Hampshire twins Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas have big plans for 2015. Currently in Nashville, Tennessee, the country music duo have a lovely British take on the classic American sound, and they are heading straight for the big time.
Following a hugely successful 2014, that saw the band’s debut album ‘From Where We Stand’ go to No.1 on both the iTunes Country Chart and the OCC Country Artist Album chart and win UK Album Of The Year at the British Country Music Awards, Ward Thomas kick off 2015 with their fantastic new single ‘Town Called Ugley’. Set to be released on March 2nd, the single coincides with the band’s 18 date UK headline tour, as well as the release of the re-packaged version of “From Where We Stand”, also out, both physically and digitally, on March 2nd.
The re–packaged version will feature extra songs, including a fine cover of Michael Jackson’s classic ‘Man In The Mirror’, ‘Who We Are’, a song written as an emotive tribute to their mother, as well as live versions of tracks recorded on last autumn’s UK tour. The band’s upcoming tour gets underway in Bristol on March 11th, and will see Ward Thomas playing in cities including Birmingham, Manchester, Aberdeen and Dublin, as well as a London date at Islington Assembly Hall on March 26th, their biggest headline show to date.
‘Town Called Ugley’ is an up-tempo, punchy, slice of country with a tongue in cheek lyric that tells the story of a car journey that turns into a farce in which the sisters get lost in Ugley, a tiny village in Essex. The track will be accompanied by an equally funny animated video. The cut also features legendary country guitarist Vince Gill, known as the Eric Clapton of Country Music in Nashville, whose brilliant guitar solo sprinkles considerable stardust on the track. Gill was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2007 has won 18 CMA awards and 20 Grammys and last year was awarded the CMA’s Irving Waugh Award of Excellence for his contribution to Country music. Having an artist such as Gill contributing to their work is an indication of how highly regarded Ward Thomas are becoming within their genre.
Ward Thomas’s previous three singles have all received huge support from Radio 2, all making playlist, with two achieving the A-list. Ward Thomas have also appeared on BBC Breakfast and been interviewed and featured in the Sunday Times Culture, Evening Standard, The Times and The Independent. Having appeared at festivals including Maverick, Jamie Oliver and Alex James’s Big Festival and Radio 2’s Hyde Park event last summer, and with a hugely successful national co-headline tour with the Shires in the Autumn, it is increasingly evident that Ward Thomas are going from strength to strength, and are at the forefront of a new age for country music in the UK.
Ward Thomas March 2015 Tour dates are as follows:
March
11 Bristol The Fleece
12 Southampton Mo’club
14 Birmingham Library
15 Nottingham Rescue Rooms
17 Aberdeen Lemon Tree
18 Glasgow Cottiers Theatre
20 Derry Nerve Centre
21 Belfast Limelight
22 Dublin Whelan’s
23 Manchester Gorilla
24 Norwich Arts Centre
26 London Islington Assembly Hall
27 Reading Bowery District
29 York Fibbers
30 Sheffield Plug (Neutral Room)
31 Hull Adelphi
April
1 Liverpool East Village Arts Club
2 Cardiff The Globe