Music festivals have become a global phenomenon, attracting thousands or even millions of attendees each year. They serve as platforms for artists to reach larger audiences and create memorable moments that transcend time and place. Some festival performances are etched in the collective memory, becoming benchmarks for excellence in live music. The C2C festival in London each March has become the most iconic Country music festival outside of the USA in the decade plus that it has been running. As we approach the announcement of the 2024 line up we thought it might be worth looking back at some iconic moments. But first, let’s spread the net wider and look at the most iconic festival moments in music history.

Woodstock (1969) – Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock in 1969 is widely regarded as one of the most iconic moments in rock history. His electrifying and distorted interpretation of the American national anthem captured the spirit of a generation and the turbulent times. Hendrix’s performance at Woodstock not only solidified his status as a guitar virtuoso but also symbolised the countercultural movement of the 1960s and its resistance to authority. It remains a symbol of the era’s social and political upheaval.

Live Aid (1985) – Queen

Queen’s set at Live Aid in 1985, held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia, is often hailed as one of the greatest live performances in rock history. Freddie Mercury’s charismatic stage presence and the band’s flawless performance captivated the massive global audience. The performance not only raised millions of dollars for famine relief in Africa but also demonstrated the power of music to unite people across borders and cultures. The band’s set is still celebrated as a defining moment in rock and philanthropy.

Monterey Pop Festival (1967) – The Who

The Who’s performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 is remembered for its explosive finale. Pete Townshend smashed his guitar, Keith Moon kicked over his drum kit, and the stage erupted in flames. This display of raw energy became a defining moment in rock and roll history. This performance at Monterey Pop set a new standard for stage theatrics in rock music. It marked the birth of the “destructive” rock star persona and had a profound influence on subsequent generations of musicians and performers.

Coachella (2018) – Beyoncé

Beyoncé’s headlining set at Coachella 2018, often referred to as “Beychella,” was a dazzling showcase of talent, creativity, and cultural significance. It featured a marching band, dancers, a powerful message of Black empowerment, and a surprise Destiny’s Child reunion. The set redefined the possibilities of what a festival headliner could achieve. It celebrated Black culture, feminism, and the art of live performance, inspiring a new generation of artists to aim higher in terms of artistic ambition and social commentary.

C2C’s Most Iconic Moments

Drake Milligan (2023)

Everywhere this Texan honky tonker went last year a little cloud of happiness and joy went with him. Whether you saw him at his raucous Indigo set or upstairs, late at night rounding off the evening with a sweaty, frantic set in All-Bar-One you were left in no doubt as to just what a charismatic and talented performer Drake Milligan was. He left it all up on stage each time he performed and spread such a sense of fun that it would be great to see him given a chance up on the main stage next year.

Zac Brown Band (2014)

The Zac Brown Band came, they saw and they rocked the C2C festival in 2014. Taking the arena by the scruff of the neck they played a bombastic set full of iconic songs and surprise covers. Ending their main set with a cover of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ showed the London crowd just what a versatile band they were and then further covers of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Kashmir’ and Charlie Daniels’ ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’ meant that their headline show ended with the audience somewhat breathless and with ringing ears!

Kip Moore (2015)

Moore’s debut UK show was largely played to an audience unfamiliar with his work. Nearing the completion of second album, ‘Wild Ones’ Moore took to the stage with most of the audience (apart from us given we had owned a much-loved CD copy of ‘Up All Night’ for the previous 3-4 years) in their seats but that wasn’t the case come the end of the set. The UK took Kip Moore to their hearts based on this one set alone and his promise to sign autographs in the foyer after is still the stuff of legend and saw him stuck inside the O2 arena for a long time after most of us had gone home!

Ashley McBryde (2018)

McBryde’s presence at the C2C festival in 2018 was nothing short of messianic. Everywhere she went the crowds followed in her wake and her set at the Indigo on the Saturday afternoon is still regarded by many as ‘THE’ best moment in C2C history. Hearing songs from her (then) upcoming debut album performed with Ashley’s unique sense of style, charm and humour was an absolute privilege and we also got to hear ‘Fat and Famous’ performed on request, a song she said she was in the process of ‘retiring’ at the time.

Keith Urban (2019)

Urban made his C2C debut heading in some style in 2019. He’s an infectious performer to begin with but he attacked the main stage with a sense of intensity and verve not often seen by anyone in any genre. Playing a greatest hits set, Urban wowed the crowd with his charisma and brought the house down in terms of audience participation and engagement. A truly electric performance from an entertainer at the peak of his career.

Lets hope the 2024 line up has the same level of intensity and engagement! The line up announcement should be coming in the next few weeks.

The post Iconic festival performances and the best moments of the C2C festival so far appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Every year C2C very quietly go about their business in sourcing and booking the 12 or so artists who are going to entertain and delight the Country music crowd at the O2 over the festival’s 3 days. Sometimes there’s an early admission (yes, we’re looking at you Ricky Ross!) from the media and sometimes an artist lets something slip but on the whole, the festival announcement is shrouded in secrecy until announcement night. In years gone by there have been announcement shows (it’s hard to believe that Lady A came over one year to do this) tied around Country music week in October but this year the shows and the events seem a little thin on the ground for one reason or another.

Anyway, the announcement is looming so we thought we would throw our hat into the ring of the prediction game as we do this time of year every year. Last year we got 6 right, which is some good going! Here’s the caveat – we know as much as you do, although if you go and search social media you might find the one artist who has already seemingly self declared their attendance at next year’s show!

This is our list of predictions based on a decade of attending this fantastic festival and spotting patterns in the booking of the artists whilst also doing a little research into who is actually available. It’s not our ‘dream’ line up because those type of games are foolish and futile, but it does contain a few artists who we feel deserve some attention too. we’ve chosen two headliners each night because there had to be a little grace, right? So our headliner predictions will be 3 from 6. There’s further explanation of our choices below too.

Friday Night

Tim McGraw / Old Dominion

Carly Pearce

Nate Smith

Introducing Nashville: Riley Green, Lauren Watkins, George Birge, Tigirlily Gold, Meghan Patrick, Jade Engleson, Madeline Merlo, Conner Smith, Chapel Hart (take your pick!)

Saturday Night

Little Big Town / Kelsea Ballerini

Chris Janson / Justin Moore / Dustin Lynch / Cody Johnson

Hailey Whitters

Drake Milligan

Sunday Night

Kane Brown / Chris Young

Brothers Osborne

Megan Moroney

Restless Road

Don’t rule out: Larry Fleet, Lauren Alaina, Stephen Wilson JR, Jackson Dean, Elle King, Priscilla Block, Ashley Cooke, The War and Treaty

Ok. Got that? Here’s the explanations. C2C have a history of being incredibly loyal to artists who have previously played the festival in a smaller capacity, whether that’s on the Indigo stage or Spotlight stage. This year the breakout stars of those stages were Nate Smith, Randall King and Drake Milligan. Randall told us this week that we won’t be back next year so we’ve gone for the other two break-outs of the 2023 festival. They also have a history of booking artists who have toured here or played other festivals like the Long Road festival after seeing reception there, which brings Megan Moroney, The War and Treaty and Chapel Hart into play. Jackson Dean and Stephen Wilson JR have made a lot of friends in the UK this year so you can’t discount their involvement either.

Restless Road have a fantastic new album out next month and you’d expect any involvement of Kane Brown to maybe feature them as well given his involvement in their careers plus the fabulous reception they received as his tour support last January here.

