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Features, Interviews & Features

Baylen Leonard: ‘It’s so much better they have an opinion about it than no opinion at all!’

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We had the absolute pleasure of chatting to Long Road organiser Baylen ahead of this year’s edition of the festival. Check out as we chat about the highs and lows of it below!

We’re just a couple of days out [at the time of recording] from Long Road, are you more excited or nervous?

What’s really exciting about it is when you see everybody who’s coming start posting about it online and start excited about packing and doing a trial run of setting their tent up in their garden. The crew is already on-site now building it so I’ve been getting loads of pictures and videos all week of the stages going up and everything going. It becomes a big machine at this point, it’s like a train you can’t stop! I’m really excited to get there and see it with my eyes!

Have they been there since Monday, then?

There’s been some people on site since last week. Most of the crew have been there since the weekend. I will get down there tomorrow, and not freak out at all. I’ve learned by now that every year I get there and so much is done, I think ‘oh my god, what about that?’ and I’ve learnt that it always comes together. There’s always a lot of running about and mayhem right before the gates open, but then it’s all perfect!

How do you find the time to do all of this alongside your radio work as well?

I don’t do it alone, there’s no way! There’s a big team and we work on it year round. Then as we get closer to the event the teams within the teams start adding people to their teams so it becomes quite a big operation by the time we get here.

I always kinda see it as one thing, doing radio and all the other stuff I do in country music. It almost just feels like it’s one thing. If I’m playing someone on the radio that I really love I’ll think about trying to get them on the festival. Or if I’m seeing someone in a live setting that I’m considering for the festival, I might think they’d sound great for the radio. I kinda get to do all the things I do all at the same time!

What inspired you to start the festival? C2C has been going a while but it feels like you guys were the next ones to do the country thing over here!

I’m originally from Tennessee. I’ve lived in the UK for a really long time, and country music has been my thing for a really long time, so for years I was always wanting to do something like this and had lots of different ideas about it. I met up with somebody else who also wanted to do this. She’s Irish so she grew up going to Irish music festivals and wanted to bring that. So between her and that background and me, we thought what could we do that’s authentic and brings the best of both of those worlds together, but makes it very much a UK festival. So we started it! Our first was in 2018 and it seems crazy that it was that long ago! It’s really nice that we seem to have found out spot within what is a really exciting time for country music.

People have really taken The Long Road under their wing and those who come to it feel a sense of ownership over it as well which is exactly what we want! We want it to feel like home for everyone who’s into country, Americana and Roots. Even people who don’t like country, maybe there’s something in there for them! Then they come along and find some country that they actually love. It really comes from a love of the genre and wanting to bring this authentic country experience to the UK, and to help it grow too!

It’s our fourth year now and just the atmosphere is amazing, it’s really become a favourite of ours. Seeing familiar faces there every year is great!

That’s really something we wanted to bake into it from the beginning, to be a friendly, warm festival where everyone felt welcome! And as we grow to try and retain those things. We’re bigger this year than we’ve ever been, but I hope it still feels like the same festival!

You’ve added the Hitching Post this year, right?

Oh, I’m so excited about the Hitching Post! I named it after a venue from back home when I was growing up. A lot of towns in the South, The Hitching Post is quite a popular name for a honkytonk. This venue back home was a real stop for artists that were touring and coming up so like Darius Rucker and Garth Brooks played it before anyone knew them. I found all this out after I moved away, of course!

The point of the Hitching Post at the Long Road is that it’s a hardwood floor. We really wanted somewhere where people could dance. We’ll have dance classes and the music in there really lends itself to people doing line dances or swing dances. We’ll have people there to teach you how to do that. We’re also using it for sit-down conversations with people like Drake Milligan. It’s just another venue where people can hang out, make their own, meet their friends. I think it’s gonna be a really good vibe! I can’t wait to get there and see it!

I imagine it’s a bit of a logistical nightmare to get so many international bands to play. Do you approach a band and they arrange a tour after, or do you see who’s touring first?

It’s both of those things! Some artists we approach and say “we’d love to have you at The Long Road”. Sometimes we’ll book them and they book a tour around it, sometimes they’ll just come and do it UK exclusive, like Drake Milligan this year. Some will come and do TLR and then go to Europe and do some shows. Some of them will already will be planning to come so will approach us, or will be planning on doing something nearby. Sometimes we’ll talk to people and they’ll go “it’s not going to work this year but let’s talk next year”. It really is just a case of all of those things!

