage bill at the C2C Festival at the O2 Arena in London, the highlight any of any mainstream Country music fan's year. One caveat - it was recorded before Carrie Underwood and Angaleena Presley's pregnancy announcements!

Ruston Kelly's debut album, 'Dying Star' is released on September 7th. James has been listening to an advance copy of it for a while now and is blown away by the quality, honesty and weight of the album. In an era of 'cheap' music it's refreshing to hear an album of depth. Let him convince you to check it out! Check out our other reviews & interviews at www.lyricmagazine.co.uk

In today's episode James laments the lack of activity from the Band Perry and ponders where have they gone and what has happened to them?

Country radio is a strange, unpredictable beast. Who knows what songs will make it and what won't? In this episode James looks at 5 singles that he thinks should have been much more successful than they actually were, dating back to 2012.

After the recent controversy over Eric Church's comments about the NRA, James looks at what happens when politics and country music collide!

Today James looks at the divisions within Country music between the gatekeepers and the innovators and wonders whether things can ever be harmonious. He also poses the question whether the tension between the traditional and the modern side of the genre is actually healthy for innovation.

In today's episode James examines his conversion to a Dan & Shay fangirl after two solid years of resistance!

It was National Radio day in America this week and that prompted James to explore the perennial issue of the under representation of women on Country radio. Why is it an issue and what can be done to redress the balance?

James introduces himself and looks at his musical journey to Nashville.