The Long Road Line-up - Friday!

The announcement of the brand new festival The Long Road taking place in Leicester in September thrilled country music fans. As a first time festival uncertainty loomed over how it would pan out but as it draws closer and closer and more and more artists are announced the worries fall away and the excitement builds as a dream line up for any roots, americana and country fans materialises. Today we're going to go through the Friday night line up... so far, yes that's right, the website still says more to be announced. So here's a run down of the Friday festivities!

The Friday night is predominantly made up of British acts which is wonderful to see! One of the biggest acts on the line up is one of the UKs brightest stars and that's twin sister duo Ward Thomas. Their second album was the first album from a UK Country act to get to number one on the UK charts and the duo are about to release their third album Restless Minds in October so we can expect to hear some new material mixed in with the fan favourites from previous records. Also on the bill is The Wandering Hearts who have had quite a wild ride this year after releasing their debut album early this year. After bagging some fantastic festival slots and supporting Marty Stuart on tour the band were invited to play the Ryman alongside Marty, Chris Stapleton and Margo Price and to also make their Grand Ole Opry debut. Their impressive vocal harmonies and upbeat, foot stomping songs suit the festival environment and they will be a highlight of the opening night.

Other British talent includes Holloway Road and Two Ways Home, two artists who recently played the Nashville Meets London festival, again their music fits the vibe often found at these festivals, they're both energetic duos. A favourite of mine in the UK scene is Kevin McGuire, I think he has the best vocals of the male UK Country artists and the most commercially viable songs and it will be great to see Kevin again at The Long Road as he too has had a busy summer packed with some great festival dates. Ex-Hollyoaks star Twinnie is also making an appearance at this British takeover, she's played C2C twice now and co-wrote Black and White for The Shires. It's not all just British artists though! American duo American Young are also high up on the bill. American Young comprised of songwriters Jon Stone and Kirsty Osmunson have a unique style of performing live. The pair have written for other artists such as Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney and Joey + Rory. It's looking like a fantastic start to this brand new festival, we can't wait!