Concert Review: C2C COUNTRY 2 COUNTRY 2019 (Day 3), The O2, London

Before you begin, make sure to check out my Day 2 C2C review here! 

You wait 365 days between each C2C festival, and then just like that, you’ve reached the final day already. That’s pretty much how I felt going in for the final day of C2C, but at least I had some exciting acts lined up in the morning to keep me occupied. We started off with Twinnie who immediately woke up the sleepy group with Half Gypsy. Her songwriting style is certainly unique with titles like steel guitar heavy Daddy Issues, Bad Bitch and the Jason Mraz-like Cupid (during which she got the crowd singing along to ‘I hate you Cupid’) and this, coupled with her great voice, made for a very enjoyable show. Definitely an act I’d like to see again, and maybe higher up the bill this time so that more people can enjoy it too!

Next up was Lainey Wilson who immediately identified herself as a proper Southern girl with flared jeans and the coolest cowboy hat I’d ever seen, and this was before we’d even heard her thick Louisiana accent. She was definitely a rock chick as she jammed to Workin’ Overtime and Waste Of Good Whiskey before promising to show us her sassy side during Poor Boy.

I loved the stories she told, including how her grandmother had interestingly inspired a song called Middle Finger, and about a boy who had thought he had broken her heart, forgetting she was the one with the Microphone. Clever lyrics interspersed her songs – I particularly liked Rolling Stone’s lyrics: ‘Like a feather in the wind, I could be gone / No, you don’t give a rock to a rolling stone’ She was certainly about as rocky as they come, but very cool and an awesome songwriter to boot.

The good acts just kept on coming as Abby Anderson took to the stage next, celebrating her 22^nd birthday (I’m only a bit jealous of super-talented people who already have much more success than I could ever dream of at such a young age) The words that immediately sprung to mind as she performed songs like I’m Good and Dance Away My Broken Heart were ‘sweet and sassy’, and she was an utter joy to watch. We toned things down a bit for the emotional This Feeling and With The Radio On, Abby finishing by saying ‘y’all have seen me cry, so we’re family now’. You see what I mean about the sweet part?

I really enjoyed her song Make Him Wait, inspired by the way she was raised, and what I saw to be sort of a comeback to all the bro-country ‘hey girl’ songs currently on the market that do little more than bragging about getting with girls. Abby’s voice was sublime, and I definitely recommend you take a listen to some of her music – that’s what I’m doing as I write this review – as I have no doubt she’ll be as big as the likes of Maren Morris in just a few years.

Speaking of ‘hey girl’, next up was Michael Ray who had the ladies screaming before he’d even opened his mouth. He was undoubtedly a good performer as he worked the stage during Kiss You In The Morning and I’m Gonna Miss You, but ground my gears a bit when he mentioned writing a song that helped him get through a breakup – Her World Or Mine. Having seen and heard Travis Denning talk about co-writing the song with Brett Beavers and Jamie Paulin, it seemed odd to see Michael suggest it had been written about his experiences. Alas and alack. If you like bro-country, Michael might be one for you, but I personally preferred when he broke down this façade during Get To You, and wished we got to see a bit more of this. I did get a sneak peek into his soft side when I asked him what his first dance with fiancée Carly Pearce would be – it’s Jake Owen’s Made For You. Aww.

Spotlight artist Adam Hambrick was up next, and showed just how good he is at writing hit songs as he performed Justin Moore’s Somebody Else Will and a song about how music was the only thing he would let take him away from his family, Country Stars. He winged a lot of the set, which was quite endearing, and made me wonder just how many other hit songs he had hidden away too.

New Big Machine Label Group signee (that’s a big deal) Lauren Jenkins was next on stage, singing songs about loving someone who has a past - Give Up The Ghost ‘Two of us is one too many / Open the door and set her free / Give up the ghost, hold on to me’; some that took 7 months to write - No Saint; and revenge songs about cheating exes – My Bar.

A real surprise was Blood about not knowing how to help someone going through a tough time. It dealt with topics I’d never seen dealt with in songs before – take a look at the lyrics: ‘Ripping all your veins out won’t change a thing / Painting angels black won’t wash away your pain / Dying’s no way to prove we’re not the same / The blood in you is the blood in me’ Whilst very dark, I think songs like this could actually be helpful to those suffering, so was glad Lauren had taken the plunge to do such a thing.

Our final act on this stage was Logan Mize. Frankly, everything was just a bit too loud and I couldn’t really hear what or how well Logan was singing over the bass and drums. From what I could tell, Logan is a connoisseur of party songs as he sang Life’s A Party and Drinkin’ Buddies. Probably an act better suited for this late time in the day rather than say 11am or the like.

I had deemed that evening’s entertainment to be ‘Songwriters Night’ as all the acts on the lineup seemed to fit that bill. First was Drake White who I’ve always thought was a bit too cool for school since he played the Radio 2 stage at C2C two years ago. What can definitely be said about Drake is that he puts his whole self into his performance, making sure we were getting out just as much as he was putting in during songs like Let It Ride and Back To Free.

I didn’t like the way he changed his voice between speaking and singing as some of the words came off just weird – take my interpretation of how he sang Coast Is Clear and listen to it yourself if you don’t believe me: ‘Just go run with the bulls over in Spoyne / Dance buttnekkid in the po’ing rain / Life ain’ta worth livin’ if you do it all the say-ah-ame’ but he was indeed able to hold the crowd just by himself, and I must say that Livin’ The Dream is a damn good song.

Caroline Jones was our first act on the Spotlight stage, and I did find it strange this year that some of the Spotlight artists were not doing full sets themselves, like Caroline and Catherine McGrath, as I would have preferred a thirty minute show on the Radio 2 stage than just the three songs we got here. Caroline’s pure voice rang out during Worth The Wait and Chasing, but I really didn’t think three songs was enough to get to know what she was like.

