It is easy to forget that Ingrid Andress started off as a songwriter rather than performer, given the electricity of the onstage presence that she has exhibited in recent years. It’s been nearly four years since her last London headline show at The Courtyard. That performance barely scratched the surface of her potential, paling in comparison to the emotional heft of her studio albums. Andress rewrote that score on Thursday with her emotional, vulnerable and intimate performance at Scala. Her performance was a masterclass in building a connection with her audience, yet still showcasing her star power.

The record balanced pretty evenly between her debut album and her latest record – Good Person – kicking off with the title track. Easy early highlights were provided by the boppy, summery ‘Waste of Lime’ that had the audience hollering back every word and ‘How Honest Do You Want Me To Be?,’ before she delved into her ‘sad girl moments’ of the set with acoustic stripped back versions of ‘More Hearts Than Mine’ and ‘Yearbook.’ Here, Andress has an unparalleled ability to pour emotion and vulnerability into the songs that she has covered countless times to date, making them seem like she is speaking her emotions into words for the very first time.

The real star moment of the show was provided about 2/3 of the way through the show, where Andress and her band demonstrated the depth of their musicianship, drawing out two audience requests from the back catalogue, that were neither in the set list or a readily available arrangement – ‘Pain’ and (to the audience’s delight) ‘Bad Advice.’ It was an undeniable mark of the pull she has with her fans that two songs were so keenly desired and of her musicality and likeability in not turning down the requests, creating a magical and memorable moment for all in attendance.

Andress is a captivating performer, who showed in every moment on stage, just how much she relishes and enjoys being there. It was a joyous, cathartic set that she put on display in Scala, which will doubtless have to be translated into far less intimate settings as her star grows and packs out larger venues.

Setlist

Good Person | Seeing Someone Else | How Honest Do You Want Me To Be? | Waste of Lime | Both | Treated Me Good | Boys | Lady Like | More Hearts Than Mine | Yearbook | Talk | Life of the Party | Falling For You | Pain | Bad Advice | Wishful Drinking | Feel Like This | Blue

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Thomas Rhett is a born entertainer. It is perhaps easy to forget just how many hits he has delivered over the course of his career, given his humility and the way he carries himself (even recording a message for his children live on stage at the arena), yet at the O2 in London during C2C Festival, Rhett showcased just why he is so deserving of his headliner status. From his opener, ‘Craving You,’ Rhett captivated his audience, holding his fans in the palm of his hand for the entirety of his set until the last bars of ‘What’s Your Country Song?’ The true mark of his talent – his ability to energise the crowds in the larger numbers (T-Shirt / Ain’t Nothing That A Beer Can’t Fix), yet seemingly shrink the crowd and provide an intimate moments on quieter songs (Slow Down Summer / Marry Me.

Across the course of 90 minutes, Rhett performed hit after hit, rounding out his sound with some stronger guitar work – from steel to acoustic – and some quieter piano moments. Rhett hardly missed a beat as he pivoted between emotions, moods and sounds, thriving on the responsive audience that were hanging on his every word. Easy highlights were provided on his huge cover of ‘She Had Me at Heads Carolina,’ that he co-wrote with Ashley Gorley (recorded by Cole Swindell), and his pivots into some of his earlier hits, including ‘Crash and Burn’ and ‘Get Me Some of That,’ before an acoustic performance of a new track ‘Feeling Country,’ delivered with ease. Without a doubt though, one of the most emotional moments was on his love letter to his wife Lauren – ‘Angels,’ a gorgeously, authentic and powerful moment. Mid-set, Thomas Rhett was joined by friend Niall Horan for a rendition of his track ‘Slow Hands,’ where (apologies to any 1D fans), Rhett dominated the stage and Horan’s star paled in comparison.

Friday showed the extent to which Thomas Rhett is revered by his UK fans, turning the O2 into a honkytonk dive bar party. What an astonishing show and credit to the festival for knowing their fanbase.

