Growing up in ‘70s Nottingham, Tony and Kev shared a daily bus journey to school, usually dominated by talk of music. Whilst schoolmates might have been discussing The Clash, Gary Numan or The Undertones, the boys were delving into the country rock of Waylon Jennings, Creedence, Gram Parsons and The Eagles. From the age of […]
It’s summer 1984 and Tony and Kevin are working casual summer jobs – Tony in New Jersey, Kevin in upstate New York. They spot a classified ad in the New York Irish paper – a bar in Texas looking to fill a residency. Dropping quarters into a payphone, the boys convince the owner that they […]
The boys gigged together whenever possible during their early working lives, before jobs and families took priority. A musical “career break” swiftly turned into decades; although Tony had lots of fun for over ten years in tribute band The Pogue Traders. As children flew the nest and both of the guys started playing more again, […]
The summer of 85 saw the boys sat on a TWA flight to Houston with a healthy set of gigs booked and pocket full of contacts for new venues, importantly beyond the Texan heartland of 84. By now ‘New Country’ was in full swing in U.K. , with the likes of Steve Earle hitting the […]
By the mid-80s, Alt Country and New Country were in full swing. Dwight Yoakham had even made the Stetson cool again! For a year or two, the boys continued performing as a duo with a largely Alt-Country set. But steadily, careers and lives in different cities got in the way and families came along too. […]
After 10 years as CEO of plant protein business Quorn Foods, Kevin decided to step down to focus on the band. Recounting this plan in an early-morning news interview on BBC Radio 5, little did he know that listening in that day was a top Abbey Road producer who was instantly intrigued by the story […]
‘Off the Grid’ was finally released in September 2021, more than a year after the album had been mastered. Covid had required the band to wait until there was there was a realistic prospect of playing their songs live. Finally, in the Summer of 2021, venues started making plans to open up and the rules […]
So now it’s time for The County Affair to build on the achievements of 2021. The tour with Ward Thomas proved the boys could hold their own on big stages, putting on an entertaining show for audiences averaging 800-strong. 2022 will be all about taking the band to more people, with a focus on the […]
What a year 2022 was. We played some amazing festivals C2C, Black Deer and British Country Music Festival where we were delighted with the response we got to our music and loved making some new friends. Early in the year we were blown away to land a wonderful record label deal with Lastman Music Group, […]
Well our second album – Two Days’ Drive – came out in the Spring of 2023 and we’re delighted with it and the response we have had to it both from fans and music industry experts. If that wasn’t exciting enough, next on the agenda was a trip to Nashville, which was an absolute blast. […]
2024 is a special year for us, marking the 40th anniversary of our first adventures gigging in Houston, Texas; and spring sees us back on the road – supporting the legendary Clearwater Creedence Revival for six UK dates on their global ‘Born on the Bayou’ tour. Whilst CCR’s best-known songs are probably ‘Bad Moon Rising’ […]
