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.
Epping Riders CMC, Epping, Essex
Peter Shaw.
by Nick Catford
27th January 2025
Peter Bradshaw joined his first band, Lapwing, with Simon Brady in 1986 when he was in his late teens. After three years, the band folded and Peter joined a Preston based band called Southern Roots. This was not a happy band with personality clashes and their time together was short lived. In 1989 he and Simon Brady were reunited when Peter formed On the Border, a 5-piece country rock band. The Country club circuit wasn’t ready (and still isn’t many would say) for Country rock and the band quickly became a trio and then a duo changing to traditional Country music. In 1992 Peter formed Rainbow Stew duo with Ian Wallace but the collaboration was to be short lived. In 1995 he and Simon Brady formed Painted Pony duo. After a few years they changed the name to Broadcaster and carried on until 2012 when Peter went solo adopting the name Peter Shaw.
I first saw Peter Bradshaw in 1993 at the Yorkshire Dales Country Music Festival at Harwood House when he was a member of Rainbow Stew duo. It would be another 26 years before our paths crossed again in 2019, seven years after he launched his solo career and became Peter Shaw. He impressed me then, so I was looking forward to catching up with him again at the Epping Riders on 27th January. He played at the club last year and club members were keen to have him back. He opened proceedings with George Jones’ Billy B Bad, Mark Wills’ Places I’ve Never Been, Glen Campbell’s Rhinestone Cowboy and Alan Jackson’s Talk is Cheap. Peter has a wide repertoire with a good knowledge of dances that go with particular songs and is well received in both line dance and western clubs. It was quickly clear that we were in for an evening of classic Country tonight with some newer songs which is just the right balance for the Epping Riders.
Peter produces many of his own tracks and he is also a top class lead guitarist so tonight there were a number of extended guitar solos on songs like Darryl Worley’s Messed Up In Memphis; this for me and hopefully others, always enhances a performance. I think the instrumental sound of any act is as important as the vocals and it’s even better when a musician makes some of his own tracks. As the evening progressed, we heard Drake Milligan’s Save It For A Sunny Day, Garth Brooks’ The Dance (with another great guitar solo) and a couple from William Michael Morgan, Missing and In Walked You.
Peter has a nice personality and had little problem making friends with everyone in the club as he went through his programme of Country favourites which, in the second set, included Merle Haggard’s Silver Wings, Roger Miller’s King Of The Road, Collin Raye’s Every Second and Vince Gill’s Young Man’s Town. It is often ballads that fill the dance floor and Alan Jackson’s So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore is a beautiful song I haven’t heard for years. A few more that stood out for me in the second set included Tracy Byrd’s Heaven In My Woman’s Eyes, Merle Haggard’s Okie from Muskogee and Glenn Frey’s Who’s Been Sleeping In My Bed.
Peter opened the final set with Rodney Crowell’s Lovin’ All Night which included yet another great guitar solo. You don’t seem to get many waltz these days so it was good to hear Brooks & Dunn’s Husbands And Wives which is a nice waltz. A few more songs from the final set included Old Dominion’s Memory Lane, Billy Swan’s version of Don’t Be Cruel, Susan Ashton’s Closer and George Strait’s Down Louisiana Way. Peter finished the evening with Tim McGraw’s Just to See You Smile which brought enthusiastic and loud applause and calls for more. Peter naturally obliged with an old favourite to finish, Dire Strait’s Walk Of Life. Peter really did us proud tonight, I had a great evening of classic Country with good instrumentation and was entertained from start to finish.
It was good to see John Millidge in the club tonight. John used to run the very popular Palomino CMC in Southgate and Enfield during the late 90s and 2000s.
He took over the club from founders Bernie and Kim Clapton after they retired. John was also my father’s commanding officer in the Royal Observer Corps in the 1980s. I got to know him very well in the 1990s. He brought me a large album of band photos that had belonged to Kim and Bernie and a plate that had been presented to Bernie in 1987 after 20 years running Country clubs. It was good to meet up with John again.