There has to be at least one ‘hat-wearing’ cowboy at this festival, right? Both Just Moore and Dustin Lynch (who thrilled at the 2019 festival) have new albums to promote whilst Cody Johnson might be a little of an expensive long-shot but he remains one of the most eagerly anticipated tourists that the UK crowd still have yet to see live. I’ll throw Chris Janson in there too, but that one might just be the one artist (aside from Jake Owen and we all know what the chances of him coming over are, right?) I’ve put on the list for personal reasons! However, I’d expect Big Machine and Big Loud (who are opening up a London office) to have some skin in the game at the festival this year alongside long-time supporters Warner.

Brothers Osborne are a no-brainer. They have a new album out, a history of touring the UK and a special place in our hearts so they were, in some respects, the first names down on my list. Whilst Carly Pearce and Hailey Whitters both deserve return slots, for very different reasons. Carly, similar to Brothers Osborne, is loved very much over here and it’s been a year since we saw her last and Hailey because she got stiffed with a shortened set the the last time she played after everybody’s gear got stuck in Ireland and the whole bill was late to the O2.

The headliners were the hardest to pin down and I could be wildly off because who knows what C2C have managed to pull off? There aren’t a lot of A list female artists around next March for one reason or another so unless there is a surprise on the way or we’ve got a ‘sausage fest’ at the top of the bill each night (something that C2C has historically tried to avoid) Kelsea or Little Big Town are fairly solid guesses in terms of both camps being seemingly available right now and both have been historically pro-UK facing too. I’ve got an inkling about both Old Dominion and Mr McGraw, who has just released his best album of this millennium, too but it’s nothing more than a hunch.

Anyway, there you go, for what it’s worth!! Let’s hope it’s not too long to wait until we know the cold, hard truth!

The post Our predictions for the Country 2 Country festival 2024 line up appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Edwards has received notable acclaim for her unique ability to transcend musical boundaries with a one-of-a-kind sound that blends jazz, soul, gospel and country music. In addition to opening for Chris Stapleton’s “All American Road Show” last Summer, Edwards brought her show to SXSW as one of Rolling Stone’s Best of and performed at the Long Road Festival right here in the UK as part of Rissi Palmer’s ‘Color Me Country’ ensemble. ‘Crashlanded’ is her major label debut for Warner Music Nashville and it’s clear from the outset that we are witnessing the emergence of a truly unique artist. It was great to catch up with her at this year’s C2C festival in London to talk to her all about it.

Lovely to finally talk to you Madeline, how are you finding the UK?

I’m just back from Paris, which was the second time I’ve been there. I took my husband, it was his first time, and we hung out in all the Jazz places and really tried to take in that scene. I love y’all’s appreciation for art and culture over here. Everything has been built to last here, from the music to the art to the architecture – everything has been built with depth and longevity in mind.

You don’t see that as much in America. Even in the music and art scenes to a degree, lots of people only get into those things just to be famous. They want their 15 minutes of fame and then they all fade away. It’s not like that over here in Europe as much, and I love it very much! I would love to have a base or another home here, it would be an absolute dream.

I want to say thank you for including my review of ‘Crashlanded’ in your end of year Instagram post. It was there right next to your appearance on the Bobby Bones show!

It was Jim, my husband, that showed me the review of your album. He’s not on social media but he will check up on what’s going on in my life online sometimes! (laughing) So he googles ‘Madeline Edwards’ periodically to see what’s happening and it was him that saw your review.

He said that when he read your review it made him cry and he told me to read it. It made me emotional too. That was the most flattered I had felt in my entire life and I feel like you understood the project more than anyone else I know in terms of what I was trying to achieve, so thank you. I appreciated your review so much.

‘Crashlanded’ is a very special album. I might be viewing it through European eyes – we aren’t held to ransom by genre boundaries here or FM radio hegemony either. You probably wouldn’t have been able to make the album a decade ago because Country wouldn’t have allowed it. All the genres are blurring now.

No, I wouldn’t have. I’m here at the right place and the right time now and I’m very lucky. There isn’t a single day that goes by when I don’t think about how lucky I am. I could have just missed the mark because Country is just beginning to open up to blended sounds and styles and I’m able to sit alongside artists like Zach Bryan and Kassi Ashton and Ian Munsick.

Europe and the UK seems to be less obsessed with genres and ‘what’ things are. This is a very unique time in the history of music as genres begin to blur and I’m so lucky that I am here making music now.

You came over to the UK last year for the Long Road festival with Rissi Palmer and that is essentially her story in terms of Nashville not accepting her for who she was and trying to shape her into who they wanted her to be.

At that time, for sure. And now she’s having the recognition that she is absolutely due, which is great to see. She’s a mom with kids now and can’t tour as much as she’d like to. I talk about artists like Rissi and Miko Marks all the time because I now have access to the opportunities that they didn’t have, whether that’s because of the genre or because of colour, it doesn’t matter. It could be both. I’m just so grateful for them and the doors they have opened up in these past few years.

You came from a musical family. When did you first realise you could sing and then when did you realise you wanted to do it for a career?

I always wanted to sing, I just didn’t know whether I was good enough. There was an old show in the States called Star Search – I think Beyonce was on there at one point, it came before all the X Factors, Idols and America’s Got Talent shows. I remember being about 5 or 6 years old and I begged my mom to let me go on the show and sing! (laughing)

I practised to Mariah Carey and thought that her song ‘Dream Lover’ would be the song I sang! I practised this song for weeks and then performed it for my mom. She immediately cut me off and said ‘You are five years old, you are not singing that song on television!’ (laughing) So I knew from a pretty young age that I wanted to sing. My parents weren’t musical but music was embedded in the house – we were always listening to Miles Davis, The Carpenters, Bread, Earth Wind and Fire and there was a shit-ton of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston going on there too! (laughing) The music never stopped.

My dad was adopted and my mom comes from a Jewish background and so there’s a lot of different influences in our family and me and my siblings are all musical so there’s something buried deep within the genetics of our family somewhere!

Was your break-out moment the 2021 CMA performance with Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer do you think?

Yes, I think that was my ‘break-out’ moment. When Covid happened I was playing in bars and in Jazz clubs in Houston and all of those jobs went away. I wasn’t singing or playing as much and that was a turning point for me. I had reached a point in my career where I was very discouraged about what I was achieving. It turned into something of a bad attitude for me – I wasn’t a recording artist, it wasn’t what I wanted to be doing, just playing little bars and Jazz clubs, you know? I wanted to be on the stages and arenas and TV screens of a wider audience. I had a really bad attitude towards it but once it all got taken away by Covid my mentality shifted and it helped me to have a better attitude – I didn’t care, then, whether I was singing my songs, cover versions, Kenny Chesney songs, whatever! I just wanted to be singing again.

It made me work a lot harder and push myself to be a better artist as well. The decision to move to Nashville came out of that new attitude too. I knew that I needed to work harder to achieve more.

Was leaving Texas for Nashville a hard decision to make?

It was difficult because my whole community was there. My family, my friends and I had built this little scene that really believed in my music and I left that behind for the uncertainty of Nashville! (laughing) I’m going back soon to celebrate my 30th birthday and play some hometown shows!

I didn’t think I was going to like Nashville but it turns out that I do! (laughing) It’s slowly becoming more like home now.

Were you ever intimidated by the fact that everyone in Nashville is talented or did you always have belief in your own abilities?

I think I always had belief in myself, for sure. I do get intimidated sometimes but I’m a true believer in the saying that ‘comparison is the thief of joy’. I have such a great community around me in Nashville – my husband and my manger Sam will step in when they see me getting into the mindset of worrying about why people are doing things or achieving things that I’m not and snap me out of that line of thought.

There is a place for everybody in today’s music industry and I think Country music is more open and accepting to artists who are more on the Americana side, the Western side, the Country/Pop side – the spectrum is growing and my space is way more unique than a lot of people out there! (laughing)

I feel like ‘Crashlanded’ didn’t have the easiest of births. Did it all come together very quickly or had you had the origins of a lot of the songs for a long time?

