Tag Archives: americana

Reviews

Norther: Shane Smith & The Saints’ Best Album Yet?

The Austin Red Dirt Country band, Shane Smith & The Saints, have finally released their highly and anticipated fourth album just yesterday, nearly half a decade after their previous. After having heard at least a couple of the singles, I’m very hyped for this release, and you just knew we had to do a full review of it! Being a more recent fan, only discovering them last year after they were announced for The Long Road, I’m curious to hear where they go with this release!

The album opens in slow, atmospheric style with ‘Book of Joe’. The swell of the fiddle lead to the rest of the band coming in, picking up the energy and epicness with ease. It’s an awesome little folky, rocky riff. Shane Smith ‘s iconic low vocals soon come in over the top, sounding perfect over the strings and simple bass drum. It all builds to a huge, arena-filling chorus too. The vocals are incredibly catchy and the instrumentation just makes it all feel massive. It’s so simple yet so incredibly effective. We also get an awesome guitar solo tucked into the middle of this, which I loved. It drops down before building up in impressive, epic fashion into a fiddle solo for the outro. This was an awesome way to open an album, and an amazing track in general. It easily makes our playlist!

‘Fire in the Sky’ keeps the ball rolling in similar fashion, some more awesome riffing and dynamics. No matter how much I hear it, I cannot get over just how good Shane Smith ‘s vocals are. I LOVE his low, raspy voice so much, and it fits over the top of the bands Americana style. It again builds to an absolutely fantastic chorus, the harmonies this time adding another incredible layer of catchiness to it all. The first chorus leads to another great guitar solo, channelling a southern rock influence perfectly. The bridge and verse again build us back to that infectiously catchy chorus, and another huge outro takes us home. I love the bands way of songwriting, and it is at its best here. So far, the band are two for two with playlisted tracks on this album!

Single ‘Adeline’ slows things down a tad. It’s got more of a ballad feel to it and, honestly, I fucking love it. From the fiddle and Shane’s amazing vocals, to building in the harmonies in the first chorus, to it dropping into their massive, full sound afterwards, it’s incredible. It means the second verse feels completely different, but it feels like the perfect build and evolution of the song. I honestly cannot get over how well this song is put together and written. It’s a massive sounding song, filled with awesome instrumentation, catchy vocals and some amazing parts. It is not only one of my favourite tracks on the album, but one of my favourite tracks from Shane Smith and co., period. It’s three for three, ladies and gents!

Check out our interview with the man himself here!

Another single, ‘The Greys Between’, thankfully breaks the streak. However, that isn’t at all saying it’s a bad song. It’s more the fact that after three absolutely incredible tracks, this one feels a slight bit more of a breather, in this writer’s opinion. Having said that, it still packs a punch, following the usual Shane Smith formula of the awesome folky verses building into the huge, memorable choruses. I love the chorus, and the romantic lyrics are incredibly well written.

The same could be said for the likes of ‘Navajo Norther’, ‘Field of Heather’ and ‘Wheels’. All three are good tracks, but definitely feel like other songs on the album. However, when listening to them as part of the album as a whole, they fit perfectly. The latter in particular is an amazing song and another big highlight. I simply don’t want this review to get too boring and repetitive, so if stuff sounds similar I want to spare you reading the same gushing over and over!

Recent single ‘All the Way’ changes things up, being a beautiful piano-led ballad. It’s the closest Shane’s voice has gotten to later Johnny Cash that I’ve heard, and that’s certainly a compliment. It really had ‘Hurt’ vibes, despite it being a piano instead of a guitar. But still, the beautiful simplicity of the song, and it’s placement closer to the mid-point of the album, are both amazing decisions. It’s an incredible song and one I’d certainly recommend anyone go and check out!

Single ‘Hummingbird’ picks up the pace again, returning the band to their typical style and tempo. It’s a track that I’m very familiar with, and one that has been on pretty heavy rotation for me since the day it was released. I’ve had the chorus stuck in my head for a cumulative total of easily a day in that time, too. It’s an amazing song, and one I’d put up there with ‘Adeline’, honestly. For anyone not already familiar with the song, check it out immediately. It’s everything great about Shane Smith & The Saints, all rolled up into a nice 4:45 ball.