See below my phone video.
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Colchester, Essex
Rob Childs
by Wendy Haylock
25th January 2025
How great it was to have Rob Childs back at Hickory Lake with his excellent guitar playing and vocals and Rob always interacts with his audience well,.
He did several requests including Apache even though he hadn’t played this for sometime, it was excellent.
We thank you Rob for a really brilliant and entertaining evening and look forward to seeing you again later this year. It was also so good to see Izzy again and nice to catch up, she is a really lovely lady.
We had one first timer, Claire who came along with Chantale, it was nice to meet you and hope you enjoyed your evening with us.
The raffle this week was taken care of by Dave and Sylve, it was nice to see Sylve back who did a grand job and we thank all who added prizes to the raffle table it’s much appreciated. Our sincere thanks to all our super team of Hickory Lake helpers, you all do such an excellent job in all that you each do, we also thank Bev & Phil for stepping in to look after the canteen at the start of the evening in the absence of Chris & Colin, it was much appreciated. Also thank you Sid once again for sorting out the banner bar, all good now! Great job.
To all our supporters we always thank you for supporting your club, it’s always good to see you all.
Next Sunday, February 2nd we have Tony Crooks to entertain us all, so we look forward to seeing you all once again.
Take care and much love to you all.xx
Manston CMC, Manston, Kent
Tony Crooks
by Alan Plommer
24th January 2025
We had a great night of entertainment with the brilliant Tony Crooks, with a great selection of songs that kept the dancers on the floor.
Tony has been on the circuit for many years, including with Plain Loco and the Loco Boys so he is a well-polished entertainer.
Quarry Bank Conservative Club, West Midlands
Tony Rouse
by Sid Randell
17th January 2025
Lexi is a local choreographer, dance teacher and dj who has regular classes in the Black Country and who promotes several socials a year some with recorded music but others with a live act. This particular date included dance lessons, dance sessions and the very professional Tony Rouse.
The venue boasts a room which could comfortably hold 150 and it was almost full to capacity. The superb dance floor was packed when I arrived and remained that way most of the night. The well stocked bar was very busy too but the welcoming staff made sure everyone was kept happy.
After the opening set by Lexi, as dj, Tony Rouse, who now lives in Shropshire, came onto the impressive stage to a very loud welcome.
Tony is the ultimate professional and he had the mainly female crowd eating out of his hands from the opening number of the first of his two, one hour sets. His was a very balanced performance with a mixed choice of songs all with the dancers in mind. From the 50/60s there was Lucky Lips, Halfway To Paradise and Don’t Be Cruel, Karma Cameleon crept in there too!
More up to date tracks – Five Leaf Clover, Cold, Cold Heart,Train Wreck and Where That Came From suited those who go to line dance lessons. Those who like partner dances and barn dance style had Closer and Countryholic to keep them active.
It was a great night extending from 7 – 11.30pm at a lovely venue but if you want space on the car park be there very early.
Pedlars, CMC, Swafham, Norfolk
Steve Key
by Sid Randell
19th January 2025
His first song of the eveningwas If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body, followed by All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down, Hillbilly Rock, Where’m I Gonna Live When I Get Home, Folsom Prison Blues, Moonlight And Roses, Just To See You Smile, Mr Man In The Moon and California Blue ended his set.
The following week it is the turn of Lee Hodgson.
Pedlars, CMC, Swafham, Norfolk
Countryholic
by Sid Randell
12th January 2025
Although the evening was light on numbers owing to the weather and health issues the dance floor was well used and kept busy all night with Ray Smith singing their favourite songs.
Steve Key is up next.
