Nashville Sounds in the Round

Birmingham's premier country songwriter night 'Nashville Sounds In The Round' in partnership with B:Music! Hosted by multi award-winning Gasoline & Matches, artists are invited to tell the stories behind their songs in a Bluebird Café style ‘In The Round’ session, stripping the songs back to their origins and transporting the audience right back to the writing rooms.

Gasoline & Matches

Gasoline & Matches are a high energy, multi-award winning, dual fronted British band combining close harmonies, melodic guitar licks and serious musicianship. Fronted by Birmingham natives Sally Rea Morris and Stephen Marks, they are fierce entertainers known for their tongue-in-cheek and much-loved song "Never Have I Ever" described by Bob Harris as “Clever, funny, totally original…and it’s Country!” They built momentum after multiple spins on BBC Radio 2, and never fail to get festival goers on their feet to participate in the infamous drinking game which inspired the song. As resident hosts of Nashville Sounds in the Round, their Bluebird Cafe style songwriter round at Birmingham Symphony Hall, it’s clear to see their contribution & influence on Country and Americana music in the Midlands.

Blair Dunlop

“From the outside, when listening to the music of Blair Dunlop, you get the impression that though he’s something of a natural talent he continues to work hard to progress both his songwriting and musicianship…. you can hear the folk heritage coursing through his veins as well as the originality he brings to the genre.” Songwriting Magazine

Blair Dunlop, award-winning British singer-songwriter and guitarist, has now released 4 albums 2 ep’s and toured around the globe. All of this in a short 5-year career is astounding alone but what sets Blair apart from his peers is the lyrical and musical maturity with which he writes. His third album ‘Gilded’ was released in May 2016 on his own label – Gilded Wings – and was widely acclaimed gaining BBC Radio 2 Playlist status for the two single releases (‘The Egoist’ and ‘356’). Prior to this Blair released his acclaimed album ‘House Of Jacks’ in mid 2014 which lived up to the promise of his 2012 debut ‘Blight and Blossom’ (the quality of which contributed to his winning the BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award). Blair has now cemented his place as one of Britain’s most exciting talents.. 2018 Blair saw the release of his 4th album ‘Notes From An Island’ on his own label to rave reviews.

“An adept guitarist whose epic songwriting instincts prevail on a personal-political fourth album” MOJO

Georgia Van Etten

Big, buttery voice and classic tunes. Georgia van Etten creates retro soundscapes while drawing inspiration from the modern political and romantic world. Keeping the art of songwriting authentic, Georgia writes alone, piano and paper in hand. She fuses genres seamlessly, moulding soulful melodies with folk, country, rock and cinematic pop.

Originating from Australia, her early years more closely mimic a retro American film, with her Father blasting country music down highways and her Mother playing 70’s tunes on the guitar. She spent her youth performing/writing with heavy bands like King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard and Alice Ivy.

In a bold move, she packed one tiny suitcase and headed for London. She has since played Porretta Soul Festival (Italy), Falls Festival (Australia), Raadpop (Netherlands), The Long Road (UK) and headlined London Omeara.

Her debut album ‘Deep Black Water’ released on Canadian Label Birthday Cake (founded by Bros. Landreth), gained a feature in NME, music video on MTV, heavy rotation on SiriusXM North Americana (US), BBC Radio 2 play and a feature session on BBC Radio 4.

“Kicks off the year strong” – NME

Jonny Morgan

The ‘Bob Harris - Americana Emerging Artist of the Year 2024’ - Jonny Morgan is an Indie Singer/Songwriter with an unashamed passion for ambient and emotive soundscapes - drawing inspiration from artists such as Gregory Alan Isakov, Ray LaMontagne and Michael Kiwinuka.

Having journeyed across North America in 2022, Jonny returned back to London in early 2023 where he released his highly anticipated debut album ‘Good Luck With the Music’ which landed him support from the likes of BBC INTRODUCING, Mahogany Sessions and Absolute Country.