What a terrific three days at the Country 2 Country festival in London that was this year. The artists on the main stage provided some truly memorable sets and the stages dotted around the arena saw Country music artists from both sides of the Atlantic wowing the crowds at the O2 with a myriad of different sounds, styles and vibes. The Bluebird Cafe shows were great and the after show parties somewhat rowdy! All in all, C2C was a triumph this year and it’s been hard for us to do our annual ‘Top 10’ because so there so many iconic moments, but we’ll give it a go.
Fancy Hagood – Songwriters, Bluebird Cafe, The Saloon, The Spotlight Stage (James Daykin)
I saw Fancy four times at the C2C festival this year and was never failed to be moved by his storytelling and his music. He reminds me of Vince Gill in both the registry of his voice and the way he can connect with you through his relatable and engaging stories. Songs like ‘Fly Away’ and ‘Don’t Blink’ were truly inspirational, delivered with a passion and fervour that was both mesmerising and infectious. ‘Too queer for Nashville but too Country for L.A.’ was a phrase that became lodged in my head for the whole weekend and the way London has been such an influence on him and his writing is fascinating. It was a pleasure to grab 15 minutes of his time on Saturday too, so stayed tuned for that interview, out soon on this site
Ben Chapman – Barrelhouse at Town Square, Saturday 12:30 – 13:00 (Emma Jordan)
I first heard of Ben Chapman via a mutual friend in songwriter Erin Enderlin, so I knew I had to see his debut UK set at C2C. And in just half an hour Chapman’s soulful, bluesy funk vocals and guitar skills, accompanied by percussionist Chris, easily won over the Barrelhouse crowd on Saturday. His music just made me want to close my eyes and disappear into the sound, hips first. Perfect for fans of Drake White, Brent Cobb, Lukas Nelson and Anderson East – who he has new music out with soon. Georgia native Chapman was so good I made sure I caught his Wayside set on Sunday. Here’s hoping for a swift return to UK stages.
Hannah Dasher becoming a star (Laura Cooney)
All the way from Savannah, Georgia, Hannah Dasher dazzled C2C with her distinctive style and vocals to match. From the moment she stepped on stage at the Barrelhouse on Saturday morning, she instantly won over the crowd with her cheeky, playful lyrics, whether that was the frank conversation with an ex’s new girlfriend about how she taught him ‘That Thing You Like’, the fiery and funny ‘Redneck Ass’ or her spin on Dolly Parton’s classic ‘9 To 5’. At the start of her set, she declared in her opening song ‘You’re Gonna Love Me’- and by the end of it, judging by the audience’s response and her growing crowds over the weekend, we’d all fallen for her like a ton of bricks. It really was one of those special C2C moments and we can’t wait for her to come back!
Carly Pearce: Future C2C Headliner (James Daykin)
Carly Pearce announced her 2026 headliner intentions in the best possible way on the Friday night by playing a set full of meaningful and melodic songs that got everybody singing, dancing and crying at all the right moments! Pearce is a wonderful communicator with her crowd, telling the stories of her songs through her facial expressions, hand gestures and carefully timed pauses that are designed to elicit whoops and cheers. With the ’29’ album forever etched in legendary stone, it’s time for the ‘hummingbird‘ era to elevate her standing and career even further now and once she’s done her 2025 headline tour I’m fairly confident in saying that I think the next time we will see Carly Pearce back on UK soil will be as a headliner of the C2C 2026 festival.
The triumphant return of Drake Milligan (Laura Cooney)
After his breakout appearance at C2C last year, Drake Milligan’s Sunday night opening set in the O2 Arena was one of the most anticipated of the weekend – and he didn’t disappoint. With energy that could have powered the entire O2, rich, deep vocals and a dazzling array of dance moves, he absolutely lived up to his reputation as ‘the country Elvis’. His set paid tribute to legends such as Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and George Strait, as well as putting his own modern spin on classic rock and roll with the likes of ‘Bad Day To Be A Beer’, lush ballad ‘Dance Of A Lifetime’ and current single ‘Sounds Like Something I’d Do’. It was utterly triumphant and we wouldn’t be surprised if next time he graces that stage he gets upgraded to the headline slot.