I did have the origins of the ideas for quite a long time. Some did come together quickly once we got in the studio, like ‘Too Much of a Good Thing’, for example. We wrote that in one day right after I found out I was going out on tour with Chris Stapleton! I’m so proud of the songs on ‘Crashlanded’ but I think I have record two planned out already! But then some songs will be written because of experiences I am yet to have, and that happened a little with ‘Crashlanded’.

I never planned on ‘Too Much of a Good Thing’ being on the record.

I’m always fascinated by what song artists choose to close down their albums with, it’s such an important part of an album, how you leave the listener feeling. Why did you put ‘Too Much of a Good Thing’ in that slot?

That song is almost like a letter to myself and a letter to the audience to explain everything that I’d been through in order to put the record out. I wanted to get that message of gratitude out and remind people to remember to be grateful for the things they have in life, I thought that was a good message to end to album with.

Life will also send things our way that get us down and I think it’s important to try and keep perspective and be grateful for the things you do have, not what you don’t. For me, I had to work out early on what success means – it is the balance between getting to do my art and no-one telling me how to do it. I’m in a fortunate position right now in that I’m signed to a major label that let me do what I want in the way I want to do it and I get to balance that with my family and my personal life. That is what I’m grateful for – not awards, big tour slots or the things that other artists are doing or achieving. ‘Too Much of a Good Thing’ is a reminder to all of us, me included, to be grateful for what you have.

The title track opens the album, which again is clearly another intentional decision. You sing about alienation on that track – has that been a prevalent feeling for you throughout your life?

It has, probably almost my whole life, in different ways. It has always been there. It changes all the time but growing up in a multi-cultural household in two completely different political environments can make you feel like an alien on your own planet at times! (laughing) I feel like a lot of people feel the same way. I don’t think that’s just me.

The current political environment and things like social media have really changed people’s mentality and has made people feel more and more alone and isolated. Covid didn’t help but we aren’t helping ourselves, either.

‘Spurs’ has a Bruno Mars-esque vibe to it and I can imagine some gatekeepers in Country music would be scratching their heads in confusion if they heard it. How do you cope with people telling you online that you can’t be part of the Country music community?

I loved that you picked that up about that song. It used to bother me, at first. Elle King is a good friend of mine and she got a lot of negative comments about not being ‘Country’ at the start of her journey too. She taught me a good lesson in learning to say to people that you belong here. It might not be the kind of Country that you are used to hearing but it is still Country music.

I have massive respect for older Country music and I implement it into my newer style of writing and production. You could drill right down into what is Country music but that’s a question that people have been asking for nearly a hundred years now and no-one has ever settled on an answer or definition because it means so many different things to so many different people. Some people say that Brandi Carlisle is not a Country artist but to me, she’s the most Country that there is. I’m not going to say that artists like Dan + Shay are not Country either because, depending on what your definition of the genre is, they might be ‘more’ Country than Brandi Carlisle! (laughing)

‘Mama, Dolly, Jesus’ is the album’s signature song. That and ‘The Wolves’. It feels like a nailed on Country radio number one to me. What made you pick those three icons during the writing process?

I’m going to tell you a secret that I have not told anyone else before. Because Dolly is such a prominent figure in the genre, in Nashville and the wider cultural zeitgeist of the south, there was some talk early on about maybe her being an over-used trope. I really wanted to put her into the song because she has been historically controversial without getting under anyone’s skin, everyone respects her despite her being quite politely controversial, right? She speaks her mind and never falls on any one side, politically, in public even though we all know exactly what it is she believes in. I’ve always respected that about her but we were worried that ‘another’ song about Dolly might just be too much so we talked about the song being ‘Mama, Shania and Jesus’.

I love Shania Twain, I’m obsessed with her and when I was younger I probably listened to more Shania than Dolly because she exploded in that late nineties period when I was a young girl into music. But, at the end of the day, the ‘story’ and the narrative behind the song had to be perfect and including Dolly as the reference was more perfect even though lots of other artists use her as a reference as well. Everyone respects Shania but Dolly’s respect is almost at saint-level, right? (laughing)

Has there ever been talk of trying to get Dolly on the song in some way?

Potentially, there has. There was talk of her being in the video at one point. She’s, obviously, a very busy woman but hopefully at some point there might be an opportunity to involve her on it in some way. Chapel Hart had their ‘You Can Have Him Jolene’ song out for quite a while before Dolly ever heard it or got involved. I know she’s going to hear this song at some point and hopefully she might want to get involved on it.

You got to write with so many great writers on ‘Crashlanded’ – Emily Weissband, Ross Copperman, Laura Veltz to name but a few. If you could sit down and write the first single from your next album with anyone – who would you choose?

Laura Veltz just got nominated for a Grammy! I was so thrilled for her. My answer might not be what anyone would be expecting but I’d love to get into a room with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. He also has a side project called The Arcs that I’m a huge fan of too. I’ve written with a couple of members of The Arcs and I think Dan is one of my favourite writers and producers who would compliment what I am trying to do as well.

I would say Dan or Blake Mills, who is a writer out of Los Angeles. He’s worked with the likes of John Legend, Alabama Shakes, Laura Marling and Jack Johnson. They are both my favourite producers of all time and I would be honoured to work or write with them.

Madeline Edwards has just announced her debut London heading show for July 7th – check out her ‘Crashlanded’ album and grab a ticket to the show right here

The post Interview: Madeline Edwards on crash-landing in Europe, genre boundaries and the secret behind ‘Mama, Dolly & Jesus’ appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

As is customary, we always produce a kind of wish list / prediction article looking ahead to who might be on the bill for the coming year. The list is a combination of artists we think should be on the festival, which next year will be held in London, Glasgow and Belfast, which is replacing Dublin as a venue, and artists we think are available and, more importantly in the world of Country music, might be willing to take a trip across the pond for three days of fun and madness.

This year we’ve gone deep and have even suggested some Spotlight stage artists that we’d like to see and a random, blue-sky, out of the box idea which we think might be an original and interesting idea. So, here are our C2C 2024 festival predictions and wish list. We’ve based them around a London show so the dates won’t match up with other venues and cities but that’s a minor inconsequence.

Friday:

Dierks Bentley – Dierks is our Friday headliner. He’s long overdue a visit and has just released the album of the year in ‘Gravel and Gold’. This album will feature large during award season and we’ve got a feeling 2024 could be the year we see him back in the UK again.

Kelsea Ballerini – Fresh from a triumphant UK tour in which she proved she’s moved up a level as both a musician and performer, Kelsea would bring melody and meaning to the C2C stage and, more importantly, get the people in the arenas up on their feet.

Chris Janson – He’s never been to the UK before but a move to Big Machine, who are a much more European leaning record label bodes well for an opportunity to see this fantastic performer over in the UK for the first time. Guaranteed to be a big draw amongst a passionate community who have been wanting to see him for years.

Introducing Nashville – This segment is becoming a much-loved feature and it’s great to see the artists appearing as special guests during the Songwriters night on the Thursday before in London too. This year we’ve gone for Megan Moroney, who will be releasing her debut album soon, The War and Treaty, who have a new album out and a starring role on the ‘Stoned Cold Country’ album with Brothers Osborne and Conner Smith, a Nashvillian songwriter making a name for himself with his interesting and powerful songs. (Check out his new release ‘Creek Will Rise’ if you’ve never heard of him – you won’t be disappointed)

Saturday:

Carrie Underwood – Saturday’s headliner is currently wowing fans on her ‘Denim and Rhinestones’ tour and might even have finally won Entertainer of the Year by the time next year’s C2C rolls round. Her current stage show is amazing and it’s been a few years now since we saw Carrie here in the UK.