Set List

Craving You

Look What God Gave Her

Half of Me

Life Changes

Slow Down Summer

Make Me Wanna

Marry Me

Get Me Some of That / It Goes Like This

Vacation

Paradise

Slow Hands (with Niall Horan)

Beer Can’t Fix

Angels

She Had Me at Heads Carolina

Die a Happy Man

Feelin’ Country

Country Again

Unforgettable

Sixteen

Crash and Burn

T Shirt

What’s Your Country Song

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UK country fans are loyal. If a US artist shows their dedication to the UK fanbase at the start of the career and keeps coming back, they will be ride and die fans for that artist. Lainey Wilson has laid out a roadmap for other artists, much like Kip Moore and Cam. That dedication alone – to say nothing of her CMA wins and successes – earned Lainey her spot on the main stage (it’s a travesty she wasn’t second on the bill). Even despite losing her voice earlier in the week, Wilson delivered one of the most exhilarating performances of the weekend, with a hefty part of the setlist taken from tracks from her most recent album, Bell Bottom Country.

Lainey kicked off her set though with ‘LA,’ taken from her debut album – a gorgeous introduction to her amped up set, where her studio albums were kicked up a notch with the help of her band. It was a mark of her true showmanship that Lainey did not miss a beat throughout the set, even hitting the notes of her hit track ‘Heart Like A Truck.’ Wilson, more than anything, exhibited her vocal chops – even despite her illness – her signature twang married with an absolutely huge vocal that is simply astonishing in its live rendition.

It was a true marker for her UK fanbase of how far Lainey has come since performing at Bush Hall, to become one of the most exciting country stars of the moment. It seems inevitable that soon it will be her name topping the bill at C2C and we can’t wait for that set.

Setlist

LA

Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo (cover of Rick Derringer)

Smell Like Smoke

Watermelon Moonshine

Hold My Halo

Mr. Big Stuff (cover of Jean Knight)

Wildflowers and Wild Horses 

Wait in the Truck / Heart Like a Truck

Rolling Stone

What’s Up? (cover of 4 Non Blondes)

Things a Man Oughta Know

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Following the release of her transcendent new project – Mountain With a View – Kelsea Ballerini took to the stage in London at O2’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire. Having always been an assured and confident performer, this performance in London delivered something even greater. Over the past year, since the release of her SUBJECT TO CHANGE record and this subsequent EP, Ballerini has tapped into herself, delivering a more mature and vulnerable performance that enables her to access a deeper connection with her audience. Nowhere was this more evident than in this set in London. Over the course of 20 songs, she gave the audience her heart, from the vulnerability of the encore performance of ‘Leave Me Again’ to the the charisma and energy ‘You’re Drunk, Go Home,’ Ballerini demonstrated the depths of her abilities as a stalwart performer.

Doubtless, the performances of her new tracks, ‘Penthouse’ and ‘Leave Me Again’ were the easy standouts of the set that left her audience spellbound and emotional – Ballerini showed both her vocal capabilities and her easy ability to relate to her fans – but her cover of The Chicks’ ‘Cowboy Take Me Away’ and of ‘This Feeling’ acted to show her capacity to bridge both country and pop. More than anything, the set was a delight, showing an artist on the cusp of super stardom.

1. SUBJECT TO CHANGE
2. THE LITTLE THINGS
3. HEARTFIRST
4. Love Me Like You Mean It / Dibs / Yeah Boy
5. LOVE IS A COWBOY / Cowboy Take Me Away (cover)
6. half of my hometown
7. IF YOU GO DOWN
8. hole in the bottle
9. YOU’RE DRUNK, GO HOME
10. Homecoming Queen
11. This Feeling
12. UNIVERSE
13. WEATHER
14. Penthouse
15. Peter Pan
16. I GUESS THEY CALL IT FALLIN’
17. Leave Me Again
18. MUSCLE MEMORY
19. Miss Me More
20. DOIN’ MY BEST

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Classic California rock legends The Eagles made their hotly-anticipated return to London with a mesmerising performance last night at BST Hyde Park. The band performed a rich and diverse swathe of hits from their enormous back catalogue and the whole set had more gravitas with the hint that this may be their last British tour.

