So, year three for us of TLR is in the bag, and once again it was an utterly fantastic weekend. From the amazing music to the beautiful scenery to plenty of other stuff going on, it’s one of the best all-round festivals out there today. We wanted to let you know all that we got up to, and how much we enjoyed it!
After battling the winds to set up our tent, we headed straight in for one of the first bands of the weekend, Gangstagrass. It’s no secret I love this band, from discovering them here back in 2022 to loving their new album. So, while they were doing a whistle-stop set before shooting off to another festival, they were still excellent. They rattled off a few recent live favourites before the bigger (and arguably best) two tracks from the latest album, ‘Up High Do or Die’ and ‘Obligatory Braggadocio’. There were certain tracks that I wish they’d played that were missed out, such as ‘Nickel and Dime Blues’ and ‘You Can Never Go Home Again’. However, with Danjo taking some time away from the band to focus on his studies, I completely get why they wouldn’t play tracks that so heavily focus around his vocals. As I said, the band were still excellent, a group of insanely talented individuals having a blast up on stage in front of a packed out tent. It just wasn’t quite the life-changing experience that that first set was.
After that we headed over to Buddy’s Good Time Bar to catch the wonderful Gina Larner. Being from the UK, we just had to pop down to catch her, and she certainly did not disappoint. I’d checked out a couple of her songs before the weekend and, to her credit, she pulls them off flawlessly live. Her vocals are phenomenal, and her songwriting packs a punch of emotion, as well as being infectiously fun at times. Her and did a great job as well, returning to the festival after playing with Alana Springsteen last year. They arguably fit with Gina better, feeling like more of a cohesive full band, and all looked like they were having fun on stage together. I sadly didn’t catch the bassists name but damn, she was playing some awesome stuff throughout. As a fellow bassist, I was not at all jealous… but yeah, an awesome set that arguably could have gone on a much bigger stage. She’s on tour in November, fingers crossed that bumps her up to the next level.
We then headed back over to the Interstate tent for the punky American Aquarium. While seemingly an odd choice for the festival, reminding me a lot of Ricky Warwick more than a country sound, but I love them, and they had one of the biggest crowds in the tent all weekend. And they played one hell of a set, having the crowd in the palm of their hands throughout. Whether it was stuff from the new album or their classic hits, everyone loved every second of it, including me. Honestly, it still feels odd that they’d put them on the Friday, the day exclusive for weekend ticket holders, as the place would have been even more packed had they been able to have day tickets purchased for them too. They were huge highlight of the Friday, for me!
Those who read our review last year know my general feelings of Chapel Hart. Heck, I could practically copy and paste my thoughts from last year here, as it was a relatively similar, if longer, set. The three women play off each other perfectly vocally and charismatically, creating a fantastic sound and a fun environment. They talked a fair amount, but were funny and entertaining doing it. My main issue yet again were the covers. Don’t get me wrong, I like a good cover now and then, but when I really quite enjoyed their album last year, I wish I could have gotten more of that over ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ yet again. But hey, the crowd were once more hugely into it, so they clearly did a great job!
The first of two afterparty sets, we saw Dan Davidson rock the Front Porch. He came over with his two guitarists for more of an intimate acoustic set, and by god did it work fantastically. His vocals are incredible, but the harmonies the three men produced were truly something special. I’ve become utterly obsessed with the song ‘Found’ since hearing it live, and it went over a storm with the crowd, too. However, the whole set did. Considering the weather was less-than-ideal, the crowd were hanging on every word and note. I was a fan to begin with, but since seeing the two sets (more on the 2nd in a minute) I’ve become a little obsessed with his music. Another huge highlight of not just the Friday, but the festival as a whole!
The other artist doing an after party set was Redferrin. We’re big fans of him here at Overtone, having reviewed his EP and chatted to him this year already, and I’d heard good things about his shows with Russel Dickerson, so was excited! He didn’t disappoint at all, either. Interestingly bringing his drummer with him and using backing tracks for the rest of the instruments, it made everything feel MASSIVE, and was an excellent idea. His vocals are just as good live as they are on track, too. His hits went down a storm, and the crowd were massively into his whole set. To the point where, when the festival cut his set a touch short, there were very loud boos, and a lot left when his mic got cut off. He’s gonna be a massive name in this scene sooner rather than later, and the show he put on on Friday night is a real testament to that, regardless of the sour note it ended on!