Concert Review: THE LONG ROAD FESTIVAL (Day 1), Stanmore Hall, Leicestershire

If you’re going to encourage people to travel across the country to a field in the middle of Leicestershire, it had better be for something good. The Long Road Festival, despite only being in its first year, had the potential to be just that, with star power on the line up in the form of Carrie Underwood, and a large variety of acts across the country music genre to keep you occupied for the rest of the weekend.

We arrived late Friday afternoon, and I was surprised to see just how many tents and campervans were already there. We parked up, and after a bit of difficulty with the Box Office not really seeming to know what was going on, were ready to bring on the weekend.

Entering the site, I was immediately impressed. You first saw the main Rhinestone stage, which is apparently of similar size to that of Glasto which bade well, and a big Long Road sign next to it, perfect for your festival photos. My only comment is that this stage could have done with some screens, as as we discovered throughout the weekend, if you were anywhere aside from standing at the front, you couldn’t see anything.

Further in was the Interstate stage, a medium sized marquee with a small stage and annoyingly a series of metal poles holding up the tent, meaning your view was obstructed no matter where you stood – let’s hope they fix this for next you. You then entered ‘Crossroad County’, a series of facades made to look like a Nashville street, with an entrance to the Honky Tonk bar.

This is where I became really impressed. Walking in, I was immediately transported to Broadway with the décor really well done, including neon signs, posters and old records up on the wall. Kudos to whoever was in charge of designing this set.

This was my first destination, to see Kevin Mcguire kick off the festival. He sounded pretty American as he sang catchy pop tracks like Alright, Tonight! and Everything That You Are, so I was surprised when he started talking in a Scottish accent, but alas, that’s a trope of many British country singers who try to sound American to ‘fit’ more with the genre. I liked Kevin, and am looking forward to the release of his upcoming record, if new single As Good As It Gets is anything to go by.

I stuck around to see the beginning of Megan O’Neill’s set (you can check out my interview with her here) where her pure voice shone on tracks like new single Without and a cover of Maren Morris’ My Church. It was then time to run off for an interview with the lovely The Wandering Hearts (coming soon) and then back to the Interstate for Andy Brown. Andy’s style wasn’t necessarily my cup of tea, with more of an indie vibe, but that’s the beauty of these types of festivals where there’s something for everyone and you can pick and choose what you want to see.

I headed round the corner to the Front Porch stage, and was again very impressed by the setup as it genuinely looked very much like a Southern USA front porch, complete with house plants and empty bottles of moonshine. Very well thought out. We sat down on the grass to watch Case Hardin, who quickly became my festival buddy’s favourite act of the weekend with their rock country style and clever lyrics on tracks like (Jesus Christ) Tomorrow Morning, Do I Still Have to Feel This Way and These Three Cities. I thought as well they’d be great road trip or movie soundtrack music – take a listen to Lullaby or Marie Marie and you’ll know what I mean.

Back at the Interstate, it was time for The Wandering Hearts. They were fantastic, treating us to plenty of tracks from new album Wild Silence including the super catchy Fire and Water, Wish I Could which they got everyone singing along to, River written with Striking Matches (more on them later), Devil, and the more country style Push and Pull.

I felt they had the best of both worlds, with Chris Stapleton worthy vocals from the guys and beautiful harmonies from the ladies. In my opinion, this band should have been higher up the line up than where they were, and could well have been main stage artists.

As the night rolled on, we wandered back to the Honky Tonk, packed out for Twinnie. She put on a great show with pop infused tracks like That Type of Girl, More, Half Gypsy and Cool, as well as more obviously country like Daddy Issues and Better When I’m Drunk. Given the right support, she could be a star. I was shocked to discover when doing my research later that she doesn’t appear to have any commercial releases – let’s change that!

I popped briefly into the Interstate stage to see the end of Ward Thomas’ set, although arguably other artists should have had that Friday night headline slot, as it would seem certainly UK country artists have received more support than others who deserve it too. Nonetheless, they have a large fan base so no doubt were a pull for people to come to the festival.

To finish the night, we watched Zack Logan on the Front Porch as there was very little activity in the Buck ‘N Bull After Party. Zack was very like Luke Combs I thought with his raspy voice and nostalgic lyrics on tracks like Home I Call Place and Raised by Wolves. A nice chill way to end the first night of the festival. 

Thanks so much for reading my Day 1 review of The Long Road! Stay tuned for Day 2 and 3 reviews coming very soon, along with interviews with some of the artists from the festival. Make sure to follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry to be the first to know when something is posted! Were you at The Long Road? Drop me a message below to let me know what you thought of it!