Justin Moore – Similar to Chris Janson, fans have been wanting to see Moore on a UK stage for years now and his brand of cowboy Country with a commercial edge would be a fantastic addition to the festival and one that is long overdue.

Elle King – Promoting her debut Country album, Elle would be a powerful presence and fantastic to watch too. She has earthy, gritty yet melodic songs and a southern charm to match anyone out there in the industry.

Nate Smith – Went down so well on the outside stages this year that Nate is one of two artists we believe deserves the promotion to the big leagues. His debut album comes out in April and ‘Better Boy’ will have given him his second number one by next March too so this choice would be a popular one.

Sunday:

Eric Church – What can you say about this choice. It’s been years since Church last played in the UK. He was slated to appear on the infamous 2020 bill and we’ve seen and heard nothing from him since. He might even have a new album out by next March too. The number one choice for many fans, Church would shift tickets like nobody’s business.

HARDY – Another artist who was scheduled to come over to the UK (with Morgan Wallen, can you believe it, they were due to play tiny venues too!) that the pandemic stymied. HARDY would light up the Sunday stage and provide the perfect foil for Eric Church too. Some people in the crowd might well need ear plugs, though, once he starts tapping into ‘The Crow’ songs!

Hailey Whitters – Hailey deserves another slot on the bill after her 2022 appearance in London had to be cut short because of logistical problems with the equipment being stuck on a boat in Ireland. She’s built her career nicely since we last saw her and would be a lovely addition to a Sunday line up.

49 Winchester – The second of the ‘promoted’ artists from this year’s festival. There was a buzz around this band wherever they went this year and once they have completed their support slot on the upcoming Luke Combs tour the whole world will have seen what we all saw this month. Perfect Sunday openers.

Songwriters Night:

After the appearance of ‘over 60 number ones’ Ashley Gorley at this year’s evening, the only way for the organisers to go is up and there aren’t many writers that could top Gorley’s success. We’d go for Shane McAnally or the Love Junkies (Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey), who were also due to appear in 2020 before the pandemic had its say.

Spotlight Stage Artists:

All these artists are building careers nicely and putting in the hard yards in terms of tours and releases. They would all provide a quality and an interest to stages like the Indigo and the after show parties.

Jackson Dean, Travis Denning, Lily Rose, Brett Kissel, Amanda Kate Ferris, Meghan Patrick, Restless Road, Larry Fleet. It would also be cool to invite Elvie Shane back again after he had to drop out at the last minute this year.

Out of the Box Thinking:

One of the days next year could be a Texas Takeover day! There are so many great artists coming out of Texas right now. The popularity of both Drake Milligan and Randall King this year proved that there is a groundswell of support for Texan Country in the UK right now. Maybe it’s being fuelled by Yellowstone (which I know is set in Montana but we’ve been to Texas with Jimmy and the music is all very gritty and Cowboy-esque), maybe it’s a desire for something different and more authentic than what Music Row sometimes gives us, who knows, but four from these artists would provide a great day.

Cody Johnson, Parker McCollum, Randall King, Drake Milligan, Mike Ryan, Koe Wetzel, Ian Munsick (he’s from Wyoming but who’s counting) and Amanda Kate Ferris would all provide a killer bill and something just a little different.

The post Our C2C festival 2024 wish list & predictions as early bird tickets go on sale today appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Wherever I went in London last weekend, all around the C2C festival, people were talking about 49 Winchester. That buzz will only get bigger as the year progresses and the band go out on the road as support to the one and only Luke Combs! With a terrific album, ‘Fortune Favors the Bold’ under their belts and a festival in London to enjoy there was a lot to talk to frontman Isaac Gibson about.

It’s great to talk to you, Isaac, thank you for your time. How was the trip over and how’s the jet-lag?

The jet-lag has been strong, I won’t lie! (laughing) It’s my first time leaving mainland USA and it was a shocking experience. (laughing) Your internal clock is flipped completely upside down. It was messing with our heads at midnight when all the wives and girlfriends were sending us videos in broad daylight.

We did everything right the first night and stayed up as late as we could on UK time and that seemed to go OK but the second day was terrible and day 3 somehow seemed like it was even worse! (laughing) I think today we might well be finally on our UK schedules and we’re going home tomorrow!

Are you picking up on the buzz that you and Drake Milligan are the break out buzz artists of this whole festival?

I hope we are! I can feel a little bit of it, for sure. We got sent a video of the line that was snaking around the Barrelhouse stage yesterday as we played inside. They were turning people away at the door as it was at max capacity.

49 Winchester are a small town band that is now starting to take on the world. What were your goals and objectives when you started the band in 2014?

I don’t really think we ever had any, to be honest, and I still don’t think we do. We want to continue to grow and get better as musicians, that’s the way we’ve run the band, just putting one foot in front of the other, one step at a time. We have a blue-collar, hardhat, go to work mentality in this band.

You’ve been road warriors for years now. Do you think that experience is going to stand you in good stead for the busy year ahead?

Absolutely. We’re used to the rigours of the road and we feel most at home out there doing that. Even though you are hopping around from town to town there’s still a certain amount of consistency to life out on the road. That’s pretty comforting and we’ve learned to thrive with it.

Were there any times over the years that you got dispirited and disillusioned with this lifestyle?

There was one particular period where we did go on a really short hiatus. It turned out to be just a few weeks in the end. We just needed the time to stop and reset out brains and it worked. This is all we’ve ever really wanted to do and we’ve been doing it since high school. I’ve also wanted to do this job with this band, not as Isaac Gibson but with my guys that I love. We wanted to build this thing together.

You’ve been together since high school. Is it getting harder to tour or be together as a band as wives, girlfriends and families begin to come into play?

We’re lucky because we are all in relationships with people who understand what this lifestyle entails. Most of our partners knew what they were getting into when we got together because the band is older or pre-dates most of the girlfriends.

‘Fortune Favors the Bold’ is such a class album, I have a different favourite track on it each time I listen, which is always the sign of a great album. How have you guys grown and evolved as musicians since 2014 to get to this point?

Oh, man, we’ve changed so much. We’ve grown in number, first of all! When we started it was just the three of us. We didn’t even have a drummer when we first started, we just had acoustics and a banjo. 49 Winchester has just grown into this big, mean, Country and Rock n Roll monster since those days! (laughing)

We’ve never tried to fit in a box – we’ve always just done what we like and what pleases us and it has grown into what it is now.

Do people like Stapleton and Luke Combs need some credit in opening the commercial doors in Nashville to earthier, grittier, more authentic artists after years of Bro-Country and Boyfriend Country?

Sure. To a degree, yes. Country was like that in the early 70s and 80s and then there was a period where it all went squeaky clean and then Garth Brooks and 90s Country happened but now there seems to have been a renaissance of raw, real and authentic music. The type of fan we want to draw loves the type of music that Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs, Tyler Childers and Sturgil Simpson makes.

Who was the inspiration behind the dude in the title track? I can’t work out whether he is one of life’s winners or losers!

That’s me in that song right there! (laughing) It’s me! It was the way I felt that day. Thats the beautiful thing about writing a song based around how you feel. You might be superman in one song and a mouse in the next! (laughing) At that time I was a bit down but I still wanted to Rock n Roll so I think that is where that one came from.

‘All I Need’ is such a great song. I can hear Lynryd Skynyrd, the Black Crowes and even ACDC in there. Who are your musical inspirations?

All of them! The great thing about us is that our influences all come from all directions. Musically I love Rock n Roll but vocally I love Soul singers. I Love Al Green, I love Christ Stapleton’s voice – anything that you can hear the authenticity and soul in.

My favourite song on the album is ‘Damn Darlin’ but I guess you get that a lot? What was the inspiration behind that song?