Is it sometimes a struggle to decide what artists to book? There’s been a little backlash online from the James Bay booking.

I think that one of the goals of TLR was to get as many people into country music as we could and to celebrate all types of country, Americana and roots. If you look at our lineups from year one we’ve always had artists sit a little bit outside of those core genres but that aren’t completely different. James Bay is a great example. I know a lot of people don’t think of him as fitting in, but he really does. He’s made music in all of those genres. He’s recorded in Nashville and just made his Grand Ole Opry debut, the absolutely approval stamp for any artist in country music. I think because he’s so big and so well known, it’s actually easy to forget he’s actually in these genres. If it means James Bay fans who don’t count themselves as country fans but find some country artists that they do love, I think that’s a great thing! I actually think a lot of country fans are going to have a really great time watching him!

Also, with a festival like TLR, as big as it is and with as many artists as it has, there’s always going to be artists that you love and those you don’t, or that you haven’t heard of. We have six stages, there’s always something going on somewhere that you’re gonna love! He’s a great get for us and a fantastic live artist! But it goes back to what I said about people feeling ownership of the festival; it’s so much better they have an opinion about it than no opinion at all!

You’ve got a couple of new stage takeovers at Buddy’s this year, right?

Yeah! We have Loose Music which is a UK label that we’ve worked with since the beginning, and then Spinefarm, a really big UK label. The thing about doing that is we want those people to bring their sensibilities to the festival. Colour me Country, we want Rissi to bring artists that maybe we don’t know or artists that wouldn’t be able to come to the UK at this stage in their careers. The same thing with all the other takeovers we have, it’s people I’ve known from the industry for years and years, I’ve always liked their taste and what they do. It’s great to give them the freedom to show their side of country.

Do you have any hand in booking for them, or do you let them get whoever they think will fit?

We work together. We kinda go “hey, here’s your takeover, these are the slots, what are you thinking?”. They come to us with a list, we go to the, with a list, sometimes we have people we can’t fit in elsewhere. It works both ways, but for the most part they’re people we trust, we don’t get in their way too much!

Have you got some stuff in the pipeline for next year already?

Oh, we work so far ahead it’s unbelievable. Even before the lineup is complete each year we’re already having conversations about the next year and even the year after that! Conversations about next year are already happening!

Do you have a dream get for The Long Road? Anyone you’re really wanting to book over the next few years?

Yeah, absolutely. There’s always a dream list. And that list changes every week, at least! But I couldn’t tell you, because we might just get ‘em!

I imagine you’re happy to keep the festival growing, there’s more room on site for it to expand?

Yeah, part of the reason we picked the sight… it just felt right. It reminded me of the geography of back home so it looked really great. It’s easy to get to. And also because there’s room there for there to grow. We’re happy for it to grow but we want to maintain the vibe of the festival, so that’s why we’ve been doing it little by little! We really think about how it’s going to impact everything, how it fits in with what we’re doing already, how it will affect the layout and the capacity. Make sure that it all makes sense for the people who come to the festival!

Features, Reviews

Hella Rock 2025: The Big Bad Review!

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The second edition of Hella Rock festival took over the HMV Empire in Coventry last weekend, bringing seven incredible bands with it! We had the pleasure of heading down to check it all out, and knew we had to shout about how great it was!

Mystiek opened things up in style. They tore the Empire a new one with their insane energy right from the gate. Being pretty heavy but still having some catchiness and melody to them, they were the perfect way to kick off the day! It was somehow the first time I’d really heard them, but they almost immediately made a new fan in me. They’re all clearly talented musicians, and put their all into their performance here!

After some brief technical issues. Eddie & The Wolves took to the stage. It’s no secret at this point that I am in this band, so of course I’d praise the set. However, I had a blast on stage, and the rest of the band seemed to, too! Thank you so much to James and the rest of the Hella Rock team for having us on and being so accommodating, and for every single person that showed up early to check us out! I thought we sounded pretty good, and it was fun to play a shorter set full of energy throughout after a summer of slightly longer sets. Of course, let us know what you thought in our comments though, especially if you disagree!

