This is where you can read about clubs from their members or club promoters to see what is happening on the Country music circuit. It is updated as and when we receive reports and get the time to include them.
Dixie Belles, Barnham, West sussex
Bob Keeley
by Steve Sheldon
29th August 2025
British Country Music Hall of oame inductee Bob Keeley returned to Barnham to entertain an audience raring to line dance and propelled people onto the floor with an up tempo Train Wreck. Bob’s undoubted grasp of all that works on this scene soon introduced very popular Rattlesnake Kiss and Heaven’s Jukebox before the singalong Halfway To Paradise for arguably the oldest dance of the night, Hafway Hustle. He continued with Lonestar State Of Mind for Ribbon Of Highway before easing things considerably with Eyes Like Diamonds and Undivided (for Reunited). A blistering Backroad Nation led finally to Three Tequila Floor.
If the first set had been a resounding success the second upped the ante when Bob invited Jenny Bembridge (Dixie Belles Head Honcho and deejay) and guest Eve Muir onto the stage to sing the lad’s parts of You Look Like You Love Me for the massively popular 22 dance. This brought the house down, eliciting much applause and cheers from an appreciative audience. Other highlights from this set included Jealous Of The Sun, Wade Hayes’ On A Good Night (for either Glass Of Wine or Tush Push), new dance Real Men Cry and a pinpoint Hillbilly Shoes (for Feet Don’t Fail Me Now), which attracted the high improver and advanced dancers onto the floor.
Next up was the raffle, which was drawn quickly due to the very high number of prizes that had been donated in aid of the Chestnut Tree House charity. The proceeds raised on the night for this charity was £211.00.
For the final set Bob eased the tempo initially with Into The Dark Night and First Fool In Line before Somebody Like You attracted both line dancers and Western pairs who danced Best Of Friends. Following that came the most popular dance of the night, the Barn Dance this time done to George Strait’s All My Ex’s Live In Texas. Only four members of the audience stayed seating for this one!
After that Bob established a largely up tempo programme of old favourites such as Just For Grins and High Class Lady and newish numbers, Around The Fire, The Bar Song and Cross My Heart. Til The Neon’s Gone also attracted western pairs doing Sway or County Line Cha-Cha. The crescendo was a rollicking Never Drinking Again.
Throughout the night Bob established a great atmosphere, varying tempos as required and sustaining a brilliant rapport with the audience, which is one of his many strengths as an entertainer of stature. Judging by the ensuing applause and calls for more, Jenny brought Bob back for an encore (Lamtarra Rumba) so well received that he returned for a final up tempo Penny Arcade for Vertical Expression.
It was another breathtaking night from Bob Keeley. When I spoke to him afterwards I said that he had covered 16 numbers in that final set. He initially looked surprised but said that if it had been a rock ‘n’ roll night he would probably have squeezed in 24 songs!
Dixie Belles next dance at Barnham Community Centre is in Friday, 31st October wuth Martin Jaye. Apart from being the Halloween dance, it will also be the 25th Anniversary for Dixie Belles, so it will be a scream in more ways than one!
Country Revival CMC, Dagenham, Essex
Pure Country
by Nick Catford
31st August 2025
It was only 7 weeks ago that I last saw Pure Country Duo at the Country Revival so it was a pleasant surprise to see them again on 31st August. Having first made a name for himself fronting Rick Mckay & Freeway and then the Rick McKay Band in the 1990s; the band folded at the end of 2000 and Rick carried on as a soloist. In 2000 Jodie Mitchell was a member of Rick’s band. She is Steve Mitchell’s daughter and Glen Mitchell’s sister. Steve Mitchell fronted Shiloh a very popular club band from Essex in the 80s and early 90s and Glen Mitchell launched The Troubleshooters with Bob Keeley in 1991 before moving to Nashville where he still lives.
Rick and Jodie formed Pure Country in 2002 (and married in 2006) to pay tribute to a more traditional style of Country music both old and new. They have stuck to their principles ever since so I knew were in for an evening of classic Country with plenty of songs that are less often heard these days. Either Rick or Jodie takes lead on each of the songs with a few duets. One thing that stands them apart from many other acts is that Rick produces nearly all the backing tracks rather than relying on the same downloaded tracks that we hear over and over again.
Jodie kicked off with Tammy Wynette’s Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad then Rick sang Daddy Frank the first of three Merle Haggard songs followed by Ray Price’s Crazy Arms and George Jones’ The Race Is On. Rick is well known for his portrayal of ‘The Man In Black’ Johnny Cash in his theatre show Johnny Cash Revisited so we would expect a few Johnny Cash songs. It was good to hear I Still Miss Someone, a song that’s not heard that often.
