Maverick - June/July 2016

Welcome to the latest issue of Maverick Magazine.

This issue includes our annual Festival Guide, so you can plan ahead for the festival season. It's fantastic to see just how much live country, roots and folk shows we have on our doorsteps, right across the UK.

Live music is a main focus of ours this issue. We've included even more live reviews, showcasing what a great start our scene has made to 2016. We have some great backstage interviews with the likes of A Thousand Horses and Maren Morris, as well as my conversation with country superstar Dierks Bentley before his show at the Eventim, Apollo, for this issue's cover story. For Dierks, touring and performing live is the best part of the job and a chance for him and the band to lose themselves and to share that feeling with their fans.

More and more of the most successful US artists are making the trip to Europe to treat us to country from the motherland. Festivals like Kilkenny Roots Festival do a wonderful job of promoting British legends and vibrant local acts. Most artists will tell you that the place to hear them is live, up on stage, where you can experience the electric immediacy of the sound and the energy of a room. I hope that you can all get out to hear some of your favourite performers - and to find some new ones.

Another standout for me this issue was speaking with Kip Moore, an impressive artist and role model, as he spoke unassumingly about his growing fan base and the depression that he has battled with in the past.

As ever, we love to hear your feedback at Maverick, so get in touch with us socially to let us know who we should be covering live, or just to tell us about the most impressive live performances you see this summer.