Ella Langley, an Alabama native, commands attention with her show stopping vocals and razor-sharp songwriting. Infusing unfiltered true stories with unapologetic rock ‘n’ roll grit and a touch of pop appeal, she has quickly emerged as a standout artist in the country music scene. Songs like ‘Paint the Town Blue' and the duets that she has done with Koe Wetzel, Tanner Usrey and Kameron Marlowe have been mightily impressive.
Following the release of her debut EP ‘Excuse The Mess' and several high-profile songwriting cuts, Langley is widely recognised as an artist to watch and a maverick poised to invigorate the genre. In 2024, alongside joining Riley Green, HARDY, and Morgan Wallen on tour, she is scheduled to release her highly anticipated debut album, so it was a pleasure to see her making her UK debut as part of the BST Hyde Park Morgan Wallen show.
Making her UK debut at the biggest Country music show ever to be held in the UK, Ella Langley took the stage in style with bags of confidence. Launching straight into ‘Paint the Town Blue’ was a good move, with the chugging guitars and big smiles on everyone’s face.
Right from the off, you could tell that Ella Langley was born to be on stage – emerging from out behind her guitar for ‘Better Be Tough' she danced down the walkway and introduced herself to the crowd. She alternated between guitar and walkway really well throughout her set and paced the stage from side to side, drawing the sizeable crowd into her intimate narrative.
‘Nicotine’ was preceded by Langley telling everyone that her new album will be out on August 2nd and she even showed us some of that sense of humour that you get from following her Instagram by asking the crowd, ‘Is anyone here in love? Is there anyone here tonight who is not in love? This one goes out to the person you might find tonight!’
A clever and raucous cover of Gretchen Wilson’s ‘Here for the Party’ ramped up the energy and got the fists pumping in the afternoon London sunshine whilst ‘Damn You’ was delivered with both balls and bombast, particularly the final segment of the song which was turned into a big Rock anthem with the elongated outro.
The last two songs of her set, ‘Country Boy’s Dream Girl’ and ‘That’s Why We Fight’ really highlight Ella Langley’s USP above other emerging artists in Nashville. The former was delivered with confidence and sass although she did point out at one point that ‘wind and hair are not a good combination,’ as she struggled a little with the London breeze whilst ‘That’s Why We Fight,’ her breakout duet with Koe Wetzel, was all grunge-infused guitars and bombast. Walking down the walkway to the front of the crowd at the beginning of the song, Langley declared ‘Today is going to be a good day.’ She was absolutely correct in that estimation and we can only hope that we saw enough from her debut UK performance to tide us all till she comes back again for her own shows.
A born entertainer with bags of confidence and some fiery songs, Ella Langley made a lot of friends here in London today. Her presence will only grow once her new album is out in August and maybe she’ll come back to the UK to promote it, hopefully sooner rather than later. Head over to our ‘X' (Twitter) and TikTok platforms and you'll find video footage of Ella's show.
Setlist: 1. Paint the Town Blue 2. Better Be Tough 3. Nicotine 4. I’m Here for the Party 5. Damn You 6. Country Boy’s Dream Girl 7. That’s Why We Fight Date: July 4th Venue: Hyde Park, London