That was a song that I intentionally wrote out of the first person. I didn’t want it to be about me, I wanted to tell a story from afar so I set out to do that when we started writing it. I had an idea based around the first line of the song, which is something that struck me as I driving around that day. I just heard, ‘It was the night before Christmas, 1995’ and I felt like we had something right away.

….And Nashville itself is a character in that song as well.

Yeah, Nashville is its own entity or personality in that song too. I feel like it is like that anyway, outside of the song, in real life, it’s very much its own beast.

For bands like yourselves, do you have a love/hate relationship with Nashville in terms of ‘the machine’ and what happens there in the industry.

There’s a lot happening in Nashville that I don’t particularly care for, for sure, and there’s a lot of music made in Nashville that I don’t particularly care for either. The city itself is a city that we’ve always loved and it has always treated us well. There is nowhere else on the planet you can go where there is so many talented people, they’re everywhere!

Which member of the band is most like the dude in ‘It’s a Shame’? You know, a drinker, a thinker two left feet etc?

(Laughing) That’s me again! That one is definitely a ‘me’ song. (laughing) Or at least it is how I felt about me at the time I wrote it.

…..and the yodelling in it? Was that something you always wanted to do in a song or was it spontaneous as you were writing it?

That was spontaneous! As I was writing the song the progression back down to the one hit me and I just did it in the moment! We played it last night up in the Saloon and the yodel got a great response!

When you write a song do you have half a mind on the live show and how it might fit in or is it a case of the best song and sound just wins?

My writing process is kinda unusual. For most of my life I have just waited for the song to just come to me until very recently. I usually write with the band in mind but they don’t usually hear it until the song is finished. Once it’s all done I give the song to the boys and let them go to work.

I’ve got tickets to see Luke Combs in Amsterdam in October. I’ll see you there! What impact will getting on that tour do for the band?

It’s been huge! When you are asked to come join the biggest Country music tour on the planet it’s a big deal. It was an honour to be asked. We knew that Luke was a fan of the music – he did a Rolling Stone shoot with a band T shirt on, which would have been a conscious decision on his part. We still haven’t met or spoken face to face yet but we have corresponded online and I think he is a fan of ours. We are definitely fans of his.

It’ll be a new experience for us – we don’t know what 20,000 people in one building sounds like yet!

What advice would you give to independent musicians starting out now who are at the same stage you were back in 2014?

It takes a long time to build this for most people. There are some folks who have a flash-in-the-pan and they knock the ball out of the park on the first try but most other people got to really work the count and get a little deeper into the pitch count and maybe walk to first base first. Then you gotta steal second somehow and then you might well get driven in by somebody else from second! (laughing)

For me, I knew that no matter what happened to 49 Winchester in terms of success I was always still gonna keep doing it. If we played to 75 people in a listening room or 7,000 in an amphitheatre I was still gonna do it. The key is patience and perseverance. Authenticity is also a huge part of it, people are hungrier right now for something real and I’m starting to see success coming through for artists that have that authenticity rather than something more manufactured, like parts of the industry have been for a while recently.

You can next see 49 Winchester back in the UK for the Luke Combs tour in October and their own headlining show at Lafayette in London on October 22nd. 

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When you go to a festival the structure and size of the C2C festival no two people can really have the same experience coming out of the other side of it. There are just too many stages and artists to see. There is, however, a buzz that goes round the fans and the media about who saw what and how good they are.

It’s been a long-accepted fact that Ashley McBryde’s Indigo set from from 2018 is probably the most iconic side-stage set of all time and a real ‘were you there?’ moment. (I was, thankfully!) So, you may not have seen any or many of the moments we are abut to list but our Top 10 moments of 2023 are the memories that we are going to be walking away with to sustain us for another year. In no particular order.

Drake Milligan – Indigo and Saloon sets

Drake was the break-out performer of the festival this year and a real example of how Texan Country is becoming very popular right now. We caught the back-end of his Indigo set and the whole Saloon set up in All-Bar-One after Thomas Rhett had finished on Friday night. The guy simply rocks with a style that puts a big grin on your face and makes you feel you were deep in the heart of Texas in some honky-tonk dive bar every time he plays.

49 Winchester – Indigo and Barrelhouse Sets

Running Drake Milligan incredibly close for ‘break-out’ stars of C2C 2023 are this passionate band of road warriors led by frontman Isaac Gibson. The band have been making noise on the scene since the release of their album ‘Fortune Favors the Bold’ last year and watching them at C2C it is easy to see why. Great vocals, engaging stories and skilled musicianship. If you missed them, don’t worry, you’ll be seeing them out on the road with Luke Combs later in the year.

Lady A – Need You Now & Hillary’s Tears

A slick, powerful and professional show from Lady A culminated in them playing their signature song but Hillary struggled to finish the final third and needed to be comforted by Charles at one point as she broke down in tears. It’s moments like this that make you realise that these stars are real people and are also not lying when they say how much coming over to the UK and our responses to them means. Being off the road so Charles can get sober meant the cancellation of a tour and these C2C shows were the first concerts Lady A have performed in a while so emotions must have been running high but the crowd taking over the vocals of ‘Need You Now’ must have tipped Hillary over the edge.

Old Crow Medicine Show’s Set on the Sunday

There’s a lot of fans in the official C2C fan Facebook group eating humble pie this week. Old Crow Medicine Show were a marmite choice from the organisers. They don’t achieve commercial success or notoriety back in Nashville but similar to someone like Marty Stuart they are the musicians favourites and a much beloved live act. They came out and absolutely rocked the O2 with their mix of music, stand-up comedy and sheer enthusiasm for the show. Frontman Ketch Secor led proceedings like an old time tent revival and even the biggest doubters were up on their feet and dancing by the middle of the set. Goes to show that a festival takes all sorts of sounds and styles and even a band that you don’t necessarily listen to back in the comfort of your home will entertain you in the moment on the day.

First Time Flyers – The Wayside Stage Sunday

There is a lot of talent emerging in the UK right now. Kezia Gill’s set at the Indigo was fabulous but this one from brand new band, First Time Flyers just topped it for us. Led by the UK’s very own Ketch Secor, Tim Prottey-Jones, First Time Flyers played with a mix of passion, skill and humour. The banter between Tim, Vicki, Poppy and Jake is always rapid fire and top notch but what is even better are the songs. Some cracking melodies and vocal harmonies adorn all of the songs in First Time Flyers armoury right now and the band really have some momentum going behind them. The Sunday set at the Wayside stage put a great big smile on everyone’s faces for a pre-midday gig on the final day of a long festival.

Lainey Wilson’s Friday Homecoming

Lainey is really one of us, right? We adopted her back at her first C2C in 2018 and she knows it. She even told the crowd in the arena on the Friday night that we were the first audiences to ever know her songs and sing them back to her and that she’ll never forget that. Her Friday set felt like a homecoming triumph as she played songs, old and new to her devoted and loyal UK fans.

Nate Smith – Barrelhouse Set Saturday

One of the other break out performers from this year’s festival was the much anticipated Nate Smith. From the Songwriters night on the Thursday onwards, Nate impressed every where he went with his humble, friendly attitude and the power of his voice. We must have seen ‘Sleeve’ about four times across the festival as we tracked where Nate went like a well meaning stalker! His stage presence and demeanour combined with the power of the songs at his disposal mean that we think he should be given a slot up on the main stage next year.

Morgan Evans’ Friday Night Arena Party

What a delightful, energetic and warm set Morgan Evans played on the Friday night. From ‘Young Again to Day Drunk’, Evans performed with a zeal and spirit that had the crowd up on their feet and dancing. Evans is an engaging performer who has the ability to make you feel like he is playing in your own living room, even at a venue as cavernous as the O2. Seated at the piano, he took a breath, looked up and said ‘Despite what you might have read or seen recently all I did was love a girl,’ before he played ‘Over For You’, making the UK crowd feel part of the zeitgeist in the story between him and Kelsea too, but he did it with dignity and honesty rather than milking it or saying anything incendiary.

