2023 was a very special year for C2C Country 2 Country. Being the tenth anniversary (and my tenth time attending!), expectations were extremely high in terms of the quality of the acts, organisation, and scale of the festival. Were they met? Read on to find out!
My C2C started on Friday, in the BBC Radio 2 stage. The ‘second stage’ of the festival, this is where up-and-coming acts show off their skills, and has been the setting for me to discover some of my favourite country artists across the years, from Abby Anderson to Maren Morris and Avery Anna. I hoped this year’s lineup would impress too!
First up was Nate Smith, a name mentioned by many of my interviewees as one to watch. Apparently I wasn’t the only one looking forward to seeing Nate, as the Indigo2 was busier than I’d ever seen it for Day 1 of C2C in all my years attending. Nate made an understated entrance – dressed in all black, he greeted the crowd with a simple ‘What’s up?’ before launching straight into Sleeve, and that was enough to have me enthralled.
With stunning vocals, he sounded even better than on his records, and I found myself feeling sorry for anyone who would have to follow such an incredible vocalist! He continued with love song Under My Skin and Better Boy, before sharing a stripped-back version of I Don’t Wanna Go To Heaven. An emotional set, Nate ended by kicking it up a notch with the energetic Whiskey On You. What a way to start the weekend!
From emotional to fun, next was Ashley Cooke, who got us feeling good with songs like getting into, one about her self-proclaimed ‘poor taste in men’ called dirt on ‘em, and a song about that one person you always want to go back to – running back. She took a moment to thank the crowd for their respectfulness, appreciating that UK crowds actually listen to the music rather than talk over it.
Continuing with back in the saddle about entering the dating pool again, we then had an unreleased song called The State I’m In from her upcoming project. About chasing a dream, this was a beautiful song sung with crystal clear vocals, and the absolute highlight of Ashley’s set for me. We ended with two of her most successful songs – one she wrote as a kind of journal entry that ended up going viral – it’s been a year – and her popular track with Brett Young, Never Til Now.
One of my favourite things about festivals like C2C is discovering new artists, and Drake Milligan was a name I wasn’t too familiar with. With a more traditional sound, his style isn’t the type to usually end up on my playlists, but after seeing him perform live, it certainly will be. Unlike the first two acts, Drake was joined by a full band which definitely took his performance to the next level.
All of his songs were so much fun, from the cheeky Sounds Like Something I’d Do to drinking songs Tipping Point and Over Drinkin’ Under Thinkin’ and cutesy Hating Everything She Tries On. These were only made even more enjoyable by Drake’s energy. Moving around the stage like he owned it, Drake reminded me so much of Elvis – if he’d been chosen to play the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll in Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 flick, I have no doubt he would have taken home the Oscar. As if bringing my wish to life, the next song he played was Blue Suede Shoes, and it’s no exaggeration to say this is the moment I fell head-over-heels in love with Drake Milligan.
Drake ended with the honky-tonk style Goin’ Down Swingin’, Long Haul and Kiss Goodbye All Night. He had absolutely brought Nashville to us, and is an act I would 100% go see time and time again. If this man isn’t playing the C2C Main Stage in a year or two, I’ll be very much surprised.
We headed back into familiar territory with next act MacKenzie Porter, whose country-pop style is definitely up my street. Perched on a stool with just herself, a guitar, and guitarist to her left, MacKenzie shared her songs and the stories behind them. We started with These Days and a heartbreaking song about seeing your ex with somebody new, Seeing Other People as well as one from her upcoming record called Walk Away. She certainly required no help in keeping the audience’s attention, with spectacular vocals that filled the venue.
Her guitarist helped her out on a song she’d recorded with Dallas Smith called One Too before she played one the crowd had been clamouring for – Pickup, and upbeat track about wondering who your ex’s pickup truck is picking up now. I loved hearing the behind-the-scenes stories of these songs, including finding out that Pickup had originally been pitched to Carrie Underwood. We’re all pleased that it was MacKenzie who ended up recording it!
She treated us to a mash-up of the songs that made her – Deana Carter’s Strawberry Wine (keep your eyes peeled for this song – it made a number of appearances throughout the weekend!), a nod to her Canadian heritage with Avril Lavigne’s Complicated, TLC’s No Scrubs, and Sheryl Crow’s If It Makes You Happy. Of course, she couldn’t leave us without her most popular song – her duet with Dustin Lynch, Thinking ‘Bout You which was a real treat. This might be her most successful song to date, but I’m sure there’s plenty more where that came from.
That was it for our Friday mini-stage acts, but there was still plenty to come from the Main Stage later that evening – stay tuned to @CiarasCountry for more!
Drake played Elvis at a young age at a school talent show and that is how all of this started. He DID play Elvis in a short series called Sun Records CMT. Should be able to go find that to watch. He would have done a much better job than the guy played Elvis in the recent movie and yes he would have won an Oscar.
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