Wyatt Flores has quickly become one of country music’s most promising new voices, blending heartfelt storytelling with a modern, genre-bending sound. Hailing from Oklahoma, Flores grew up surrounded by music, drawing inspiration from red dirt country, folk, and rock influences. His breakout single, ‘Please Don’t Go,' resonated deeply with listeners, catapulting him into the spotlight with its raw emotion and deeply personal lyrics. Since then, he has continued to build a dedicated fanbase, releasing songs that balance vulnerability with anthemic melodies, proving his ability to connect with audiences on an intimate level.
This evolution culminated in Flores' triumphant ‘Welcome to the Plains' album, which was released in October last year. You can read our review of that right here.
As Flores takes to the London stage to open this year's C2C festival, he brings with him a reputation for deeply immersive and soul-stirring shows. Whether playing stripped-down acoustic sets or full-band performances, his ability to channel raw emotion into every note has solidified his place as a rising star. With a sound that blends traditional country roots with alternative and folk influences, Flores is carving his own lane in modern country music, delivering performances that feel both timeless and refreshingly original.
Opening the C2C festival on a Friday night is often thought of as the graveyard slot and possibly the hardest set of the weekend for any artist to succeed in but Wyatt Flores tore up all the rule books at the O2 arena in London tonight. Opening with no announcements, no fuss or hoopla we got Wyatt and his acoustic guitar singing the opening lines to ‘Orange Bottles.' What a great opener this song is as it carefully and very intentional transitions throughout its run into a kind of Texan-tinged, Alabama folk-edge Coldplay-meets-Mumford & Sons anthem, ending as it does with Wyatt Flores screaming ‘Who am I kidding? Who have I become?' as the instruments blaze away behind him and this version was no less impactful or breathless.
What followed was a brief taster of Wyatt's career to date – something fans can delve into more when he returns in October as support on the 49 Winchester tour! ‘Losing Sleep' opened with just an evocative fiddle and Flores' vocals before building to another powerful and anthemic chorus perfect for the aircraft hanger that masquerades as the O2 Arena! Like many of Flores' songs, ‘Losing Sleep' has a wonderfully melodic cadence to it as it plays with both loud and quiet moments before climaxing in an elongated jam session that just ROCKED!
It became apparent at this point, to those people in the audience who hadn't had the privilege of seeing Wyatt Flores before that something special was evolving. He certainly packs a real punch for such a quiet and unassuming guy. There were many times during this oh-too-short set that Flores stepped away from the microphone and just let his band mates and the music do the talking, as piano runs, evocative fiddle breaks and searing electric guitar drove the set forward through songs like ‘Milwaukee,' ‘Oh Susannah' and ‘West of Tulsa.'
‘Oh Susannah,' in particular, was pure joy. Flores stopped the song to thank the crowd and explained that he had been in London three days already and was having the time of his life. He talked about the mental health issues that prevented him from coming to C2C a couple of years ago too before launching back into the song and rocking out to that final third climax that finds Flores repeating the mantra, ‘I was the problem,' over and over again as the Springsteen-esque piano and organ weaved it magic spell.
Similarly, set closer ‘West of Tulsa' came with all the elements of a classic Wyatt Flores composition. Loud and quiet, light and shade and a crippling kind of self doubt and anxiety that finds our hero repeating ‘I just want to be somebody' over and over again. Flores left the stage with a reference to playing the O2 whilst his band rocked on for another good for minutes.
They say you should always leave people wanting more and Wyatt Flores certainly did that at the O2 arena on night 1 of the C2C festival. His streaming numbers will spike across this weekend as a whole army of new fans start to dig deep into this intriguing artist's career to date and 49 Winchester will be rubbing their hands in glee that he is attached to their October UK tour as support. He came, he saw, he rocked (politely and with a smile) and he conquered.
Setlist: 1. Orange Bottles 2. Losing Sleep 3. Milwaukee 4. Please Don't Go 5. Oh Susannah 6. West of Tulsa Venue: The O2 Arena, C2C Festival 2025 Date: Friday 14th March
