31 October 2019

It’s been almost eight years to the day since Scotty McCreery won American Idol and put his name in lights across the whole nation, with his country music playing and charm dazzling the whole country. Since that day, McCreery has bolstered his reputation in the UK with a number of hits, but had yet to venture over to the UK for a show in any capacity. On October 26 2019, that changed as McCreery walked out to a completely sold out Bush Hall in London, which needed another date to be added due to the exceptional demand surrounding his arrival. Support on the day came from Temecula Road, who returned to the same venue they performed at earlier on in the day for the Country Hits Radio Hub to perform an identical set, just to more people. Much like earlier that day, their set was well received and they got a great reception from the audience. It was time for McCreery though and the cheers that erupted when he walked out on stage told him all he needed to know about how the UK audience was feeling and he did his very best to make it a hugely fun and entertaining evening for all. See You Tonight brought rapture and the UK audiences that are normally so reserved when it comes to watching artists were loving every second of it, with that energy feeding McCreery in a venue way too small to contain him. Be it the title track of his second album, Seasons Change, or The Trouble With Girls or Boys From Back Home, everything McCreery touched turned to gold on the night and you could tell he was taking great pleasure in how things were going. Even though McCreery won American Idol, it was only in 2018 that he had his first US Country No. 1 in Five More Minutes and he explained that the track was about his late grandfather, who he says would’ve been extremely proud to see McCreery in the UK given his affection for it. The track was met with jubilation, with everyone singing along, before McCreery and his band delved deep into the country music playbook to put together a five song medley from days gone by, sparking line dancing and mass singalongs in the process. McCreery then told the audience that him and his band hadn’t played I Love You This Big – his first single and the track that won him American Idol – in a fair while, but said that he was asked before the show to play it by someone in the audience and upon receiving the request, said that he would play it. He then brought that member of the audience, who had Down’s Syndrome, up to sing with him and the roar of appreciation that went up when he sang into the mic with McCreery was comfortably the highlight of the night – McCreery making a new friend and the audience member leaving with the biggest smile you can imagine. The night went pretty much as expected, in all honesty – McCreery came, saw and conquered, the crowd went wild and begged for a future return, everyone left happy and McCreery’s UK adventure got off to the best possible start. When McCreery comes back, it’s almost certain he’ll be in a much bigger room – maybe even around the corner at Shepherd’s Bush Empire – and will almost certainly sell it out, but whether he can capture the magic that he conjured up at Bush Hall will be his biggest challenge, as this was certainly a night to remember. Scotty McCreery played: See You Tonight Wherever You Are Boys From Back Home Mama Loved Papa (Garth Brooks cover) This Is It Seasons Change Take It Easy (Eagles cover) In Between Check Yes or No (George Strait cover) You Make That Look Good The Trouble With Girls Walk in the Country Blue Jean Baby Five More Minutes Hello Darling (Conway Twitty cover)/Forever and Ever Amen (Randy Travis cover)/Folson Prison Blues (Johnny Cash cover)/Chattahoochee (Alan Jackson cover)/Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident – John Michael Montgomery cover) I Love You This Big Home in My Mind Feelin’ It ———————————————————————— Your Man (Josh Turner cover)