The Eagles set followed fantastic performances from bluegrass heavyweights Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, a flawless set from Cam and a harmony-heavy if somewhat underwhelming performance by country superstars Little Big Town. Legendary country singer-songwriter Vince Gill joined the Californian band on stage to round out the line-up and Deacon Frey (late founder Glenn Frey’s son) rounded out the line-up for two songs from the set. From the off, the band promised to provide a holiday from normal life, and across their two hour set, they delivered just that as the sun set on a glorious London evening. There was much to delight in their set, for their newest and oldest fans alike, from the honky-tonky infused ‘Heartache Tonight’ to their perennial classics ‘Desperado,’ ‘Take It Easy’ and ‘Hotel California’ to the heavier rock tracks such as ‘Victim of Love’ and experimental ‘Funk #49.’ The band have a timeless and genre less quality, with their hits drenched in the kind of nostalgia that is compelling to generations, both in the melancholic tracks (‘Best of My Love’) to their upbeat material (‘Take It to The Limit’). More than anything, the band more proved their inherent musicality, with insane guitar solos, coupled with stunningly experimental instrumentation and crowd-pleasing intricate harmonies. They’re a band who understand their audience and this was proven with abundance on Sunday night.

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 On Saturday night, The Rolling Stones returned to BST Hyde Park after nine years to headline The Great Oak stage, as part of their ‘Sixty’ tour across Europe. The legendary rock icons performed an electric set list comprising all their most-loved hits, from ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ to ‘Paint It Black,’ showing no signs of stopping any time soon. Their set followed the support acts, Phoebe Bridgers and The War on Drugs, who delivered similarly enthralling performances, wetting fan’s appetites for the main event. The band burst onto the stage, following a tribute to their renowned drummer Charlie Watts – who passed away in August 2021, this marking their first tour without him – kicking their set off with ‘Street Fighting Man.’ Jagger, at 79, shows no signs of stopping, dancing around with an awe-inspiring and infectious energy and trademark swagger.

Across the two hour set, the band did not pause for breath, moving seamlessly between their biggest hits and demonstrating just why they continue to invoke a breathless fandom and legendary status around them.

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Brett Eldredge has long stood as a fan favourite amongst UK country fans. Every trip he takes to the UK is lauded and his audiences continue to grow, most fans unable to miss another show given the energy of his live set. His performance at O2 Kentish Town did not disappoint in the slightest, running the gamut from a taster of the new music to come from his forthcoming record Songs About You to the well-worn classics, from ‘Beat of the Music’ to ‘Don’t Ya.’

As ever Eldredge has an immense ease and easy stage presence, making his performance seem easy from the rock-tinged ‘I Feel Fine’ to the stripped-back, acoustic moment on ‘The Long Way’ – hearing the latter in a way that we have never heard it before. Easy highlights were the sensational new material – the gospel-tinged ‘Holy Water’ and the whiskey-imbued ‘Songs About You.’ Eldredge throughout captivated the audience, leading them smoothly from the party tracks into the vulnerable and emotional moments. With every visit, Eldredge appears transcendent, engaging his fans with apparent ease. It was a phenomenal show, showing the return to form of live music.

Setlist

1. I Feel Fine 2. Don’t Ya 3. Gabrielle 4. Songs About You 5.Love Someone 6. Want That Back 7. Drunk on Your Love 8. The Long Way (Acoustic) 9. Good Day 10. Mean to Me 11. Magnolia 12. Holy Water 13. The Reason / I’ve Got Sunshine / My Girl 14. Lose Your Mind 15. Wanna Be That Song / Encore / 16. Sunday Drive 17. Beat of the Music

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For many fans in the country community, lockdown has meant no C2C festival, cancelled tickets, socialising and cancelled camping plans for Black Deer festival. But most importantly, lockdown has put a padlock on country artists’ live performances and their income. Many artists have pulled album releases forward and turned to online live performances to support the genre and its large fanbase.

Last week, Yorkshire star Jess Thristan partnered with Destination Country to deliver one of the most intimate shows, from her living room to yours. While rocking some Destination Country merch (which can be found here) the singer opened with ‘Refund’; a comedic story of wanting wasted time back from a bad relationship. As many active fans were applauding Thristan via emoji on Stageit’s live chat as she sang ‘when it comes to love I keep buying damaged goods’, her ‘stage’ presence made me forget that I was watching her on a Thursday night from my Essex sofa.

As Thristan transitioned into her next song ‘Ruined’ I found myself asking “was Thristan letting me read her diary, or had she been reading mine?” The vulnerability of not only the song but of the environment of the show captured the most intricate depiction of a shattering heartbreak, and felt like something myself and other fans could relate to.