The final few tracks are all also awesome. ‘It’s Been a While’ is my favourite of the four tracks to end the album, it having a bit more of a rockier vibe, especially in the chorus. And some of Shane’s vocal delivery is incredible. The lead single and closing track, ‘Fire in the Ocean’ is also… well… fire. The band have done a fantastic job of picking the singles from the album. Every single one has certainly been a highlight. ‘Fire in the Ocean’ is another epic track and the perfect song to close this truly grandeous album with. Damn, I wanna see this band live again so bad!

Overall: This is an amazing album. There really isn’t a bad song on it, while some of them stand up there with some of the best the band have ever produced. And as an album as a whole, it is arranged fantastically, flowing perfectly together. It all feels so cohesive and unified, and it really deserves to be listened through from front to back at least once. The band have gone from strength to strength recently, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if this is the album that catapults them to the top, it is truly that good.

The Score: 9.5/10

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Blackberry Smoke, IDLES and More!

Another stacked week of New Music Mondays this week, with everything from country to extreme metal, and plenty in between!

Blackberry Smoke: Be Right Here

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Check out what we thought of it here!

IDLES: TANGK

I have never quite ‘got’ this band whenever I’ve tried in the past. Surprisingly enough, that didn’t change with this release. They’re somehow Avant-garde indie/punk, like the Dillinger Escape Plan of the indie world. I don’t get it. Then again, as a country/metal fan, I doubt I’m exactly their target audience. They certainly have fans, and I’m sure they’ll love this album. And heck, at least they look good fun live. Maybe that’d win me over, but on track they do less-than-nothing for me. The closest thing to something I enjoyed was ‘Gift Horse’, but it was in there with a lot of very questionable music. 3/10, sorry lads.

Middle Kids: Faith Crisis Pt 1

The Australian alt/indie rock band are back with their third album. Honestly, though it’s not typically the sort of music I’d go for, it’s a good, incredibly chilled album. It’s very similar in sound to the likes of Cold War Kids and Young the Giant, that early 10s radio-indie, Life is Strange sound. I’m a fan of the sound for sure, and this is maybe the best release it has had in years.

Tracks like ‘The Blessings’ and ‘Terrible News’ are awesome. However, as an album as a whole it’s a good listen, from start to finish. There’s nothing bad on it! It’s perfect to stick on and relax to or have on in the background while doing stuff. My only slight issue is that it doesn’t have that single on it, nothing stands out as a massive radio hit. Then again, that’s not exactly a bad thing when talking albums! Nothing quite gets Twenty-One Pilots quirky enough to make it to that. But they are clearly a massive band with a huge following, who will no doubt all love this! 7.5/10, good stuff!

Kalah: And Yet It Dreams

Honestly, I have no idea what to think of this album, aside for the fact that I love it! It’s chaos in the best possible way. I’d classify it as extreme metal despite the vocals, it definitely has clear influences from old Cradle of Filth. However, there is also deathcore, and symphonic metal, and electronic influences that all mash together surprisingly perfectly. The two-part opener ‘This World Factory’ is the perfect example of what I’m talking about, and is very much a highlight track of the album! It’s heavy, insane and yet also somehow structured and catchy. And there is no denying everyone involved’s talents and writing ability; they are all on full display just in this track alone.

Other highlight tracks include ‘Runtime Error’, ‘Gentle Gears’ and ‘Helichrysum’. However, there really isn’t a bad track on the album, I could name any of them as highlights. The former even brings in more of a prog/djent sound to the mix, while ‘Helichrysum’ has more of an epic power metal ballad feel to it, and I love it! And yet it still gets heavy, of course! There is not a second of this album that is boring and I didn’t feel the length at all, happily listening to it from start to finish and it was over in no time. I completely understand it won’t be for everyone, but I thought it was a fantastic album and if you’re into metal, you should check this out! 9/10

Mother Mother: Grief Chapter

Even more indie rock for this week, though I’m not sure how I feel about this one. It’s an odd one, that’s for sure. It’s like early 2000s radio-rock meets the weirdness of Queen or Muse’s stranger discography. Sometimes it works and is cool and a lot of fun. Other times it doesn’t and is jarring and odd for the sake of it. What I can say is the band are certainly all talented. There are some insane, math-rocky guitar licks that are far too good for indie music, and vocalist Ryan Guldemond almost has an air of Mika at times, that’s how good a singer he is. Heck, some of the pop elements like in ‘Explode!’ are VERY Mika.

