*Make sure to check out my Day 2 review of C2C here first!*
Just like that, it was already the final day of C2C Country 2 Country. I returned to the O2 bright and early to catch the first of the acts on the BBC Introducing stage – Walker County. Previously highlighted as one of the featured female acts on my show, this sister duo were performers I was interested to see live. The first slot of the day is never an easy one, but they strolled confidently on in phenomenal sparkly outfits. Sophie took to the drums, and Ivy to guitar (and we later found out dad was on backing guitar!) and they launched into the fun and rocky Shovel. Both girls were amicable and engaging as they continued with Someone’s Someone, Between Boyfriends, and ballad Drag It Out. I loved their cover of Heart’s Alone, and how they indulged a fan request to play The Hamptons, a song about remembering where you come from and the people that made you. My favourite part? When Sophie came down to sing in the same microphone as Ivy for Bits & Pieces – a sisterly bond that will never be broken.
Up next, Callie Twisselman, whose music I can only describe as being the country counterpart to those ‘Christian Girl Autumn’ memes. She kicked off with Two Hands: ‘I might be a handful, that’s why you’ve got two hands’, title track of her 2021 project Closure, and a song ‘for all the boys who make it easy to love’, Easy Boy. Most of her songs seemed to be sweet and sugary, which fit Callie’s persona well, as she cooed in her soft voice, dressed in sparkly boots and a vintage Dolly tee. We had a song about loving 'hot country boys', Cowboy, and even one which she’d made for the My Little Pony soundtrack (you see what I mean about sweet and sugary?) called Together, but it was the songs that provided something different that I enjoyed the most - Nothing Out Here, about growing up in a small town, and Missing You, about the fact that just because you wish someone well doesn’t mean you don’t still miss them. Not my favourite act of the festival, but some good, clean fun.
I knew most of the names on the indigo2 lineup, but one artist I didn’t know much about was Tim Hicks, a name I sure am glad to know about now. If you’ve read some of my reviews of the BBC Radio 2 stage acts, you’ll know I prefer the ones with less production, so seeing just Tim and his guitarist come on stage already had him in my good books. He began with the gruff and gritty Get By, a song which had me thinking he was very Eric Church-like. We continued with Loud, a song that was just as effective without a full band, and perhaps even more enjoyable, as you could actually hear what the artist was singing. We got to see his vulnerable side with Whiskey Does and Horses And Hearts, both of which had some great lyrics: ‘You wanna make me fall again, get me drunk when you kiss my lips…you wanna make me late for work, make me forget how bad love hurts. Well baby, I got news for you: whiskey does that too’, and ‘Horses and hearts, they ain’t made to be broken, they should be runnin’ wide open against the wind’.
We also got to see his fun side, and Tim joked around with the audience too, acknowledging that country songs about trucks aren’t allowed these days (I agree), which is why he wrote a song called No Truck Song. Seeing him and his guitarist have fun on stage really translated to the audience and we got such a treat when he began Stronger Beer, a song about the differences between the US and his home country of Canada. Towards the end of the song, he told us he’d been working on a special verse about the UK, just for us, and it was great – head to my Twitter @CiarasCountry for the full video! Tim finished with a song that I was sure all of us could relate to after being away from live music for so long – What A Song Should Do. Thanks Tim, I’d like to see you back again real soon!
I feel pretty lucky that I’m able to say that I’ve seen most of my favourite artists live at one point or another, but up until C2C, one artist definitely missing from that list was Tenille Arts. She’d been such a big part of my pandemic playlist, so I was ready to sing every word to all of her songs the minute she stepped on the stage. Tenille had such incredible vocals from the very first note, and I tell no lie when I say she maintained this level of talent throughout her entire set. We began with Girl To Girl, an empowering song about body image. This led nicely into That’s My Friend You’re Talking About, about how hard it is to say nice things to ourselves even when we’ll easily say them to a friend. Two of my top songs came up next in Give It To Me Straight and Growing Old Young, about the things that make us grow up too soon: ‘The thing about growing old young, you fast-forward through the innocent stuff, you cut straight to the fallin’ out of love and thinkin’ maybe you’ll never be enough, cause you’ve never kissed a boy but your heart’s in two, never had a drink but you know what it can do, never got to see the world before yours came undone, that’s growing old young.’