The Country Hits Radio Hub daytime shows really caught the eye for Country Music Week 2019, with a number of top artists showcasing their abilities. The Saturday hub – hosted by Baylen Leonard – had Temecula Road, Willie Jones, Tebey and Tenille Townes on the bill, with each playing a 25-30 minute set before Leonard would ask them questions from the audience. First up was Temecula Road, who were enjoying their first trip back to the UK in a good few years and the trio soon set about making their presence felt. Their cover of Desperado by Eagles went down a storm and the harmonies fused with the lovely chords at their disposal were lapped up by the audience, with many rushing to meet the talented trio after their set at the meet and greet. It was then time for Willie Jones, who just about everyone is talking about at present. Everyone stood up immediately for his set as they knew it would be a riot and while the debate will forever go on as to whether Jones is country (we’re not entirely sure throwing in an acoustic guitar gives you a pass at country music, but hey ho), there is no doubt that a Willie Jones set is some of the most fun you will ever have at a gig. What was so refreshing to see is that even though there would’ve been a number of purists in the crowd, everyone to a person – young and old – were on their feet and dancing away to Jones’ set. Ultimately, when a crowd is reacting like that, who cares about strict genre rules? Tebey was next – starting the Canadian invasion on the stage in the process – and credit must go to the former Wimbledon resident for really trying to make a connection with his audience, with Tebey regularly trying to engage and speak to those in attendance. This was appreciated by those in the crowd and his songs were greeted in a warm fashion, while his cover of Avicii’s Wake Me Up was joined in by many. After the gig, Leonard told the crowd that Tebey was actually at C2C 2019, which may surprise those who were there given that he wasn’t on the bill, but his reasons for coming were purely to find out more about how to get on the ladder and play gigs in the UK, which is hugely commendable. Finally, it was Tenille Townes‘ turn, with the Canadian closing the set and in doing so, putting on one of the best country gigs of 2019. Straight from the get-go, the pint sized artist had the audience in the palm of her hand, with her staggering musical ability moving some to tears during Jersey on the Wall and Somebody’s Daughter, bringing people to dance during her cover of Keith Urban’s Love Somebody and getting people to sing along loudly during White Horse. It was just Townes and a guitar, yet she had so much impact on the crowd to the point the whole room gave her a very lengthy standing ovation at the end – visibly moving Townes to the point she was in tears. The Country Hits Radio Hub was certainly one to remember and fingers crossed all of the artists on the Saturday, of course in addition to Townes, will be on the bill in some capacity at C2C.

The growth of the Under the Apple Tree sessions has been nothing short of remarkable since they were started by ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris, with a huge platform being offered to a vast number of artists looking to make their way up the ladder. At Bush Hall, the night was dedicated to progress that has been made, with Harris taking up his role as compere to highlight just how Under the Apple Tree has grown and helped certain artists – and all the artists on the night were linked to Harris and the sessions in their own way. Foreign Affairs kicked things off, with the two-piece from Bristol sounding absolutely massive in Bush Hall – their electric guitars in particular almost bringing the building down as the two rattled through their back catalogue in emphatic fashion. It’s amazing to think that it’s just the two brothers in the band, with the two harnessing a phenomenal amount of talent to the point that if you closed your eyes and looked away, you’d think there were at least four on stage. Their songs struck a chord with many in the audience and as their set came to a close, to mass applause, Harris returned to the stage to announce that Under the Apple Tree have signed a publishing deal with peermusic UK and that Foreign Affairs have become the first band to be signed as a result of that agreement, marking great news all round. It was then time for Harris’ most recent UK Americana Emerging Artist Award winners in Curse of Lono to take to the stage, with their cinematic and expansive sound reverberating around the walls of Bush Hall. The band also had a surprise up their sleeve for the London audience on what frontman Felix Bechtolsheimer described as what “may or may not be” the group’s last gig of 2019, as Alabama 3 member Nick Reynolds joined the group to play harmonica and add backing vocals to a few songs. Closing their set on Valentine, the Americana five-piece also left to a very positive reception and Harris once again returned to the stage to introduce the final act of the night in Robert Vincent. Explaining how he came across Vincent as part of a ‘Bluebird Cafe swaps with Bluecoat’ scheme in Liverpool, where many singer-songwriters came to showcase their talents, Harris said that he was completely blown away by Vincent and was amazed that he hadn’t heard his musicianship before, eventually making Vincent the inaugural UK Americana Emerging Artist Award winner. After Vincent took to the stage, it was very clear to see what Harris saw in him as him and his band put on a show that simply wowed everyone in attendance, playing a mixture of old songs and new. The Liverpool artist was on top form and even when he was in danger of overrunning his set due to time constraints, absolutely no-one was complaining such was the quality of the performance and the songs he was playing. A thoroughly enjoyable evening and we’ll look forward to seeing how Under the Apple Tree moves forward in a number of ways with peermusic.

