Singer, songwriter and UK country powerhouse, Kezia Gill, has released a new version of ‘Local Man’s Star’, the emotional tribute to her late father, beloved musician and entertainer, Eddie McGill, who inspired the young Kezia to follow in his footsteps. Listen HERE.
‘Local Man’s Star 2026’ has been produced and mixed in Nashville by US artist, Alyssa Bonagura, along with a selection of award-winning musicians; Bonagura also took the studio reins for Kezia‘s No. 1 UK country album, ‘All On Red’, released earlier this year via Snakefarm / Universal to high praise from fans and media alike.
‘Local Man’s Star’ – written in 2018 and originally released the following year – has become a staple of the live show, generally performed acoustically, which is how Kezia delivered it live on national daytime TV back in April, guesting on Jeremy Vine.
Says Kezia: “This song is dedicated to my father, telling his story from being a young man with raw talent to enjoying retirement after 50 years as an entertainer. Following his death in 2020, this re–write has been years in developmentand now takes the number on a new journey of me living the dream he always had for me and wanting to honour his memory, making him proud everyday. This is as personal as story-telling gets, and this new version lets me breath fresh life into a song that means so much to me.“
“This was such a special song to produce,” continues Alyssa, “and I think Kezia’s voice and the track itself shine in a new way now. I wanted to incorporate the Celtic influence in the production to pay tribute to Kezia’s Irish father and to bring out the country story-telling in a sensitive and authentic way. I think listeners will get to know Kezia and feel the spirit of her father when they listen to this, and really, that’s all I can hope for as a producer.”
Featuring previous singles / videos ‘Dublin’s Outta Whiskey’, ‘If Heaven Has A Honky Tonk’, ‘Gut Feeling’ and ‘Life You Always Dreamed of’, ‘All On Red’ represents a bold new chapter in the career of an artist who continues to secure awards and nominations from multiple bodies allied to the genre, along with growing support from radio, most recently including a Radio 2 playlist, plus multiple Planet Rock A-Lists…
Kezia adds, “This is the best album I’ve written; it feels like a body of work that combines the sound and skill of Nashville with what I stand for in terms of storytelling and honesty as a proud British artist – a Nashville record with a British heart. The title encapsulates the process. I went all in… I put it ‘All On Red’!”
Following a successful UK headline tour in February, and with appearances at Bearded Theory Festival and Buckle & Boots Country Music Festival already in the can, Kezia has a number of other festivals slots lined up for the summer, including a mainstage outing at the inaugural State Fayre in Chelmsford, an event headlined by Kings Of Leon, Alanis Morissette and The Lumineers.
For more information, please visit https://keziagill.com/
2026 UK DATES
20th June Beverley Folk Festival,
26th June State Fayre, Chelmsford
27th June Summer Sessions / State Fayre, Glasgow
4th July Country On The Common, Tooting Common, London
19th July Country Night at the Dell, Hampshire
1st August Belladrum, Inverness-shire
30th August The Long Road, Leicestershire