Ashley McBryde was the act I was most looking forward to out of the four main acts on the Sunday night and she came on stage, understated in her outfit, covered in tattoos and looking very tiny up there. I thought she picked an interesting song to start off with in Living Next To Leroy, as it’s a song about heroin abuse, but I suppose she had to fit it in the set somewhere and this was as good a place as any. This was followed by the Dancing In The Dark-esque El Dorado and Old Jean Jacket before we got into the really good stuff.

First was cheating or love song (you decide) American Scandal which just has some great lyrics and a catchy melody; the hugely fun Fat and Famous, written for her high school reunion – the reactions of which I would love to have seen as she sang ‘You got fat, I got famous’; and one of the most satisfying songs around, Girl Goin’ Nowhere. As expected, the crowd as we got to ‘I hear the crowd / I look around / And I can’t find an empty chair / Not bad for a girl goin’ nowhere’.

For someone who had been completely off our radar just a year ago, to have that kind of reaction from a crowd who truly was happy that Ashley is able to sing words like that is pretty incredible, as is the fact that she had the highest selling debut album of any artist in 2018, which she casually slipped into conversation. Damn good songs and a damn good singer – what more could you want?

One of the best acts in UK country music, The Wandering Hearts were next on the Spotlight stage to perform to perform Fire And Water and Devil (tell me you don’t hear One Republic’s Counting Stars when you listen to that song) – dedicated fans screaming every word back at them as they sang. They really are good, and I wish they were an even bigger deal in the UK than they currently are.

Next was the ‘Legends slot’ of C2C, which can either be a hit of a miss for me. I’ve spent most of my career as a broadcaster and blogger trying to get people to drop the ‘and Western’ from ‘Country’ and convince them that today’s country is not the same as it used to be, so trad country is just not the stuff that I listen to. Filling the slot this time was Lyle Lovett, who had some songs with very amusing titles and lyrics – Cute As A Bug, Pants Are Overrated (it was a different time when this was written), and If I Had A Boat - see lyrics: ‘And if I had a boat / I’d go out on the ocean / And if I had a pony / I’d ride him on my boat / And we could all together / Go out on the ocean / I said me upon my pony on my boat’ – who comes up with this kind of stuff?

Having been performing for forty years now, his vocals were what you would expect from an older performer, but a real surprise came from his backing singer Francine Reed, who really should’ve had her own set for the lungs on her. Man, that woman could sing! If you’ve read my Day 1 and Day 2 reviews, you’ll know that an important element of a festival for me is the ability to sing and dance along to the acts, and Lyle’s music just didn’t fit that – Royal Albert Hall solo concert maybe, but not C2C.

Last up on the Spotlight stage was Jimmie Allen, who unfortunately didn’t invite Abby Anderson back to sing Shallow with him again (to be honest, we definitely all could have heard that again), but performed some of his hits American Heartbreaker, Make Me Want To and of course, Best Shot. I thought he was an interesting fit for Songwriters Night, as unlike Caroline and The Wandering Hearts, I would have put Jimmie less in the specifically songwriter section and more in the pop section, which would have fit better on other days. I’m sure there was some method to it, and it was an enjoyable mini-set nonetheless.

The big act of the night, and indeed of the weekend for many people, was Chris Stapleton. He performed songs both from his latest works From A Room: Volumes 1 & 2 as well as debut album Traveller, and I noticed those from Traveller like Nobody To Blame and Fire Away got a heck of a lot more people singing than his more recent songs did, the exception being Broken Halos, which really is just a great song.

There was a total of three people on stage – a drummer, Chris and his guitar, and his heavily pregnant wife who supported him by singing backup on some songs – and nothing but coloured lights and the big screens projecting what was happening on stage. Some might argue that nothing more was needed, that Chris’ vocals were enough to carry the whole show (and I’d be stupid to say that his vocals aren’t incredible) but I personally could’ve done with more. Props, pyro, dancing, videos, funky shapes on the screens, more engagement with the crowd, whatever – I just found it hard to hold my concentration when nothing but the song being sung changed (sorry!)

I think this all goes back to my definition of a good festival – being constantly entertained, whether that be by singing and dancing yourself, or watching someone put on a hell of a good show. Don’t get me wrong, Chris has some brilliant songs, many of which we got to hear – Whiskey And You, More Of You, Traveller, Parachute, but to be honest, this was the night out of the three that I could have happily missed, and that’s based on the whole evening’s lineup – that’s the problem with getting your tickets before the line-up is announced. But, if all you’re after is great vocalists, then this would definitely have been the night for you.

To conclude, yes, I did enjoy my weekend at C2C, but I have to be honest in saying that it was one of the less enjoyable of my seven years attending the festival. This is almost all down to the lineup – I think out of everyone playing on the Main stage, there were two acts that I actually wanted to see (Keith Urban and Dustin Lynch), most of the others were repeats, or people I hadn’t heard of and thus assumed they weren’t big or popular enough to be playing the Main stage.

Nonetheless, there were definitely some clear highlights – I loved discovering Fairground Saints, Travis Denning, Runaway June, and Abby Anderson; and Cam, Dustin Lynch, Catherine McGrath, Lady Antebellum, and Keith Urban all put on fantastic sets (minus #guitargate). I’m excited to see who’s on the lineup next year – let’s hope for some new big names (Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Jon Pardi maybe?), some welcome returners who haven’t played for a few years (Maddie & Tae, Dierks Bentley?) and even more great new acts – we’ll just have to wait and see.

I hope you enjoyed today's review! Make sure to leave me a message in the comments and follow me on Twitter @CiarasCountry for even more reviews and interviews coming soon - thanks for reading!