Club Reports
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.
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Essex
Steve Hanks
by Wendy Haylock
3rd March 2025
We had the return of Steve Hanks on 3rd March at Hickory Lake, it was nice to see him back at the club again, and he gave us a good performance, Carol his wife came along with him and it was nice to see her again to, a lovely lady and well done Carol for winning 3 raffle prizes!!
It was sad to have to announce the passing of ‘Little’ Jean, who had been a regular at the club for many years going back to the days Vic Woodhouse ran the club, she will be very sadly missed by all her many friends there, and our thoughts are with her family at this sad time. It was nice to see Albie back at the club after being poorly for awhile, but you are looking good now ‘Alb’.
The raffle this week was taken care of by Dave and Sylve, we thank you Sylve for taking part you did a grand job, and we thank all who added prizes to the raffle table it’s always much appreciated.
To all our brilliant team of Hickory Lake helpers we thank you all so much for all that you each do for us and your club, from the start of the evening until the end, it’s so good to have all your support behind us. We thank and appreciate all our supporters of Hickory Lake, its all of you that makes your club what it is, and it’s always good to see you all. Take care and much Love to you all.
Wendy xx
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Essex
Steve Lovett
by Wendy Haylock
9th March 2025
What an excellent performance from Steve Lovett we had at Hickory Lake on 9th March, Steve is always popular with his audience and always interacts with them well, he kept the dance floor busy all evening with line-dancers and freestylers alike, he had a lot of requests which he managed to fulfil throughout the evening, and as everyone knows, Steve is an excellent guitarist. He played ‘Apache’ which was requested, we had a lot of people in and the evening went too quickly! Thank you Steve for a brilliant evening, we look forward to your next visit.
We had one Birthday which was Sid’s on the 8th, Steve sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him and we all wished him well, and thank you Sid for the chocolates that you bought round to celebrate. It was nice to see Beryl back this week with Mick, you are looking good Beryl and it was great to see you back again. It was also nice to see Anne (Sid’s sister) come along with Sid & Jane, we hope you enjoyed your evening with us.
The raffle was a little different this week, with myself and Sylve (as I gave Dave the night off!) Thank you Sylve for taking part you did a grand job, and I did quite enjoy doing it, but you haven’t got the sack yet Dave!! Thank you to all who added prizes to the raffle table it’s always much appreciated.
Our grateful thanks to all our brilliant team of Hickory Lake helpers, you always do a fantastic job in all that you each do, from the start of the evening, throughout the evening and at the end with clearing away tables and stacking chairs, what a truly great team we have and we appreciate all your help. We thank all our lovely supporters who come along to their club, your support is much appreciated which keeps your club going each week. Take care and much Love to you all.
Wendy xx
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Essex
Ray Peters
by Wendy Haylock
16th March 2025
It was good to have Ray Peters back at Hickory Lake last on 16th March and nice to see him again, Ray gave us an entertaining evening and did several requests keeping the dance floor busy with Line-dancers and Freestylers alike, we thank you Ray for an enjoyable evening and look forward to seeing you again soon.
We had two Birthdays which were Paul and Fonz, both Birthdays are this Thursday 20th, Ray sang Happy Birthday to them both and we all wished them well and hope you have a great day on Thursday. The raffle this week was taken care of by Roger and Sylve, we thank you both for taking part and you did a grand job, we also thank all who added prizes to the raffle table it’s much appreciated. To all our fantastic team of Hickory Lake helpers we thank you all so much for all that you each do, from the start of the evening until the end,we have such a brilliant team behind us and we value and appreciate everyone’s help. Thank you to all our supporters,we truly appreciate the support you give to your club,which keeps us going each week,its always good to see you all. Take care and much Love to you all.
Wendy xx
Milton CMC, Gravesend, Kent
Trey Jackson with Gill Garwood
by Nick Catford
16th March 2025
Geordie Trey Jackson comes from a musical family; he first performed on stage at the age of five and played in many different bands during his teens. He launched his professional singing career in cabaret in the mid-2000s covering a variety of musical genres including rock ‘n’ roll and swing. He always, however, had a passion for Country music so it was inevitable that he would eventually gravitate back towards his first love while continuing to work on the cabaret circuit where he had already won many awards.
