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Preview: Doug Seegers plays the European Country Festival – Jordan Mogey pulls out due to illness. The 64-year-old country newcomer is making his live debut in the German-speaking world and will appear at the European Country Festival in Achensee before the official ‘Walking on the Edge of the World Tour’. The Irish singer-songwriter Jordan Mogey has had to pull out due to illness. Doug Seegers is one of the oldest newcomers in his genre and now the country singer is coming to play live dates in Germany, Austria and Switzerland for the first time and showcase tracks from his second album, Walking on the Edge of the World, due for release at the start of September 2016. The native New Yorker is taking to the stage on 24 September 2016 at the European Country Festival in Achensee and will continue his tour around Germany, Austria and Switzerland at the end of October. Just three years ago, the American musician Doug Seegers was still living under a bridge in Nashville. Then, by sheer coincidence, he became a superstar in Sweden – a real musical fairy tale. In 2013 Doug Seegers was sitting on a patch of grass in Nashville and leaning against a wall with a sign next to him that read ‘Out of work / Anything helps’. He was playing a country song on his guitar that he had penned himself a long time ago: ‘Going Down to the River’. It’s about the yearning to cleanse yourself from sin. Sitting in front of him were two Swedish musicians, a man and a woman, who were filming a documentary for the Swedish TV broadcaster SVT. They could hardly believe what they were hearing. This voice. A few months later, Doug Seegers was living a different life – as a country music star in Sweden.

Doug Seegers, born in 1952, was not even washing dishes; he was homeless in Nashville. Drugs, alcohol, bridge, soup kitchen – the lot. He had been living in the city for more than 15 years after leaving New York, where his ex-wife and two children still live. In Nashville he wanted to play country music again, like he had previously done in Austin, performing under the name Duke the Drifter. But it didn’t go according to plan. He scratched a living doing casual jobs and ended up on the street.

Then Jill Johnson – a successful Swedish country musician and TV journalist – came into his life. For her national broadcaster SVT, comparable to Austria’s ORF or Germany’s ARD, she was filming a six-part series called Jills Veranda about Nashville and also wanted to report on homeless musicians. During her travels, she and her companion Magnus Carlson stumbled across Doug, who played them ‘Going Down to the River’. She was so impressed that she invited him to record the song in a studio in Nashville where Johnny Cash also once recorded.

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By the time the episode was broadcast on Swedish television, the song was already available on iTunes. It immediately went to the top of the Swedish iTunes charts. A Swedish record company then offered Seegers a contract. Within three days he was recording his debut album Going Down to the River in the USA. It was released in Sweden at the end of May and went to number one in the charts. Straight after, Seegers embarked on a tour of the country with a Swedish backing band. It was his first ever flight. At 62 years of age, he played 70 concerts. In 2014 his album was also released in the USA; he opened the Americana Music Awards in September with one of his songs. Even in his homeland they now talk about his rags-to-riches story – the American dream, which came true for Seegers in Sweden.

Hansi Kiesler, the organiser of the European Country Festival, is both delighted and proud to have the US artist at the event: ‘In Doug Seegers we are presenting a totally authentic musician, who describes life’s highs and especially the lows in his songs like no other and ‘genuinely’ enriches country music in the truest sense of the word.’

Due to illness, Jordan Mogey has had to cancel all concerts planned over the coming months. As the Irish singer-songwriter’s management communicated in a brief press release, Jordan Mogey has contracted a virus that is proving very hard to shake. Jordan apologises for having to cancel and hopes to be back onstage soon. The manager of the European Country Festival, Stefan Winsel, regrets the fact that Jordan Mogey has had to pull out: ‘We wish Jordan a speedy recovery and will keep a slot on the stage free for him in 2017. We want to provide a stage for extraordinary young artists like Jordan Mogey. In Laura van den Elzen – who recently came second in the German reality TV music competition DSDS – Chiara S. and Marina Jay we have incredible young talent who will more than complete the line-up alongside more seasoned bands such as Truck Stop, Home Free, Nashville and many others. We look forward to a fantastic European Country Festival in Achensee.’

Tickets are now available and can be bought at www.european-country-festival.com or from the Achensee Tourist Association. Web links: www.european-country-festival.com www.facebook.com/EuropeanCountryFestival

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Images that are free to use can be downloaded from http://www.european-country-festival.com/pressekontakt/pressekit. You can find the registration form for press accreditation at http://www.european-country-festival.com/pressekontakt/pressekit.