Outlaw Orchestra followed swiftly suite and blew the roof off the place! Any longtime readers know we love these guys, and it’s been too long since we’ve seen them live! They were on top form again here, and it was so great to hear some of their new songs make it into their set! The band have grown into some of the best performers on the circuit in recent years, with multi-instrumentalist Pete Briley bouncing all over the stage while his brothers-in-arms were stuck behind the kit and at the mic. And, to top it off, they are all such incredibly talented musicians. From the regular rock fair to box guitars, banjos and plenty of percussion, there was never a dull moment! Their Southern rock stylings made them a unique addition to the bill, and they certainly stood out in the best way!

Not long after, another excellent trio took to the stage in Apriori. The fact that these bands can pack so much of a punch and huge sound into their arrangements is incredible, and it would be a rather running theme throughout the night. The keys packed out the songs fantastically, and brought an air of AOR to the heavy blues sound that set them apart in a big way. They look the part and play it just as well, putting on one of my favourite sets of the day!

Electric Black were fan favourites heading in, and on the day! They were the closest thing to straight-up hard rock on the day, and put on a show to match that. It was like stepping back into the 80s in the best way, putting on a performance reminiscent of the likes of GnR or Electric Boys, or modern counterparts like The LA Maybe. The band very much came, saw, and kicked ass! They showed off their talent for both playing and songwriting perfectly, and had plenty of stage presence to go alongside it. They have been around a little while now and their live shows are like a well-oiled machine, being polished in a way only a rough hard rock band can be!

Tattoo Molly took the stage like they had something to prove, and they did just that! Only their second show under their new lineup, you wouldn’t have thought that they’d had minimal prep time as they smashed it out of the park to the hometown crowd. While it took the new frontman Tim a little to warm up, everyone else put on an immediately electric show, and he soon warmed up to join them! It was a great setlist full of their biggest and best hits, performed masterfully to an adoring crowd. Even with the bands leader also being the organiser for the festival, Tattoo Molly have owned the festival for two straight years now, making the most of their slot!

Fury have returned with a vengeance this year, it feels, and their live shows match up to that. On the verge of dropping their massive new album, the band are firing on all cylinders currently, in a major way! The powerful pairing of Julian and Nyah’s vocals soar perfectly over the heavy, NOWBHM-inspired riffs, making for a fantastic mix of old and new. Speaking of old and new, the band played a great spread of their fantastic back catalogue, thrilling with every track. They have been gathering a wealth of momentum over the last few years and it’s insane that they aren’t one of the biggest bands in the UK currently, especially when they put on shows like this. Still, seeing them in a smallish venue like this is incredible, and the sound for them made it even better!

Finally, the mighty Virginmarys took to the stage. Veterans of the scene by this point, they are no strangers to packed out clubs, and played their asses off accordingly. The fact that they have been so warmly accepted into the NWOCR scene is amazing, and it was clear a large swath of the crowd have been eagerly anticipating the bands set. The fact that it is just two of them making this much noise is mind-blowing, and a true testament to their talent! I love this band yet it was somehow the first time I had seen them live, and I was hugely impressed! Opening on crowd and personal favourite ‘Just a Ride’ was a masterful choice, and playing a lot off The House Beyond the Fires made it even better. They’re headliners and a respected band in the scene for good reason, and they put on one hell of a set to close things out!

And there we have it folks, an excellent day of live rock music! Eight incredible bands that I cannot recommend checking out enough, both live and on track. Tickets are already on sale for next year’s edition of the festival, get them while they’re hot and while you still can. If this year is anything to go off, it’ll be another stellar lineup and will most likely sell out fast!

Features, Reviews

The Long Road 2025: The Big Bad Review – Day 3!

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The final day of the festival opened as equally chilled as the others with The Wranglers and Steady Habits. The former was somehow about our only trip over to the Showground of the weekend, but were a fantastic acoustic duo that could easily make it onto the Front Porch or beyond in a year or two. The latter was on said Front Porch stage, and gave similar vibes to Ferrari in that kinda acoustic indie-Americana thang. However, they brought a full band, which was great for so early on in the day on a smaller stage. They made some great music, whether it was more stripped-back, slower acoustics numbers or full-band rock tracks. Arguably, they’d have done even better with a better slot! Another band that I’d checked out a bit of beforehand but have come away loving and can’t wait for the new album!

