Maverick Country Music Magazine

1 March 2021

Talking of the genres brightest stars, the ACM Award Nominees were announced recently. The show will be hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton who performed together at the ceremony last year and just like last year it will be broadcast from three iconic venues around Nashville! This was beautifully done in 2020, it really showcased the heart and soul of country music so I’m excited to see this again although it will have us die hard fans pining for the place that holds our hearts. There’s a number of rising stars that have caught my attention recently and one of them you will find on page 14. Sibling trio Track45 have been writing with and for some of Nashville’s finest artists for a while but recently they have begun to release music together. I sat down with them in what was one of my first interviews for Maverick and there was a lot of laughter! We delved into the stories behind some of the songs on their latest EP ‘Big Dreams’ - a record I highly recommend. Though for many of us, when we think of country music, we think of Nashville Tennessee but I have always been a fan of British artists too. More recently I’ve been discovering a lot of talented country acts from Europe and Australia and I’m proud that Maverick is showcasing talent from around the world. In this issue you will find we have album reviews of artists from Sweden and interviews with Australia. Two Australian acts that feature are Ziggy Alberts and for KING & COUNTRY. Joel Smallbone reflected on the power music has, to bring people together, something that they have achieved with their latest release - the deluxe edition of Burn the Ships which features lots of collaborations including the wonderful God Only Knows which they sung with Dolly Parton!