All photos are my own!
https://ciarascountry.blogspot.com/2019/03/concert-review-c2c-country-2-country_27.html
Jimmie Allen will always hold a special place in my heart, being kind enough to record a lovely video message for a friend of mine a few years ago who couldn’t attend his concert. A nice bloke who can sing? Say no more. You just know you’re going to have a good time with Jimmie, and Berlin 2020 was no different, as he swaggered on stage in cowboy hat and long black coat, complete with a big gold medallion for good measure. We heard three of Jimmie’s hits on the livestream, starting off with Make Me Want To - ‘it might be too soon to say I love you, but you’re gonna make me want to’. As Jimmie called out to the crowd, ‘Berlin, how y’all doing out there tonight, baby?’ (only Jimmie Allen can call an entire city ‘baby’), I found myself getting caught up in it, even from home, and it was at this point that I started really wishing that I was there to get caught up in the atmosphere. Not only were Jimmie’s upbeat songs creating a great atmosphere, but he was too, having a good time and spinning around the stage.
He continued with the very nice country love song Best Shot, with the band taking a minute to cut all music and just let Jimmie’s voice shine, getting everyone to put their phone lights up as he sang, ‘I’m not saying that I’m perfect, cause girl you know I’m not, but I’ll love you with everything I’ve got, I’ll give you my best shot’. Jimmie finished with Underdogs, coming into the crowd to finish the song and really proving my point that half of the reason for going to gigs is to interact with the artist, with no-one showing why better than Jimmie Allen. I really want him to succeed.
I can’t say I have much to comment on the next artist Willie Jones, as he just wasn’t my cup of tea (but I sure would be some peoples) – he sang the country/hip-hop infused Back Porch, which whilst not necessarily my style, again highlights well that country is whatever we want it to be – pop, rock, hip-hop, you name it.
https://ciarascountry.blogspot.com/2018/10/concert-review-darius-rucker-royal.html
Time for big act number two next, Darius Rucker, who played everyone’s favourite song Wagon Wheel, which you know, love, and can’t help but sing along to from the very first chord. Darius is such a nice guy (need more proof – check out my interview with him here), and you could really see this on stage as the crowd sang along to every word, highlighting that Darius’s music really is universal. I couldn’t wait to see what other songs we’d hear on the livestream, until the screen changed to the next artist. Excuse me, C2C organisers? You highlight Darius Rucker as one of the three main acts on your livestream, and you’re going to play just one of his songs? Some of the Spotlight artists got even more than that! Get your act together. I was very much enjoying the Berlin highlights show, but honestly, that was such a big let-down I didn’t think I’d recover.
As if to prove my point, the next artist was someone I hadn’t yet heard of, Austin Jenckes, and yet we saw three of his songs versus Darius’s one. Hear me out, I am absolutely not complaining (well, I am about Darius’s lack of songs, but not about hearing three of Austin’s), as Austin was a revelation. He has a phenomenal voice that is a must for any fans of Chris Stapleton and Luke Combs, and shone on his songs Ride Away and If You’d Been Around. After watching the show, I listened to his recorded songs, and don’t say this often, but think he sounds even better live than on record. That last song, If You’d Been Around, was not only full of powerful vocals, but also deep emotion and storytelling with just him and a guitar, but he really didn’t need anything more.
However, nothing could have prepared me for the last song we’d hear from Austin, a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide. I simply wrote in my review notes ‘Yay!’ because it was such a joy to hear, and I don’t think I’d ever heard a male cover of the song before. This was really special, and my highlight of the night so far as his voice completely filled the arena. Austin Jenckes, you’re my one to watch.
https://ciarascountry.blogspot.com/2019/03/concert-review-cmc-rocks-festival-day-1.html
I don’t think I could’ve been happier with the next section either. Aptly titled Introducing Nashville, it was a trio made up of Eric Paslay, Tenille Townes, and Abby Anderson. Like a little storyteller’s circle, the three introduced each other, starting with Abby introducing Tenille to the crowd by saying ‘y’all are about to hear a tornado come out of this girl’s mouth’. She wasn’t wrong, as Tenille launched into Where You Are, singing ‘I’d stand in any ticket line, any mountain I would climb, just to find my way to where you are’. I was enjoying it so much, that one song in and I was already downloading Tenille’s album The Lemonade Stand onto my phone.
https://ciarascountry.blogspot.com/2019/09/concert-review-c2c-country-2-country.html
Tenille followed by introducing Eric with ‘you guys already know who this guy is – he’s one of the kindest and more respected songwriters in Nashville’. I don’t think I’ve ever met Eric, but I know that I agree with Tenille – he has a reputation for being such a nice guy, and also one who writes great music, including the fun Friday Night that he played for us then.
https://ciarascountry.blogspot.com/2019/03/concert-review-c2c-country-2-country_29.html
Next we had the super excited and nervous Abby Anderson, who joked around with the crowd before introducing song Make Him Wait. She explained that she comes from a family of six girls, and it was really important to her parents that they taught all the girls what they’re worth, and so this song was a ‘big shout out to all the ladies in the room, and bigger shout out to all the studs in the room who treat their ladies right’. I think Make Him Wait is a feat of songwriting and really should have been a much bigger hit. As she began to play the keyboard, Abby’s nerves disappeared, her confidence shooting up the moment she started singing. She has a beautiful and soulful voice, and I’d really recommend her to anyone and everyone.
