Despite an enforced pandemic break, the Long Road festival has quickly established itself as being one of the premier Country music and Americana festivals in not only the UK but Europe too. Set in the beautiful grounds of Stanford Hall in Leicestershire, the festival is a wonderful mix of Country, Americana and Roots music across a number of stages. Add in a series of eclectic and interesting events (like car shows and the opportunity to go wild swimming) and you’ve got an amazing couple of days on your hands.
This year the festival is happening on Friday 25th to Sunday 27th August, the second year in a row that the festival has occupied the August Bank Holiday weekend slot. This means it should be tad warmer for all those people camping but with the British summer being what it has been this year, who knows? There are all sorts of accommodation options for the festival.
The beating heart of this festival is, obviously, the music. Curated skilfully by the likes of Baylen Leonard and his team, the organisers have put together a bill that reflects the best of what is on offer for fans of Country and Americana. There are singers, performers, songwriters and storytellers bursting out of venues all over the grounds of Stanford Hall. This year the Friday night, headlined by a combination of Tenille Townes and Tim Hicks, has been expanded a little. That evening’s bill also includes rising UK four-piece First Time Flyers and the evergreen and very experienced Jim Lauderdale.
Over on the Front Porch stage, there’s a relatively early start at 3.30pm on the Friday this year and you can see the likes of Jeff Cohen, master songwriter and superb storyteller, the wistful and impactful Roseanne Reid and the indomitable UK duo Gasoline & Matches, who just released their cracking new single, ‘Patient Wolves’ today! (August 11th)
One of the strengths of the Long Road is the sheer diversity of music on offer across the three nights of the festival. So if it’s mainstream Country music you like you’ll get to see artists like Jackson Dean and Tenille Arts on the Saturday. If you love a bit of Texas flavour in your Country we’d recommend checking out the Josh Abbott Band at 5.30pm on the Rhinestone stage on the Saturday too. If you like Bluegrass music Nickel Creek, who are on at 7.15pm in the Interstate tent, are an absolute must for you on the Saturday whilst the likes of Joshua Ray Walker will undoubtedly entertain on the Front Porch stage. Saturday evening comes to a crescendo on the Rhinestone stage with Blackberry Smoke, who kick off their brand of southern rock at 8.45pm.
Last year the festival partnered with artist and radio presenter Rissi Palmer to enable her to bring her ‘Color Me Country’ show over to the UK. Rissi has been releasing her own music and championing the music of artists of colour and musicians she feels have been marginalised by the mainstream for a number of years. This year the ‘Color Me Country’ All Stars ensemble have a slot on the Rhinestone stage at 3pm on the Sunday and artists like Miko Marks, Chapel Hart and Rissi herself can be found dotted around various stages across all of the days. We’d recommend downloading the official app to get exact times and venues.
The Sunday of the festival carries much more outright Country music this year. At 10.45am at Buddy’s you can find Two Ways Home hosting one of their ‘Round Up’ songwriter sessions with fellow UK artists Matt Hodges, Katy Hurt and Paris Adams. This will be a cracking start to the day whilst over in the Interstate tent the delightful Jill Andrews plays at 12.45pm. Jill has just released her amazing new album, ‘Modern Age’. She’s followed by Will Hoge, The War and Treaty and Kezia Gill in a fantastic run of quality artists who have strong followings and lots of powerful things to say.
Over on the main Rhinestone stage Megan Moroney will be making her UK debut. This is a must-see set for us, as we believe Megan will follow in the footsteps of artists like Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce over the next few years, building a powerful career that eventually attains award status. Caylee Hammack and Breland follow up their C2C appearances with sets that will go down a storm and then we get the UK debuts of both the Eli Young Band and Jon Pardi, which will be amazing. Shane Smith and the Saints are also playing in the Interstate tent at 7.30pm so we are going to have to find a way to see a chunk of their show too as their brand of powerful, uplifting Texan music will be something not to miss as well.
Alongside the diverse and rich offerings on the music stages the Long Road festival also provides a number of lifestyle, music and food events. There’s always a car show for petrolheads to salivate over as they wonder past the rows of vintage vehicles! Food trucks, liquor wagons and craft beer bars litter the grounds of the festival and cause foodies headaches as they plot which van to visit next. Woodland walks, wild swimming, fairground rides and karaoke sessions are all available too, meaning that there is something to do all the time if you need a short break from the music on offer or a breath of fresh air.
For those of you who like the high life the ‘High Falootin’ VIP’ area is located in the Rhinestone arena and gives guests a unique vantage point to watch the action in the main arena. Collapse into some comfy seating, enjoy a boozy beverage from the dedicated, premium bar and be sure to bag yourself a spot around one of the many campfires as you live out your best life in some style, away from the hordes in the main arena!
There are different levels of tickets and options available from the Long Road’s website. With only one week to go we recommend you jump in and come and see what all the fuss is about. This festival has a special atmosphere that you can’t find anywhere else in the UK. There is something here for everyone – every type of Roots based sound you can think of can be found here over the three nights of the festival and you’ll be spoilt for choice as you plot which tent or stage to visit when. We’ll be there, come say hello if you see us!