In his first year as a Country singer, Trey was nominated for the BCMA Horizon award in 2014, an award for new artists. In 2016 he won CCN Newcomer of the Year and the following year he had a CNN Best Solo Artist nomination. He didn’t win it that year but he did in 2021 and today he is one of the hardest working solo artists on the Country. The next day he was flying to Marmaris in Turkey for work and he told me that he doesn’t have a day off till the end of April.
DJ Philip got the dancers warmed up before Trey took to the stage with a programme of mainly up tempo songs that kept the dance floor full from start to finish. He kicked off the evening with Randy Travis’ Forever And Ever, Amen followed by The Eagles’ Peaceful Easy Feeling and Alan Jackson’s Mercury Blues. There was plenty of modern material throughout the evening which in the first set included Post Malone’s M-E-X-I-C-O, Chris Janson’s Cheap and Drake Milligan’s Sounds Like Something I’d Do.
Trey comes across as a modern Country singer with a casual appearance, a good vocal range and a rich Country voice and a very punchy, high energy presentation with one good song after another that didn’t give dancers much of a chance to sit down. He is a good communicator and quickly built up a good rapport with the audience; he was joking with us throughout and his cheeky Geordie humour was a delight. A few more songs from the first set included The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights, Jake Owen’s Down To The Honky Tonk, Chris Stapleton’s You Should Probably Leave and Jaden Hamilton’s Heaven’s Jukebox. Wade Bowen’s Day of the Dead and Randy Houser’s We Went brought the first set to a close.
He opened the second set in much the same style with Take It Easy, another Eagles song, followed by the first slow song of the evening Randy Travis’ Where That Came From which remains as popular as ever. I wonder if we will get more new songs from Randy created by artificial intelligence. As the evening progressed there was a more than generous helping of drinking songs which included Josh Kiser’s I’m Never Drinking Again, Josiah Siska’s 3 Tequila Floor and Brooks & Dunn’s Whiskey Under the Bridge.
I have only seen Trey a couple of times before in November 2018 and at last year’s CNN awards show in Southport. Each time he impressed me with his energy and well chosen selection of Country songs that always kept the toes tapping; I had a great evening at The Milton. As we headed into the third set he gave us a couple from Luke Combs, Honky Tonk Highway and The Kind of Love We Make, River Road’s Nickajack, Josh Mirenda’s Til the Neon’s Gone and Alan Jackson’s Gone Country which meant it was time for a barn dance.
My pick of the evening came towards the end of the evening when he sung Chris Stapleton’s version of Tennessee Whiskey, another drinking song, which he sung with a lot of emotion; he was clearly feeling every word. At the end of a very enjoyable high energy evening, Trey took us out with Cody Johnson’s ‘Til You Can’t which brought plenty of well deserved cheering and shouts of “More”. For an encore he gave us his interpretation of Dubliners’ The Wild Rover a fitting end to the evening as it is, of course, another drinking song! I look forward to catching up with Trey Jackson again in the not too distant future.
See my iPhone video below which includes Tennessee Whiskey …
Delta Dawn CMC, Tonbridge, Kent
Ryan Payling (centre) with Terry & Dawn Coomber
by Nick Catford
23rd March 2025
When popular Scottish trio Texas Gun took to the road again in 2012 after a two year hiatus, drummer Simon Payling decided not to rejoin so they worked as a duo until late 2014 when they were joined by the third generation of the Payling family, George Snr’s grandson Ryan who was studying music, sound and performing arts at Ayr college.
After 4 years cutting his teeth on the Country circuit working with his dad and granddad, Ryan decided it was time for a fresh start moving from Ayr to Lincolnshire to start a new career as a solo artist in early 2019. Having established himself as a good singer with Texas Gun, Ryan quickly built his own fan base with plenty of work around the country and within a few months he picked up his first national award as CNN newcomer of the year in 2019. He now fronts The Breeze and continues to work solo.