I would definitely also recommend Tenille who said ‘I think I’m gonna stand for this next one, but I’m not much taller when I stand’. She might be pint-sized, but she is a powerhouse, and proved this on Somebody’s Daughter, which tells the story of Tenille seeing a girl holding a sign on the side of the road and wondering what her story was. I really like hearing the inspiration behind songs – again, another great reason to go to gigs rather than just listen to albums and the like. This song was made even lovelier with Abby harmonising in the background – I like artists supporting artists, and think these two make a great team.
The Introducing Nashville section finished with Eric stating ‘if you’re hearts on the edge of breaking, hopefully this one will give you a clean break and help you move on with your life’ – say it louder for the ones in the back! He played She Don’t Love You, a lift your lights up song that was hugely different from Friday Night, and really highlighted that he is not an artist who pigeonholes himself into just party songs or ballads. What a writer, and a really enjoyable part of the show.
We had another Tenille up next, this time Tenille Arts, who started with her song Everybody Knows Everybody. Lyrics like ‘you can’t break up, make up, or make out without everyone knowing’ made me nostalgic for the small town life I never had, and I really liked Tenille’s tonality and range that allowed her to hit the high notes and low notes alike. She then played a song I’d heard before - Somebody Like That – a track not settling until you find someone good enough. Like Austin Jenckes, she sounded incredible live and there were honestly no faults in her performance – definitely another one to watch.
If Lindsay Ell was country’s rocker chick, The Cadillac Three are 100% country’s rocker boys. Their part of the show started with a backing video of three skeletons riding in a convertible before the band themselves came onto the stage raising their beers in the air. I think the trio might have got the highest number of songs in the livestream (I’m still mad they only gave Darius one), as they sang four songs - Hard Out Here For A Country Boy, Slow Rollin, White Lightning and The South. Each song was full of edge, heavy guitars, and rock galore.
Honestly, I think this was a set better viewed from home, and I could only imagine how overpowering the drum and bass would have been in person, given that I could barely hear the vocals from my computer speakers. The Cadillac Three are certainly unique in the genre, and I think were probably needed for the nights events – you can hardly go home without a few party anthems thrown in, can you? They represent country for the outlaws, the rulebreakers, and those who just want to have a good time.
I’ll admit I got a bit confused about the next artist, Kyle Daniel, as we had two performers up on the Spotlight stage. Is Kyle Daniel two people? Was it supposed to say Kyle & Daniel? My research afterwards showed that Kyle Daniel is in fact just one person, but whoever he was joined with also did a great job. Kyle Daniel (and friend) performed God Bless America (Damn Rock N Roll), and think if you’re a fan of Fairground Saints, you’ll like Kyle Daniel too.
https://ciarascountry.blogspot.com/2019/03/concert-review-cmc-rocks-songwriters.html
Time for the final act of the night, and I was kind of hoping that Luke Combs would get a few more songs than Darius Rucker did. Thankfully, such as the case, and he started off with She Got The Best Of Me, sounding exactly as he does on his records. Watching from home gave me a bit more time to dissect the lyrics, and listening to this song made me realise that it’s actually pretty sad, but whether you’d think that just listening to the melody is another story.
We had very much the opposite for the next song, which Luke started off by saying ‘everybody knows that feeling you get when you meet somebody you think might be more than somebody you just met somewhere’. Such was the case with his then-to-be wife, who inspired the next song he played for us, Beautiful Crazy. This was well done, with the gorgeous wedding song style lyrics matched perfectly with beautiful starry night visuals behind Luke.
Luke introduced Hurricane as the song that changed his life in a whole lot of ways, and it made me realise that all Luke has to do is write a song about bad weather to have a hit – Hurricane, When It Rains It Pours? Actually, scratch that – all Luke has to do is write a song to have a hit. You can see he is a man who loves his music, as he closes his eyes and feels the music, letting those powerful vocals that we all know and love do the talking. Luke is a powerhouse and a great choice for any festival anywhere – I just can’t wait to get back and see amazing artists like him soon enough.
I hope you enjoyed my review of the highlights from C2C Berlin! Any artists you would have particularly loved to see? Let me know on Twitter @CiarasCountry, where you can also stay up to date on all the latest music news, whatever I'm listening to at the moment, and of course any more gig and festival reviews! You'll also find me every Friday from 5-8pm on www.ukcountryradio.com - hope you can join me there - thanks so much for reading!
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