For those that know me you will be aware that Brandy Clark is one of my favourite artists and songwriters. Therefore I go to every concert with a slightly biased view! I couldn’t wait to review last nights concert as after speaking to her a couple of weeks back, I knew she was going to be playing new material off her upcoming record. This was also the first time in a long time that Brandy would be playing with a full band as o...

Well the announcement takes time to sink in for some of us, especially when evaluating what it means for the festival which is in it’s eighth year, and what it means for Country music in the UK. The initial reaction from me last night was “oh…I’ve seen all of them before…most of them at a previous C2C” but is this just our spoilt brat phase, isn’t it good that we have artists wanting to return to the UK? In this article we’ll...

Well Country Music Week is well and truly underway for me, it started on Saturday in Manchester at The Bridgewater Hall when The Adelaides opened up for Charles Esten. From what I’d heard of the girls in the past I will be honest, I wasn’t excited but I promised to give them a fair chance this time and I’m glad I did. Two well known country covers punctuated a mainly original set. My Church by Maren Morris sounded sublime with...

So festival season is over but the music never stops, well not the country music anyway as Country Music Week is just around the corner! In its 3rd year, Country Music Week takes place every October and during this time artists from all over the World put on shows for us and the line up for C2C is announced. This year is looking better than ever and I’m here to take you through the must-see events. Though mostly based in the c...

SummerTyne Americana Festival in Gateshead is always one of the highlights of the year. Out of all the festivals I go to each year, this is the friendliest! This year started with a treat, a Grammy award winning treat as on the Friday night in a packed out Sage One KD Lang was continuing her "Ingenue" 25th anniversary tour. She was supported by one half of the Gregorian Brothers he was an excellent guitar instrumentalist, it w...

Every year around mid-July I now head on up to the Sage in Gateshead for a weekend of Americana and Country Music. The thing I love most about this festival is the people, the staff at the Sage are so friendly and accommodating which makes it a really nice atmosphere for fans, press and artists alike! The sound is excellent, the building is so well designed and the engineers are great at their jobs making it my favourite venue...

Last Friday night I relived my childhood as Mum and I headed to Manchester Arena to see Westlife! They performed hit after hit on their Twenty tour and it's amazing to think they've been performing together for so long. They've sold 55 million records worldwide and are one of the UK's most popular touring bands and it was clear to see why as they performed number 1 after number 1 going back all through the years. With multiple...

Buckle and Boots is definitely the festival to go to if you want to make friends and feel like you’re part of the Country family. We’ve known this for some time now but this weekend solidified that theory as I was greeted warmly by the Hancocks (the hosts), artists and fans alike. The music on Friday kicked off the only way a Country festival should with an international songwriters round featuring Australians and Americans! I...

There are two sides to this Manchester crowd, of course there's the side we'd like to remember that were so loud they amazed Chris and the side that was so loud I couldn't hear Lindsay Ell over their conversations! This is the first time a crowd has irritated me this much that I include it in a review but it needs stating that something needs to be done, if you come in in time for a support act, finish your conversations in ti...

There’s just a month to go until one of the best independent Country festivals opens its gate for the fourth year. Buckle and Boots has always been the best place to catch homegrown talent but over the years we’ve also seen some fantastic US and even Australian acts grace the barn stage. This year though seems the most international year with top acts from Europe also heading to Stockport to entertain us for three days! Taking...