Evan Bartels absolutely blew me away on the Interstate stage. I loved his EP when I checked it out so knew I had to head to one of his sets on the Sunday, but wasn’t expecting it to be quite that good! For one man and one guitar, the sheer sound and emotion he portrayed was insane. The man sings like he’s had 200 years of hard life experiences, and is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever seen live. Even as he just spoke between songs, and during our interview (stay tuned soon), I got lost in his words; he’s a captivating man. His set went by in a flash and he played to a pretty packed out tent, everyone being locked onto him throughout. He’s another one that got a tear or two out of me, just like the other Evan. From his incredible vocals to insane lyrics and the guitar that fits it perfectly, it was honestly phenomenal. If anyone reading this is at all into old-school, true country music, you have to check him out immediately. Another massive weekend highlight.

Our good friends These Wicked Rivers tore the roof off of Buddy’s, next. Heavy for the festival, for sure, but playing to a pretty packed out crowd non the less, Rivers owned their time on the stage. Whether it was heavier numbers like ‘Testify’ or ‘Shine On’ or more ballad-tracks like ‘When the War is Won’, the crowd ate up everything the band lay down. I’ve loved them for years, so seeing them on a bit more of an out-of-the-box stage like this and killing it is really amazing to see. The band played their asses off for the whole set, with John’s vocals sounding as great as ever and the rest of the band putting on a fantastic show. Hopefully this is the start of something awesome for the band in the country sphere, as it will help two worlds that we cover quite a lot get closer!

Alyssa Bonagura was on Buddy’s after, continuing on the Snakefarm takeover of the stage. It was another slightly heavier British artist, but slightly more on the country-pop end of things. She was another excellent set, somehow sounding exactly like she does on track live, which is an incredible feat in this sort of music. She’s another artist that could have done with a bigger platform, but also perfectly fit for the smaller, packed out crowd at Buddy’s. We’ve spent a lot of time there this year and it’s quickly becoming one of my favourite stages; from the setting to the sound to the general setup, it’s all awesome. Alyssa will surely follow Kezia in becoming a massive name in the UK country scene sooner rather than later!

Erin Kinsey blew the metaphorical roof off the place on the joint at the Rhinstone stage. Flying in pretty last minute by the sounds of things, you wouldn’t have told she was in Germany earlier that day, as she sounded fantastic and had all the energy in the world. And plus, she was HEAVY, dude. And even if this wasn’t coming from a guy who’s big into rock and metal, I’d say in a good way! It helped that the stage was perfectly loud on the Sunday, but yeah, the guitars were distorted, the bass thumping and her drummer was smacking the shit out of his skins. It really set her apart from the other women around her in the scene who she could be compared to. She goes rockier on her latest album, but I wasn’t expecting it to translate this well live! ‘Matchmaker’ was a personal highlight of mine, but the set was jam packed full of awesome tracks that the crowd ate up! Hopefully she’s over here more regularly as I’d love to see her again, hopefully at her own show, soon!

I went into The White Buffalo not quite knowing what to expect, outside of a more slower, Americana-style thing similar to Uncle Lucius. What I got was not that, but was even better! There were certainly tracks like that, but there band also got dark and heavy in the best ways. It almost boarded on the heavier end of grunge, which was sick! And, on top of that, the band were full of energy, and put on one hell of a show considering it was just them and their instruments. I love how heavy the Sunday ended up, almost feeling more like a Southern rock festival than anything else, and Buffalo were definitely a highlight in amongst that. They’re another band that I would LOVE to see again, and need to ASAP.

Kim Churchill rocked the hell out of his solo performance on the Front Porch stage. Up against some steep competition on other stages, the Aussie native still drew a pretty great crowd for what again felt like a closer, more intimate gig. His voice was amazing, and the sheer amount of other stuff he had going on at the same time really filled out the sound (I’m a sucker for a harmonica). I’d be curious to see if he plays with a full band back home, and how that would sound, but for now the acoustic solo stuff was awesome, and a fitting change of pace for us on a pretty high energy day!

It was at this point that, as we got a drink, we quickly headed to check out a bit of the dog show. Watching them all getting distracted by toys instead of running to their owners was very cute!