Sam Williams Sings ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ in the Arena

The fact that we were in the presence of Country music royalty was not lost on me this weekend. Having seen Sam sing this legendary Country song recorded by his grandfather back in 1949 at a label showcase on Thursday I was hoping he would do it during his Spotlight stage set on Saturday in the arena – and he did! The son of Hank Williams Jr spoke about how he spent a portion of his life kicking back against music before coming to the realisation that it is also what he destined to do before playing this legendary song. What a bloodline that family has!

Jordan Davis Sings the CMA Song of the Year to the London Choir

Davis closed his set down with ‘Buy Dirt’ on the Friday night and the London choir came out in force. There were a few good singalongs across the three days in the arena. ‘Wagon Wheel’ was probably the loudest but the most poignant and timely was definitely this one from Davis. It’s currently the CMA ‘Song of the Year’ and Davis delivered it with a passion that was lovely to be a part of. Everyone around me was singing along and I don’t think it will be long before Davis is back on these shores with a tour of his own and we can sing it again.

What were your Top 10 moments? Let us know on our socials and please read our individual main stage set reviews for all artists at the link right here.

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What is clear from speaking to Zac Brown before the show is that he 100% sees the band as a collaborative effort. Their success is his success. This isn’t some ego trip or passion project from an attention seeking frontman and Zac speaks at length about that and what the definition of success means to the band in this phase of their career in the video below.

Taking the stage to ‘Homegrown’ with some beautiful graphics on the screens behind, it was clear that what Zac had said before the show about always wanting the live performances to evolve and grow and be how the band will be defined is perfectly true. Tracks like ‘Free / Into the Mystic’, ‘As She’s Walking Away’ and ‘Sweet Annie’ are gorgeous songs that highlight the passion and the skillset within the band but they are evolving into immersive pieces of art in this incarnation of the band’s live set. The graphics on the video screens augment the inclusive feeling engendered in the arena, with the songs and the harmonies all part of the jigsaw too. It felt less like a standalone performance in the O2 arena and more like an immersive installation experience at times.

Classics came and classics went. ‘Knee Deep’ provoked the first sing along of the set, although if you listened hard enough there was a ‘London choir’ singing along underneath most of the songs on offer, something that Zac was very aware of. ‘Toes’ provided the crowd the opportunity to provide backing on the ‘ass in the sand’ part. ‘Man,’ Zac said at the end of the song with a huge grin on his face, ‘You all sing so good.’ ‘Keep Me in Mind’ also morphed into a sort of campfire, ‘kumbaya’ moment too as the O2 arena found a Sunday night singalong to be good for the soul.

No Zac Brown show is without its curveballs and covers. Early doors we got multi-instrumentalist John Driskell Hopkins treating us to ‘The Foundation’ album deep cut, ‘It’s Not Ok’. Part spoken word, part long instrumental, ‘It’s Not OK’ gives various members of the band a chance to shine with individual solos which had the crowd up and dancing. Similarly, newest member and artist in her own right, Caroline Jones, got to play the version of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Big Love’ that she released back in 2021. This was one of the highlights of the whole set. Jones’ vocals soared around the arena on this galloping redneck cover and Lindsay Ell provided some awesome guitar histrionics alongside some meaty drums and furious fiddle playing too.

Covers came in the form of a wonderful, atmospheric version of Springsteen’s ‘Dancing in the Dark’ which segued into a rousing ‘Sex on Fire’ that had fists pumping and voices hollering all over the arena. Later the band launched into a ferocious version of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint it Black’ which brought us the best light show of the evening as the song roared its way up to its impactful climax. The album that this cover is taken from, ‘Stoned Cold Country’, is out on Friday March 17th and features the likes of Erich Church, Ashley McBryde, Little Big Town, Brothers Osborne and more re-interpreting Rolling Stones songs. We bought an advance copy of the vinyl at C2C after being able to see the premiere of the accompanying film.

The set, oddly 4 or 5 songs shorter than the shows Dublin and Glasgow got to see this weekend, was brought to a close by a triple whammy ‘Out in the Middle’, ‘Colder Weather’ and ‘Chicken Fried’. I was surprised that the band only played ‘Same Boat’ and ‘Out in the Middle’ from the tremendous new album, ‘The Comeback’ but I guess that gives them a reason to come back on their own tour again next year, right? ‘Colder Weather’ is quite simply one of the greatest Country songs ever written and inserting a chunk of the Eagles’ ‘Take it to the Limit’ inside it was a genius move that only seemed to elevate the impact of the song whilst ‘Chicken Fried’ is simply just ‘Chicken Fried’! The perfect set closer and a song that never seems to age or to lessen in musical joy and comedy value as the years go by.

As a headliner and an artist chosen to close down the whole C2C festival in London, Zac Brown Band were the perfect fit. Precise and intentional with the feel, style and visuals of some songs, they let loose with Rock ‘n’ Roll abandon in other ones too. Brown is an erudite guy, a deep thinker and not someone who wastes words, lyrics and time on frivolous things. There was no flab, no filler or no going through the motions in the band’s performance in London: everything was planned and happened for a reason. This made for an engaging and intelligent show where you could have as much fun as you wanted in some places and then reflect, via songs like ‘My Old Man’, which was one of the most pivotal and meaningful moments of the whole evening, in others. ZBB are a band that has transcended the genre that birthed them now. They can do what they like, be who they like and experiment with how their music is presented to the fans. They don’t have to play the Nashville machine anymore and it will be fascinating to watch them in the next phase of their careers as they continue to re-invent both themselves and the wonderful songs that define one of the best bands in the history of Country music.

Set list: 1. Homegrown 2. Knee Deep 3. Free / Into the Mystic 4. Dancing in the Dark / Sex on Fire 5. It’s Not OK 6. Toes 7. My Old Man 8. As She’s Walking Away 9. Paint it Black 10. Loving You Easy 11. Jump Right In 12. Sweet Annie 13. Same Boat 14. Big Love 15. Out in the Middle 16. Colder Weather 17. Chicken Fried Venue: O2 Arena, London Date: Sunday 13th March

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Taking the stage in black leathers and heels at the O2 arena, Lindsay was all 60’s vamp. Her green nails and green guitar strings did a good job of helping her stand out and make a statement, something that is important to do when there is only a three piece up on an arena stage and the vocalist is also the guitarist. The drawback there is that the visuals often aren’t as strong for a performance like this because the vocalist has to spend the lions share of their time on stage rooted to a microphone – Chris Stapelton’s live shows have always suffered a little from this aspect although the power and passion of his vocals is enough to mitigate for any loss of vibrancy.

Lindsay Ell’s USP is her guitar playing and she will often add in extended solos and energetic outros to what are, essentially, three minute Pop songs, turning them into altogether different beasts in the live setting. Opening with ‘Right on Time’, Ell hit the arena stage in a swirl of drums and big, catchy Pop-Country vibes. Her performance throughout was slick, passionate and engaging to watch. It lacked a little of the raw energy and huge notes of last year’s ‘Long Road’ festival bonanza but that wasn’t the vibe Ell was aiming for this time round. This performance was more restrained yet visual in a different way. Less Rock ‘n’ Roll excess and more anthemic arena appreciation.

‘Body Language of a Break Up’ included a nice, funky bass breakdown segment which segued into a drum solo and was a perfect example of what Ell was trying to do up on the O2 stage. It’ a simple, infectious song but live it turned into something much bigger than the sum of its parts, with all three musicians getting a little moment in the spotlight. Indeed, Ell even spoke to the crowd about wanting to turn the O2 into a living room at one point as she continued to play engaging songs with a slick, effortless precision.