Returning to her humble beginnings, Thristan revisited her 2019 release ‘The Old Me’. As she sang with closed eyes – lost in the past, Thristan’s guitar rang out warm and full of body. Normally, in a live setting, views from the bar can be too far to appreciate the artistry of Thristan’s guitar skills, but the live stream allowed everyone a front row seat to her campfire guitarist likeability.

Before breaking into ‘Your Turn’ a tale of coming of age, which Thristan co-wrote with Nick Wilson, the artist hinted at another future collaboration with the acoustic pop singer. We’ll be sure to keep our ears open! However, to hold us eager country fans over, the Yorkshire sweetheart debuted a new song entitled ‘The Act’ which Thristan wrote via Zoom with Demi Marriner. ‘They’re lining up for your act but I won’t fall for that’ is certified served sass. The song’s fun and upbeat texture is sure to make back garden summers brighter.

As many of us continue to remain indoors, it can be easy to fall into the rabbit hole whirlpool of Instagram and glamorous YouTubers, however in ‘Time Of Our Lives’ Thristan delivered the ultimate anti-social media anthem. ‘Picture with a view but the backdrops fake’ highlights the ‘live in the moment’ message that is much needed. To close the stream, we listened to Thristan turn the tables on post-breakups with the always lively ‘Like A Guy Would’. The show proved, not only is it still possible to support your favourite artists from the comfort of your own home, but you can still nab a front row seat without having to queue for doors open.

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Brett Eldredge proved any UK doubters wrong last year, with his flawless main stage performance at C2C in 2019. Since then, we haven’t heard much from Eldredge, as he has retreated, completing the ‘flip phone challenge’ and writing his new music. This Friday was the last night of his European tour and he seemed to leave any energy he had left on the table.

It’s quite something when an artist can begin their performance with a wholly new song. Brett burst onto the stage at Shepherd’s Bush with his unreleased track ‘Good Day.’ Still, the audience was buoyed up by the track and the sheer fact that it was clear Brett was loving every moment of being on that stage. The track is positive, without being corny – one to definitely keep your ears out for as it seems bound to be a single in the forthcoming months. Next up was a string of the huge hits that the audience had been waiting for, as Brett seamlessly transitioned into ‘Something I’m Good At,’ ’Don’t Ya’ and ‘Love Someone’ as the audience bellowed the words back in response. Brett just seemed to gain energy as he navigated through the set, imbibing the energy from the crowd and transmitting it back with a huge grin on his face.

Pulling it back a notch, he then referenced the ‘powerful experience’ of the last year as he had retreated, focussing on his writing. His new track ‘Crowd My Mind’ was a huge moment, bringing out the range and depth of Brett’s vocals. It made you realise that Eldredge has not given the true recognition he deserves, his songwriting is raw and real and those vocals are simply flawless and utterly unique. This track felt reminiscent of the compelling narratives of ‘Raymond’ or ‘No Stopping You’ – if this is an indication of what his new material is going to be like, it could utterly dominate 2020.

Not one to bring the mood down on a Friday night, Eldredge smoothly progressed into ‘Drunk On Your Love’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love,’ moving around the stage with ease and dominating the space and eliciting a raucous response from the audience.

He is a born, engaging and charismatic performer, but his syrupy smooth vocals should be given due credit. Nowhere was this more pronounced than in the stripped back acoustic part of the set, where he brought it back to the song that started it all – ‘Raymond.’ The tenderness with which Brett Eldredge deals with this track is profound, pouring his heart and his honeyed vocals into the song and mesmerising his fans. Surprisingly, he followed this up with one of his bigger tracks ‘The Long Way’ – it was a shrewd choice, as this is the kind of song that doesn’t need huge production behind it but speaks for itself in a quieter setting.

Yet more surprising though, was the fact that Brett followed this up with a cover of Billie Eilish’s ‘When The Party’s Over.’ It took some minutes to even realise that this was a cover, being so starkly different from the original. Eldredge may have made me an Eilish convert just from that performance – another shrewd cover choice came later, mashing up ‘The Reason’ with ‘My Girl.’