The aforementioned track is actually a big highlight of the album, and a real turning point for me. Tracks like ‘Days’, ‘Normalize’ and ‘Matrix’ after it are also interesting and fun enough for me to love, with the latter again being a massive highlight for me. But yeah, when I finally ‘got’ it, I loved this album. Everything after ‘Explode!’ had me hooked and hanging on every weird turn and note. It’s not all fantastic, but it is all interesting enough to enjoy, and there is enough truly incredible tracks on the album to make me love it. If they put on a good show too, I feel like I’d LOVE to see this live. They remind me of AJR or early Twenty-One Pilots in their creativity, and I can’t help but love it. There are easily four or five tracks here I’m going to be listening to a lot moving forward. So, it’s gotta be at least an 8.5/10 from me!

The Obsessed: Gilded Sorrow

I feel like we don’t cover enough doom metal on this site, so whenever a band like this comes along and releases a killer album like this, I instantly love it. Of course the riffs are top notch, but so is everything else. The songs are very well crafted, the vocals fit perfectly and are catchy in the choruses, and the drums and bass hold everything down perfectly. It’s old-school, plodding doom metal in all the best ways. The whole album is packed full of incredible tracks, but my favourites include the opener, ‘Wellspring’ and the title track. I also have to bring up the fantastic production, something a little rarer in the genre but whoever mixed this NAILED it. Honestly, there isn’t much to say, it’s a solid doom metal album through and through. No frills, no crazy prog or genre changes, just a great album for fans of sludge. 8/10

ILLUMISHADE: Another Side of You

The Swiss metal band released their sophomore album last week after a near four year gap, and their first with Napalm. The band have been making waves since their inception in 2019, and look to continue their momentum with this release.

They’re symphonic metal for the most part, but are definitely on the heavier end of that spectrum. The combined intro track into ‘ELEGY’ perfectly encapsulates the band’s sound and style, and I personally love it. It has an edge and moderness to it that the big bands in the genre, Nightwish and Epica, do not have. It feels like the next step in the genre for sure, this band spearheading the way for the 2nd generation of symphonic metal bands alongside the likes of Metalite and Ad Infinitum. The guitars are chunky and almost have a prog/djent style and feel to them. The drums and bass are heavy too, while the synths, keys and operatic vocals ground it firmly in symphonic metal. It’s a really cool listen!

Honestly, there isn’t a bad track on the album, either. Songs like ‘ELEGY’, ‘ENEMY’, ‘Here We Are’ and epic ballad ‘Fairytale’ are certainly highlights, though. The band are incredible players and songwriters, and it’s no wonder they feel like they have a rocket strapped to their backs. They are going to be a massive name in the metal scene sooner rather than later, and this album will play a big part in getting them there. It’s an awesome release, and worth checking out for any fans of the genre. If I had but one complaint… it is a tad long. However, when it’s all this high quality, that’s hardly an issue! 8.5/10

Volucrine: Etna

The modern melo-death band released their first album in half a decade last week, and third overall. I have to say I wasn’t familiar with the band before this review, but found myself loving it. It had just as many elements of metalcore and hardcore as it did melo-death, and blended the genres together perfectly. The mixture of low growls, hardcore screams and great clean vocals are all great and hugely impressive. That’s not to take away from the rest of the band too, who all work their asses off here with some fantastic riffing and drumming.

It’s yet another album this week packed to the brim with awesome songs, too. Though every track is amazing, personal highlights include the opener, ‘Old Friend’ and ‘Godsized’. This band deserve to be so much bigger than they are, especially with the genre having a bit of a resurgence currently. I would 100% recommend this album to any metalheads reading, and I have my fingers crossed that this helps push them into the mainstream, they more than deserve it with their incredible songwriting skill! 8.5/10

Frontier Ruckus: On the Northline

This is not at all what I was expecting from this album. It was advertised to me through a country site, so I was expecting that, folk, Americana etc. Instead what I got was closer to The Presidents of The United States of America, Lazlo Bane or Pinegrove. It’s quirky, early 2000s indie-radio-rock, and while not at all what I was expecting, I did enjoy it! Don’t get me wrong, there are some elements of Americana to it; there’s a pretty prevalent banjo throughout and the opener is pretty folky. But yeah, mostly it’s more strange indie stuff. Highlights for me were ‘Magdalene’ and ‘Clarkston Pasture’. It’s another great album to sit back and relax to, and some of the lyrics are really interesting and well written. If you’re into the slower, more chilled-out stuff, this is definitely the album for you! 7/10

