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.
Milton CMC, Gravesend, Kent
Nikki Jo Brown
by Nick Catford
27th March 2026
Nikki Jo Brown comes from Washington, Tyne & Wear and grew up surrounded by music with her nan being one of her earliest influences. She has fond memories of first performing when she was a child and went on to achieve a degree in music. She became an accomplished pianist and launched her singing career 26 years ago as a soloist working in cabaret mainly in the north east of England. At that time she sung current hits and oldies but always included a little Country.
Over the years, many people told her voice really suited Country music which she had always had a passion for and so eventually decided to relaunch herself as a Country singer in the summer of 2019 when she was quick to impress everyone with her powerful vocals and undoubted stage presence, receiving standing ovations at both the Towerfest and Rockridge festivals.
Her diary was already filling before lockdown as she built up a reputation as a dedicated line dance artist with a very wide repertoire of modern and traditional Country music to suit all tastes and all clubs. Nikki Jo is fully pro and although she continued working in cabaret for a while she now only takes country bookings. I first saw her in October 2021 and was immediately impressed with her vivacious personality and a great country voice.
She won her first CCN award in 2021 winning newcomer of the year. I attended that excellent awards show in Peterborough and spent 30 minutes talking to her very proud mum. Two years later she got another well deserved award for female vocalist of the year. Although for now, she is still working with backing tracks, she has been learning guitar which will be included in her Country gigs at some time in the future. She has always worked solo and has no aspirations of working with a band or other musicians in the future and is happy to concentrate on building her career as a solo Country singer.
I have seen Nikki four times now and she always gives us a superb cross section of Country songs spanning 60 years. Although she has only been on the Country circuit since 2019, she has a very wide repertoire and would be well received at line dance clubs like the Milton or Country & Western clubs where members like a bit of everything.
She opened the evening with a selection of older songs including The Judds’s Grandpa, Lacy J. Dalton’s Black Coffee and Lee Roy Parnell’s Country Down To My Soul. She particularly likes many of the modern girl singers with several included tonight from Ella Langley and Miranda Lambert. Ella Langley’s Choosin’ Texas ensured the dance floor was full and that’s how it stayed for another pair of golden oldies, George Strait’s I Just Want to Dance with You and Roger Miller’s King of the Road. I don’t think I have heard top Nashville songwriter Ink at a club before and Hoedown sounds more like mid-70s soul to me but it’s popular with line dancers and fitted well into Nikki’s programme tonight. She brought the first set to a close with Chris Janson’s Hawaii On Me, Johnny Logan’s Hold Me Now, Post Malone’s Fallin’ In Love, Josh Turner’s Your Man and another from Ella Langley together with Riley Green and You Look Like You Love Me
Nikki Jo Brown has a bubbly personality and a cheeky Geordie sense of humour and she had little problem quickly making friends with everyone. Nikki is an accomplished pianist but although she is learning guitar she doesn’t play an instrument on stage and this in no way detracts from her performance as it allows her to move around the stage and project her personality – in fact her voice is her instrument – I know I have said that about other singers who don’t play an instrument but it’s something I really believe to be true. There were plenty of helpful dance suggestions throughout the evening which didn’t help me as a non-dancer but I am sure helped other.
The second set opened with Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert & Lainey Wilson’s Trailblazer. Everybody seems to be singing this these days, for me Miranda Lambert can do no wrong. Don Williams’ First Fool In Line a song that first emerged on his 2012 studio album And So It Goes. This was Don’t first studio album for 18 years. As popular as the song remains today, it was never released as a single. Next we heard Faith Hill’s Piece Of My Heart, Laback’s Power Of Love, Dan & Shay’s Bigger Houses and Gord Bamford’s Diamonds in a Whiskey Glass. It was good to hear Nancy Hays’ Come Dance With Me. Considering the song won a Crystal Boot line dance award as recently as 2024 at Norbreck Castle in Blackpool I’m surprised so few singers include it.
Slower songs like Patsy Cline’s She’s Got You which got a lot of cheers and Pam Tillis’ Blue Rose Is really showed the quality of her voice as she brought the second set to a close with Brooks & Dunn’s Whiskey Under The Bridge, James Johnston’s One More and Rodney Crowell’s Lovin’ All Night.