Chapel Hart’s C2C After Show Barn Burner! (James Daykin)
What can you say about this sister/cousin trio? The energy with which they stormed the Friday night after show party was exactly what these type of events were made for. People are tired after a long day, or maybe even ‘tired and emotional’ and so what you need is something lively, energetic and fun. What other 3 words could best describe Chapel Hart? Playing a raft of their own uptempo bangers, the trio also threw in amazing covers of ‘Mr Brightside’ and ‘Simply the Best’ and covered every inch of the stage available. If you were there I bet you’ve been practising the ‘Danica Shuffle’ infront of the mirror ever since, right?
Jordan Harvey – Barrelhouse at Town Square, Saturday 13:10-13:40 (Emma Jordan)
Edinburgh-born, and now Nashville-based, Jordan Harvey was THE artist I kept hearing about (and missing) at TLR in 2023. I am so glad I had a Barrelhouse front row for an artist destined for the main stage; Harvey exudes music from his toes to his mouth, with boot-stomping six string abilities and a warm personality, a quick mind and epic songwriting skills. Great crowd banter and a fantastic Proclaimers cover. Equally memorable moment bumping into him around the 02, where he happily posed for a photo.
Restless Road – The Indigo on Friday 1.30pm (James Daykin)
From the opening strains of ‘Bar Friends’ to the close of ‘Last Rodeo’, Restless Road poured everything they had into the short, rowdy and slick performance. The trio’s harmonies are second to none and their stagecraft engaging, meaning that there’s always something going on for both your ears and eyes. The lads always look present in their performances and you can get a feel for what their relationships are like based on the way they interact with each other on stage. An a capella ‘Seven Bridges Road’ was stunning as was a very rocked-up ‘Sundown Somewhere’. ‘Take Me Home’ got everyone singing along and ‘Growing Old With You,’ brought a tear to the eyes. It was a pretty perfect 30 minute set delivered with style and class. These guys will be on the main stage next time they appear at this festival.
John Osborne. Guitar slinger (Lauran Cooney)
We all knew that this C2C weekend would be about the guitar gods, whether that was Brad Paisley, Drake Milligan or Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi (what is it about Brads who play guitar in country music?). But one stands – literally – head and shoulders above the rest, and that’s John Osborne. In just over an hour he delivered a slew of blistering riffs and solos, whether that was the funk-tinged ‘Shoot Me Straight’ or the driving ‘Drank Like Hank’. but the highlight for me was ‘Stay A Little Longer’. His extended outro on the song absolutely soared and at one point you genuinely felt like he could have launched himself through the O2 roof with the sheer power of it. Not to be outdone, he followed that with two solos in the finale of ‘It Ain’t My Fault’ before taking on Tursi on a performance of JJ Cale’s ‘Cocaine’ during Old Dominion’s headline set.
The UK debut of Jake Owen (James Daykin)
It was a long time in the making and there were a lot of people with high hopes and some major anticipation about Jake Owen making his UK debut at this festival and, boy, he didn’t let us down. Easily the best set of the weekend, Owen took the crowd by the scruff of it’s neck and romped us through a greatest hits set that was up there with the best ever seen at the C2C festival. Rather than wax lyrical about it again, read my review right here, a review, by the way, that Jake Owen himself shared with his two million followers on Twitter.
Post Credits 11th most iconic moment:
Brad Paisley’s ‘I’m Still A Guy’ goes meta (Laura Cooney)
If you’ve been to a Brad Paisley concert, you’ll have seen his bit during ‘I’m Still A Guy’ where he takes an unsuspecting audience member’s phone, snaps a selfie and scrolls through their Instagram. However, this time the joke got flipped around when, midway through Brad looking through audience member Jodie’s phone on stage, UK country community stalwart Chris Cooper took it upon himself to make a call to her – from inside the O2 Arena. After Brad initially declined the call before audience members told him to answer it, Chris phoned back, and the whole of the O2 was in uproar. It took the moment to the next level and was a brilliant turning of the tables. Well played indeed!
And the 2024 C2C festival breakout artist for Entertainment Focus this year is…………….Fancy Hagood
A major talent is emerging right now. Well, let’s be honest, he’s always been a major talent it’s just that the industry has been sleeping on him for far too long. A born storyeller, Fancy Hagood is the real deal. Singer, writer, wordsmith, poet. Hagood can do it all and it’s a sheer pleasure to be able to listen to him sing his wonderful songs. Country music needs his presence, his enthusiasm and his talent and I suspect we won’t be the only platform shouting his praises over the course of the coming year.
C2C: Country to Country will return in March 2025. Find out all the details and when you can get tickets!