Lynn Anderson’s Rose Garden was followed by Dolly Parton’s Coat Of Many Colours. Next we had another George Jones song from Rick, one of his lesser known songs The Cold Hard Truth then it was time for Junior Brown. Although Junior Brown recorded his first album in 1974. Many people will probably not be familiar with his music. He went on to develop the ‘guit-steel’ a double-neck hybrid of electric guitar and lap steel guitar. His singing is a throwback to Ernest Tubb and his guitar playing is akin to a honky tonk version of Eddie Van Halen! Rick played a number of Junior Brown songs tonight kicking off with his 1993 song Highway Patrol.
A few more that stood out towards the end of the first set were Joe Sun’s Old Flames Can’t Hold A Candle To You and then one of my favourite Patsy Cline songs Walkin’ After Midnight. Next it was time for more Junior Brown with My Wife Thinks You’re Dead. Over the years, Rick has written a number of excellent songs that will probably not be familiar to many. He ended the first set with Hicksville which was also the name of his first Country band in 1993.
Set 2 opened with a more familiar Johnny Cash song Folsom Prison Blues followed by Faron Young’s Hello Walls.
Jo Horniblow from the Carolina CMC in Bromley was in the club tonight. She used to book The Rick McKay Band at her club. Jo is a big Jim Reeves fan and requested something by Jim. Although Rick didn’t have any Jim Reeves backing tracks he sung He’ll Have To Go and he and Jodie played it acoustically much to Jo’s delight. It turned out to be one of the biggest floor fillers of the evening; a great smoocher. This was followed by Connie Smith’s Once A Day and Patty Loveless’ Mr. Man In the Moon.
After another Johnny Cash song, A Thing Called Love, Rick and Jodie sang a duet from Johnny Cash and June Carter, Oh, What A Good Thing We Had, a song they often sung together in Johnny Cash Revisted. Rick and Jodie regularly used to appear together in Johnny Cash Revisited but these days Rick appears solo to allow Jodie time to concentrate on her own career as a singer/songwriter. She plans to release The Colour In You, a solo album of self penned songs, by the end of the year.
Pure Country brought the second set to a close with Merle Haggard’s I’m A Lonesome Fugitive, Martina McBride’s My Baby Loves Me and Foster & Lloyd’s Crazy Over You. I guess many people won’t be familiar with Foster and Lloyd, they are singer-songwriters Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd. They were hailed by critics for their tasteful blend of popular Country and rock and roll. Foster once described their style “a Country garage band”. The song is probably better known by Ricky Van Shelton. Dwight Yoakam’s Guitars, Cadillacs and Danni Leigh’s Ol’ Lonesome ended the second set.
A few songs from the third set included Patty Loveless’ Blame It On Your Heart,
Charley Pride’s Is Anybody Going To San Antone, Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville and another excellent Junior Brown song Venom Wearin’ Denim. Heather Myles has been one of my favourite US singer/songwriters after I saw and videoed her several times when she first toured in the UK in 1992. These days we don’t hear enough of Heather’s songs so I’m glad that Jodie included Love Me A Little Bit Longer. Next we heard Waylon Jennings’ A Couple More Years and Billie Jo Spears’s Blanket On The Ground.
Rick started his singing career in rock ‘n’ roll and rockabilly bands in 1979 when he was still at school. Next we heard another of his own songs, I Can’t Leave Ya which is a rockabilly song with a Country flavour. Rockabilly music arose after World War II and is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll and is a mixture of Country music with swing and boogie woogie influences. It’s probably appropriate that Rick and Jodie took us out with another Merle Haggard classic Workin’ Man Blues
As well as Jo from The Carolina, it was also good to see John Millidge from the sadly missed Palomino CMC in North London, he took over the club when Bernie Clapton retired. I used to know John very well in the 1990s and we sometimes used to go to other clubs together. Strangely, John was my dad’s commanding officer in the Royal Observer Corps in the 1980s. John had been to the Country Revival once before many years ago and he remembers singing an impromptu duet with the clubs Phil Mann when Mel Paul & Mary Lacy were playing. John remembers it well but Phil has no recollection of what was clearly not a memorable collaboration! Someone must have a photo somewhere Chris.
I think Pure Country did us proud tonight a great evening of pure Country – they certainly lived up to their name. They will be back at the Country Revival in 2026.
Click below to see my phone video of Pure Country.