‘Hits Me’ and ‘Good On You’ were delivered with energetic aplomb. The latter saw Ell referencing her break up of a few years ago now with Bobby Bones. She spoke at length about how she saw pictures of him online with ‘another beautiful blonde’ and how it hurt to see him so happy. The lyrics of ‘Good On You’ are so personal it was hard not to be moved by Ell’s performance whilst ‘Hits Me’ began with slight retro sounding disco vibes before it settled into something more Blues influenced. The solos were there but they were more restrained than her performance at last year’s Long Road festival. Less histrionics more focus on the song was the watchword of this set.

‘Every time I Look at You’, the song she wrote with Corey Wong, had classy, 80s style production sensibilities to it which sounded great in what is essentially an aircraft hangar. Similarly, ‘How Good’ was all funky bass, guitar licks and bouncy, infectious vibes. A cracking solo from Ell and an a cappella finish elicited a huge cheer from the crowd and a big grin on the face of Lindsay Ell too.

The best two songs of a set that seemed to be inexplicably missing ‘What Happens in a Small Town’, were reserved for the closing climax. ‘I Don’t Love You’ and ‘Criminal’ are two very different beasts. The former is a diva-like ballad. When Ell plays it live she allows a little more grit and gravel in her vocals to seep through on the chorus like a young Chrissie Hynde! ‘I Don’t Love You’ also brought out the cellphone lights and gave Ell the chance for another guitar solo moment in the spotlight. ‘Criminal’ finished off the set in style. I’ve never not seen Lindsay Ell play this song and I’ve never not enjoyed it! This time was no different. Ell delivered the track with enthusiasm and passion and in an effort to not always be rooted to the microphone, the guitar solo gave her the opportunity to go for a wander around the stage too.

Lindsay Ell’s debut C2C performance was one of passion and precision. It was well thought out in terms of song choices. Brave, too, considering some of the older, stronger songs that she decided not to play, but it worked. It was a visual feast in terms of engagement and whilst it might have lacked some of the Rock ‘n’ Roll excesses of her 2022 Long Road set, that wasn’t what she was aiming for here. This show was about an overall vibe: it was a chance to put melody before brash, guitar hero stylings. It was a set all about the songs and the choruses and it was designed to engage an arena of more casual Country music fans who might be more unfamiliar with the body of Lindsay Ell’s work. Song first, visuals next, engagement key. Objective achieved.

Track list: 1. Right on Time 2. How Good 3. Body Language of a Break Up 4. Every time I look at You 5. Good On You 6. Sweet Spot 7. Hits Me 8. I Don’t Love You 9. Criminal Venue: O2 Arena, London Date: Sunday 12th March

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Stell is becoming a regular visitor to the UK now after playing the Spotlight stage at the festival last year and doing a co-headlining tour with Elvie Shane last Autumn too. His guitar-leaning brand of powerful, commercial Country music is a perfect fit for a festival that prides itself on showcasing the best that Nashville has to offer.

Taking the stage to loud cheers, a slow, rhythmic opening eventually led into ‘One of Us’ as Matt Stell’s imposing 6ft 7inch figure loomed over the microphone in a very deliberate and focused way. The song and the moment reminded me of Kip Moore’s breakout performance at C2C back in 2015 with his song ‘Wild Ones’. Mid-tempo, slow and melodic, ‘One of Us’ is an incredibly inclusive song and a great concert opener as long as it is followed up with something higher in tempo……….which it was!

‘This One’s Gonna Hurt’ followed ‘One of Us’ with its catchy guitar riff and Stell’s guitar player, with his sparkly green guitar and spiky haircut, giving off all sorts of Rascal Flatts vibes. You could sense the arms beginning to go up in the air as ‘This One’s Gonna Hurt’ progressed through and people began to realise that Stell is the real deal.

When you have a singer or a frontman that plays a lot of guitar and is therefore rooted to the front of stage microphone you need to rely on a backing band of players to bring an energy and vibrancy that seeps through into the audience and Stell has that with his band. ‘That Ain’t Me No More’ began as a big, drum-driven anthem before settling into something more akin to its recorded version and we also saw some more guitar histrionics from Stell’s main player.

When freed of guitar duties, Matt Stell stalks the stage like a caged lion, punching his fists and clearly getting emotionally lost within his own songs at times. Songs like ‘If I Was a Bar’ and ‘Sadie’ were delivered with a power and a passionate befitting of an arena performance as Stell criss-crossed the stage like a man possessed. ‘Boyfriend Season’ was suitably huge as was “Everywhere But On’. That song included a nice a cappella breakdown where the bands vocals echoed around the arena in fine style.

Stell’s whole set built nicely to a triple whammy finish of powerful, impactful moments. A superb medley of ‘Church on Cumberland Road’, ‘All the Small Things’ and ‘Mr Brightside’ had the crowd up and dancing and then Stell brought out ‘Prayed For You’, which finished with the arena lit up by cellphone lights and a segment of ‘Champagne Supernova’ to boot before he closed out the set with what I think is his best song and future number one hit, ‘Shut the Truck Up’.

Stell’s C2C arena debut was all about power, passion and precision. There were no wasted moments or flabby sections in his set and watching it felt almost like a choreographed piece of art in terms of how everything neatly fitted together and how the songs all seemed to compliment and build upon each other. The cover choices were inspired and I was left wanting more at the end, which is something Stell also managed to achieve on his new EP, ‘One of Us’ as well. A bright future beckons for this impactful and powerful artist and we can’t wait to see him back on these shores for more shows, either later this year or early next.

Track list: 1. One of Us 2. This One’s Gonna Hurt 3. That Ain’t Me No More 4. When You Know 5. Everywhere But On 6. Sadie 7. `If I was a Bar 8. Boyfriend Season 9. Church on Cumberland Road – All The Small Things – Mr Brightside 10. Prayed For You 11. Shut the Truck Up Venue: O2 Arena, London Date: Saturday 11th March

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The last time we saw Thomas Rhett in the UK was on the ‘Life Changes’ tour and he’s had something of a career epiphany since then and ditched a lot of the Bruno Mars-esque production sounds and vibes, returning instead to being a much earthier, grittier artist. That change is reflected by the fact that he now has a steel guitar player out on stage with him.

If you’d have said to me five years ago that ‘Unforgettable’ (amongst many other songs) would now have a steel guitar in it I wouldn’t have believed you but this is where Thomas Rhett is in 2023.

Show opener ‘Craving You’ set the tone for the evening to come as Rhett took the stage in a Rolling Stones T Shirt and Yeti cap. The song is beefier and heavier now than it has been before and it looks (and sounds) all the better for it. Similarly, ‘Look What God Gave Her’s keyboards have been toned down in favour of the electric guitar and what a great decision that turned out to be for that and many other songs in Rhett’s set.

All the classics that you would expect to hear at a Thomas Rhett show were there and he was clearly enjoying himself and touched by the audience response. ‘Half of Me’, ‘Life Changes’, ‘Marry Me’ and ‘Slow Down Summer’ all did exactly what they have been designed to do, just with a little more oomph and muscle than they had before. ‘Vacation’ was louder, rockier and all brash confidence whilst ‘She Had Me at Heads Carolina’, a song Rhett had a hand in writing alongside Ashley Gorley, convinced the last of the people still siting down to get up and have a damn good dance. The set closer triple whammy of ‘Crash and Burn’, T Shirt’ and then ‘What’s Your Country Song’ was as good a run of three songs as I’ve ever seen at the C2C festival in ten years.

