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Introducing Nashville Set – O2 Arena, London: C2C festival live review

Curated and presented by the Country Music Association, ‘Introducing Nashville’ brings with it a rare, stripped-back show to fans. Designed with the same format as a traditional Nashville writers round, Nashville’s current artists take turns introducing their songs and sharing the stories behind the tracks, as well as their personal lives and careers. This year the C2C festival in London opened with Caylee Hammack, Tyler Braden and Alana Springsteen playing three of their songs in an intimate setting in a huge arena!

Tyler Braden explained that he’d drawn the short straw and had to anchor the event and co-ordinate the transitions and keep the event to time! By and large he did a good job although there was some confusion as to whether the three artists were meant to be playing two songs or three, thankfully for us, it turned out to be the latter.

Caylee Hammack is such a terrific songwriter and performer. She played ‘Family Tree’, referencing the infamous 2020 shutdown of the C2C festival at the last minute due to the pandemic. Hammack was due to appear at that event. She joked how ‘Family Tree’ was not the best song to finger pick to and asked the crowd to just imagine it was! Hammack has a sharp, wry and sassy southern humour and is such a warm and engaging performer. There were times during her songs that you could have heard a pin drop and at others, like during the anecdote about not dating your co-writers, there was laughter and wisdom. The vocals on ‘Only Good Things’ carry a tremor and a wobble that put me in mind of a young Dolly Parton and her fiery southern wit seems to have been plucked right off the streets of Lindeville itself.

Alana Springsteen is 22. Yep, Take that in for a moment. What were you doing at 22 years of age? There is an emotion and depth to her songs that is almost criminal for a person of her tender years to possess. ‘Cold Shoulder’, the first song Springsteen played, is a powerful song and the story behind it about how she keeps her feelings to herself and how she has a track record of dumping guys in cars, was expertly delivered too. ‘Twenty Something’ is a tender, relatable song and music therapy to anyone trying to navigate what is potentially the trickiest decade of our lives. Springsteen finished with ‘You Don’t Deserve a Country Song’ and whilst that one was a little more upbeat there is still a depth and a wisdom behind the lyrics that promises much for the songs yet to be written by this talented and engaging songwriter.

Tyler Braden won the London crowd over immediately at the start of the set by declaring his new found love for Earl Grey tea! The cheer got even louder when he shared that he’d been told that Yorkshire tea was even better! Braden played three songs that showcased his powerful voice. ‘Neon Grave’, the title track from his most recent EP is a gruff, ballsy song with huge vocals that echoed around the O2 arena. ‘Friends’, a new song, built to a big chorus where Braden was able to let rip again and ‘Try Losing One’ did exactly the same. The latter, Braden’s current single at radio, is a clever, raw and authentic ballad about loss. We saw him sing it at the Songwriter’s night the night before in the Indigo and this version was just as powerful. It garnered an enthusiastic cheer from a crowd that were won over by these three talented performers in different ways.

Caylee Hammack brought the Parton-esque charm and wit, Springsteen the emotions and Tyler Braden the voice. Between the three of them there was some form of Country music to please even the most picky of listeners and the respect given to the performers in the arena was clear to see. It takes something to hold the attention of thousands of people watching a sit-down show in what is, for all intents and purposes, an aircraft hanger. Hammack, Braden and Springsteen pulled it off in some style and I can guarantee that their respective Spotify metrics will be receiving a healthy boost because of it in the day and weeks to come.

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Curated and presented by the Country Music Association, 'Introducing Nashville' brings with it a rare, stripped-back show to fans. Designed with the same format as a traditional Nashville writers round, Nashville’s current artists take turns introducing their songs and sharing the stories behind the...Introducing Nashville Set - O2 Arena, London: C2C festival live review