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Essex
Kevin Barry
by Wendy Haylock
31st August 2025
We had Kevin Barry to entertain us at Hickory Lake on 31 August and he did just that, what can I say about Kevin that hasn’t already been said, his performance was first class along with his excellent guitar playing. Kevin had so many requests that he just couldn’t fit them all in, the dance floor was full all evening with line-dancers and freestylers alike, the evening just flew by, and we thank you Kevin for giving us all a fabulous evening as you always do, look forward to seeing you again soon.
We had one Birthday which was Gloria’s and we all wished her a happy birthday and thank you for the chocolates that were bought round to celebrate. Also we had two anniversaries which were Anne and Doug and Bev and Phil’s which is on the 9th September, have a lovely day and many congratulations to you all.
We had two first timers which was Roz’s granddaughter Bella-Rose, (such a lovely name).and Kim’s partner (Albies daughter) John, it was nice to meet you both and hope you had a good time. Roger and Sylve looked after the raffle this week and we thank you both for taking part you did a grand job, and thank you to all who added prizes to the raffle table it’s always much appreciated.
As always we truly thank all our brilliant team of Hickory Lake helpers you all do such a great job in all that you each do from the start of the evening until the end, we couldn’t manage without you all and appreciate you all very much. To all our supporters we thank you for your support of your club, as Dave always says we wouldn’t have a club without you all, and you are all appreciated most sincerely.
Take care and much Love to you all Wendy.
Fred's Place, Mapperley, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
George Payling
John McGinley
24th August 2025
A top quality performance by George Payling at Fred’s Place on 24th August evening drew huge acclaim from those who were there to hear him. A goodly number too, given that we are in holiday and it is festival season right now. The wealth of experience, combined with George’s undoubted talent meant that there were riches to be had.
A recent review of George’s latest album “Where That Came From” made mention of George’s seamless ability to make each song his own and “his faultless, effortless crystal clear vocals”. Both were very much in evidence this evening and these, when combined with George’s easy-going, low-key conversational style in between songs ensured that tonight’s performance was an unmitigated success. George knows how to carry an audience, and lose none along the way, and tonight he did just that.
For me, Here Comes My Baby (The Mavericks), Where That Came From (Randy Travis), I Had Some Help (Post Malone & Mogan Wallen), Queen Of Memphis (Confederate Railroad), Remember When (Alan Jackson), Wishful Thinking (Rodney Crowell), Life Turned Her That Way (Ricky Van Shelton) were among my favourites. Though the absolute stand-out was First Fool In Line (Don Williams), quite simply sublime and I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston) which about took the roof off. It is a rare talent indeed that can take such a song in the way George did, which has been sung thousands, no tens of thousdands of times, and deliver it in such a manner. But then again, as I have already said, this night there were riches to be had.
Mexborough Athletic Club, Mexborough, Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Darren Busby
by RaD
7th August 2025
Mexborough Athletic Club, Mexborough, nr Doncaster, South Yorkshire Celebrating one year since the opening of the Wednesday afternoon social, so called because the organisers wanted to attract locals into the Country club, the promoters and volunteer helpers decided to provide a free buffet to thank those who attended. It just so happened that Darren Busby had already been booked to appear and he was a big draw with people travelling many miles to see him which made for a great afternoon. Contrary to the Country police commenting online about Country songs NOT, the club only books Country acts who sing mostly Country music but they are asked if they could ‘mix it up a little’ with Elvis, Cliff, some rock ‘n’ roll etc so as to get as many as possible enjoying the great mix of genres and it works well, the dance floor is constantly filled with jivers, jiggers and linedancers and it has helped set up a social where just about everyone knows each other and to enjoy the social afternoon. Another draw is the constant bingo top prize of £50 with two lesser £20 bingo prizes regardless of whether there has been enough bingo cards sold to cover it. Having said that, these days everyone realises Mexborough Athletic Club is a registered charity where none of the trustees get paid and is there for the local community and strives to give enjoyment to the people living locally or anyone who wishes to travel – and they do, for many miles to be part of the great atmosphere or to see their favourite acts. With it being a charity anyone who wishes to, can help and you will often see various visitors getting involved. Only the bar staff and cleaner get a wage, which is quite unique. Anyone travelling with a motorhome is welcome to stay overnight in the car park. The Club itself caters for tennis, football, snooker, other music groups and even rents out the large car park for motorcycle training on some days. Back to the afternoon in question, Darren Busby gave us some great songs and with his voice gradually getting back to what it was we could hear the old Darren again with his wit and charm shining through. The club runs weekly on a Wednesday afternoon with the doors opening at 11.30am and closing sometime after 3pm. For more information call 07709 565445 or just turn up and pay £4 on the door and if it is school holiday time well behaved children also welcome.