The High Hawks: Mother Nature’s Show

A much more traditional country/Americana sound now, from the debut of the supergroup. Featuring members of Leftover Salmon, Railroad Earth and Hard Working Americans and boasting a sound akin to The Grateful Dead, the band are of course going to have a hit on their hands with this release. And after listening to the album, I’m sure they do. It’s packed full of highlights, from the singles to tracks like ‘Fox River Blues’ and ‘Backwater Voodoo’. It’s a very fun album for someone who’s into folk, Americana, rock and blues, as it combines all together perfectly. And yet again it’s another album to stick on and simply chill out to. It’s all simple yet hugely effective, and written and performed by some of the best in the genre. 7.5/10

New Music Mondays

New Music Mondays: Metallica, Overkill and More!

A huge week for new music thanks to the main band. The fact that anyone has put out an album the same day as Metallica is insane, but there is plenty to sink our teeth into and some really great stuff at that. Check it out with us!

Metallica: 72 Seasons

Arguably the biggest band of all time, and easily one of my favourites. I had to give this my full attention, so read the full review here.

Overkill: Scorched

The 20th album from the thrash legends picks up right from where 2019s Wings of War left off. The opening title track really highlights the band’s sound not just over the last decade but over their whole careers, and is an excellent place to start. They have easily been one of the most consistent thrash bands around alongside Exodus. ‘Goin’ Home’ is jam packed with great riff after great riff and has one of my favourite guitar solos on the album. It’s also amazing how well Blitz has looked after his vocals over all these years, sounding up there with the likes of Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford these days. The drumming is the real unsung hero of the album though, Jason does an incredible job.

‘Wicked Place’ and ‘Harder They Fall’ are two more highlights of an honestly stacked album. I’ve been a fan of the band for a while but honestly haven’t really given them the credit they clearly deserve. This is excellent, and proves they are still one of the best thrash bands around today. 9/10

LA Guns: Black Diamonds

Tracii Guns’ post GnR project are back with their 14th studio album. I remember checking out their last one when it came out, giving it a 7.5/10 (check it out here). Much like their previous album, it doesn’t really have the glam/Sleaze metal feel to it that the band were known for back in the day. It still has some AOR tones but feels like a lot more modern, like more recent Bullet Boys or even (and I’m sure some hate me making the comparison) Chinese Democracy.

Still, tracks like the slower ballad ‘Diamonds’, the blusey ‘Shame’ and the faster, more old school ‘Lowlife’ are all highlights of the album. Overall, I think I enjoyed it more than their last one. I simply don’t think it was arranged very well. The opener didn’t land for me, but some of the later songs were amazing. It’s a fun album with plenty of good rock songs throughout and one I’ll happily listen to again. 8/10

Despite the Reverence: Stress of Evolution

Max: So this was one of those bands that I had never heard of before and I’m always ready to find another fantastic band much like I did when I first heard Sleep Token. This band only disappointed in one regard; why do they only have 91 monthly listeners on Spotify? The guitars and bass all had this very constant and moving feel throughout which allowed for so much energy to be carried through the album. The drums were great and I really need to start learning drums again because there are so many things that drummers like this do which just astound me with how effortlessly they seem to be yet brilliant they are. And then the vocals, I could understand the cleans taking a bit of time for people to get used to but I loved them and then the screams felt almost like older Parkway Drive, so they were awesome. This has to be an 8/10

Penny Rich: If Everyone’s An Expert, What’s Left to be Learnt?

I wasn’t coming into this album expecting such riffs. Right from the offset with ‘Spirals’ it’s one sludgy, pretty heavy riff after the other. Meanwhile, the vocals and overall vibe gave off heavy Dead Kennedy’s vibes. Considering this was described to me as indie I was very pleasantly surprised, it’s like a dark punk sort of feel. Tracks like ‘SPA’ and ‘Downfall’ are also great. I love the energy to it all, and their talent helps a bunch too. 7.5/10, a good album!

