Kane Brown has always done things his own way. For a decade now he has circumnavigated the conventions and traditions of the Country genre, yielding tremendous success. Since he secured a record deal by releasing covers on social media (one of the first artists to do so), Brown has shown himself to be a talented artist unafraid to push the boundaries of expected conventions with his sound and style.
His first tour of the UK last year was a raging success – you can read our interview with him from backstage at his Birmingham show right here – so it was no surprise to see him announced as one of the 3 headliners of this year’s C2C festival! This is Brown’s moment and a well deserved accolade with which he can take forward with some pride.
Taking the stage in a blaze of heavy guitars, lights and a countdown, it felt like a real, true arena experience from Kane Brown. ‘Lost It’ was a triumph of sight and sound as the on-stage pyro burnt brightly providing a superb, dramatic backdrop with which Brown and his band could introduce themselves.
Brown’s set, being the disrupter that he is, swung between obvious Country music songs like ‘I Love Country Music’ and ‘Short Skirt Weather’ and the more experimental stylings of tracks like ‘Grand’ and ‘One Thing Right.’ Throughout, Brown talked to the crowd about his nerves and about how he’s done nothing in 6 months but be a dad and play video games! There was a vulnerability and openness to Kane Brown that was both charming and inclusive. He might well be only one of eight Country music artists to have received a diamond record but he sure as hell deserves it and he carries himself with no hubris or arrogance in his assured and charismatic performances either.
‘I Can Feel it’ was played live for the first time, which was also making Brown a little nervous alongside a little rustiness in terms of the transitions between songs that was a natural by-product of a band who haven’t been out on the road for quite a while. This meant Brown had to keep vamping and stalling between songs but that only made the London crowd like him even more. ‘Bury Me in Georgia’ was a delightfully heavy southern rock number full of on-stage pyro and flashing video screen images whilst a mid-set discussion about 90s music led to a communal sing along of Gretchen Wilson’s ‘Redneck Woman’ before a full band rendition of Garth Brooks’ iconic ‘Friends in Low Places,’ which had the crowd up on their feet and hollering out the lyrics with gay abondon.
No Kane Brown show is complete without a few heart-felt ballads and this set saw Brown well and truly bring his A game! A half-half version of Kane’s breakout song, ‘Used to Love Me Sober’ was paired with the delightful ‘Homesick,’ whilst ‘Heaven’ was preceded by a vulnerable shared moment from Brown when he talked about what his drivers, motivations and goals were when he first started out his journey in the music industry.
Brown’s set ended with a run of collaborations and duets which were a pleasure to see. Lauren Alaina came out for the expected team up on ‘What Ifs’ whilst Carly Pearce filled in for Brown’s wife on ‘Thank God’ and Restless Road appeared for a very energetic version of ‘One Mississippi.’ Pearce, particularly, shone with her powerful vocals whilst the Restless Road boys just came out and had a whole bunch of fun, delivering some powerful vocals and harmonies that pushed what is already a larger-than-life song somewhere into the stratosphere.
An explosion of confetti during final song ‘Good As You’ brought Kane Brown’s headline set to a close as the band jammed on into an extended outro and the fans began to file out of the arena knowing that they had seen something special and unprecedented at this festival. Disrupter, outsider and pioneer: Kane Brown is all of those things, and more. He does things his way and you can either be onboard with it, or take a hike. Brown isn’t worried about naysayers and gatekeepers and that easy confidence is reflected in his warmth on stage and the way he brings you into his trusted circle of friends. He’s a charming, almost disarming personality at times but his performance tonight was something that will live long in the memory of all those people who were there, whether you like his brand of Country music or not.
Track list: 1. Lose It 2. Grand 3. I Love Country Music 4. Famous Friends 5. Memory 6. Be Like That 7. Used to Love Me Sober / Homesick 8. Heaven 9. Bury Me in Georgia 10. One Thing Right 11. I Can Feel It 12. Redneck Woman / Friends in Low Places 13. Short Skirt Weather 14. What Ifs 15. Thank God 16. One Mississippi 17. Good As You Venue: O2 Arena London Date: Friday 8th March