I was already having the time of my life during Tenille’s set, and the best was yet to come. She provided hands down the best cover of the entire festival with The Chicks’ Wide Open Spaces and completely blew me away with I Hate This. It’s a good song on the record, but it is extraordinary live – probably my favourite live song of all of C2C. Sounding even better than her record seemed to be a theme, as such was the case for Back Then, Right Now, and her first #1 song (and the first all-female team to do that) Somebody Like That. Tenille will be returning to the UK later this year to tour, so if you haven’t got your tickets already, go buy them now!
I had the privilege of watching another of my former interviewees up next on the indigo2 stage, Twinnie. Sporting one of the sparkliest outfits of the festival (and that was saying something), Twinnie joined us with a full band, starting off with That Type Of Girl, and my favourite of her songs, Daddy Issues with its old-style honky tonk melody and clever lyrics: ‘Why do good, good women stay with bad, bad men? It’s all sunshine and roses til you say boyfriend, then they go changing…don’t know about you, but I didn’t choose my daddy issues’. These were followed by current charity single I Know A Woman and the story of her life, Hollywood Gypsy where she sang about going ‘from The Shambles to the Boulevard of Broken Dreams’.
One Heart became my new favourite – very well written and with heart-wrenching lyrics ‘It only takes one look to fall in love, it only took two lips to say too much, but I never knew it only takes one heart to break two’, this song was a stand-out above Twinnie’s usual fun and upbeat songs. We ended with a trio of fun songs including Welcome To The Club, a slowed down version of Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and arguably her biggest song to date (that’s only because you haven’t all listened to One Heart yet), Better When I’m Drunk. She’s a fun performer, and I have no doubt that energy will bring her far.
The next performer was a mystery – simply an empty slot with the words ‘Surprise Guest’ in it. Being a C2C aficionado, I had a pretty good idea as to who it might be, and my suspicions were confirmed when UK country’s favourites The Shires entered the stage (my other guess was Ward Thomas). I’ve never felt particularly strongly about The Shires before, but the first thing I wrote in my review book was how clear and strong Crissie’s vocals sounded on first song Lightning Strikes, and how much I liked the song. We were off to a good start, and it continued that way – the duo played songs from latest album like Cut Me Loose and Bar Without You, written with Eric Paslay and Jennifer Wayne. Things got slightly spooky and sad for Plot Twist before a mix of quiet and loud with I See Stars. An extra surprise guest appeared on stage for Wild Hearts – ‘This Morning’s Josie Gibson bashing around on a tambourine – before we ended with an oldie but a goodie, Guilty. The Shires were much better than I remember, and I think I can finally call myself a Shires fan. Who would’ve thought?
The final act on Sunday’s BBC Radio 2 stage, and the last act I would see in the indigo2 was King Calaway. Again, I was pleased that they were one of the rare acts I was unfamiliar with before (this was the ‘Introducing’ stage, after all), and my gosh, did they bring the party. My seat was shaking from the bass as they began with Good Time To Me and a cover of The Eagles’ Take It Easy. The four members, two of whom are from the States, and one from Gibraltar (I’d love to get their origin story) were all charismatic, and their songs all enjoyable. We head-bobbed along to Homegrown and got in our feelings for the Ed Sheeran-style World For Two which it’s beautiful bass guitar. Hometown Night had me feeling like I was at a Lanco or LOCASH concert, and We Need More People, about being kind to one another, gave off extreme BandAid vibes. A spooky version of Jolene, of which I definitely need a full cover, turned into Heartbreaker, before we finished with fun summer song Feeling Good. Not bad at all.
Somehow the arena seemed even busier than on previous nights, but that was only good news as it meant we all got the privilege of seeing Hailey Whitters as the first of Sunday’s main stage acts. Looking like a ray of sunshine in yellow shirt and denim skirt with corn embellishment (‘The corn skirt has gone international!’ she gleefully exclaimed), Hailey was ready to put on a show. Like Breland, Hailey is big on collabs, so we got songs like Fillin’ My Cup (with Little Big Town) and How Far Can It Go? (with Trisha Yearwood) along with songs from her debut album like the advice-filled Janice At The Hotel Bar and love song to her hometown, Heartland.