Fruit Bats: A River Running to your Heart

Having caught a bit of these at The Long Road last year (check out the review here) I was excited to check out this album! Honestly, it’s the perfect album to just chuck on and chill to, too. It’s very stripped back, pop/indie centric Americana, and it’s a lot of fun. The vocals reminded me a lot of Billy Corgan at times, fitting in surprisingly well over the chilled out instrumentation. It also had a slight Mothers Milk RHCP vibe to it. ‘See the World by Night’ was probably my favourite track on the album, but there really isn’t a bad track on it really. It did get slightly repetitive by the halfway mark, but that’s more personal preference than anything I think. 7.5/10

Alase: A Matter of Time

Max: Firstly, and I know this doesn’t affect the music but it should be said, the album art is brilliant. In terms of the actual music, it was really really good. It was really fun to listening to and there are many points where the music swells and it leaves you floating but then the screams ground you again and make you feel so much energy. This is only amplified by the drums and guitars which really demonstrate all of this. The quality of the recording also really helps with this as it was very good and was definitely done with the overall goal of the album in mind. 8/10

Jesus Piece: …So Unknown

Max: Right, definitely a change of pace from the previous two albums. But, it fully carries on the trend of this week having great albums. There is so much intensity and energy throughout the songs. I can imagine just how mental this band would be live. The bass really deserves some recognition because its all too easy for it to become buried in the rest of the music but this band clearly loves it and does a lot of work to make sure that it can be heard and it’s an important part of each song. The drums are very good and there are so many changes in pace and blast beats that I can’t fathom ever playing something like this. The vocals are amazing and feel like a cross between Knocked Loose, Kublai Khan TX and Alpha Wolf so they really deserve some praise. A very well deserved 9/10

Mike Miz: Only Human

The debut album of this upbeat Americana artist is fantastic. ‘Hand of the Sculptor’ is the perfect opener, feeling like an upbeat mixture between country and New Orleans-infused blues/soul rock. It’s follower ‘Only Human’ instead gives off heavy Fleetwood Mac vibes. It’s also got a fantastic chorus to it. ‘Six Ways from Sundays’ has an albums jazz infusion to the blues rock. The second half of the album, while it falls off in terms of pace, it doesn’t let up in terms of quality. ‘You Make me Feel’ is like an early 2000s pop ballad that I could easily hear filling the radio stations back then. And album closer ‘Tail Lights’ rocks it back up perfectly. A very good feel-good album, even despite the lyrics at times. 8.5/10

Syncolima: Wavelengths

Another album we did a full review of a couple of months back now. It was awesome! Check it out here.

White Rose Motor Oil: The Gift of Poison

First of all, these guys need way more listens than they have. So stop reading this right now and go check out the band and this album in particular.

Back? Okay, let’s continue.

This was awesome. It’s like dark Americana, having a pop-country twang to it. Opener ‘Ain’t no Saint’ hooked me in immediately with the incredible writing, catchy hooks and amazing lyricism, and it only continued to hit thr mark with all three from there. ‘Red Light’ is another amazing track while songs like ‘Hateland’ and ‘Blood Left to Bleed’ are also Hugh highlights. Honestly though, the whole album is amazing, there isn’t a bad track on it. I would say it’s the perfect album to put on and chill out to, but given the dark, sometimes heavier themes, that may not be entirely true! Either way, the band have a new huge fan in me! 9/10

Reviews

The Long Road 2022: The Big Bad Review – Day 3

Our third and final day at the festival again found us headed to the Front Porch stage early doors. We heard Tim Prottey-Jones on the YETI Tailgate Bar while we waited for James Riley to come on with his 90s Nashville set. Both artists were good and helped set the tone of the day pretty well, much like before. Whether it was the solo acoustic act or the full-on country/bluegrass band, they were both good to sit back and relax too after queuing far too long for a coffee.

Lauren Morrow grew on me a lot throughout her set. While the whole singer and acoustic guitar setup had grown a little thin on me by this point in the weekend, Lauren was such a nice, wholesome person that you couldn’t not have a good time. Whether it was the fun stories she told behind the songs or getting genuinely choked up about finally getting to return to the UK, it was a real pleasure to watch. She has clear Dolly Parton inspirations and ‘Barbara Jean’ is one of my favourite tracks of the whole weekend, honestly.

Next up were Gangstagrass. My god, hold my beer. Remember on the last day when I said that there were a few contenders to set of the weekend? Well, this is another one up there with Hudson. They are a unique blend of Bluegrass and Public Enemy style rap which honestly should work nowhere near as well as it does. This was a rock show in everything but sound. The guys owned the stage and the crowd and honestly tore the roof off the whole festival. They had such a presence about them that made it impossible to take your eyes off them, whether you are into the genres or not.

Check out more country here.

