American Young Sell Out Overseas

US Country duo American Young took to the Chengdu Auto Music Festival in China – the only foreign act to perform at the festival this year –  and performed to a sold out audience of 20k fans.

Following that amazing experience, the duo performed in Beijing at a banquet that was hosted in their honour. Chinese artists, TV executives, music producers and film directors were also in attendance, some whom took interest in collaborating with the duo. As a result,

Gig Review: Lukas Nelson & POTR

Following his stellar performance at C2C 2018, Lukas Nelson returned to the UK with his band Promise of the Real, and a few of us were lucky enough to bare witness to his incredible show at The Garage in London on July 10th.

In my experience, the mention of Lukas Nelson to people over here in the UK is normally followed up with, “he’s Willie Nelson’s son”, and while he makes no secret of the fact, it is certainly not what defines him musically. Lukas Nelson is a rare talent, one of the few people on this earth who are musical down to their soul. This is evident on their self-titled album, released last year which features 12 songs each different to one another but each so so good.

The band opened with ‘Entirely Different Stars’, a new song which imagines life in outer space and has the best guitar riff. They then went on to perform ‘Die Alone’, ‘Fool Me Once’ and ‘Runnin’ Shine’ before killing it with crowd favourite ‘Carolina’. There’s something

Just Announced: Line Up For New Festival ‘The Long Road’

Prepare yourself for this amazing news! So many amazing artists have been announced in the line up for The Long Road. Lee Ann Womack, Angaleena Presley, Una Healy, Billy Bragg, The Shires, Aaron Watson, Brent Cobb, Danielle Bradbery and more are confirmed for the new festival at Stanford Hall in Leicestershire.

US country star Lee Ann Womack is set to perform at the inaugural event.

It seems that country music is only growing stronger in the UK, with festivals popping up all over the country, each holding their own with their impressive, unique line ups. The Long Road is a major music and lifestyle camping festival, perhaps fitting more comfortably with UK fans, as it fits in with the familiar summer camping festival scene. Set to bring the world-famous, inimitable sights and sounds of the country music scene to the UK in 2018, The Long Road will take place within the grounds of Stanford Hall in Leicestershire from September 7th – 9th 2018. It will present one of the UK’s largest, most authentic celebrations of country, Americana and roots music featuring

C2C Highlights

Bear with me while I recover from the weekend and cope with the fact C2C is over for another year. Before I post my reviews, here’s a list my Top 10 best things at C2C 2018, not necessarily in order.

1. Walker Hayes in the NY-LON Lounge Bar.

For those lucky enough to see anyone in the NY-LON Lounge Bar, you’ll know what an amazing, intimate venue it is. As a huge fan of Walker Hayes it was such a privilege to see him in such a setting and I only wish more gigs could be like that!

2. Lindsay Ell on the BBC Radio 2 stage.

The biggest disappointment for the initial C2C line up for me, was that Lindsay Ell only had a slot on the Spotlight Stage, when I feel that she is worthy of so much more. So,

Why The C2C Line Up Is Nearly Perfection

The line up for C2C 2018 has been announced on stage at the Shepherds Bush Empire tonight by Whispering Bob Harris.

Headlining across the 3 days are Kacey Musgraves, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and Little Big Town. Kelsey Ballerini, Luke Combs, Kip Moore, Midland and Margo Price are also set to perform on the main stage at some point Friday-Sunday. There have been very mixed reactions following this announcement, with many saying Kacey Musgraves isn’t headline material and that Little Big Town performed a few years ago and therefore shouldn’t appear again. Okay so here’s my take on it…

Gig Review: Maddie and Tae

Maddie and Tae are up there as one of my favourite artists to see live. I’ve seen them three times now and they never disappoint. I was at their Manchester gig at the O2 Ritz, and while at first I thought that it was a shame that the venue was smaller than last year at the O2 Academy, it became quickly obvious that it made no difference to the energy in the room. They walked on stage to Brothers Osborne ‘It Ain’t My Fault’ playing while the whole crowd sang along, and opened with the upbeat ‘Your Side of Town’.

I’ve been waiting for new Maddie and Tae music to be released since that performance of ‘Water In His Wine Glass’ in Manchester last October. From this perspective, their set couldn’t have been better with an even split of old and new songs which a few covers thrown in. I’m a huge fan of Right Here, Right Now and the harmonies on ‘No Place Like You’ and the empowering sentiments behind ‘Girl in a Country Song’ and ‘Sierra’ never get old. It’s for exactly those reasons, the harmonies and storytelling, that I need new Maddie and Tae music in my life ASAP.

Kris Kristofferson’s Glastonbury Debut

At 81 years old, Kris Kristofferson just played Glastonbury Festival for the first time. Appearing on the Pyramid Stage on Friday night, Kristofferson opened with my second personal favourite (the first being ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’), ‘Me and Bobby McGee’.

Despite his age showing through each melancholy verse, each song was performed with such mournful delight and it was truly a pleasure to watch.

He changed the lyrics of ‘Help Me Make It Through the Night’ to sing ‘help me make it through tonight‘, as he had also done months ago at a show in Kansas. This bittersweet moment was one of many throughout his performance. Kristofferson repeatedly ended his songs with ‘I think it finishes there’ or words to that effect, showing that time takes its toll, sparing no one, not even the greats. Kristofferson delivered, though through a fading voice, a devastatingly wonderful set.

If you took nothing from his set today other than an old man in front of a under-appreciative crowd, take this: Kristofferson is the perfect example of why you should never stop striving, and should always do what you love.

Zac Brown Band First To Live Stream Concert on Twitter

In this day and age it’s difficult to imagine what can come next in terms of technological advances, but the news of the past few days is incredibly exciting for music fans, particularly as a country music fan in the UK.

Music 🎤 @LiveNation to deliver exclusive Twitter concerts w/ @zacbrownband @train @portugaltheman @AugustAlsina @MarianHillMusic #NewFronts pic.twitter.com/hKsdFxtNSx

— Twitter Marketing (@TwitterMktg) May 1, 2017