We also got a peek into her then-soon-to-be-released album Raised with song Everything She Ain’t: ‘The whiskey in your soda, the lime to your Corona, shotgun in your Tacoma, the Audrey to your Hank. She’s got a little style and a Hollywood smile, but believe me, honey, good as money in the bank, I’m everything she is and everything she ain’t’. Personally, I think Hailey is still a bit too fresh to be considered main stage material, particularly when compared to some of the other acts we’d seen on the smaller stages or in Introducing Nashville, like Tenille Arts, Matt Stell, or Morgan Wade, who for me would’ve been a better fit for headlining acts. Nonetheless, she gave us a great dose of cutesy country to kick off the evening’s events.
An artist I can’t wait to see on the main stage before too long was up next on the Spotlight: Avery Anna. Acknowledging what a big deal it was for her to be playing any of the O2’s stage, she endeared us all with the sentiment ‘A year ago, I was singing on TikTok and now I’m in London’ (and hopefully with a full European tour next year, eh?) Avery’s selection of songs was well-chosen: Just Cause I Love You, the medley of songs she grew up on including Ring Of Fire, Forever and Ever, Amen, and Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?, and new single Narcissist. I kid you not when I tell you you could have heard a pin drop in the arena, as everyone listened to her old-school vocals. What a delight.
Festivals for me are all about discovery, and some of my favourite parts are when I get to experience an act I haven’t heard of before. Such was the case of Flatland Cavalry, a six-piece country and Americana band from Texas (and with a lead singer who looks like Dustin from Stranger Things older brother). They were very Midland-y, with old style honky tonk songs like Some Things Never Change, A Cowboy Knows How, and You’re The One I Want. Without a doubt the most traditional country I’d heard all weekend, it was an interesting change from the very much crossover-country we’d had throughout the rest of the festival. Each of their songs were full of musicality and multiple instruments, plus a lot of heart too (their motto, after all, is ‘easy on the ears, heavy on the heart’) We got songs written for hard-working parents, Getting By, and those written for true loves, A Life Where We Work Out, during which lead singer Cleto Cordero invited his wife Kaitlin Butts to join them onstage – cute. Of course, it wouldn’t be a traditional country set without a cover of John Denver’s Country Roads, which had the audience on their feet. An interesting addition to the C2C lineup.
I don’t think I’ll ever forgive the C2C organisers for this one – having one of my favourite artists play only the Spotlight stage but not the indigo2 (well, they did, but only for one of the after parties). As such, many C2C attendees will only have gotten to see Aussie duo (and Ciara’s Country former interviewees) Seaforth for three songs, and for that I’m sorry. Nonetheless, any Seaforth song is a good one, and we kind of got three and a half songs, as first song Anything She Says was mashed with The Jackson 5’s I Want You Back. This was followed by Breakups and latest single with Jordan Davis, Good Beer. I won’t lie, I would’ve loved to have heard Everything Falls For You too, but maybe it’s a good thing they kept my wedding song secret for me. More Seaforth soon, please!
The reason why The O2 felt fuller than usual may have been revealed in the final few acts to take to the stage. First up, Ashley McBryde. No-one knew what to expect when Ashley made her C2C debut back in 2018, but now we know just how incredible she is, and it seemed like the last few years had only enabled Ashley to hone her skills. She started with Martha Divine. My first review notes? ‘What a voice’. In fact, it was hard for me to keep writing notes, because all I wanted to do was give my full attention to Ashley as she continued to wow us with Radioland and Hang In There Girl. Having made such a strong start, ‘Hi’ was all Ashley needed to say in greeting for the crowd to go wild. Every single song was so easy to sing and dance to that I couldn’t help but think that it was this that is what festivals are exactly about – having the time of your life to the best music this generation has to offer. We carried on through El Dorado and a sneak peek at record three (which she confirmed is officially finished!) with a great song called Women Ain’t Whiskey: ‘You can’t just quit me, when you get lonely, come pick me back up’. I can’t wait to hear that one on the album.