His almost unfathomably energetic performance of ‘Lose My Mind’ – and later track ‘Fire’ – made you seriously question how he is not a superstar yet. He has the ability to capture an audience and hold them in the palm of his hand as much in these almost frenetic track as he does in slower follow-up track (and final new track of the night ‘Magnolia’), a song that really captured the depth of his lyricism, proof that he is foremost a songwriter and later become an artist. Nowhere was this captured more astutely than in the final track of his main set ‘Wanna Be That Song.’ As if he needed proof that he was indeed ‘that song,’ the audience probably destroyed a few vocal chords in their screaming desire for him to come back for an encore.

Returning to the stage, Eldredge ended the set with a deeper cut ‘One Mississippi,’ that created an immensely powerful moment, before – arguably – his biggest hit ‘Beat of the Music.’ For this final night of his European tour, Eldredge really gave everything he had to his audience and they responded with palpable gratitude. He is an artist that really should not be underestimated, and the set was a good reminder of just how astounding he is as a performer, songwriter and true artist. If the new material in this set was anything to go by, we’re waiting with baited breath for the new record, it’s shaping up to be something really special.

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Set List:

1. Good Day (Unreleased), 2. Something I’m Good At, 3. Don’t Ya, 4. Love Someone, 5. Crowd My Mind (Unreleased), 6. Drunk On Your Love, 7. Crazy Little Thing Called Love, 7. Raymond, 8 The Long Way, 9. When The Party’s Over (Billie Eilish cover), 10. Lose My Mind 11. Magnolia (Unreleased), 12. The Reason / My Girl, 13. Mean To Me, 14. Fire, 15. Wanna Be That Song / Encore: 16. One Mississippi, 17. Beat of the Music

__________________

Follow Brett on Instagram / Facebook / Twitter

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Chase Rice has been a perennially popular force in the UK, having dedicated himself to his UK fanbase on a regular basis – his last visit at C2C 2019, less than a year ago. I, for one, was not completely overawed by this performance. However, at Shepherd’s Bush Empire on Saturday night, my view of Rice was transformed. Buoyed up by the strength of Kozak’s performance in the opening slot, the audience greeted Rice’s standard ‘Lions’ intro with a frenzy of excitement. He is the kind of performer built for a Saturday night performance, breathing energy into the crowd with his first track and encouraging them to be similarly rowdy. He gave a performance that felt relatably humble, connecting with his audience and asking them to give as much to him as he was to them – and boy did he give a lot.

The audience seemed particularly clued in for ‘Jack Daniel’s Showed Up,’ lifting their glasses to toast their serenader, and it was clear that Rice was having just as much fun with his audience as they were with him. Frontloading the set with big tracks like this did the trick of amping up the energy that carried Rice through to the end of the set. Arguably, at points, Rice’s vocal was not as strong as Kozak’s in her support slot, however, this is not why you go to a Rice concert. He is a born performer and made to be on a stage, exhuming energy in every lyric, and the combination of Kozak and Rice on stage for ‘Unforgettable,’ was hugely powerful. Hopefully, that performance showed Kozak just how enraptured the UK audience can be, and why she should keep coming back.

You often forget just how many big hits Rice has, including ‘Eyes on You’ and ‘Three Chords & The Truth’ that were two raucous numbers, the audience singing along to every word. The most special moments, personally, though were the ones when Rice sat alone on the stage and performed acoustically. You managed to get a sense here of Rice the person, not just Chase Rice the star – telling the story of his back-catalogue of songs, including Florida Georgia Line’s unforgettable hit ‘Cruise’ and personal favourite ‘Carolina Can.’

More excitingly, Rice also played a number of his new forthcoming tracks – if the tracks are anything to be believed, these tracks are bound to raise Rice’s profile up a level, and even just a small taster was enough to excite even the most borderline fans to his cause.

Ending the night with one of his biggest tracks ‘Ready Set Roll,’ we were left as amped as Rice must have been as he left the stage. Perhaps he will not win vocalist of the year any time soon, but Rice should win Entertainer of the Year ten times over, he’s a born performer and delivers time and time again.

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Setlist: 

Lions

Jack Daniel’s Showed Up

Take It To The City

Beautiful Blur

Gonna Wanna Tonight

On Tonight

Unforgettable (with Madison Kozak)

Lonely If You Are

Three Chords and the Truth

Ride

Carolina Can

Best Night Ever

Jack Daniel’s & Jesus

Eyes on You

Cruise

All The Small Things / Sweet Home Alabama / Sweet Carolina

Ready Set Roll

Follow Chase Rice on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook

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