It’s been a while since Brandy Clark released new music, but that didn’t stop her packing out the Shepherd’s Bush Empire on her return to the UK. Suiting Clark’s storytelling nature, the venue was fully seated — the first time I’ve seen the Shepherd’s Bush ground floor decked out with seats rather than standing room. This set the tone for the evening; a brilliantly fun, but sedentary affair. Support came in the form of Kyle Daniel, an American, Chris Stapleton-esque musician who performed alongside his guitarist and backing-vocalist, Seth Rentfrow. Standout songs from his set wereSomewhere In Between and Landline. Brandy started her set with Girl Next Door, a popular track off her 2016 album, ‘Big Day In A Small Town’. This was followed by a number of other well-known tracks, forming the first segment of the show. Clark’s set can be easily broken down into four clear segments. This first part included crowd favourites such as Love Can Go To Hell, Get High and You’re Drunk. Get High got a particularly warm reaction from the London crowd, with cheers before she even started singing. The next segment of the show saw Clark introducing fresh, new music from her upcoming album, which will be dropping early next year. The first track she played off this new record was Love Is Fire, followed by what may well be called At The Bottom Of The Ocean, though the actual track name may be different. The latter was typical of Clark’s wit and made me very excited for the rest of the album. It was at this point in the night that Clark’s band left the stage, leaving her to perform a few acoustic numbers, including the brilliant Bigger Boat. She introduced this track, also a new one, describing how it was originally inspired by her favourite film, Jaws. The song, however, addresses the state of today’s political climate in a refreshing and clever way. The song serves as another reminder of Clark’s incredible talents as a witty and relatable songwriter. The third section of the show was described by Clark as the ‘songs she wishes she’d written’ segment. She kicked this off with a cover of George Strait’s The Chair. This was followed by Carole King’s Will You Love Me Tomorrow? and Linda Ronstadt’s Blue Bayou. The fourth and final section of the show made a return to Clark’s well-known and well-loved tracks. Daughter, her “kinder, sweeter, longer-lasting sort of revenge” song, got the expected cheers from the audience. Hold My Hand came next, with its heartfelt story, followed by perhaps Clark’s most popular single, Stripes. With the whole crowd singing along, this was a perfect choice of final song, or at least the last before the encore. Clark came back on to perform one last number: Three Kids No Husband– a quieter choice for an encore, but clearly a popular song among the audience. This was an intimate and enjoyable show, filled with Clark’s wit and storytelling. Now we just have to wait for the New Year to hear the new album – I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait! Danielle Smith

With support from American singer-songwriter Tyler Rich, Striking Matches made a triumphant return to the UK during Country Music Week. Playing Islington’s The Garage, Justin and Sarah described how playing in London was like ‘coming home’ – and they were welcomed with open arms. Opening with one of their long guitar riffs that they have come to be known for, they segued into their first track of the night, Retrograde. This song, like most they played, was almost double the length of the recorded track, with both Justin and Sarah breaking into guitar solos throughout each one. While somewhat indulgent, these long instrumental breaks are exactly what Striking Matches’ fans have come to expect and love – and it was clear they were more than happy to be indulged. The duo have recently released the first of three EPs in their ‘Morning, Noon, and Night’ series. Playing a number of tracks from ‘Morning’ throughout the show, the pair promised ‘Noon’ would be coming out early next year. Burning Down was the first they played from this EP, followed by Don’t Hold Back later on in the set. Burning Down, in particular, was a highlight of the night. While the pair opened with both on electric guitars, the majority of the night was spent with them each playing an electro-acoustic, showing off their intricate and masterful talents even more. One key song to really show off their incredible guitar skills was the undeniable crowd favourite, Trouble Is As Trouble Does, from their debut album, ‘Nothing But The Silence’. Another from this album was Make A Liar Out Of Me, with Sarah Zimmermann going crazy on the slide guitar at the end – arguably one of the prime reasons Striking Matches’ shows are so popular; seeing anyone display such mastery over their instruments is astounding. Breaking from the energetic instrumentals for a moment, Justin introduced the next song, Every Word, telling the crowd how his 90-year-old grandad is currently very unwell. By the end of this emotional song, Zimmermann was in tears, with Justin also showing his emotion, before he thanked the crowd for letting them be so raw. Keeping in line with the more stripped back songs, When The Right One Comes Along was another guaranteed crowd pleaser, with what seemed like the whole venue singing along throughout. Ending the night with an encore of I Ain’t Leaving Without Your Love, there were shouts from the crowd of “you’ve already got all our love”, indicating the passion this dedicated groups of fans has for the duo. And it’s fair to say the love is mutual, with Justin declaring: “this is our favourite place to play in the world”. Danielle Smith Striking Matches played: Retrograde Medicine Burning Down Trouble Is As Trouble Does He Only Loves Me When It’s Raining Don’t Hold Back Make a Liar Out of Me Every Word While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles cover) When the Right One Comes Along Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson cover) Desire ——————————————————————– I Ain’t Leaving Without Your Love