Ashley gazed out at her adoring fans and said ‘when you let young folks come to shows, it puts in their hearts that they can stand right here too, and that’s what I want them to know’. Enter, Girl Goin’ Nowhere, probably one of the best country songs to have been written this decade: ‘When the lights come up and I hear the band, and where they said I’d never be is exactly where I am. I heard the crowd, I look around, and I can’t find an empty chair. Not bad for a girl goin’ nowhere.’ Never had that been more true than in the sold-out O2 that night. Impressive lyrics contined with Lookin’ For A Buzz and her duet with Carly Pearce, Never Wanted To Be That Girl, where we see the two women involved with a cheating man. Things took a rocky turn for Never Will and Voodoo Doll, before Ashley put her whole heart into the first song she had on country radio, A Little Dive Bar In Dahlonega (try saying that one five times fast). We kept on getting turned up with Living Next To Leroy, Midnight Rider and Tired Of Being Happy, before the one sad slow song in her set, Sparrow. It may have been about missing home, but Ashley assured us there was nowhere else she’d rather be. To finish, latest hit, and my current favourite, One Night Standards. Did I expect Ashley McBryde to end up being one of my favourite artists from all of C2C? No. Was she? You damn well bet she was.
Another overall favourite was without a doubt Tenille Arts, who returned to the Spotlight stage with an incredible sparkly outfit and guitar. I was enraptured as she performed the even-better-live version of I Hate This, Back Then, Right Now, and Somebody Like That. A real highlight of the festival, and an artist I cannot recommend you see live enough.
And so we came to the final act of C2C 2022, and someone who had gone from performing to a small audience at the CMA Songwriters Circle at C2C 2018 to headlining Day 3 in 2022, Luke Combs. My eardrums almost burst from the cheers that erupted as Luke appeared and sang When It Rains, It Pours followed by 1, 2 Many (during which he shotgunned a beer because, why not) I wonder what Luke’s like in person, because his onstage persona is something else entirely, as he roared through Never Met You and Cold As You, kicking beers into the crowd and firing up the audience. Now I wasn’t quite aware of just how sudden Luke’s turn to stardom had been, as he told us the story of only taking his first flight at age 25 (he’s 32 now) after he’d signed his record deal. He’d just met the girl of his dreams when he took that flight to Texas which subsequently inspired his song about missing her, Houston, We Got A Problem (I like stories like that).
In fact, this is the part of the show where party Luke took a backseat and heartfelt Luke came out to play. Refrigerator Door, with real visuals of important people and times in Luke’s life, preceded Doin’ This, the song that revealed that even if he wasn’t on stage performing for thousands of people, he’d still be doing this. We got one of the songs Luke is most proud of, Even Though I’m Leaving, and the song he wrote about proposing, Better Together, during which I believe a couple in the crowd really did get engaged. Luke let his band take a breather as he performed new song Five Leaf Clover, before inviting someone new to the stage – none other than Ed Sheeran. Now that was a surprise indeed. The two of them performed Ed’s song Dive in a moment that I hope will encourage non-country fans to give the genre a listen – I mean, if Ed likes it, why shouldn’t they?
We had yet another rendition of Travis Tritt’s A Great Day To Be Alive mashed up with Tim McGraw’s I Like It, I Love It, before a selection of Luke’s own hits, including Does To Me, Lovin’ On You, Brand New Man, Beautiful Crazy, and a song he wrote in 2011 that he never thought anyone would hear, She Got The Best Of Me. Finishing the main part of his set with Hurricane, Luke left the stage before returning for an encore of Forever After All and Beer Never Broke My Heart. Half party, half vulnerable, all powerful. Quite the show from Luke Combs, and a night to remember indeed.
It’s still hard to believe that another year of C2C is already in the books! As for my top 3 acts of Day 3, in no particular order: Tenille Arts, The Shires and Ashley McBryde. Until next time, C2C!
I hope you enjoyed my C2C Country 2 Country reviews! If you did, do drop me a message in the comments below or on Twitter @CiarasCountry, letting me know which artist you were most excited to see/read about, and who you’d like to see at C2C 2023. Don’t forget you can tune in to my radio show ‘Ciara’s Country’ every Friday from 5-8pm UK on www.ukcountryradio.com, and I’ll be posting some C2C artist interviews very soon – thanks so much for reading!
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