Press contact: EUROPEAN COUNTRY FESTIVAL IT’S LIVE! Advertising GmbH Stefan Winsel Balanstraße 73, 81541 Munich 0049 (0)89 2020 6660, kontakt@european-country-festival.com

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Information about the bands

HOME FREE (USA)

When the country vocal band Home Free were crowned the winners of the NBC show The Sing-Off in 2013, it was the greatest moment in the career of the five country stars from Minnesota. It was the reward for almost a decade of continuous hard work, during which they perfected the art of performing a cappella. Now these outstanding artists are coming to continental Europe for the first time, and will present their highly energetic stage show in Austria, studded with quick-witted humour that combines with a unique a cappella Nashville sound. The band, made up of Austin Brown (high tenor), Tim Foust (bass), Rob Lindquist (tenor), Adam Rupp (beatboxer) and Chris Rupp (baritone), reached number one in the iTunes country charts and number four in the general charts in 2014 with their debut album Crazy Life. With more than 200,000 albums sold, over 50 million YouTube views and over 100,000 concert tickets sold, they are among the most successful winners of a TV singing competition. Now the amiable men, who are not only revered by the ladies, are celebrating their premiere in continental Europe. After all, there is already a huge fan base here and they can hardly wait to see this incredible band live. We look forward to a very special performance by Home Free in Achensee. LAURA VAN DEN ELZEN (NL)

Dutch singer Laura van den Elzen is just 18 years old and probably one of the biggest talents in Central Europe. Most striking of all is her versatility. While her own songs are mostly soulful ballads, she also has the ability to sing gritty numbers such as Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’. She proved this while taking part in the German reality TV programme Deutschland sucht den Superstar, reaching the grand final and ultimately coming second. At the European Country Festival she is sure to showcase both sides of herself and really get the audience fired up.

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TRUCK STOP (D)

The most successful German country band released their latest album Männer sind so last year and enjoyed double chart success. The six lads from the North Sea coast will be playing the new songs. Musically, the band has been refreshed, yet remains as authentic as ever with its well-seasoned sound. It is country music for 2016 with plenty of passion and rock ’n’ roll.

‘In terms of lyrics and music, the audience will hear something fresher and more modern. There are fewer clichés and there is less America. In their place are more private and personal themes. Songs that deal with refound love or the annoying mother-in-law and, of course, the title track ‘Männer sind so’, the eternal woman’s issue,’ says Andreas Cisek. ‘And we get the feeling that the intensive band feeling comes across. The music is well crafted and honest and that is precisely what we want to show our fans up-close in autumn.’

Authentic, honest and creative, with a well-crafted, rocking country sound – that is how Truck Stop is winning over fans on the latest album and live onstage. Besides classics like ‘Take it easy’ and ‘Ich möcht’ so gern Dave Dudley sein’, they will be playing new songs such as ‘Männer sind so’, ‘Deine Mutter ist immer dabei’, ‘Bauchgefühl’ and the current single ‘Die Party geht weiter’. The new cowboys are sending the fans into raptures – you have to wonder what exactly is going on onstage.

DOUG SEEGERS (USA/SVE)

Doug Seegers was born in 1952 in Long Island, New York. After a few initial attempts to find his feet in the clubs of Austin, Texas, in the 1980s, he returned to his native New York, where he started a family, worked as a carpenter and raised two children. After getting divorced, he later moved to the Mecca of country music, Nashville, where he scraped by as a homeless street musician. Following alcohol withdrawal, he made regular appearances at a charity event in West Nashville, where he came to the attention of the singer-songwriter and producer Aaron Espe, who distributed a brief excerpt of Seeger’s song ‘Going Down to the River’ on the Internet with no notable success. It would be almost another 18

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months, in autumn 2013, before everything changed: while the Swedish musician and TV journalist Jill Johnson was filming a six-part documentary on Nashville, a street trader recommended that she check out Seegers, who was sitting on a park bench opposite. He told her that he had ‘the most extraordinary voice in country’. Johnson was so impressed by Seegers that she invited the then 62-year-old to make a recording in Johnny Cash‘s Cabin Studio. When the episode featuring Seegers was broadcast on Swedish television at the beginning of March 2014, he had scored his first hit: ‘Going Down to the River’ remained at number one in the Swedish iTunes charts for 12 days. The song was also released on Johnson’s next album Livemusiken från Jills Veranda Nashville, which reached the top spot in the official charts and later even achieved gold status. As a result of this success, Seegers was given a record deal. His debut album, Going Down to the River was released at the end of May 2014, initially in Sweden. On the album produced by Will Kimbrough (who has worked with Jimmy Buffett, among others) there is also a cover version of the Gram Parsons song ‘She’, which Seegers recorded with superstar Emmylou Harris and her band. The album immediately climbed to the top of Sweden’s charts at the beginning of June 2014 and a 70-date summer tour around Sweden followed, during which the album returned to the number-one spot and was initially awarded a gold disc and later platinum. In the USA Going Down to the River reached number 25 in the country charts. In March 2015 another album was released with Jill Johnson: In Tandem also reached the top of the Swedish charts. A Christmas album named Let’s All Go Christmas Caroling Tonight reached number 7 in October 2015. The second album Walking on the Edge of the World was once again produced with the help of Will Kimbrough in Nashville in 2015. He was backed in the studio by the cream of Nashville’s musicians: Al Perkins, Phil Madeira, Chris Donohue, Bryan Owings, Buddy Miller and Elizabeth Cook. The album also features another duet with Emmylou Harris, the Johnny Cash/June Carter Cash song ‘Far Side Banks of Jordan’. The long-awaited follow-up will be released at the beginning of September.

