Even though he only made his UK debut 18 months ago, BRELAND is already no stranger to performing on this side of the pond. With two consecutive appearances at C2C, as well as playing at The Long Road festival and touring with Russell Dickerson, he’s become a fixture on the UK country live circuit, winning over fans with his high-energy performances, smooth vocals and incredible dance skills. Now, ahead of his run opening for Shania Twain on her Queen Of Me Tour this month, he’s embarking on his first UK headline tour (entitled ‘The Extra Mile’), including a stop last night at Electric Ballroom in Camden.
Arriving on stage around 8.30 PM accompanied by his three-piece band and wearing a very cool custom baseball jacket, BRELAND opened his set with ‘Here For It’, the first track on his debut album ‘Cross Country’, which celebrated its first anniversary yesterday. It was the perfect note for him to kick off with, showcasing his playful side with its upbeat poppy melody and gospel touches, as well as a big soaring chorus that had the crowd joining in from the off. The entire room – which he himself said was ‘the biggest headline show I’ve ever played in my career’ – burst into enormous cheers as he finished the song and it set the template for the rest of the evening.
Unsurprisingly the vast majority of the set came from ‘Cross Country’, from the bouncy ’90s country-influenced ‘Natural’ to ‘Thick’, a funky, flirtatious ode to ‘plus size plus ones’ which saw BRELAND name-checking the likes of Serena Williams and Priscilla Block as he span and danced around the stage to the extent his glasses steamed up! However, there were also plenty of moments from across his career, such as the cheeky, bouncy ‘Hot Sauce’ (from his self-titled 2020 EP), showing off his HARDY impression on ‘Beers On Me’ before chugging a bottle himself, and ‘High Horse’, which provided one of many hands-in-the-air singalong moments as well as a name check for London and a wicked solo from long-time guitarist Christian. He also showcased several songs from his upcoming expansion to ‘Cross Country’, entitled ‘The Extra Mile’, including the fast-paced, rattling twang of ‘Cowboy Don’t’ and ‘Thirsty’ which featured a sparse, slinky groove, some punchy chords and impressive vocal runs.
However, for me where BRELAND really shone was in the slower numbers. ‘Told You I Could Drink’ was an early highlight, with its yearning, emotional delivery providing one of the softer moments in the set, whilst ‘Happy Song’ – featuring a special guest appearance from UK country star Kezia Gill on Alana Springsteen’s part – took on a bittersweet feel and new track ‘The Extra Mile’, which BRELAND introduced by paying tribute to his late grandmother, was touching and heartfelt. The standout though was ‘Cross Country’, which saw him encourage the crowd to join in on the ad libs and he got rewarded with the biggest round of applause of the night. It’s a really great summing up of his story as an artist and he pours so much raw feeling into the song that it’s impossible not to connect with every word. I also really loved his rollicking cover of Deanna Carter’s classic ‘Strawberry Wine’, which he performed alongside opening act Avery Anna in strawberry sunglasses.
One thing which particularly struck me last night was BRELAND’s stage presence. He cracked jokes about everything from the heatwave to having to translate his tour name to ‘The Extra Kilometre’ in Europe, told stories about playing the Electric with Russell Dickerson last year and working with Shania, and even brought audience member Louis up on stage to help him propose to his girlfriend (who thankfully said yes!). Although he’s always been great at connecting with audiences, he comes on leaps and bounds every time I see him and last night felt particularly warm and engaging.
BRELAND closed his show with a whistlestop tour of four of his most uptempo songs. He began with the 80s pop-soul sound of ‘County Line’ and its vivid lyrics packed with details – covering everything from Billy the dog sleeping underneath a rusty ’88 Chevy to a reference to ‘Dust On The Bottle’ – before taking us to church with ‘Praise The Lord’ and a new spin on his hit ‘Throw It Back’, with a spoken word-style intro before launching into some outstanding dance moves including two huge leaps that actually drew gasps from the people around me! For his final track, the trap-influenced ‘My Truck’, he finished with a bang by jumping down into the audience to perform before returning to the stage, holding his hands aloft as the crowd chanted his name. It was such a high to end on and based on the boos as the house lights came up, the audience definitely wouldn’t have objected if he’d stuck around for the rest of the night.
Overall BRELAND delivered a fantastic performance that was full of fun, slick dance moves and incredible vocals, showing off his skills as a musician and a performer. You can tell he really pushes himself to deliver the best show and he was definitely feeding off the audience’s energy – at the start he declared “let’s have a great time y’all” and I think that was the case for everyone in the room by the end of the evening. At times he looked completely shocked by the crowd’s response and repeatedly thanked the audience for coming out, and it’s clear that that feeling is mutual. Here’s hoping he’ll be back for some even bigger UK shows soon – and in the meantime, there’s that new music coming out on Friday too…
Set list: 1. Here For It 2. Hot Sauce 3. High Horse 4. Told You I Could Drink 5. Thirsty 6. Natural 7. Thick 8. For What It’s Worth (with Kezia Gill) 9. Strawberry Wine (Deanna Carter cover) (with Avery Anna) 10. Happy Song 11. The Extra Mile 12. Cross Country 13. Beers On Me 14. Cowboy Don’t 15. County Line 16. Praise The Lord 17. Throw It Back 18. My Truck Performance date: 9th September 2023
Breland’s new album, ‘Cross Country: The Extra Mile’, will be released on 15th September 2023 on Bad Realm Records/Atlantic Recording Corporation.
See BRELAND on tour in the UK this September:
Sunday 10 September – Gorilla, Manchester
Tuesday 12 September – St Luke’s, Glasgow
Wednesday 13 September – Empire Music Hall, Belfast
Thursday 14 September – OVO Hydro, Glasgow (with Shania Twain)
Saturday 16 September – The O2, London (with Shania Twain)
Sunday 17 September – The O2, London (with Shania Twain)
Tuesday 19 September – 3Arena, Dublin (with Shania Twain)
Wednesday 20 September – 3Arena, Dublin (with Shania Twain)
Friday 22 September – OVO Hydro, Glasgow (with Shania Twain)
Saturday 23 September – OVO Hydro, Glasgow (with Shania Twain)
Monday 25 September – AO Arena, Manchester (with Shania Twain)
Tuesday 26 September – Utilita Arena, Birmingham (with Shania Twain)
Thursday 28 September – First Direct Arena, Leeds (with Shania Twain)