The UK country legend Kezia Gill played to a packed out Buddy’s, completing her mission to play every stage at the festival (well, aside from the Hitching Post now). The stage was, of course, packed out, as she was definitely ‘too big’ for the setting. However, it made it even more rowdy, and almost everyone knew so much of what she was playing, and loving every minute. We were no different. Somehow this is the first time we’ve had the chance to see Kezia and it’s very easy to see why she has such a fantastic reputation: she was really great live! Rattling through some of her biggest and best songs to an adoring crowd that have watched her grow alongside the scene over the last few years. She’s a fantastic front woman and her voice more than hold up live. If I had any complaint at all, and it’s a super minor one, is that she’s very straight-forward in terms of her sound, and on a day where everything is a little out there and different, it felt almost safe. Still, that’s hardly Kezia’s fault, and she still put on a blinder of a set.

The controversial James Bay closed out the main show on the Sunday. The amount of arguments I’ve seen that he doesn’t fit the festival, that he isn’t country so he shouldn’t be there… I think he proved a lot of the haters wrong on Sunday night. Despite being sick, he still put on an utterly fantastic show, rattling through so many of his incredible hits and doing so in style. Despite not playing my favourite song of his (‘Give me the Reason’), he still hit so many amazing songs, from his hits ‘Let It Go’ and ‘Hold Back the River’ to deeper cuts like ‘Scars’ and ‘Wanderlust’. And we got an absolutely incredible extended version of ‘Best Fake Smile’, complete with an amazing extended blues solo that really blew me away, and clearly James and the band were having a blast playing it. He’s such a professional, putting on a flawless show and coming across as such a genuine, likeable guy in the process. It was an incredible headline set fitting of the festival, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Drake was also present, he would have been headliner of the year. Anyone who’s still on the fence, I cannot recommend enough seeing him live, he puts on a fantastic show and you’d definitely be won over!

Alana Springsteen was the aftershow party artist of the Sunday, and closed out the whole weekend pretty fantastically. We caught her a couple of years ago and, much like FTF, it feels like she’s grown even more as a performer in the time since she’s been away. She put on a great, all too short set of some of her best hits, and performed them all perfectly, also sounding so close to her track stuff! I hated that I missed her full set earlier on, but at least I managed to check her out here. She brought just enough energy to the proceedings this late on, getting everyone who was exhausted still dancing and partying and singing along and having fun to close out a truly fantastic evening. That’s how it’s done!

And there we have it folks, three excellent days of country, roots, blues and Americana music. It really is one of the best festivals around currently, is family friendly and still has plenty of energy and room to grow. Again, a huge thanks and congrats to Baylen the whole team for putting on such an excellent weekend. Until next year!

<- Day 2

Features, Reviews

The Long Road 2025: The Big Bad Review – Day 2!

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Our second day started off with us stumbling vaguely hungoverly over to the Front Porch to catch rising star Halle Kearns. For just one woman and her guitar she sounded awesome, bringing a fantastic 2000s country-pop vibe to a festival that had clearly craved that sound until now. She had a pretty packed out crowd for so early in the day, and they definitely got more and more into it throughout. Her music is fantastic, as is her lyric-writing, and the duet she sung with her husband was beautiful! Sadly we missed her the day after living it up on the main stage, but it was nice to see her in this more stripped-back, chilled-out setting, and it fit her rather perfectly. I was a fan of a couple of her songs heading in, and she’s definitely made me want to dive into her catalogue more now I’m home!

P.S. I also got a ‘media comped’ Moonshine cocktail from the wonderful O’Donnell. Massive shoutout, they make some amazing drinks and I cannot praise them enough! May have played a little hackysack too with our drinks…

WE ARE WELLS FERRARI. Now that the formalities are out of the way, we got an ‘electric’ set from the pair on the Porch following Halle. And by that, they meant one of them would have an electric guitar, instead of both being on acoustics. A minor change but one that did shift their sound somewhat, making for an interesting second listen. And they were just as good as they were the night before; a pretty big compliment I’d say give that I enjoyed them both sober and not! A pretty similar set but still a lot of fun, and another duo I’d love bring a whole band back over here if they get the chance next time.

Griffin Brothers were up next on the Interstate. They were pretty good, and we went in almost completely blind. The set was fairly heavy on covers, which were great, but I loved their original stuff just as much! It was sadly a bit of a flying visit around interviews, so I’d love to check them out again at some point when I can pay more attention, but I’ll certainly be checking them out on track coming out of this!