And, surprisingly, the tent was PACKED. Given the rap element, I kind of expected the band to be more niche. But nope, the crowd was the biggest I’d seen in there and they were bouncing around, singing and doing whatever the band asked them to do. And they’re all so talented, both at their instruments and the insane 5-part harmonies. And the lyrics were actually meaningful and profound, too. Man, I cannot gush about this band enough. They should and will be massive. put them on any stage at any festival and they’d go down a storm. SEE THEM.

We headed back to the main stage then for Kyle Daniel. We actually saw him twice, once with his band and once on his own acoustically later on. Both sets were great, and very different. Being rockier than most on the bill and sounding like a fun combination of Blackberry Smoke and Chris Stapleton, it was right up my street. Plus, his voice was so amazing that it translated amazingly over to acoustic. Two great sets from a guy that I definitely need to check out more. He could be massive over here, given the sucess of bands like Black Stone Cherry and The Cadillac Three.

We got to see a full set from Sunny Sweeney next. It felt a little like Stevie Nicks doing country, that’s probably the closest thing I can think of to describe it. It was a good, fun, set and another that was nice to chill out to. Much like Brandy the day before, very typical country music, but with a little more of a pop edge. She’s a good frontwoman and everyone did their parts well.

We caught the all-female bluegrass band Della Mae next and had a lot of fun. I mean, how can you not have fun seeing bluegrass live? They were pretty polished which is sometimes rare in the genre and played a good set to a loud, supportive crowd.

Then it was back to the main stage for the final run of acts. Lindsey Ell was great, but man does she have a lot of energy on stage. Like that isn’t a bad thing at all, but she was almost hyperactive between songs and could have been slightly off-putting at times. Still, she has a fantastic back catalogue of pop-rock-country songs and played a great set showing of a lot of them. Her band were great too. I couldn’t help but enjoy myself watching her and she’s another artist I’d love to catch again.

Next up were Locash, the third in the tie of best performances of the weekend. The most bro-country band to ever bro-country. It’s so easy to love them just as much as it is for some to inevitably hate them. I found myself struggling when they first came on, and it seemed like the crowd were sharing my sentiment. However, as soon as they started to interact with the crowd and their personalities came out, they quickly turned the tides. By the end of the set they had everyone swaying and jumping around.

Whether it was their big hits like ‘I Love This Life’ or ‘Beach Boys’ or covers of Backstreet Boys and Fountains of Wayne, they owned that stage and the crowd watching them. I don’t have a bad thing to say about them. Both brothers are phenomenal frontmen and the band behind them were excellent. Heck, the lead guitar was far too over-qualified. I wasn’t expecting to hear any sweep-picking at a country festival, never mind multiple solos with it! I cannot wait or these guys to announce a UK tour, I’ll be there in a heartbeat. A HUGE highlight of the weekend.

Then we reached the headliner of the night, the mighty Cadillac Three. They’re the main reason I wanted to go to the festival aside for Chris Young. I’ve seen them a handful of times already but not too recently, so I was excited to see their new stuff.

I loved it, but unfortunately there seemed to be a bit of a disconnect with some of the crowd. Don’t get me wrong, their bigger tracks like ‘White Lightening’ and ‘The South’ won people over by the end and everyone was interacting. However, they opened on a lot of their newer stuff and did a whole ‘Tabasco and Sweet Tea’ section that even bored me a little. I love COUNTRY FUZZ and hearing stuff off that was great. However, maybe at a festival where it seems that not as many people are into the heaviest band on the line-up playing a bit more of their older stuff may have helped. And while I loved the THICC guitar tone, it made them sound even heavier and clearly scared a few people off. It was a great set overall but maybe the wrong one for the crowd they had.

Then we got a real treat. Everette opened the after-party in the Insterstate, and it was amazing. They played the same sort of set but in a completely different environment than the previous set it was so interesting. The tent was pretty packed and everyone was loving it, dancing around and singing when they could. Also, my god do the band do a FANTASTIC cover of ‘Rocketman’. And bringing on Jared and the boys from TC3 on at the end was just the icing on top of the awesome cake. What a great way to close a great weekend!

And there we have it, our review of everything we saw at The Long Road 2022! We loved every minute of it, having discovered loads of new amazing bands and artists to listen to. I want to see a lot of the bands we saw again and we’ll definitely be back next year!

