After a few hours sleep, I was back early at the O2 for Day
2 of C2C. Again, my first stop was the BBC Radio 2 Stage in Indigo2 to catch Chase Bryant for the second time (but
not the last!) His set was vastly different from those I’d seen on the Radio 2
stage the day before, as he put on a proper rock concert, complete with full
band and flashing lights – probably what a lot of us needed to perk ourselves
up!
Next up was Logan
Brill, who I was particularly looking forward to seeing having seen her perform
at Nashville Meets London last August, where I also interviewed her (which you
can read here). She put on a great performance then, and so I was excited to
see how the UK audience would react to her. This proved a real highlight for
me, and I’d say that if Brooke Eden was my stand-out star of C2C last year,
Logan Brill was for me this year. She put on a very strong performance with
upbeat tracks like World’s Still Round mixed
with a few ballads, with a particular favourite being a thus far unreleased
track Break Each Others Hearts, a
heart-wrenching song which I look forward to hearing on an upcoming album. She
also made time to chat with the audience in between songs, including providing
amusing anecdotes such as the fact that she sends all of her songs to her Mum
first, something she says she probably shouldn’t have done with one titled Walk of Shame. It was nice to catch up
with Logan after her set (and be recognised too!) – she really is one to watch.
I caught the beginning of Canaan Smith’s hard-rocking set (complete with early afternoon
whiskey drinking) before I had to head off to The Bluebird Café, this year taking place in the NY-LON lounge. I
had attended The Bluebird both in Nashville, as well as last year at C2C,
watching Old Dominion and Shane McAnally perform in the round. It was a
highlight last year, and so something that I definitely wanted to repeat this
year. My criteria for choosing which slot to go for was picking who I thought
was the most well-known artist as well as seeing a great songwriter, so ended
up choosing the slot with Chase Bryant, Logan Brill, and Josh Osborne. The
Bluebird really is a special experience, as the artists perform acoustically
and explain the stories behind their songs, often joking with one another and creating
a really nice atmosphere. Like most songwriters, Josh Osborne wasn’t a name
that I was familiar with, but his songs certainly were, including Blake
Shelton’s Sangria (with an amusing
story about how this was passed up by Kenny Chesney), Kacey Musgraves Merry Go Round, and Kenny Chesney’s Setting The World On Fire. Again,
another real highlight of the weekend.
Sadly, the Bluebird started late and so I missed the final
few acts performing in Indigo, so instead decided to go check out some of the
Press Conferences. I’d hoped to catch Cassadee Pope, but a timetable change
meant that she had been and gone, so I stuck around for Darius Ruckers instead
(who I also interviewed earlier in the week – coming soon to this blog, watch
this space!). This was followed by another exciting interview, this time with
rising star Seth Ennis, who I’d been
a fan of since the release of Woke Up In
Nashville. Seth is a very amiable guy, and it was a great interview (again,
coming soon to Ciara’s Country!) with the interview being even more exciting
for having taken place in a secret room somewhere in the O2, literally hidden
behind a revolving bookcase!
The interview meant that I missed the start of Dan + Shay’s set, but didn’t mind too
much having reviewed their gig (which you can read here) and interviewed them
(check it out here) a few months ago. Nevertheless, I caught the end, and can’t
disagree too much with Dan Smyer’s observation that Shay Mooney has one of the
best voices in country music. Again, good interaction with the crowd, including
adding in an unscheduled rendition of Obsessed,
leaving many female fans swooning in the audience.
Then over to the Yamaha stage again to watch Bailey Bryan, another act who I hadn’t
been familiar with prior to C2C. She’s been pegged as an ‘Artist of Tomorrow’
and certainly has charisma, so I’d keep your eyes open for her. She’s one for
the digital age, as made clear in her Press Conference when she elaborated on
the music video for her single My Own, filmed
especially for mobile phones. I expect we’ll be seeing more of Bailey soon.
Hunter Hayes was
next on the main stage, and where he really shone was in his guitar playing.
Hunter is a musician at heart, and watching him shred that fretboard really was
a sight to behold. Fans have been waiting a long time for Hunter to release
some new music, and he gave us an insight into what to expect with songs like Amen, giving us all something to look
forward to.
As the set was changed over, Seth Ennis took to the Yamaha
Stage, and again, his amiable personality shone through as he expressed his
gratitude for having the opportunity to perform in front of such a large
audience. Although his songs veer towards the crossover with pop, they really
worked when stripped back to just vocals and guitar / piano, with a particular
favourite being Fast Girl.
We were then treated to another returner, Darius Rucker, who I would describe as
having a more traditional country sound than the artists who had taken to the
stage before him. However, Darius really brought the party. He looked like he
was having a ball on stage, dancing along to the music and making sure that
everyone was having a good time. He has the ability to perform a great mix of
styles, as shown not only in his own music, as he moved from the slow ballad It Won’t Be Like This For Long, to
catchy head-bopping songs like Radio;
but also in the fantastic covers he performed. He really showed his
versatility, performing country favourites like Friends in Low Places, to rapping along to No Diggity, and then performing Purple
Rain in honour of all those lost over the last year, and lighting the O2 up
with thousands of phone lights.
Much like in the first year of C2C, Darius was a hard act to
follow, but Cassadee Pope managed to
do just that. I see Cassadee as really evolving into the country genre, and
really enjoyed an upcoming track she played called Me, Myself and Wine. Take a listen to it on YouTube if you have the
chance – you’ll be singing along to it all day.
The final act of the night was Reba McEntire, and I was disappointed to see that many concert
attendees had already left. The same thing happened a number of years ago when
Zac Brown Band performed for the first time, with many leaving during some of
the instrumental solos (I bet they regret that now). My thoughts are, if you’ve
paid for the concert, why not stay until the end? I didn’t know much of Reba’s
repertoire, but there was no way I was going home early, and I was glad I made
that decision. Reba reminds me of a country music kind of Cher, so it’s easy to
see why she has recently been doing a Vegas residency. She played a number of
songs from her new faith-based album, but really got the crowd going with some
old favourites, including Turn On The
Radio and The Night The Lights Went
Out in Georgia. I hadn’t previously been familiar with these songs but
found myself dancing along to them nonetheless and just having a great time. I
also discovered that she was friends with, and Mother-in-law, to Kelly
Clarkson, leading to a rendition of Because
of U. However, the highlights for me were absolutely Does He Love You, a duet with her backing singer; and the one Reba
song I can say I knew, Fancy, which
she performed as the encore in a red dress I’m sure many of us wouldn’t be able
to pull off! To those who left early, you missed out.
My final spot was the Lucie Silvas aftershow in the Indigo2. Tired after 2 days of non-stop musical madness, I huddled myself up in the balcony and just allowed myself to enjoy the show. Lucie has a strong raspy voice, and is clearly a very talented songwriter, as she played a few songs she'd written for other Nashville stars. Not a bad way to end the night.
Day 2 was clearly a day for many generations, starting with
more crossover artists and ending with more traditional. It’s great to see how
varied country music is, and festivals like this allow you to open yourself up
to artists you might not otherwise consider. Would I have considered myself a
Reba fan before C2C? Probably not. Will I now? Maybe, just maybe.
Have you read my
reviews of Days 1 & 3? Check them out on the blog! Stay tuned on reviews
and interviews by following me on Twitter @CiarasCountry and be sure to let me
know your thoughts!
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