Set 3 brought a change of outfit; I must say Nikki’s choice of stage wear was impeccable tonight as it usually is. Nikki open the set with some more James Johnston and Old Country Barn, some more Brooks & Dunn with Neon Moon and William Michael Morgan’s Gone Enough. Little Big Town are a mixed vocal group but it always seems to be girl singers that sing their multi-platinum hit Girl Crush. You can’t get enough Hal Ketchum who I saw a number of times in the 90s and Loving You Makes Me A Better Man is one of his best songs. This was followed by DJTEXX’s Love Potion 666 and another from Miranda Lambert with Ain’t In Kansas Anymore. After Robert Palmer’s Bad Case of Loving You there was time for one more from Ella Langley with her latest release Be Her which came out in mid-March. Nikki closed proceedings with The Lennerockers’ High Class Lady which ensured the dancers stayed on the floor and brought sustained and well deserved applause from a good sized audience at The Milton.
Watch my phone video of Nikki Jo Brown at The Milton below.
Country Revival CMC, Dagenham, Essex
Tanya Turner with Phil & Teresa Mann, promoters at Country Revival.
by Nick Catford
22nd March 2026
Tanya Turner has been making a name for herself on the northern Country scene since 2012 having started her career as a cabaret singer. During lockdown, she reached a wider audience with live streams from her kitchen every Monday evening at 7pm. She only stated travelling to the South of England in late 2023 and was last at the Country Revival in Dagenham in January 2024 It was quickly apparent to me, why she was 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 a big smile and a delightful personality.
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 39 songs of which 22 were girls’ songs. A good mix of old favourites and newer artists. Tanya told us she particularly likes Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert.
Tanya kicked off with Jo Dee Messina’s Heads Carolina, Tails California, George Jones’ Billy B. Bad, Faith Hill’s Breathe and her first one from Miranda Lambert, I Ain’t in Kansas Anymore. I have always loved original songs and tonight Tanya sang a real cracker called Let’s Dance Anyway which was written for her by Kel Britton from Brushwood Duo. Vikki Morris has choreographed a dance for it and tonight was the first time Tanya sung it in public. It really is a great catchy song and the dance Vikki has written is called Best Foot Forward. There are lots of great original songs around which are rarely well received in dance clubs because they are unknown. I hope this song will get the recognition it deserves. I’m not a dancer myself but I do know a good song when I hear it and this is a good song.
A few more songs for the first set included Keith Urban’s But for the Grace of God, Tracy Byrd’s Heaven In My Woman’s Eyes and in my view LeAnn Rimes’ best song Commitment. Three more girls’ songs brought the first set to a close; Jody Miller’ Queen of the House, the answer to Roger Miller’s (no relation) King Of The Road, Dolly Parton’s The Salt In My Tears, not one of the better known of Dolly’s songs and Sara Evans’ US chart topper Suds In The Bucket.
It’s always good to see a change of outfit each set something that was common in the 90s but rarely happens now. Tanya does play rhythm guitar but left it at home tonight 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 she was always on the move around the ‘stage’ (floor); she was always smiling and clearly having a good time and that rubbed off on everyone as we were all having a good time too. She had little trouble creating a good rapport with everyone and was happy to sing requests and made regular useful dance suggestions; Tanya is a dancer herself.
We heard Trisha Yearwood’s They Call It Falling For A Reason, Keith Whitley’s Don’t Close Your Eyes and Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert & Lainey Wilson’s Trailblazer. 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. Many US country artists made it into the UK charts in the 1970s unlike today and I remember buying her two next songs Lynn Anderson’s Rose Garden (1970) and Billie Jo Spears’ What I’ve Got In Mind (1976). A few more songs from the second set included Karl Denver’s Voices Of The Highlands and Paddy Reilly’s Fields Of Athenry which brought the expected response from the audience!
Choosin’ Texas is a great new song from singer/songwriter Ella Langley it’s a US No 1 from a singer who launched her career in 2024. After Don Williams’ First Fool In Line, Tanya finished the second set with Martina McBride’s Independence Day a real Country anthem that showed the power of her voice. I feel Tanya really excels with power ballads and we were to get a couple more in the last set.
