Fresh off one of the most talked-about breakout moments of the weekend, Ryan and Rory arrived at C2C London with the kind of buzz most new artists spend years building—and by the end of their side-stage set, it was clear why. Their performance was described as “energetic, hook-filled” and full of swagger, delivered with a mix of charm, confidence and pure enjoyment that immediately connected with the crowd. What felt like a smaller stage moment quickly grew into something much bigger, with the duo playing as though they were already arena-ready.
By the time they closed with ‘Them Boots,' the set had turned into a full-on statement. The track exploded into a rock-driven finale that left the room buzzing, with us calling the performance “iconic” and comparing it to some of the most memorable discovery moments in C2C history. (Read that review right here) It was the kind of show that doesn’t just introduce an act—it signals a turning point, suggesting Ryan and Rory may be on the verge of something much bigger. We were thrilled to catch up with them after their set in London to talk all about it.
Guys, WHAT a set that was at the Dutton Ranch stage! We loved it!
Rory: We've been doing everything this week but playing shows so it was great to go out there and get rid of the cobwebs and jet lag!
So, how is the jet lag?
Rory: It's non-existent now we've played our first show!
Ryan: There's nothing like a shot of London crowd to get rid of anything like that! (laughing)
Rory: Speaking of the crowd – we've just been told they had to shut the doors to the venue we've just played! That is amazing. It was at full capacity.
What was your plane game coming over? Films? Sleep? Booze? Gummies?
Rory: I just saw the insides of my eyeballs! (laughing)
Ryan: I have a young baby at home so I was jet lagged before we even got on the plane! (laughing) I'm getting more sleep over here now than I am at home!
Rory: He slept 13 hours here the other day! He must really need it! (laughing)
So when you found out you were coming over to the UK – what was your reactions?
Rory: We're only about 18 months old as an act really so it's really cool for us to be given this chance so early on. We never thought London would be on the cards for 2026.
Ryan: My parents are songwriters and they have been telling me just how much Country music is flourishing in the UK and Europe right now and they were not wrong! Right back to Rascal Flatts playing arenas here over a decade ago and more ago. I didn't think we'd be here this early in our careers.
Sunglasses at a midday show, Rory. Is that jet lag, hangover, rock star or a little bit of all of the above?
Rory: Maybe but a little bit of all of them! (laughing) I've never worn shades on stage before but I found these online and thought I might do something different this year!
Ryan: (laughing) I found them quite unsettling, dude, those things are really black! (laughing)
I've been waiting 18 months to hear ‘Truck Stop' and ‘Drunk and Lonely'………
Ryan: Thank god we put them in the set then! (laughing)
Rory: We really thought about this set as we had only 30 minutes, man. We wanted to choose the right songs, the right flow and we decided that we needed to give the UK an ‘all gas' show!
I'm glad you did! It paid off. I absolutely never get bored of hearing that time change in ‘Drunk and Lonely' in the final third. Whose idea was that?
Ryan: It only works in certain songs. It's quite hard to pull off. In that song, which I wrote with my parents, we couldn't decide which style we wanted it to be in so we did both! (laughing)
The video to ‘Truck Stop' is a whole bunch of fun. It's hard work making videos like that, right? (laughing)
Ryan: If I'm being it was really cold the day we filmed that! We just made it look like a normal night! (laughing)
‘Ever since I picked her up, all she wants to do is…….' and then you pause. That's one of the cheekiest moments in modern Country music lyrics. Who came up with that zinger?
Ryan: That was me. One of my favourite songs growing up was ‘Fish' by Craig Campbell which has quite cheeky lyrics and a knowing wink! Man, I was like, “You know what rhymes with truck but we could never say it!” We decided to just go for it in that song.
Would you ever break and go for it in the crucible of a live song performance with the crowd right behind you?
Rory: Maybe we should let the UK fans just go for it? (laughing)
Ryan: We're coming back so maybe we can all do that next time!?
You released ‘Together Again' last year with Country icon Jamey Johnson – how did that collab come about?
Ryan: That's so interesting. That song was written by my Dad (Keith Follese) and Jamey when I was around 20 years old. My dad and Jamey were writing a lot together back then. They played me the song but everyone in Nashville passed on it. My current publisher put them together back in the day and he suddenly pulled it up out of nowhere one day. He called up Jamey and Jamey was like (putting on a deep voice) ‘I'll do it, anything for Keith' (laughing)
Rory: Everything we have out right now has been written by Ryan and myself apart from that song but not really given Ryan's dad wrote it!
If you could manifest a dream co-write, then, for an upcoming project – who would you love to get into a room with?
Ryan: I would love to work with Luke Dick. (Jackson Dean's co-writer and producer, amongst many others) He's got such a recognisable and strong writing style. As far as artists go we're both Ella fellas! (laughing) I think she's the greatest.
Rory: Scooter Carusoe has written some of my favourite ever songs. Songs like ‘Anything But Mine' by Kenny Chesney are soooo good. We're both big Kenny fans.
Ryan: You know us Nashville boys, man, we're as big a fans of songwriters as we are artists. They are an incredible group of people in that town.
When you two write together who brings in the lyrics? Who brings in the melodies? Does it depends on the song and the day?
Rory: It really depends. Ryan is definitely a wordsmith. I'll throw in some crazy chord structures……
Ryan: (showing me hundreds of ideas and titles on his phone) I'm usually the one who comes in with the concept! These are all the songs we've still got left to write! (laughing)
Rory: We bounce stuff off each other, ideas wise, it's what Country music is all about – what each of us might be going through at any given moment. We compliment each other really well.
Ryan: A great example of that is ‘Lawn Chair in a Living Room.' That's a chord progression that I never would have thought to do. Lyrics. Melody. That's what we do best between the two of us.
Being in a duo must be like being in a marriage! Have you learned what to do when you are annoying each other or disagree with each other?
Ryan: Fortunately we seem to be annoyed by the same things! (laughing) We talk about it all the time, looking back at famous duos in history. We get along so well, man, it's the most fun we've had making music.
‘Wasn't Thinkin' came out just last week. What's the plan for the rest of 2026 song-wise?
Rory: We are getting ready to record our first full-length album. That's going to come out later on this year.
Ryan: We've got about 20 to 25 songs ready to go for it so we are very excited.
Rory: We might pull ‘…. Lawn Chair' and the new song into it but, for the most part, it will all be brand new songs.
Ryan: We're pumped.
Rory: We're still playing the game that is ‘beat the song' and writing new songs in case we come up with something amazing but we're really happy with what we have right now.
Ryan: Somebody always comes in in the 9th innings and hits a home run, right? (laughing) And that'll be the hit song as well! We have a song that we love called ‘God Made Honky Tonks' which might be the big song or title track but we'll see if it makes the cut!
Check out Ryan and Rory in all the usual places. Their new song ‘Wasn't Thinkin' is streaming right now.