See the video below.
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Essex
Bob Keeley
by Wendy Haylock
24th August 2025
At Hickory Lake on 24th August we had the lively loveable Bob Keeley who never fails to give a great performance. He did many requests and kept the dance floor busy with line-dancers and freestylers alike, we thank you Bob for giving us all a brilliant evening, the time went far too quickly and we look forward to the next time.
We had one Birthday which was Andee’s this Saturday, Bob sang Happy Birthday to her and we all wished her well, and thank you for the chocolates that were bought round to celebrate.
The raffle this week was taken care of by Dave and Sylve, thank you Sylve for taking part you did a grand job, and we thank all that added prizes to the raffle table it’s much appreciated.
Thank you again to Bev for helping Chris in the canteen at the start of the evening, and we thank all our brilliant team of Hickory Lake helpers, you all do a fantastic job in all that you each do and your help is very much appreciated, from the start of the evening, throughout the evening and at the end.
To all our supporters we always appreciate your support of your club, which keeps us going each week and it’s always good to see you all.
Take care and much Love to you all. Wendy xx
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Essex
Paul Martin
by Wendy Haylock
17th August 2025
It was the return of Paul Martin at Hickory Lake on 17th August after 2 years, it was nice to see him and his wife Debbie again. Paul gave us a very entertaining evening and interacted with his audience well, he did several requests keeping the dance floor busy all evening with line-dancers and freestylers alike, we thank you Paul for a good evening and hope to see you and Debbie again soon.
We had one birthday which was Eric’s and Paul sang Happy Birthday to him and we all wished him well, and thank you for the chocolates you bought round to celebrate. It is also Pru & Paul’s Wedding Anniversary this Friday, so a very Happy Anniversary to you both, have a great day. Roger and Sylve looked after the raffle this week and you both did a grand job, and we thank all who added prizes to the raffle table it’s much appreciated.
We thank all our brilliant team of Hickory Lake helpers, and to Bev who stepped in to help Chris in the canteen at the start,we thank you, everyone does a grand job in all that you each do, from the start of the evening until the end, we truly appreciate all our helpers who do alot for us and the club.
To all our supporters we thank and appreciate your support of your club, and it’s always good to see you all.
Take care and much Love to you all. Wendy xx
Epping Riders CMC, Epping, Essex
Tanya Turner
by Nick Catford
4th August 2025
Tanya Turner has been making a name for herself on the northern Country scene since 2012 and during lockdown, reached a wider audience with live streams every Monday evening at 7pm from her kitchen. She only stated travelling to the South of England in 2024 and I first saw her at the Epping Riders in August last year, one of her first visits to a club in the south of England. It was quickly apparent to me, why she had been nominated as CCN female artist of the year in 2023 despite only playing northern clubs. She is an outstanding singer with a great Country voice. It was good to see her back at Epping on 4th August this year. I knew we were in for an evening of mainly classic Country which right up my street.
I have always liked female singers as it generally means we are going to hear more than a smattering of girls’ songs. Tonight Tanya sung 36 songs of which of which 22 were girls’ songs. Tanya opened by taking us way back in time to 1938 with a great Bob Wills And His Texas Playboys swinger San Antonio Rose. It’s always good to hear some western swing and we certainly don’t hear enough Bob Wills these days.
There were plenty of songs that aren’t heard so often these days like Shelby Lynne’s Feelin’ Kind Of Lonely Tonight and Trisha Yearwood’s They Call It Falling for a Reason and equally plenty of familiar favourites like Susan Ashton’s Closer, Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You (much better than Whitney’s arrangement any day!) and Jeannie C. Riley’s Harper Valley PTA. My pick of the first set was Eva Cassidy’s beautiful Songbird and my all time favourite Joan Baez song The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. At last it was time for a blokes’ song with Chris Stapleton’s Tennessee Whiskey and Merle Haggard’s Mama Tried before going back to the ladies with Patsy Cline’s Your Cheatin’ Heart and to end the first set Donna Taggart’s Jealous Of The Angels which I have never heard before. Donna Taggart is a Northern Irish Celtic singer and musician and this was her best known song from 2016.
Always good to see a change of outfit each set. Tanya does play rhythm guitar but left it at home on this occasion which I feel enhanced her ability to entertain rather than just sing. After all her voice is her instrument. Without the constraint of a guitar was always on the move, she was always smiling and clearly having a good time and that rubbed off on everyone as we were all having a good time to.