It was good to see him at the Delta Dawn CMC on 21st March and it was quickly very clear that we were in for a very enjoyable evening kicking off with Tim McGraw’s Just to See You Smile. Next Ryan took us back to his time with a medley of Randy Travis song that were always included in the act when Ryan was a member of Texas Gun; these were Forever and Ever Amen, Diggin’ Up Bones and No Stoppin’ Us Now. There was plenty of reminiscing about Texas Gun and his dad and grandad throughout the evening and Ryan told me that he and his dad George are now back together as Texas Gun duo. I really look forward to seeing them.
There was an excellent balance between new and old songs and a few others from the first set included Dwight Yoakam’s Guitars Cadillacs, Jordan Davis’ Tucson Too Late, Zach Top’s Bad Luck, Drake Milligan’s Save It For A Sunny Day and Hal Ketchum’s Old Soldiers.
Ryan has a great cheeky sense of humour and that quickly rubbed off on everyone, I think he was determined that we were all going to have a good time. Ryan has a broad Glasgow accent and he joked that people often ask him if he can sing in English to which he quips “How can I sing it if I can’t talk it!!” As the evening progressed a few more songs that stood out for me included Jaden Hamilton’s Heaven’s Jukebox, Vince Gill’s Young Man’s Town, Tom Russell’s Blue Wing and Lonestar’s Come Cryin’ to Me.
My pick of the evening was his acoustic rendition of Chris Stapleton’s Tennessee Whiskey, just Ryan and his guitar with no backing track. He sung it with a lot of emotion and I thought it sounded better without any backing and showed off the clarity of his country voice. The club members obviously shared my view with their applause. He took us out of the second set with Collin Raye’s That’s My Story and Phil Vassar’s The Woman In My Life, a beautiful song from 2006 that I have never heard anyone do in a club.
There was plenty more good humour in the third set and plenty more good songs as well including a selection of old standards like Desert Rose Band’s Ashes Of Love, Mel McDaniel’s Louisiana Saturday Night, Marty Stuart’s Tempted and Keith Whitley’s Don’t Close Your Eyes. It was good to hear another beautiful Collin Raye song Don’t Tell Me You’re Not In Love, we don’t hear enough Collin Raye in my view. Ryan ended a most enjoyable evening with John Michael Montgomery’s Sold, Brad Paisley’s The World and George Strait’s The Cowboy Rides Away. Before leaving he plugged his dad who will be at the Delta Dawn CMC in May.
See my phone video below …
Hickory Lake CMC, Feering, Essex
LA Country
by Wendy Haylock
23rd March 2025
It was an absolute pleasure to have Kevin Barry back at Hickory Lake on 23rd March, Kevin never fails to entertain us all with his great personality, interacting with his audience all the time, Kevin had alot of requests which he gladly fulfilled, keeping the dance floor busy all evening with line-dancers and freestylers alike. Kevin is an excellent Guitarist with a voice to match, it was a good evening of first class entertainment and we thank you Kevin and look forward to seeing you back again soon.
We had some first timers last night, Helen & Steve who came along with Strawb & Sue, and also Hannah’s boyfriend Harrison, we hope you all had a good evening and come back to see us again soon. We thank Bev & Phil who stepped in at short notice in the canteen at the start of the evening (due to the absence of Chris & Colin). thank you both.
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 who added prizes to the raffle table it’s always much appreciated. Grateful thanks as always to all our super team of Hickory Lake helpers, we appreciate everyone’s help from the start of the evening until the end, and it’s all your help throughout the evening that keeps your club running smoothly, and we cannot thank you all enough for what you each do. Also our supporters who come along,we appreciate the support you give to your club,and it’s always good to see you all. Take care and much love to you all.
Wendy xx
Carolina CMC, Bromley, Kent
Cardy & Coke and below with club promoter Jo Horniblow.
by Nick Catford
7th March 2025
I have known Wes Cardy and Jan Mellon for 34 years and it’s always good to catch up with Cardy and Coke for one of their regular visits to the Carolina CMC in Bromley, Kent. Jan Mellon and Wes Cardy first met at the Colne Valley Theatre Group in Suffolk where they were both members. In December 1986, they formed Cardy and Coke duo and in 1989 this was expanded to become the five piece Wes Cardy band alongside the duo. They quickly established a loyal following in East Anglia and the south east. By the turn of the 20th century, band bookings dwindled as many clubs started booking only solos and duos in an attempt to keep costs down. The band played their last gig at the end of 2000, but Cardy and Coke went from strength to strength as a duo in clubs and at festivals.