Tanya opened the third set with Carlene Carter’s Every Little Thing and Cody Johnson’s ‘Til You Can’t and then a great song from Kaylee Rose’s Going Blonde. Kaylee is a new name to me but if you want to see her she’ll be at the Buckle & Boots festival in Stockport in May and the Buck’ N Bull saloon in London’s Piccadilly on 30th May. Next we heard another Ella Langley (with Riley Green) song, Looks Like You Love Me.
Last time Tanya came to the Country Revival she was asked to include a handful of 60s songs and one of them, Cilla Black’s You’re My World was requested again. It’s a song that easily demonstrates what a good singer she is. A classic power ballad which she sung with a lot of emotion, the cheering and applause was well deserved and brought a comment from the club’s Phil Mann “she sung it even better than Cilla”, who am I to disagree Phil. Not a country song but it had to be my pick of the evening.
Bekka & Billy’s Patient Heart followed and then a 1987 classic from Kathy Mattea with Eighteen Wheels And A Dozen Roses. Tanya promised us another power ballad from the 60s and this time it was Engelbert Humperdinck’s Love Me With All Your Heart which brought more warm applause.
After Scooter Lee’s Ribbon Of Highway, Tanya ended the evening with another of her favourite contemporary singers Lainey Wilson and Bell Bottoms Up. There’s no way she was going home without one more so for an encore we heard Lonis/Daphne Willis’ Good To Go. Tanya will be back at the Country Revival next year.
See below my phone video Of Tanya Turner. This includes her original song Let’s Dance Anyway.
Hickory Lake, Feering, Colchester, Essex
JD Bullit
by Wendy Haylock
22nd March 2026
It was great to see the return of JD Bullit at Hickory Lake on 22nd March and also Sandra his lovely wife who came along, its always a pleasure to have John perform at the club, and he gave us three great sets of a good mix of songs, his interaction with his audience is always first class with his great personality and he kept the dance floor busy all evening, we thank you John for a really enjoyable evening, and it was nice to see Sandra again to, we look forward to the next time.
Roger & Sylve looked after the raffle this week and 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.
We sincerely thank all our Hickory Lake team of helpers, you all do an excellent job in all that you each do, what an amazing team we have, and grateful thanks to Sandra who helped Jane in the canteen in the first break, you are all very much appreciated. With thanks and appreciation to all our supporters of Hickory Lake its always good to see you all.
Love to you all Wendy.xx
Carolina CMC, Bromley, Kent
Chris Harris with club promoter, Jo Horniblow
by Nick Catford
20th March 2026
Chris Harris has been playing guitar since he was 11 but it wasn’t initially Country music, he played a mixture of folk, rock and blues with some country rock. He was in a number of school bands around Romford, Essex which gave him a good opportunity to hone his skills as a guitarist.
The Carolina is primarily a line dance club but members generally like a good mix with a few slower songs and a good helping of classics from the 90’s onwards. It was good to see so many people in the club tonight one of the best crowds I have seen for some time. Chris has a good country voice and he’s very chatty and a good communicator and had little trouble getting the dancers on their feet and that’s pretty much how they stayed all evening. He kicked off proceedings with Tim McGraw’s Just to See You Smile, George Jones’ Billy B. Bad, Dwight Yoakam’s Guitars, Cadillacs and William Michael Morgan’s Gone Enough, known by most as the dance, Dark Side Of The Moon.
It’s always good to see and hear a good musician rather than someone who just plays along to the backing track. Chris Harris must be one of the best lead guitarists on the circuit and we were treated to lots of complex guitar solos throughout the evening like on Wade Bowen’s Day of the Dead.
Many male singers avoid girls’ songs but not so Chris who clearly likes Miranda Lambert. He did tell me during the evening that he only sings songs he likes. His first girls’ song was Ella Langley’s Choosin’ Texas and this was one of my picks of the evening. The song was co-written for Ella by Miranda Lambert and Chris told us he was playing it for the first time live this evening.