Did you enjoy our review? As usual you can keep up to date on all of our content from our Instagram here

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<- Day 2

Reviews

The Long Road: The Big Bad Review – Day 2

We spent the morning of day 2 wandering around the arena, taking in what other things it had to offer aside for the live music. There was plenty to do. From a great classic US car show to traditional games like Cornhole and Horseshoe, we had great fun killing some time. The festival really gave you your moneys worth, with axe throwing on offer too as well as various events like hotdog and wing eating, cowboy Olympics and barn dancing.

I also just wanted to take this opportunity to speak about how fantastically organised this festival was. It had such a warm and friendly atmosphere throughout, with plenty of families bringing their kids and dogs. There was a place for kids to play and a whole field closed off where the dogs could be taken to run around. And because there were bins everywhere the place was so clean. I’m so used to rock festivals being just music and that’s it and generally the crowd littering more, so being somewhere like this was great.

As we were wandering around we caught Benjamin Francis Leftwich on the Front Porch. Hearing a British person performing at the festival was a little odd but he did a good job. He had a cool folk vibe to his acoustic singer-songwriter presentation. It fit in well with the rest of the music there. Honestly, I feel bad for not knowing him beforehand as he seems like a pretty big name. Much like Kevin Daniel, he was a slower, stripped-back way of opening the day for us. It was the perfect way to set the scene.

Next up were one of my highlights of the weekend, Everette. I could have watched them play all day and was so glad they did two sets across the weekend (more on the other later). This one saw them far too early on but on the Front Porch, which felt like a perfect setting for the duo. Opening on crowd (and personal) favourite ‘Dang the Whiskey’, the two whisked through a far too brief set of their greatest hits, and a couple of brand-new ones thrown in for good measure. They held the crowd’s attention throughout and are another that are going to be the future of the genre.

Check out our last big review here.

Then we had the awesome pleasure of seeing Jess again. This time it was at a more intimate setting of the Buddy’s Good Time Bar stage. While playing a muchly similar set, it was nice to be able to sit down and see everything a little better and relax, instead of bouncing around and singing. The Good Time Bar had a pretty chilled out feeling all weekend. There was little crowd interaction, just appreciating the music, and that’s exactly what we all did here.

We headed back over to the Interstate stage, this time for an Irish band called Hudson Taylor. I had them circled on my app as ones to check out but couldn’t remember why. I’m so glad I did. They put on maybe one of the best performances of the weekend. At least on parr with a couple of the bands from Sunday.

The brothers fronting the band again put in their all and had the talent to back it up. And of course their band did their part to perfection too. It’s another act that I feel disappointed in myself for not knowing, especially given that I generally love the alt-folk kinda sound they play. They also had that pop edge to them that reminded me of the 90s US pop rock bands like Hanson and Matchbox Twenty. Whether it was their older hits or tracks off their 2022 album, they performed it all amazingly and the crowd loved every second. They have a new, big fan in me! Hopefully they come back nearby soon!

We finally headed over to the mainstage for the first time that weekend to see the amazing Seaforth. Being such a big name, I’d heard a couple before. But have to admit, I wasn’t that fussed on track. They brought it live thought, and more than won me over. It’s all very polished and pop, right down to the Sean Kingston samples, but it was good to watch live. The guys are consummate professionals and I’m honestly shocked they haven’t broken out over here massive already. ‘Good Beer’ is a catchy, poppy, radio-baity hit and I have found myself humming it a bunch over the last few days.

We went for some food and caught the back end of Camille Parker on the Front Porch. She was okay, but even more pop than Seaforth. It didn’t quite fit with the feel of the festival in some ways. Then it was back over to main for Cassadee Pope.

One of the most rock artists of the weekend, Cassadee leaned into that distinction with a set that wouldn’t seem out of place opening for P!nk or Orianthi. Obviously her formerly being the vocalist of Hey Monday influences her current sound a fair bit, which is great. It was definitely my sort of pace and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The band did a great job and the crowd were surprisingly into it quite a bit. She threw in a Monday song or two with the more country tracks. But, honestly, tracks like ‘Tomorrow Night’ would have fit right at home with her old band. It’s rare to hear so many genres blended together so effortlessly, and it made for one hell of a set from Cassadee.

Brandy Clark was up next with an almost completely different set and sound. Having a lot more of a traditional country setup with a double bass and other strings, it was a more chilled out set that seemed to perfectly bridge the gap between Cassadee and the nights headliner. Tracks like ‘Get High’ and ‘Big Day in a Small Town’ of course went down a storm. The crowd were clearly, for the most part, big fans of her work. She’s got such a stage presence and swagger, as well as a great back catalogue, that you’d expect her to have been going much longer than she has been. I’d love to see her again, and may have to soon.

Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives to close out the night. Yep, that’s right, MARTY FUCKIN’ STUART LADIES AND GENTS. And, for a guy in his 60s and who has done it all, the guy did not disappoint one single bit. Whether it was playing his fantastic own songs or diving back into his history of playing and collaborating with other artists with covers of ‘Ring of Fire’, ‘Wipe out’ and ‘I’ve Always Been Crazy’, he and the Superlatives smashed it all out of the park.

Due to being a very late bump up to headliner due to Chris Young having to drop out due to Covid, he brought on some fantastic guests too. Whether it was Andrew Coombs, Sunny Sweeney or Kezia Gill, each made it count and you could tell they had a blast. Oh, and did I mention that each of the other three band members had their time in the spotlight, fronting for a couple of songs each (all of which were great, by the way). This was as masterclass and a history in country and bluegrass music and I was hooked from the start to the very end. What a fantastic way to close out the night.

<- Day 1

Day 3 ->

Reviews

The Long Road: The Big Bad Review

Yep, you read that right. Overtone crashed a country festival. And, spoiler alert, it was fucking awesome. The Long Road 2022 celebrated the best of country, Americana and roots music, as well as having plenty of US pastimes as well on top of it all. We tried to soak up as much as we could of this fantastic, family friendly festival. And, we wanted to let you know just how much we enjoyed it!

After setting up and getting a quick lay of the land on the Friday, we found ourselves at the beautiful Front Porch stage watching Kevin Daniel. The North Carolinan/Brooklynite Americana songwriter did a fantastic job playing so early on and opening the festival for a fair few people. He rattled through a fantastic 40-minute set of some of his biggest hits. It was a great, chilled out way to start us off and ease us into an environment we hadn’t really experienced before.

Next up we ended up at the second stage, The Interstate, for Canadian pop-country Breakout star Jess Moskaluke. This was a little more of my sort of speed as she had a full band behind her and it had a rock edge, even if it was very pop. She reminded me a lot of Shania Twain, especially in her most recent single, ‘Knock Off’. She went down a storm in the tent for her entire set, having everyone dancing around and joining in. It’s very clear to me why she’s getting so big and she definitely has a new fan in me. I’m pretty sure each of the tracks she played has made it onto my Spotify, so that should say something!

More country here.

After taking in a few of the stalls, we headed back to the Insterstate stage for Priscilla Block. While she was still very good, she felt like a slight bit of a comedown after Jess. She’s a little slower and more ballady, which definitely isn’t an issue, but a quicker track or two might have been fun! Still, the stuff off her February album, ‘Welcome to the Block Party’, went down a storm. Plus, ‘Off the Deep End’ is a tune and everyone in the audience loved it. I’ll definitely be listening to her more of her moving forward.

Next up on said stage were the folk/indie rock band Fruit Bats. While they were even slower than Pricilla, they brought a fair amount of energy and stage-presence to the set. They gave it their all and, in turn, so did the crowd. I didn’t know them heading into the festival but, even though I’m not a huge fan of the genre, I’ve found myself listening to them a fair bit in the couple of days since. I’d love to see these guys again.

And now for something completely different (for Overtone, at least). That is a sentence I feel like I’ll say quite a lot in this write-up. Noble Jacks played an Americana set that I loved, and it’s opened my eyes properly to a whole new genre. Yes, I’d had a fair bit to drink at this point, but they were a lot of fun to listen to. The mostly seated crowd at the Front Porch were loving it too. A great way to spend a night, sitting around a fire, learning American Folk songs and getting drunk. What’s not to love?

Then we reached the headliner of the night, Drake White. One of the acts I was most excited for heading into this, he didn’t disappoint one bit. Whether it was his biggest tracks like ‘Livin’ The Dream’ or ‘Power of a Woman’ or snippets of covers of the likes of ‘Hard to Handle’, ‘Use Somebody’ or even Pearl Jam’s ‘Alive’, the setlist was packed full of fantastic songs. His band were top notch and Drake had the crowd in the palm of his hand from start to finish. It was one of the busiest times I’d seen the tent stage for a band, and I cannot imagine a single person came away disappointed. The Optimystic has been on a lot on my Spotify since this set and for very good reason. Drake White is the future of country music, and I’m sure you haven’t heard that here first.

Day 2 ->