(Nashville, Tenn – April 9, 2018) On the heels of last month’s SOLD OUT Nashville Meets London Presents at PizzaExpress Live (Holborn), which featured stellar performances by Noah Guthrie and Liv Austen, organizers have released the talent for this month’s showcase. Rising artists James Dupré and Laura Oakes will take the stage to perform at the showcase held on April 25. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase here.
James Dupré was born and raised in Bayou Chicot, Louisiana, U.S.A. The one-time aspiring meteorologist turned paramedic became a YouTube sensation in 2007 upon posting cover videos of Country songs. He received an invitation to perform on "Ellen" and, shortly after, released his debut album It’s All Happening in 2010, which charted on Billboard. After signing a record deal with Warner Music Nashville in 2011, Dupré began performing and touring full-time through 2014. It was shortly thereafter Dupre’ appeared on NBC's "The Voice" Season 9, where all four coaches turned their chairs around, and ultimately landed his rich, baritone voice a spot on Adam Levine’s team. The father of four recently made his acting debut in the film, The Price, playing the son of a country singer portrayed by Randy Travis. In 2016, Dupre’ was also named one of Rolling Stone’s “10 New Country Artists You Need To Know” and has over 10 million views to his credit on YouTube. James Dupré has released “Hurt Good” to Country radio in the U.S.A. This month’s appearance at Nashville Meets London PizzaExpress Live marks Dupré’s first performance in London. For more information on James Dupré, visit www.jamesdupre.com.
Laura Oakes released her debut self-titled EP to iTunes in the summer of 2015 receiving great support from BBC radio across the UK, and similarly from Digital Radio (Chris Country and Amazing Radio). Bob Harris included it in his Best of 2015 retrospective on BBC Radio 2. As the year came to an end, Laura was also awarded the prize of The British Country Music Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year and followed up again in 2016 winning the prize for the second year running. In 2017, Oakes earned three nominations for BCMAs, including for ‘Best Song of the Year’ as well as a nomination for ‘Best Female Vocalist.’ She’s performed at some of the UK’s most prestigious festivals and stages including at C2C: Country 2 Country at the 02 Arena – London, Cornbury Music Festival, Cambridge Folk Festival, Camp Bestival and Time Out Presents: Rising Stars of Country at The Jazz Café. As well as support slots for some of the most notable talent coming out of the UK and US, including Andrew Combs, The Shires, Colm Mac Com Iomaire (The Frames), Jess and The Bandits and Ward Thomas. Her new acoustic EP “Nashville Stole Your Girl” was released end of September 2017 and achieved number 5 in the iTunes UK Country Music Chart and received critical acclaim, securing a session on Bob Harris’ BBC Radio 2 show. For more information on Laura Oakes, please visit www.lauraoakesmusic.com/.
Nashville Meets London Presents takes place the last Wednesday of every month at the PizzaExpress Live at 99 High Holborn in London. One of city’s newest live music venues, PizzaExpress Live is an intimate space for the best in live entertainment featuring a state of the art sound system, stage, and setting. Each acoustic show will feature two rising country music artists, one from the UK and one from across the pond.
Additional confirmed dates for the Nashville Meets London Presents residency at Pizza Express Live (Holborn) include: May 30 and June 27. Doors are at 6:30 pm and the show begins at 8:30 pm with a £15.00 cover each evening. Only a limited number of tickets are available and can be purchased here. For more information visit: https://www.pizzaexpresslive.com/venues/pizzaexpress-live-holborn.
The new Nashville Meets London monthly residency is co-produced by Peter Conway Management and Nashville-based agency, The AristoMedia Group in collaboration with PizzaExpress Live. U.K. based radio DJ Baylen Leonard is the Head Artistic Programmer.