Our first trip to Rhinestone of the day came curtesy of the overnight Irish sensation Gareth. We’d already had the pleasure of seeing him earlier this year, supporting Kip Moore, so were eager to see him again! He was great yet again, though I do feel he was maybe a touch nervous. Heck, how couldn’t you be, especially as a newer artist! He still sounded excellent, but I do think his set in Birmingham was just a smidge better. Still, his songs are amazing, they were performed great and it all really packed a punch on a stage that really nailed the sound for a lot of the weekend. He’s going to be a massive name in business sooner rather than later, that’s clear to see and hear, and it’s awesome to get to see him right at the start of that journey.

I wanted to quickly take some time out to once again praise some incredible artists we saw a song or two of in passing on the Front Porch. David Unlayao was one of the artists I was gutted to miss a full set of, & Rissi Palmer is someone I’m so shocked I’ve somehow never seen before in all my years heading to TLR. Both were great and far better live than I expected them to be! Rissi is a legend in the festival world at this point, and her ‘Southern Soul’ styling was amazing and something I am already desperate to see more of! Meanwhile, David’s pop-country vibe translated surprisingly well to the smaller stage, though the full All-Stars band backing him may have helped there! Both are awesome artists that are well worth checking out, and I have to see them both properly soon!

Next up was maybe my most anticipated set of the weekend, Evan Honer. To say he knocked it out of the park may be an understatement. He had me laughing, crying and covered in goosebumps for a good majority of the set! Right from the bittersweet opener of ‘Nowhere Fast’ I knew I was in for something special, and then he just kept going with incredible song after incredible song! ‘Mr Myers’ would have made me cry anyway, but inviting the powerful voice of Charles Wesley Godwin on to help out for the first time live utterly destroyed me. Following that up with ‘Take me as I Come’ was a one-two gut punch in the best way. Then to close out on ‘Foolin’ Ourselves’ and ‘idk shit about cars’ whipped the crowd into a deserved frenzy. I wasn’t entirely sure how he would end up going down at this sort of festival, but the tent was packed and they hung on every single word he sung. Oh, I almost forgot about him two stepping with We Are Wells Ferrari, another fun stand-out moment on a set packed full of them. A good time but also an emotional one, and easily one of the best sets of the weekend for me. I NEED to see Evan again immediately!

Larry Fleet was up next on the Rhinestone, his chilled-out, good-guy energy making for a perfect relaxed atmosphere. I have to say he’s not something I’d listen to massively often on track, but live he was amazing to sit back and listen to and enjoy with a drink! His voice is absolutely amazing and translates perfectly into a live setting. And oh my god, how have I gotten this far without talking about Crazy Legs?! What a guy, best live performer I’ve ever seen, I’mma have to take lessons and stretch before gigs now! Another awesome set arguably at the best time for it!

Charles Wesley Godwin played to an absolutely packed out Interstate tent that hung on his every note. He arguably could have been put on the main stage, but something about the darker, roofed setting just worked perfectly for him! It was another set that I just got lost in; stood in the middle of a packed out crowd just swaying and singing along to the music. Honestly, it was all awesome too, it’s hard to pick out any specific song that was between than the rest. He’s back out here soon I believe with Evan Bartels (more overleaf) and I may have to get a ticket! He’s amazing live and I’d recommend anyone even slightly curious to go!

Midland closed out the main show in typically old-school style. Bringing the smoky vegas vibes as much as the dive bar saloon ones, it was a pretty perfect way to round out the Saturday with a little bit of everything. The harmonies once again were spot on, as expected. The playing throughout was exception, from the main three to the others. From recent stuff like ‘Barely Blue’ to classics like ‘Drinking Problem’ and even their awesome cover of classic ‘Boot Scooting Boogie’, it was all SO GOOD. The band are consummate professionals, putting on a fantastic show that highlighted every member of the band perfectly, and was a lot of fun to watch. Heck, when a crowd member took a fall towards the end of the set, they even paused the show until the paramedics got them out, a fantastic, admirable move, and they all seemed genuinely concerned. That’s what the festival is all about, care and humanity, and the band encapsulated that perfectly. Yet another awesome set, and the perfect way to headline this festival!

