Conquest Music Confirms Split With Hillbilly Vegas Following Move To Quarto Valley Records

Conquest Music has issued a formal statement confirming that Hillbilly Vegas are no longer signed to the award-winning UK independent label – and that the parting has not been an amicable one.

The label has been unequivocal in its position. Conquest Music state that they have had no input in the artwork that will appear on Hillbilly Vegas’s forthcoming album through Quarto Valley Records, and make clear that they would not have permitted it had they been asked.

From Oklahoma Bars to the British Rock Circuit

Hillbilly Vegas were formed in Oklahoma, USA, in 2011, quickly building a reputation on the local circuit – performing at bars, county fairs, and support slots for established artists passing through the state. It was that grassroots graft that first caught the attention of Conquest Music, who felt that the quality of songs and delivery from Hillbilly Vegas had something special, with international potential.

The label tracked them down, and in 2022, Hillbilly Vegas signed to Conquest Music. Their debut album The Great Southern Hustle followed – a collection of earlier recordings bolstered by new material.

To mark the release, the band performed an intimate acoustic show at the legendary Troubadour in London, a fitting introduction to the UK audience that would soon take them to its heart.

Planet Rock, Festival Stages and a Rapid Rise

The momentum that followed was remarkable. Planet Rock Radio identified the band’s appeal early, not only adding six of their tracks to its playlist but inviting Hillbilly Vegas to perform at both its Winter’s End and Planet Rockstock festivals in 2024.

By 2025, Hillbilly Vegas were no longer a discovery – they were an established presence on the UK rock scene. Main stage appearances at Maid of Stone and Steelhouse confirmed their standing, placing them alongside acts that had spent years earning that kind of billing.

For a band that had been virtually unknown outside Oklahoma just a few years earlier, it was a remarkable ascent.

Throughout 2025, tracks from a forthcoming new album began to surface, and the final stages of release planning were ongoing with Conquest Music.

The Split

Then, in October 2025, everything changed. Steve Harris, the band’s singer, informed Conquest Music that Hillbilly Vegas were signing to Quarto Valley Records in a worldwide deal.

The label’s full statement pulls no punches. Conquest Music confirm they no longer have Hillbilly Vegas as a recording artist, stress that they had no input in the forthcoming album’s artwork, and make clear they would not have permitted it.

It is a pointed and deliberate set of words from a label that clearly feels it has been poorly treated after years of investment in the band’s career.

Conquest Music director Alan Bambrough reflected on what was achieved – and what was lost. “I am incredibly proud of what we managed to achieve in raising the profile of Hillbilly Vegas from zero, to being a hot property in just a couple of years,” he said. “They have some great songs and are a good live band.”

He then delivered a line that will linger. “Sadly, it seems I am a very poor judge of character.”

It is a stinging sign-off from a director who invested significantly – in time, resource, and creative energy – in breaking Hillbilly Vegas in a market thousands of miles from their home state.

What Comes Next for Conquest Music

Despite the acrimonious end to the Hillbilly Vegas chapter, Conquest Music shows no signs of slowing down. The label has a strong pipeline of forthcoming releases, including new material from Bernie Marsden, Mickey Jupp, The Ugly Guys, Vince Ray, White Skies, and Book of Revelations.

Perhaps most intriguingly, the label has announced a series of albums shining a light on bands from the London rock scene of the 1980s – a hugely exciting prospect for fans of that era.

Acts set to feature include Chariot, First Strike, The Grip, Horse (London), Kill City Dragons, Midnight Blue, Red Dogs, Sergeant, Steevi Jaimz, and Tattooed Love Boys.

As for Hillbilly Vegas, they move forward under Quarto Valley Records with a worldwide deal and a new album on the way. How audiences – and the industry – react to the circumstances of their departure from Conquest Music remains to be seen.