Not everything was all loud guitars, steel guitars and drums though. A lovely version of new song ‘Paradise, which Rhett explained he’d never played live before whet the appetite for songs like ‘Die a Happy Man’, ‘Angels Don’t Always Have Wings’ and the double header set closer of ‘Feeling Country’ and ‘Country Again’ showed the O2 crowd just what an authentic and skilled writer and performer Thomas Rhett is. The latter two songs were acoustically delivered and dripping in Nashville vibes which is such a big shift from where TR used to be as a live performer in the late 2010’s. ‘Country Again’ was particularly delightful as it exploded out in the second chorus and became a steel guitar-drenched plaintive anthem of hope and perseverance.

A mid-set appearance by Niall Horan prompted both he and Rhett to deliver a cracking version of Horan’s ‘Slow Hands’ song whilst the brash, yet insanely melodic and loveable ‘Crash and Burn’ and ‘T Shirt’ served to remind the O2 arena just how good Rhett’s ‘Tangled Up’ album really was. Closing with ‘What’s Your Country Song’ left Rhett relatively speechless as emotions ran high. He declared the evening to have been one of the best of his career before leaving the stage all smiles, kisses and heart symbols with his hands.

There was a lot of love in the O2 arena for Thomas Rhett tonight and he didn’t disappoint. To see him playing with so much steel guitar inserted into his live sound is a joy to see – long may it continue! Rhett is an open and honest performer who has a knack of being able to communicate with the very last person in the highest level of an arena with just his eyes, his face and his lyrics. He truly brought the party to the O2 Arena tonight and let’s hope it’s not too long before he is able to come back and do it all over again!

Set List: Craving You 2. Look What God Gave Her 3. Half of Me 4. Life Changes 5. Slow Down Summer 6. Make Me Wanna 7. Marry Me 8. Get Me Some of That / It Goes Like This 9. Vacation 10. Paradise 11. Slow Hands (with Niall Horan) 12. Beer Can’t Fix 13. Angels Don’t Always Have Wings 14. She Had Me at Heads Carolina 15. Die a Happy Man 16. Feeling Country 17. Country Again 18. Unforgettable 19. Sixteen 20. Crash and Burn 21. T Shirt 22. What’s Your Country Song Venue: O2 Arena Date: Friday 10th March

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So here we are, three years later with Davis being able to perform for UK crowds again. Those three years have been important to him as an artist as it has given him the time and space to mature and really find his lane as an artist. ‘Buy Dirt’, ‘Fishing Spot’, ‘Next Thing You Know’ are all songs from new album ‘Bluebird Days’ that position Davis in the market as an artist of meaning and worth and anticipation was high for his C2C performance in London.

A lot has changed and evolved for Jordan Davis since we last saw him in the UK and one of those things is what has happened to this talented writer as a performer on an arena stage. What we saw tonight was super-sized Jordan Davis giving an amplified performance worthy of a rock festival. The amps were definitely turned up to 11 for show opener ‘What My World Spins Around’ and Davis continued to entertain on songs like ‘Damn Good Time’ and ‘One Beer in Front of the Other’.

A very piano heavy ‘Lose You’ built up to a cracking guitar solo and an elongated outro where both instruments almost duelled with each other! ‘Almost Maybes’ was delivered in a similar way: loud, rocky and bombastically fun. This track got a great singalong from the crowd too but perhaps the biggest change came on ‘Detours’. Davis began the song by speaking to the crowd about meeting his wife and how ‘I wasn’t the best guy before I met her’ before beginning the song acoustically with himself at the front of the stage. The rest of the band kicked in after the first verse and by the end we were in epic, festival mode with chunks of Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’ being interwoven between the original song as the guitarists on stage ran wild with the shapes and the chords!

Other songs seemed louder than their album origins too. ‘Part of It’ was a bigger, more anthemic version than its recorded sibling and ‘Need to Not’, with it’s huge drums was turned effortlessly into an arena anthem. ‘Take it From Me’ was always going to slay, as was ‘Singles You Up’ and both tracks didn’t disappoint in terms of enthusiasm and energy.

In the midst of the bombast, Davis still treated us to some tender moments. ‘Slow Dance in a Parking Lot’, ‘Next Thing You Know’, Tucson Too Late’ and ‘Buy Dirt’ were all delivered with the raw emotion and gravitas they deserved. ‘Next Thing You Know’ is a nailed-on number one hit for Davis in this particular cycle of his career whilst ‘Tucson Too Late’ contained some lovely, tasteful and refined Eagles-vibes that suit Davis’ style and sound.

The set ended with ‘Buy Dirt’, as you would expect. Davis spent a chunk of the song looking around the wider environs of the arena with a great big grin on his face and the song culminated in a big a cappella sing along with both Davis’ and the crowd’s vocals echoing around the O2 arena.

This was a confident, assured and ballsy performance from Jordan Davis. Not afraid to rock out when needed whilst also being able to sing about loss, love, life and learning on his more emotional songs, Jordan Davis has taken a big step up into the majors in terms of arena performances and he now has some serious muscle lurking with intent behind all the melody that we’ve known about for years.

Set List: 1. What My World Spins Around 2. Singles You Up 3. Damn Good Time 4. Slow Dance in a Parking Lot 5. One Beer in Front of the Other 6. Next Thing You Know 7. Lose You 8. Almost Maybes 9. Detours 10. No Time Soon 11. Money Isn’t Real 12. Tucson Too Late 13. Part of It 14. Need to Not 15. Take it From Me 16. Buy Dirt Venue: O2 Arena, London Date: Friday 10th March

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Wilson’s triumphant return to the UK stage felt like something of a homecoming. She was perhaps the most anticipated artist on the Friday bill in London. The emotions were running high from the start and it was during second song, ‘Rock n Roll, Hoochie Koo’ that she declared ‘You were the first people to ever know my music and I’ll never forget that.’

The set opened in a funky way with a disco-leaning ‘LA’ and the aforementioned ‘Hoochie Koo’. Wilson was criss-crossing the stage and having fun with her band too. When freed of the guitar, Wilson is a skilled entertainer, using her wit and charm alongside her boundless energy to work the crowd like a seasoned professional. ‘Hold My Halo’ saw her doing this with ease whilst a funky cover of ‘Mr Big Stuff’ served as something like a dance break mixed with the obligatory band introduction segment.

Tracks like the very atmospheric ‘Wildflowers and Wild Horses’ and ‘Watermelon Sunshine’ were welcomed by the eager crowd as if they had been part of Wilson set list for years and a double header of ‘Wait in the Truck’ and ‘Heart Like a Truck’ was genius, hammered home with some aplomb by Wilson as she hit the big note at the end of the latter song despite having lost her voice earlier in the week.

Wilson closed down her set with two very different songs. Her cover of 4 Non-Blondes ‘What’s Up (What’s Going On?) elicited the first big O2 singalong of the evening on the ‘hey, hey, hey’ bits whilst ‘Things a Man Outta Know’ ended with the arena lit up by cell phone lights. Wilson left stage to rapturous applause and I’m sure that it won’t be that long until we see her again in the UK when the mutual love affair can continue further. This was a terrific performance from an artist just getting better and better. She knows that we consider her to be an adopted British citizen and you know that the bright lights of Nashville, Montana and wherever else she finds herself won’t cause Lainey Wilson to forget about us either.

Set list: 1. LA 2. Rock n Roll, Hoochie Koo 3. Smell Like Smoke 4. Watermelon Moonshine 5. Hold My Halo 6. Mr Big Stuff 7. Wildflowers and Wild Horses 8. Wait in the Truck / Heart Like a Truck 9. Rolling Stone 10 What’s Up (What’s Going On?) 11. Things a Man Outta Know Venue: O2 Arena, London Date: Friday 10th March

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