Concert Review: THE LONG ROAD FESTIVAL (Day 3), Stanmore Hall, Leicestershire

Make sure you read my Day 1 review here and Day 2 review here of The Long Road first - enjoy! 

It was another thankfully late start on Sunday, kicking off with Gary Quinn on the Front Porch. He brought good vibes with his fun songs like First Glance, On Your Way Out and Love Each Day to which some people even got up to dance. Overall, a very enjoyable set for me, with the exception of final song I Love To Watch You Leave, the subject matter of which I never really appreciate, although there is a great deal of it in country music.

I wandered into the Interstate stage where another band I hadn’t heard of, Ferris & Sylvester, were performing. From the first song of theirs I heard, Superhuman, I could see that a lot of people would like them, and as the set went on, so did I. They made us act like Vikings (to the bemusement of some of the dogs in the tent who weren’t sure why everyone had spontaneously started grunting and clapping), and dedicated Better In Yellow to the event security guards, which I loved. Definitely one to watch.

First up on the Rhinestone Stage was Jess & The Bandits (interview coming soon to the blog!) who brought immediate high energy with My Name Is Trouble and You Can’t Stop Me. Jess has impeccable vocals and everyone was having a great time as they sang songs from new album Smoke and Mirrors, ranging from gospel like I’m Not Going Home, the sexy Kiss Me Quiet and a big ‘screw you’ to those who say you have to look a certain way with Nitty Gritty. For those who might not have known their music before, they certainly would have recognised covers like the Dixie Chicks Some Days You Gotta Dance, to which the crowd certainly obliged.

Back in the Interstate, Yola Carter was wowing even more festival goers with her full band, great for groovy tracks like He Don’t Mind. I’ll say she has a lot of new fans following the festival. On the main stage, Joshua Hedley treated fans of more traditional country with his bluesy/swing music.

Having seen Ashley Campbell at C2C earlier this year, I knew I wanted to catch her set at the Honky Tonk where she wowed us all with her brilliant songwriting, from the satirical Better Boyfriend and Looks Like Time, the sweet Wish I Wanted To and Remembering, and just the downright great The Lonely One. And don’t even get me started on her banjo playing!

Emily Barker was playing soft and slow tracks in the tent, and the little I saw of her set made me appreciate just how talented the session musicians supporting some of the artists were, with the band playing with her having only started rehearsing two days prior.

On the Rhinestone, The Brummies who yes, are from Birmingham, but the one in Alabama, not the nearer one, were bringing somewhat of a 80s/punk vibe with the lead singer looking vaguely reminiscent of Freddie Mercury. They were certainly the more rocky end of the country spectrum with Takes Some Time, Lovers Do and another ABC/CMT Nashville track Be My Girl.

I took a wander around to see what else was going on, including Andrew Alli on the Front Porch shredding on harmonica (if one can shred on harmonica), Worry Dolls playing a more upbeat set than I’d seen them, complete with singalong in the Honky Tonk (interview with the duo here), and The Lone Bellow showing themselves as the perfect late night in downtown Nashville act.

Another ‘name’ of the festival was Una Healy of The Saturdays fame who had since turned her sights on the country genre. She was a decent performer, with her own music like Please Don’t Tell Me as well as covers like Brett Young’s In Case You Didn’t Know and Christy Moore’s Ride On, but I would say that without her background, she would have otherwise have been playing on one of the smaller stages rather than the main stage.

Back on my wanderings, I stumbled across Swedish duo The Dimpker Brothers showing how international country is on the Front Porch, and Ferris & Sylvester again on the tiny stage up in the Showground, part of the site I hadn’t visited yet where they held storytimes around the campfire and a kids park. The duo attracted a good crowd, no doubt many of whom had seen them that morning, playing some of the same songs as that morning as well as a cover of Johnny Cash’s Jackson which sounded great with the female vocals.

I watched Dori Freeman perform again on the Front Porch, the perfect act for that kind of stage. She looked effortlessly bored (in a good way) while performing, with new tracks like I Shall Never Forget the Day and banjo tune Pretty Little Martha. Definitely one to listen to if you’re looking for something different.

An act I knew would be good on the Rhinestone stage was Charlie Worsham, who if you want to know what country music is, this is it. He put on a great set of his catchy country songs like Young To See, Please People Please and Want Me To. His voice ran out across the site, and he to me embraces all that is good about country music. Underrated? Yes. He’s good enough to deserve a lot more credit.

With a bit of a break before the next act, I went to check out the cool Folk Soul Revival on the Front Porch who treated us to proper toe tapping tracks like Ball and Chain, Hot Like Smoke and Chinatown. Now this is proper Nashville bar musi – I’d love to see them on Broadway someday.

We made our way back to the Rhinestone stage for Take Two of Ashley Campbell who once again proved to me that she was the best songwriter at the festival as every song she performed had meaning, from the passive aggressive The Lonely One, the honest Good For You and the relatable Wish I Wanted To. Her insane banjo skills were also very much present on Carl & Ashley’s Breakdown and Classical Gas. Is there anything she can’t do? I for one am already looking forward to her return to the UK!

We had forty-five minutes to kill so I checked out Billy Bragg in the Interstate tent and well…certainly not what I had been expecting from the festival. Billy was very much a political singer with lyrics including “let’s get Boris Johnson sacked.” I very much felt that he had every potential to incite a riot as the whole tent shook as he sang There Is Power in a Union. Certainly a vast change from the rest of the acts at The Long Road!

And with that, we’d come to the final act of the festival, Sunday night headliners The Shires who, along with Ward Thomas, have definitely received the most support within the UK country community. Crissie and Ben certainly are showmen and played songs from their three albums including Beats To Your Rhythm, My Universe, Stay The Night, Friday Night and Accidentally On Purpose.

I liked it when they spoke about the inspiration or process behind certain songs, but thought on certain songs they were trying too hard to be the American country artists they should be – for instance on State Lines with opening lyrics “You always take me by surprise, like when it rains in California…You got a crazy sense of humour, dry as the sands in Arizona” or on Daddy’s Little Girl with lyrics about Old Spice and ‘flat caps on the dash’.

Maybe I’m being cynical, but such overt references to what I think are stereotypical Americanisms are not always necessary, and as one of our premier UK country acts, they should in fact be embracing their Britishness – why not “You always take me by surprise, like when it’s sunny in London”? Regardless, props to them for being good performers and ending the festival on a high.

Final thoughts about The Long Road? I’ll admit it, I’m impressed. This was an inaugural festival, and it was very well done. The setup was impeccable, and the line-up impressive with enough recognisable acts to draw people in, and new acts to make them stay and want to come back. Yes, I believe the festival would have been fantastic had Carrie been the headliner, but that was out of everybody’s control. It only suggests that next year will be even better – I’m already looking forward to it. 

I hope you've enjoyed my roundup of The Long Road Festival! I'll be posting interviews with some of the artists on the blog very soon so make sure you follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry to be the first to know when something is posted - you'll also find my play-by-play Twitter review of the festival here with all the acts summarised in 140 characters or less! If you were at The Long Road or are planning to go next year, drop me a message in the comments below, I'd love to know what you think!