The pre-sales have finished and our reviews are done so it’s time to start thinking about the Country 2 Country C2C festival 2024. The last chords are still ringing in our ears from the likes of Lady A, Thomas Rhett and the Zac Brown Band from their fabulous performances in London, Dublin and Glasgow last weekend but early bird tickets for 2024 go on sale at 10am today (March 17th)
As is customary, we always produce a kind of wish list / prediction article looking ahead to who might be on the bill for the coming year. The list is a combination of artists we think should be on the festival, which next year will be held in London, Glasgow and Belfast, which is replacing Dublin as a venue, and artists we think are available and, more importantly in the world of Country music, might be willing to take a trip across the pond for three days of fun and madness.
This year we’ve gone deep and have even suggested some Spotlight stage artists that we’d like to see and a random, blue-sky, out of the box idea which we think might be an original and interesting idea. So, here are our C2C 2024 festival predictions and wish list. We’ve based them around a London show so the dates won’t match up with other venues and cities but that’s a minor inconsequence.
Friday:
Dierks Bentley – Dierks is our Friday headliner. He’s long overdue a visit and has just released the album of the year in ‘Gravel and Gold’. This album will feature large during award season and we’ve got a feeling 2024 could be the year we see him back in the UK again.
Kelsea Ballerini – Fresh from a triumphant UK tour in which she proved she’s moved up a level as both a musician and performer, Kelsea would bring melody and meaning to the C2C stage and, more importantly, get the people in the arenas up on their feet.
Chris Janson – He’s never been to the UK before but a move to Big Machine, who are a much more European leaning record label bodes well for an opportunity to see this fantastic performer over in the UK for the first time. Guaranteed to be a big draw amongst a passionate community who have been wanting to see him for years.
Introducing Nashville – This segment is becoming a much-loved feature and it’s great to see the artists appearing as special guests during the Songwriters night on the Thursday before in London too. This year we’ve gone for Megan Moroney, who will be releasing her debut album soon, The War and Treaty, who have a new album out and a starring role on the ‘Stoned Cold Country’ album with Brothers Osborne and Conner Smith, a Nashvillian songwriter making a name for himself with his interesting and powerful songs. (Check out his new release ‘Creek Will Rise’ if you’ve never heard of him – you won’t be disappointed)
Saturday:
Carrie Underwood – Saturday’s headliner is currently wowing fans on her ‘Denim and Rhinestones’ tour and might even have finally won Entertainer of the Year by the time next year’s C2C rolls round. Her current stage show is amazing and it’s been a few years now since we saw Carrie here in the UK.
Justin Moore – Similar to Chris Janson, fans have been wanting to see Moore on a UK stage for years now and his brand of cowboy Country with a commercial edge would be a fantastic addition to the festival and one that is long overdue.
Elle King – Promoting her debut Country album, Elle would be a powerful presence and fantastic to watch too. She has earthy, gritty yet melodic songs and a southern charm to match anyone out there in the industry.
Nate Smith – Went down so well on the outside stages this year that Nate is one of two artists we believe deserves the promotion to the big leagues. His debut album comes out in April and ‘Better Boy’ will have given him his second number one by next March too so this choice would be a popular one.
Sunday:
Eric Church – What can you say about this choice. It’s been years since Church last played in the UK. He was slated to appear on the infamous 2020 bill and we’ve seen and heard nothing from him since. He might even have a new album out by next March too. The number one choice for many fans, Church would shift tickets like nobody’s business.
HARDY – Another artist who was scheduled to come over to the UK (with Morgan Wallen, can you believe it, they were due to play tiny venues too!) that the pandemic stymied. HARDY would light up the Sunday stage and provide the perfect foil for Eric Church too. Some people in the crowd might well need ear plugs, though, once he starts tapping into ‘The Crow’ songs!
Hailey Whitters – Hailey deserves another slot on the bill after her 2022 appearance in London had to be cut short because of logistical problems with the equipment being stuck on a boat in Ireland. She’s built her career nicely since we last saw her and would be a lovely addition to a Sunday line up.
49 Winchester – The second of the ‘promoted’ artists from this year’s festival. There was a buzz around this band wherever they went this year and once they have completed their support slot on the upcoming Luke Combs tour the whole world will have seen what we all saw this month. Perfect Sunday openers.
Songwriters Night:
After the appearance of ‘over 60 number ones’ Ashley Gorley at this year’s evening, the only way for the organisers to go is up and there aren’t many writers that could top Gorley’s success. We’d go for Shane McAnally or the Love Junkies (Liz Rose, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey), who were also due to appear in 2020 before the pandemic had its say.
Spotlight Stage Artists:
All these artists are building careers nicely and putting in the hard yards in terms of tours and releases. They would all provide a quality and an interest to stages like the Indigo and the after show parties.
Jackson Dean, Travis Denning, Lily Rose, Brett Kissel, Amanda Kate Ferris, Meghan Patrick, Restless Road, Larry Fleet. It would also be cool to invite Elvie Shane back again after he had to drop out at the last minute this year.
Out of the Box Thinking:
One of the days next year could be a Texas Takeover day! There are so many great artists coming out of Texas right now. The popularity of both Drake Milligan and Randall King this year proved that there is a groundswell of support for Texan Country in the UK right now. Maybe it’s being fuelled by Yellowstone (which I know is set in Montana but we’ve been to Texas with Jimmy and the music is all very gritty and Cowboy-esque), maybe it’s a desire for something different and more authentic than what Music Row sometimes gives us, who knows, but four from these artists would provide a great day.
Cody Johnson, Parker McCollum, Randall King, Drake Milligan, Mike Ryan, Koe Wetzel, Ian Munsick (he’s from Wyoming but who’s counting) and Amanda Kate Ferris would all provide a killer bill and something just a little different.