As many people saw Brooks & Dunn at C2C a week earlier it’s not surprising that Chris sung songs by Brooks & Dunn and other artists who appeared at C2C. Boot Scootin’ Boogie is still one of their best known songs taking us back 25 years to 1991. This was followed by Old Dominion’s Memory Lane and then Dangerous Curves which is probably one of Rodney Crowell’s lesser known songs that he recorded with Vince Gill. It’s known for its witty lyrics about temptation and includes the memorable line: “I love my wife and that’s that. Now I’d best be looking for my hat”
Chris ended the first set with an instrumental request, Mark Knopfler’s Going Home (the theme from Local Hero) which really showed off his skill as a guitarist. I don’t think we hear enough instrumental tracks in clubs but I guess that might not be a view shared by everyone.
The second set opened with Alan Jackson’s Don’t Rock the Jukebox followed by an original song. Not one of Chris’ songs, that would follow later but a song written by Tony Crooks, Chris’ partner in an occasional trio with Jim Martin. The song was written by Tony in 1999 and was the title song of Plain Loco’s album Blue Memory which is still considered to be a milestone album in British Country music.
Rodney Crowell’s Lovin’ All Night followed and then another Alan Jackson song, Livin’ On Love which meant it was time for a barn dance. This was followed by James House’s This Is Me Missing You and then another pick of the evening for me, a beautiful Vince Gill song The Reason Why which includes Jim Martin on pedal steel on the backing track. Lee Kernaghan’s Backroad Nation and Luke Combs’ Where the Wild Things Are brought the second set to a close.
The third set opened with Travis Tritt’s Where Corn Don’t Grow followed by Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert and Lainey Wilson’s Trailblazer. Philip requested one of Chris’ own songs. I have always championed original British songs. There are plenty of good songwriters and original songs around but they rarely get heard in dance clubs. Chris was a prolific songwriter and in 2006 he won the Hot Disc Track Of The Year award at the UK Country Radio Awards, spending eleven week: at No. l in the British Independent Country Music chart. Chris’ song I Think I’m Falling In Love was nominated for the Song of the Year category in the Southern Country awards show at Frimley in February 2007. I am really glad Philip requested it tonight as it really is a good song that deserves to be heard more often.
I really love many of Alan Jackson’s ballads, So You Don’t Have To Love Me Anymore isn’t heard often enough, and this was followed by another Brooks & Dunn classic Neon Moon. Next it was time for a duet with Chris duetting with Miranda Lambert on Space In My Heart. Miranda Lambert recorded the song as a duet with Enrique Iglesias so it really needs to be sung as a duet. Chris once joked that he emailed Miranda to ask her to sing it with him but she didn’t reply so he added her voice to his backing track. I don’t think I have heard anyone singing a duet with someone on a backing track before and I feel it worked really well.
The Lennerockers’s High Class Lady, Jaden Hamilton’s Heaven’s Jukebox and Tracy Byrd’s Heaven In My Woman’s Eyes were next then Garth Brooks’ The Dance which gave Chris another opportunity to show off his skill as a guitarist. It’s Garth Brooks that changed the direction of his career. Chris was a latecomer to Country music but after he saw a late night Garth Brooks concert on TV he began listening to a lot of different styles of Country music and quickly realised his future as a musician lay in that genre.
Chris closed the evening with The Mavericks’ Here Comes My Baby which brought warm and well deserved applause and shouts of “More”. For an encore it was time for a real old classic with George Strait’s The Cowboy Rides Away which seems as popular now as it ever was. Chris will be back at the Carolina on 2nd October.
See me phone video which includes his own song I Think I’m Falling In Love.
Silver Churn CMC, Dartington, Totnes, Devon
Warren Dewitt
by Phil Jenkins
7th March 2026
Pplaying non-stop classic Country just the way we like it., Warren kept us on our feet all night, with music from Gene Watson, Merle Haggard, Charley Pride, Waylon Jennings, Alabama, Toby Keith, Randy Travis, George Strait, Alan Jackson, Dwight Yoakam, Hank Williams, Ray Price, Don Williams and Moe Bandy. Great stuff.