After 39 years they decided to retire from the Country circuit in July 2025 although they will continue to do some local Country clubs in Essex and Suffolk and also Irish clubs. They opened proceedings on 7th March with Gail Davies’ Someone Is Looking For Someone Like You followed by Sam Outlaw’s Love Her for a While and Rodney Crowell’s I Walk the Line (Revisited).
Cardy and Coke have been regular visitors to the Carolina CMC for years with a unique gentle presentation that stands them apart from other duos. They share lead vocals and are both prolific songwriters having won numerous awards for their songs so it was good to hear a selection included in tonight’s programme. Some songwriters avoid doing their own songs which I think is a great shame. Next we heard a couple of Jan’s songs, remembering John her tribute to John Denver and Don’t Come Running To Me
There were plenty of Country favourites that kept the toes tapping from start to finish, these included Brooks & Dunn’s You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone, Don Williams’ Lay Down Beside Me and Vince Gill’s What The Cowboy’s Do. Wes mentioned that Vince Gill was one of his favourite country singers. Next we had a couple of original sings about mothers, Mother’s Love written by Jan and Mother’s Eyes written by Wes.
It was good to see Sara Curran in the club tonight. A few more that stood out as the evening progressed included Michael English’s Dance All Night and Paul Overstreet’s If I Could Bottle This Up then a couple more originals. Jan’s Amy’s Eyes which is probably one of her best known songs and a beautiful ballad followed by Wes Cardy’s The Passing Of Time.
As well as original songs there were plenty of classic Country songs to keep the dancers on their toes including a couple from Merle Haggard, Shelly’s Winter Love and Let’s Chase Each Other Round The Room. Next we had a couple of songs about the blues, Guy Mitchell’s Singing The Blues and Marty Robbins’ Knee Deep In The Blues which was followed by Chris Stapleton’s arrangement of Tennessee Whiskey which, in my view, (I know it won’t be shared by everyone) is better than the original versions. The song was first recorded by David Allan Coe but George Jones’ version from 1983 is better known.
The final set kicked off with Highway 101’s Somewhere Tonight and Rodney Crowell’s Lovin’ All Night. A few songs from the final set included Neil Young’s Harvest Moon which a number of people seem to be singing recently, John Denver’s Leaving On A Jet Plane, Shawn Cuddy’s Can We Go Round Again, Randy Travis’ Where That Came From and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. I haven’t heard anyone else sing that in a Country club!
Cardy and Coke brought the final set to a close with what is probably Wes Cardy’s best known song, Special Absent Friends. Years ago this song reached the ears of Ken Dodd and Daniel O’Donnell both of whom recognised its potential. Ken Dodd started closing his theatre shows around the UK with the song and in 2001 recorded it on an album called Absent Friends for sale at his shows. Daniel O’Donnell also recorded (Our) Special Absent Friends on his 1997 album of the same name. For a double encore Cardy & Coke sang BR549’s Seven Nights To Rock and Jim Reeves’ Oklahoma Hills. Jo Horniblow, who runs the Carolina, is a big Jim Reeves fan so that was included for her.
See my phone video below!
Silver Churn CMC, Dartington, Near Totnes, Devon
Phil Jenkins
1st March 2025
Great to have a four piece band on stage tonight of brilliant musicians, The Honky Tonk Strangers, consisting of Mark Jacobs on lead vocals and lead guitar, Harley Dave on bass and vocals, Dave Hayward on steel and Dave Cawse on drums and vocals,from places as varied as Plymouth,Winchester, Kent and Hemel Hempstead,they set out to entertain us with some golden classic Country, which always goes down well at our club.
Their reputation must have gone before them, as we had a near full house, great to see a lot of old friends.With music from, George Jones, Merle Haggard, George Strait, Buck Owens, Charley Pride, Kris Kristoferson, Ray Price, Ricky Scaggs, Waylon Jennings Leroy Van Dyke and Willie Nelson, everyone went home happy,finishing the night off with a bit of fun, Mark even changing his name to Dave and singing the Womble song with everyone joining in with the harmonies.
Great stuff and real live Country Music.