We returned to Stanford Hall for our fifth straight Long Road festival, and boy oh boy what a memorable year it was! The festivals curse reared its ugly head after a couple of years off, with Bailey Zimmerman having to pull out relatively last minute and being replaced by the Rolling Stones legend Ronnie Wood. On top of that, it was the first year out of those five where we didn’t have good weather, it being rainy for the most part and a couple of electrical storms actually stopping things at times. Despite that, it was a fantastic weekend still through and through! We saw plenty of incredible artists across all three days, and wanted to tell you just how much we loved them!
The first artist for us this weekend was Chanel Yates on the Interstate. I wasn’t too familiar with her outside of a song or two we checked out beforehand, but she honestly blew me away! Her particular brand of pop country is incredibly modern, drawing comparisons to the likes of Carter Faith and even Ella Langley at times, and translated fantastically well to a live environment. And, what’s more, she fully owned that stage! For a relatively new artist, she really had the crowd in the palm of her hand throughout. And, what’s more, her band killed it too, backing her up perfectly. Her massive hit ‘Big Girl Boots’ was a clear highlight, but so was her upcoming single ‘Sugar Honey Ice Tea’, the crowd fully behind it even though it’s not dropping until later this month. She has a big new fan in me, and I already want to see her live again soon!
Next up we headed over to the Rhinstone stage for Irish folk pop-rocker Jordan O’Keefe. However, he’s another artists that I’ve come away being a big fan of! It all felt a little heavier live, maybe because of the full-band backing, but it served him very well here! And still, his catchy, massive melodies and choruses shined through, the crowd hanging on every note throughout. His big hit, ‘History’, was of course a firm set highlight, but every track was great in its own way. And, for still pretty early on, the crowd was pretty packed for him; it’s clear he has a bright future ahead of him!
We have been a fan of Gina Larner since first catching her at the same festival a couple of years back. To finally see her again was awesome, and she killed it once again! Back on maybe my favourite stage at the festival, Buddy’s Good Time Bar, it had more of an intimate setting, yet we still got plenty of rockiness and a huge sound. And, until the weather intervened, the set was awesome! She is a criminally underrated vocalist, and her songwriting skills are amazing, blending folk, country, indie and rock together seamlessly. ‘Cocktail Menu’ was a particular set highlight, finally getting to see that song live was awesome! Also, her cover of Chris Cagle’s ‘Let There Be Cowgirls’ is always excellent, and has caused the song to be stuck in my head for the last few days yet again. Sadly due to the storms, they had to cut her off a song to the end and send everyone back to our tents. It was certainly a shame, but it just means we need to go and see her again soon!
The sheer musicianship on display throughout Striking Matches’ set on the Interstate stage was insane. For just the two of them up there, they really packed out the sound, and put on an entertaining show from start to finish. The pair are masters of their craft, writing some amazing music and also jamming out some incredible instrumental parts in and around them. It’s clear that the band are seasoned veterans, as they play off of each other perfectly. My only hope now is that we get them coming back over here soon with a full band, as I’d love an even bigger show out of them, even if this was pretty huge enough as is!
The legendary Steve Earle showed up to the Rhinstone with nothing but his guitar, and blew away the packed out crowd before him. That was all he needed, as his soulful voice and incredible storytelling took the crowd on a journey. He has so many huge songs, with the legendary ‘Copperhead Road’ of course being the one a lot of the fans came to see, and Steve pulls it off amazing still all these years later. We also get an incredible yet-unreleased duet with Zandi Holup (more on her later). The fact that he can get such a captivating show and full sound when it is just him is a sheer testament to the man’s talent, and it was honestly an honour getting to see what he does best. I’m glad I finally got to see him live, and would still recommend him to anyone who is a fan of his work!
The second male-female duo of the day for us, Smithfield, were fantastic on the Front Porch stage. Right from the jump, the harmonies between the pair had me locked in, they were so good. And, much like Striking Matches, the pair clearly work the circuit back home a lot as they put on such a polished, professional set. The covers medley was especially smooth, weaving through their influences a verse-chorus at a time to the adoration of the crowd. However, their originals were also excellent. Whether it was stuff off their debut, sneak previews of tracks from their upcoming album, or standalone singles, we were treated to the very best of their catalogue to this point. They’re another act that I’d love to see with a full band, but I know they are doing a couple of stops on this run with one, so hopefully I can see that sooner rather than later! They’re another band with a hugely bright future ahead of them!
I had become a fan of The 502s when getting ready for this weekend, but I didn’t expect them to be this good. Y’all know by now how much I love some horns, so having an hours set with a saxophone on the main stage was amazing for me! The band are so upbeat and uplifting, a fantastic change of pace and honestly it felt more akin to some of the ska bands I’ve seen recently. They were just so much fun, and had the majority of the crowd dancing along throughout. From heavy hitters like ‘Your Nonsense Makes No Sense’ and ‘Just a Little While’ to lesser known numbers like ‘Friday Night’ to even the so-far unreleased ‘Gang’s Back Together Again’, the setlist was packed full of awesomeness. It helped that they had a pretty hefty amount of time too, but I loved every minute of it. And, of course, the band played their asses off throughout, and looked like they had a genuinely great time doing so. This was easily one of my highlights of the weekend, and a band I’d recommend to anyone!
Before we knew it we were at the headliners, the might Shires. Returning to the festival for the first time since its inaugural year in 2018, it was one hell of a triumphant comeback. And what followed was an absolute masterclass in live music from the very top of the UK country scene. Whether it’s the best of their brand new album in ‘Bonfire Song’ or ‘Getaway Car’, or career spanning hits like opener ‘Lightning Strikes’, ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ or the massive ‘I Just Wanna Love You’, the setlist was amazing. We also got the perfect Dolly cover from them in ‘Islands in the Stream’. The pair have maybe the best harmonies in the game right now, working excellently not just on that track, but throughout. They are born performers too, even with the slight technical issues in the middle they handled it professionally, and the crowd ate up every minute they were on stage. And the band behind them killed it throughout too, playing excellently and providing the perfect backdrop of the duo. It is clear to see why they are such a massive name in the UK country scene, and they are born to out on sets of this magnitude and grandeur. What a way to close out day one!