INDEPENDENT COUNTRY
"Fantastic!"
Bob Mehr, Grammy winner, author of "Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements"
"Quite the cover, love it"
Bill DeVille, The Current, Minnesota Public Radio
"Absolute genius"
Adrian Goldberg, BBC Radio
"The best thing I have EVER heard."
Jim Reid, Jesus & Mary Chain
INDEPENDENT COUNTRY are six cowboys from Birmingham (UK) who take Indie classics on a rollicking ride to Nashville and back.
Floppy fringes and baggy jeans are binned for pedal steel guitars and four-part harmonies as the NME meets The Grand Ole Opry. You ain’t never heard nothing like this! 2025 is shaping up to be a big year for the band with sets at prestigious festivals Shiine On Weekender, Bearded Theory, Ryland Caravan and Moseley Folk Festival coming up in the summer plus more dates being added around the country. They expect to release new EPs and an album this year too.
Their debut LP, “TrailerParkLife”, was released in December 2016 and featured new versions of songs by The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, New Order, Teenage Fanclub, and others. Jim Reid from The Jesus & Mary Chain described their version of ‘Blues from a Gun’ as ‘the best thing I have EVER heard’.
The band’s 2nd album, the thrilling, live-in-the-studio “The True Adventures of Independent Country” was released in summer 2018 and featured songs by Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, Spiritualized, The Smiths, and more. They followed this up in November 2019 with the “Brassneck ep”, featuring songs by The Wedding Present, Suede and The Cure.
“American Portions” (2021) features songs by all-US acts - with musical re-imaginings of R.E.M., Nirvana and Pixies classics ranging from the raucous to the truly sumptuous. In late 2024 the band released the “Chaise Longue ep” with more new music expected to be released in 2025.
Since their debut live show in the summer of 2016 the band have played festivals all over the UK, headlining a show at London’s prestigious Union Chapel to a fabled barnstorming set at Shiine On Weekender in Minehead which has earned them an invite to perform at the 10th anniversary festival in Skegness in 2025. IC have gigged with artists such as CUD, Pete Williams (Dexys), Karl Blau, Cale Tyson, Bob Log III, Laura J Martin and The Surfing Magazines. In 2023 they co-headlined the Ryland Caravan Festival in Birmingham with one of their heroes, Gerry Love ex of Teenage Fanclub. Gerry even joined them for a surprise finale.
Viva un Pais Independiente!
Walter Mitty's Head
Walter Mitty's Head from East Lancashire form the second part of this Tuff Life Boogie Americana special, and mine 50s rockabilly and 60s garage beat for their inspiration.
Anyone who caught their barn-storming set at The Ferret supporting the Primevals in February will know that this band are a force to be reckoned with and not to be missed.
DON’T MISS THESE TWO GREAT BANDS ON SATURDAY 12TH APRIL! Doors at 8pm, standing show.
Tickets available from HERE, Action Records or Skiddle:
To buy tickets for this event please visit our events page: Independent Country and Walter Mitty's Head tickets from Skiddle .