The second set opened with one of my favourite US singer/songwriters Heather Myles who I saw (and videoed) a number of times when she first toured in the UK in 1992. Love Me A Little Bit Longer is one of her own songs. Patsy Cline’s Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray is one of her best songs. Tanya grew up listening to traditional Country and lists one of her favourite singers as Patsy Cline. Next came Two-Steppin’ Texas Blue the first of two songs by Joni Harms, the other We Work It Out followed in the third set. A few more songs from the middle set included Martina McBride’s Independence Day a real Country anthem that showed the power of her voice, Keith Whitley’s When You Say Nothing at All, Billie Jo Spears’ What I’ve Got in Mind and Jody Miller’ Queen of the House, the answer to Roger Miller’s (no relation) King Of The Road. The set finished with Jo Dee Messina’s Heads Carolina, Tails California Paddy Reilly’s Fields Of Athenry which got almost everybody onto the dance floor.
I feel Tanya got the balance spot on tonight with a good selection of songs, mainly old but some newer that suited the club. She opened set 3 with Lynn Anderson’s Rose Garden, Mark Wills’ Places I’ve Never Been, Mary Chapin Carpenter’s I Feel Lucky and Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert’s Trailblazer
On a hot night some people were happy to just sit and watch a class act with a nice personality and a great Country voice. In the 13 years since moving out of cabaret onto the Country circuit she has been making a good impression where ever she plays. A few more girls’ songs took us towards the end of the evening including Scooter Lee’s Sweet Sweet Smile, Tanya Tucker’s Texas (When I Die), Billie Jo Spears’ ’57 Chevrolet and Ann Tayler’s Home to Louisiana. She finished the evening with Rodney Crowell’s Lovin’ All Night, Garth Brooks’ The Dance, and Travis Tritt’s Where Corn Don’t Grow. The applause was loud and well deserved and will, I am sure, guarantee her a return visit to Epping next year.
See my phone video below for a selection of songs from the evening.
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Essex
George Payling
by Wendy Haylock
10th August 2025
It was really nice to have George Payling back at Hickory Lake on 10th August, and what a great performance he gave us with his very powerful voice and his lovely Scottish accent, George did many requests and kept the dance floor busy all evening with line-dancers and freestylers alike, George always interacts with his audience well, and is a superb Guitarist, we thank you George for a great evening of entertainment, and look forward to the next time.
The raffle this week was taken care of by myself and Dave, and we thank all who added prizes to the raffle table it’s much appreciated. Our very grateful thanks to all our brilliant team of Hickory Lake helpers, we truly appreciate all that you do for us and your club, from the start of the evening until the end, and our thanks to Bev & Phil for stepping in to look after the canteen at the start of the evening in the absence of Chris & Colin.
Thank you to all our supporters, we truly appreciate the support you give us and your club, it’s always lovely to see you all.
Take care and much Love to you all. Wendy xx
Silver Churn CMC, Dartington, near Totnes, Devon
Black Steel
Phil Jenkins
2nd August 2025
Another brilliant night was had at The Silver Churn with our old friends, Black Steel who were Jim on steel and lead guitars, joined tonight, by Alby on lead vocals and guitar, as Bob has retired.
It was nice to have a healthy crowd in who had a real rave-up, with some great Country music from this duo.
We had music from, George Jones, George Strait, Merle Haggard, The Mavericks, Tim Mcgraw, Mark Wills, Dwight Yoakam and Hank Williams. plus from Jim on steel we had a brilliant rendition of Lynn Anderson’s, Rose Garden.
Thanks to Pam, Bill and Bev for some tasty refreshments, it all helps to keep the club going.
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Essex
Steve Lovett
by Wendy Haylock
3rd August 2025
It was the return of Steve Lovett at Hickory Lake on 3rd August, and his performance was absolutely excellent, Steve is up there with the best guitar players and what a brilliant voice to match,(we loved your choice of guitars Steve) he did several requests and the dance floor was very busy all evening with line-dancers and freestylers alike. Steve has a lovely personality and interacted with his audience really well, we thank you Steve for an absolutely brilliant evening, and look forward to the next time.
We had two Birthdays which were Lil’s on Sunday and Kim’s which is 5th August, Steve sang Happy birthday to them both and we all wished them well, thank you Kim for the chocolates and sweets you bought round to celebrate, and have a good day on Tuesday.
The raffle this week was taken care of by Roger and Sylve, we thank you both for taking part you did a grand job, and we thank all who added prizes to the raffle table it’s much appreciated.
To all our Fabulous team of Hickory Lake helpers we thank you for all that you each do for us and your club each week,from the start of the evening until the end, you are all brilliant. To everyone that supports us we truly thank you all and appreciate your support of your club.
Take care and much Love to you all Wendy xx