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THE BUFFALO BELLS (AUT) The Buffalo Bells were the discovery of the European Country Festival 2015. Yet while they were only briefly able to show the audience their breathtaking talent last year, a place in the Tyrolean sun surely awaits them in 2016. Visitors and organisers alike were so amazed by the newcomers from Lower Austria that another appearance at the 2016 event was immediately guaranteed. This is not only down to the energy of front man Roman or the wonderful voice of singer Sophie, because the Buffalo Bells are a complete package seemingly made for the stage. With dedication and a love of well-crafted music, which they call rock ’n’ country, they deliver a musical stage show in the style of Johnny Cash that guarantees the audience entertainment, fun and, above all else, first-class music. Not for nothing was the band named Newcomer Band of the Year in October 2015 by the ACMF (Austrian Country Music Federation). The Buffalo Bells will be releasing their new CD just before the European Country Festival. JAMBALAYA (DK) The boys from Jambalaya are a perfect mix of seasoned country veterans and young musicians, resulting in a show featuring classic sounds and the fresh wind of modern country. And as befits a real country band, the Danes will also be bringing along a pedal steel guitar to the event in beautiful Achensee, together with their most experienced musician. One thing is certain – visitors to the European Country Festival 2016 can look forward to a top-class international combo. TARSO MILLER (BRA/SK) Brazilian roots, appearances with Dale Watson in Austin, Texas, and now based in Slovakia – that is the explosive mix used by Tarso Miller and his Wild Comets to deliver an original and energy-charged honky-tonk show without equal. The native Brazilian gave 130 shows in his homeland last year. Now he has moved from Sugarloaf Mountain to Bratislava and is conquering the whole of Europe.

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RONNY NASH AND HIS WHITELINE CASANOVAS (D) Ronny Nash and His Whiteline Casanovas are now one of the finest acts that the German country scene has to offer in the English-speaking domain. Clearly the band embodies the certain something that conveys the feeling of sitting in a honky-tonk in Nashville listening to stylishly crafted ‘pure and handmade country music’. Their act has been honed in hundreds of stage performances over the last 17 years, guaranteeing professional entertainment. The five country musicians take the audience on a musical journey across the south-west of the USA. With professional arrangements, everything is played here, from classic country and western to modern country music and gritty country rock. New songs from various styles and eras of country and western music are always appearing in the band’s extensive repertoire. The selection of songs played is mostly spontaneous and influenced by the prevailing mood at the time. As such, no two performances are ever the same. The band cultivates a close and informal relationship with its audience. The band’s love of the music and the fun it has in skilfully and honestly conveying it are in evidence at all times, convincing not just die-hard country fans. Look forward to a live stage show of authentically crafted country music, seasoned with a gritty country sound. Ronny Nash and his band are currently in the studio putting the finishing touches to a new album. NASHVILLE (AUT)

These four men from the Salzkammergut region know what’s what when it comes to country music. This not only became clear in 2014 when they picked up the ACMF Award for Song of the Year with their track ‘Back in Town’. The mix of classic country music, country rock and Texas swing turns Nashville into a unique and entertaining stage experience that is sure to leave no shirt in the house dry. The self-proclaimed Austro-Americans epitomise power and down-to-earthness in equal measure. One song may feature potent guitar sounds, while the next embodies simple, straightforward and honest country music. Not for nothing did the ACMF (Austrian Country Music Federation) bestow the award for Album of the

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Year 2015 on Nashville for its album Rodeo Man. The diversity of a live Nashville performance will also be very much in evidence at the European Country Festival 2016, because this band’s concerts are always a special experience.

SPECIAL GUESTS

Chiara S. (D) – Sixteen-year-old up-and-coming talent Chiara S. from Germany will entertain the audience at the 2nd European Country Festival with modern songs. Country music is her big passion and she has already been able to demonstrate this at the Chiemsee Country Festival and the ITF organised by the Southernstars in Hallbergmoos.

Marina Jay (AUT) – Marina Jay, two-time winner of the ACMF Award for Singer of the Year, has made quite a name for herself on the country scene. She has been performing as a country singer since the age of 14, wowing crowds at country festivals and proving popular as a guest singer by joining international musicians onstage. Among others, she has made a guest appearance alongside Grammy winner John Arthur Martinez.

Road Chicks (AUT) –  The Road Chicks are the local matadors, because in Alina Mahrhofer they have an artist onstage who spent her youth around Achensee. Since the band was formed in 2010 the Road Chicks have toured throughout Central Europe and have already received awards from the ACMF (Austrian Country Music Federation). They will delight fans at the European Country Festival as a duo. The repertoire includes country, rock ’n’ roll, oldies, pop and rock, and is particularly popular with line dancers.