An artist that we fell in love with our very first year there, Everette finally returned, this time as a solo(ish) artist. Closing out the day with an hour-long afterparty full of awesome songs and good times, he was another that finished things off perfectly. He and his new guitarist (on loan from Larry Fleet) sounded awesome together. Weather it was old favourites like ‘Dang the Whiskey’, ‘Woo Hoo Hoo’ and even ‘Kings of the Dairy Queen Parking Lot’(!) or newer stuff like ‘High and Lonesome’ and ‘Fright Train’, there was so much to love! Then there were the moments he brung touring partner Larry Fleet on himself, first to do a song they’d written together and then later as the whole band to sing ‘Free Fallin’’ with the crowd. The whole thing was just awesome! Brent’s voice is like butter and he’s an amazing frontman and songwriter, so this was the perfect way to close things for the Saturday!

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Day 3 ->

Features, Reviews

The Long Road 2025: The Big Bad Review!

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Our fourth year at our favourite festival, and what a fantastic year it was yet again! While a touch controversial on the lineup side of things, the growing country-Americana-roots festival provides so much entertainment in one of the nicest environments around, and we had a blast from start to end. Join us in checking out everything that went down!

First, a very big thank you to every single member of not just the Long Road staffing, but also the wonderful Lime Tree Music. I was looked after all weekend and the staff all did a cracking job. The place was clean and full of smiles throughout, and the vibe of the festival is incredibly hard to top!

Our first foray into the festival came in two parts, really. First we headed up to the brand new Hitching Post stage. It’s an amazing addition to the festival, giving it the perfect space for things like the conversations with artists, the line dancing classes and plenty more. It fit the vibe and aesthetic of the festival perfectly, and it seems to be a very popular introduction. We caught our new friends Two Ways Home presenting their Round-Up. Sadly we didn’t manage to catch all of it, but saw a couple of their songs and loved it! We then headed over to the ever-awesome Buddy’s Good Time Bar to catch Madalitso Band. Sadly they were running late, so I could only stick around for a couple of their songs, too. However, they were also pretty damn enjoyable, and I wish I’d managed to stick around longer. Their talent and creativity is off the charts, and I know a few people pegged them as one of their favourites of the weekend.

After a quick interview we caught the first half of the first set on the Rhinestone stage, Liam St. John. I knew very little of his music heading into this, but came away as a huge fan! I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so heavy-blues which, as any sort of length reader of this site knows, is a big influence to me as a musician and a firm genre favourite. The guitar work was amazing, bringing a great/surprising amount of riffs on an early Friday, but his powerful, emotion-filled vocals were as much of a firm highlight. And the performance he put on matched it perfectly. Yeah, everything about this is awesome, and I immediately added his albums release date to our calendar as I definitely don’t want to miss diving deep into it! Hopefully it isn’t the last we see of him over here soon, as I’d LOVE to hear a full set, especially after the album’s release. Definitely a very nice surprise, and an early highlight!

After Liam we cut across to the Interstate stage for our good friends First Time Flyers. We’ve loved them since the last time they played a full set, and even had the chance to chat with them then. However, we sadly haven’t had the chance to see them since. Somehow, they have gotten even better! The harmonies have somehow gotten even tighter, and the band’s chemistry on stage is now undeniable. Their last outing at the festival was just their sixth live show together, and they have clearly grown and experienced a lot since then. And the new additions to the set were just as awesome as their old stuff, too! ‘Jump’ and ‘Stay’ were both amazing, while it’s incredibly easy to tell why ‘Primadonna’ is such a firm crowd favourite, it’s still stuck in my head days later! The band are getting one hell of a great reputation in the UK country scene, and with performances like this there is no wonder why! And this was set one of three over the weekend, so the fact that they put in so much energy and passion to this first set shows just how hard-working the quartet are. I said two years ago they are going to be a big band, and given the reception they got this last weekend, I think they are almost about there!

Back over to Buddy’s next, we saw the wonderful Janet Devlin. A far cry from nervous young girl from X Factor all those years back, Janet has battled through her demons and come out the other side a new woman. However, she has still maintained her amazing voice, and is one hell of a performer to boot. And the fact that she brought a lot of energy still to a more stripped-back, acoustic performance is great proof of that! Bringing her unique blend of traditional folk and modern country, the set was packed full of awesome songs, and some equally great stories told by the woman herself. I’d love to see her in a bigger setup with a full band, but I did also enjoy the more intimate setting here, and the crowd were loving it, too!