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Colchester, Essex
Kay D
with Wendy & Dave Haylock
by Nick Catford
12th January 2025
Award winning Kayleigh Dawn or Kay D, as we know her, is one of our best Country ladies with a true Country voice. Having entered a talent contest in the mid-1990s it would be 10 years before she realised she wanted to become a Country singer getting her first paid Country gig in 2006. She launched her solo career the following year and after fronting her own Redneck Rodeo band for several years it wasn’t long before awards started coming her way. In 2016 she won Female Vocalist Of The Year in the inaugural CCN awards.
Since then, she has had prolonged periods out of the limelight. In January 2019 she took two years off for maternity leave but a few months after the birth of her son Jace, we were all locked down by covid. Last summer she was forced to take four months off with Muscle Tension Dysphonia a voice disorder that occurs when the muscles around the larynx are too tight, making it difficult to speak. She told me she thought she might never sing again so it was good to see her back at Hickory Lake on 12th January and fighting fit, a couple of people commented that she is singing better than ever.
I last saw Kay at the club on 1 August 2021. I have always liked female singers as you get to hear a good selection of girls songs that male artists tend to avoid. She kicked off tonight with Scooter Lee’s Ribbon of Highway which coaxed the dancers onto the floor. This was followed by Nancy Hays’ Come Dance With Me, the title song from Nancy’s second album released in 2002. The song is particularly popular with line dancers at the moment and won a Crystal Boot line dance award in 2024 at Norbreck Castle in Blackpool. I wish we heard a few more Nancy Hays songs in the clubs.
A few other songs that stood out for me in the first set included Carlene Carter’s Every Little Thing, Jaden Hamilton’s Heaven’s Jukebox, Tracy Byrd’s Heaven In My Woman’s Eyes and the first of several Shania Twain songs Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under and Pam Tillis songs, When You Walk in the Room. Hickory Lake members like a mixture of styles and Kay gave us a good balance between old and newer including a nice ballad from Anne Murrey, Just Another Woman In Love which I haven’t heard for years. She finished the first set with another old classic, Tammy Wynette’s Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad.
Kay asked for requests early in the evening and she started working her way through them in the second set. These included Josh Mirenda’s Til The Neon’s Gone, Keith Urban’s Somebody Like You, Troy Cassar-Daley’s Things I Carry Around and Darryl Worley’s Messed Up In Memphis. There were plenty more old favourites including Lynn Anderson’s Rose Garden, Dolly Parton’s Old Flames and James House’s This Is Me Missing You. There was more from Shania Twain with Any Man Of Mine and from Pam Tillis’ Blue Rose Is. Always good to hear a few lesser known songs like Anne Wilson’s Christian Country song Mamas and Bekka & Billy’s Patient Heart which I haven’t heard for 30 years.
My pick of the evening was Dixie Chicks’ Tonight the Heartache’s on Me. As the evening drew to a close, Kay sung Cody Johnson’s ‘Til You Can’t which seems to be one of the most popular songs around at the moment. This was followed by Jill King’s Can’t Let Go – as a dance, Train Wreck seems as popular now as it was several years ago. Kay took us out to generous and well deserved applause with another early 90s classic Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Down At The Twist And Shout. I had a great night and I am sure everyone else did as well. Congratulations to Kay on her recent engagement to Helen James.
See below a couple of songs I videoed on my phone
Silver Churn, Totnes, Devon
Honky Tonk Strangers
by Phil Jenkins
1st January 2025
It was a bit thin on the ground tonight due to the inclement weather but we all had a brilliant night of pure Country music, just the way we like it from Chris Rainbow from Clevedon, making his first appearance at the village hall although we have seen him with his band at another venue many moons ago.
Chris is a real professional, keeping the music flowing, with some great vocals and guitar picking, despite being a bit under the weather, with everyone getting onto the floor to dance the night away.
Chris plays music from George Strait, George Hamilton IV, Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, Keith Whitley, Alan Jackson, Jim Reeves, Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, Leeroy Van Dyke, Willy Nelson, Waylon Jennings and The Shadows. We don’t hear numbers such as Abilene, Mama Tried and Funny How Time Slips Away very often tehse days. Great stuff.