See UK Acts Shine!
At Country2Country it is easy for a country fan to be overwhelmed by artists coming from further afield to showcase their talents, given that the Country Music Association aims to both attract people to the genre and provide a platform for US artists to gain a wider fanbase.
Just as vital, however, is the chance for UK acts to introduce themselves to people who may not even be aware that a UK country scene exists. That’s what the UK-CMA are doing all year long, and, while we cannot have favourites, we can lead the horse (the country fan) to water (the musicians) and enable them to drink from the rivers of water (do I need to complete the metaphor?!).
Excitingly, there’s a UK act playing the O2 Arena this year, as Kezia Gill follows her 2023 appearances at C2C Glasgow, and at the Indigo in London, with a ten-minute set on Saturday.
Kezia will also play the Indigo again, one of three acts to do so across the weekend. The other two are First Time Flyers and Gareth (aka Gareth Hamilton from Castlederg, Northern Ireland).
Working our way down the line-up, we come to the CountryLine Town Square Stage. Chanel Yates, Danko from Glasgow, Jack Browning, and Jake O’Neill are all on the poster. On this stage you’ll also find Jess Clemmons – who may be from Texas, but her Bandits are all UK based so they do count as one of ours.
Janet Devlin poses on a horse on the cover of her album Emotional Rodeo, which she will be busy promoting upstairs in The Saloon, as the sole UK representative. The Big Entrance Stage is far more packed with Brits, who include Jade Helliwell, Abbie Mac, Gina Larner, Katie Rigby, Jeorgia Rose and Wood Burnt Red. First Time Flyers also return to this stage, the scene of their live debut two years ago.
Announced at the end of February, the Icon Stage has been transformed into The Roundup Stage (upstairs in the mall) and will showcase a panoply of acts from these shores. Alongside plenty of the names mentioned above, there is Eleri from Wales and Robyn Red from Scotland, while self-proclaimed ‘emo redneck’ Pip Marsh will play there too, having entertained the people at Whiskey Jam last month.
Several artists, including Gareth, Jade Helliwell, Gina Larner and Robyn Red, are booked to play The Wayside, which is the room around the back of the arena, about 50 yards from the Observatory pub - which is also hosting its own acoustic festival that weekend. Across three days, Jeannine Barry has booked an impressive line-up with acts including Ollie Hawkins, Andrew Jones, Thomas Kavanagh, Lucy Blu, Lucy-May, and Tennessee Twin.
That’s two dozen acts doing the UK scene proud, making it likely that country fans at the London event will discover a new local favourite as well as a Canadian or American superstar.