A brief trip out to the Front Porch stage and another couple of great tracks from Two Ways Home. Then, it was back into Buddy’s for a band that I was very excited for, Crowe Boys. Though it was just the titular brothers over without the full band backing them, with the sheer sound and emotion they produced you’d think they’d never need one! The sheer power of Ocie’s vocals, paired with Wes’ incredible harmonies, packs a phenomenal punch and packs out the sound around the guitar and banjo. And as I said, the emotion on display… ‘Brother Song’ honestly had me in tears and I’m so glad they played it! The band’s blend of Americana and indie music isn’t necessarily brand new, but the pair do it to perfection and it’s really awesome to see that as a genre it’s really gathering momentum. The small tent was packed and honestly hung on every word and note, it being a truly special experience. This band are gonna go hugely far, and it was an honour getting to see them in such an intimate setting. Another massive highlight of the weekend.

Now from one highlight to another, for two wildly different reasons! What more can I say about Drake Milligan that I haven’t already. He was maybe my favourite set of last year from any artist, and honestly he could very easily be the same again this year. I’ve never seen such a naturally charismatic performer before, so effortlessly holding a crowd in the palm of his hand. It’s one thing to do it to 1.5k people inside Manchester’s Ritz, it’s a whole other ballgame to do it to 10,000+ at an outdoor venue. And yet, here the 27-year old prodigy was, putting on a show the likes of which could rival the very best to ever do it. From opening on his hit ‘Sounds Like Something I’d Do’ (to the shock of most of the crowd) to riding through most of his album and EP, to some incredible covers of both Merle Haggard and of course Elvis, it was an hour and a half of incredible music. But everyone up on that stage worked their asses off, playing like their lives depended on it and looking like they genuinely had a blast doing so. The soloing was impeccable, and the ‘big band show’ element was very present. We even got some yet-unreleased ones, like already fan favourite ‘Slow Dancin’ to a Fast Song’ and the brand new (and set highlight) ‘Tumbleweed’. Everything about it was just incredible yet again, and I cannot recommend Drake more if I tried. Everyone should see him play live at least once in their lives, and he’s just going to keep getting bigger and bigger with the performance he puts on.

To close our night off in chilled-out style, we got an acoustic set from California’s own Wells Ferrari on the Front Porch. Or should that be ‘We Are Wells Ferrari’? I feel like I’ve been indoctrinated into some sort of cult, and I for one am fine with it! The duo sounded great, playing and singing their hearts out and hitting some incredible harmonies. That really seems to be the theme of this year’s edition of the festival; fantastic vocal harmonies. The pair were great fun to watch as they had a great laugh and joke with the crowd throughout, definitely closing out the night in style! And, it helped that they plated some amazing songs, too!

Day 2 ->

News

Bloodstock 2022 Announce Their First Crop of bands!

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The UK’s premier heavy festival concludes this years return edition today, but they are already looking to the future for next year. Announcing 17 bands already, including two of the three headliners, the hype is well and truly building already!

Headlining the Saturday will be the band who were supposed to have that slot this year before having to pull out, Mercyful Fate. The band usually deliver one hell of a stage show and frontman King Diamond says, “This time we are going to bring the Devil himself.”

Headlining one of the other days are groove metal legends Lamb Of God. The band previously headlined back in 2013 and it has been far too long since they did a big show over here. Frontman Randy Blythe had this to say: ‘It’s been way too long since we’ve rocked the festivals of Merry Olde – what better way to announce our return than a headliner slot at Bloodstock. Until then, pack your wellies and stay safe, England – LAMB OF GOD will see you Summer 2022!”

The final headliner is yet to be announced, but they gave us plenty of other incredible bands to get excited for while we wait. Filling up the main stage are bands such as Dimmu Borgir, Testament, Exodus, Black Dalliah Murder, GWAR, Bury Tomorrow, Life of Agony and Butcher Babies. They also have a few of the bands who had to pull out of this year due to travel issues, such as Sacred Reich, Vio-lence, Bloodywood and Phil Anselmo & The Illegals performing their blistering Pantera Set.

That’s not all, headlining the Sophie Lancaster Stage on the Thursday are Night Flight Orchestra and closing it out on the Sunday is industrial metallers Static X with their only UK show of 2022.

Are you as excited as we are for this so far? We’ll keep you up to date on any more announcements over the coming months, be sure to keep an eye on our Instagram here.