The next big thing in UK country music, Ward Thomas are a country/americana duo from Hampshire, comprised of 19-year old twin sisters Catherine and Lizzy Ward Thomas.

Following recent performance at C2C, an interview on BBC Radio 2’s Nashville UK documentary and a session with Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2, Ward Thomas’ lead single The Good & The Right has now been added onto the Radio 2 playlist and their debut album is out this this summer.

Hampshire and Country music may not be obvious bed fellows but these girls, brought up on a rural live stock farm from a family line that included artists and authors, have had country music in their blood ever since they were introduced to the music of Carrie Underwood, Johnny Cash, Dixie Chicks and Alison Krauss. One listen to the vocal cadences and close harmonies on their Footnotes EP and Nashville and Hampshire suddenly don’t seem all that far apart.

Since a demo recording of the song Footnotes found its way into the hands of top Nashville session musician Bobby Blazier, the girls have spent much of the last two years recording in Nashville with Blazier and other top Country players including Dan Dugmore and Chris Rodriquez. The resulting Ward Thomas album will feature guest appearances from Grammy Award winner Michael Omartian (who appears on the EP track Take That Train) and Country Music superstar Vince Gill, winner of 18 CMA awards and 20 Grammys. Ward Thomas are now turning their attention to their home country with a first UK release.

Ward Thomas’s own life story has also helped them define their sound and own brand of country music. ‘Our parents went through a divorce, so our father built his London business and our Mom went back to school to get her art degree,’ says Catherine, ‘Lizzy had a bad riding accident and many more ups and downs helped us grow to consider life beyond the farm. It might seem unusual for two British 19-year olds to be so into country music but we love the sound and the stories – and cows, chickens and goats have the same language in rural Hampshire as they do below the Mason-Dixon line!’

Tickets £8

http://www.exeterphoenix.org.uk/events/ward-thomas/