3Arena, Dublin. March 11th – March 13th 2022.
It has been a long road travelled by everybody since March 2020 when Covid arrived in Ireland and changed our lives forever. Here we now are, 24 months later, with Saint Patrick’s weekend in the city and new hope in our hearts. In a way, this journey also sums up the C2C weekend that has just wrapped up in Dublin, with the sense of joy in coming together in celebration of music and community the abiding message over the three days.
So, twelve acts played, with a common goal to deliver both enjoyment and quality. Whether they all achieved this, in the end-result, is determined somewhat by your particular tastes when it comes to country music and what it may mean to you in 2022.
As a music genre, country has continued to grow beyond all expectations over the decades since the 1950s, when it first gained widespread appeal with national radio and television exposure in the United States and beyond. The old traditionalists would be appalled by the modern take on the genre and the manner in which it has been changed by urban influences, as other music genres infected the original pure strain with the passage of time. Long gone are the days of rural living where the music remained local and folks were happy to exist in relatively confined geographical areas. With migration to the cities and the change in post-war American values, a new style of music became the order of the day. You either adapt or you die.
Friday
Tenille Townes had the onerous task of kicking everything off with a set that commenced at the early time of 5.30pm and ran for some 40 minutes. She gave everything to a small crowd, in trying to establish both an atmosphere and rapport, with an energetic performance and songs taken mainly from her 2020 release, The Lemonade Stand. Songs like White Horse, Girl Who Didn’t Care and a cover of the Joan Jett song, I Hate Myself For Loving You, are all high intensity. She mixes this rock-chick side with a more studied approach in softer songs like Jersey On the Wall, I Kept the Roses and Somebody’s Daughter. Overall, given that it’s way too early for a gig in the first place, Tenille is a victim of the sound gremlins that had the drums and bass way too loud in the mix. Her vocal had to strain at times and fell out of synch with the band, but she won a warm round of applause by the end of her set.
Scotty McCreery followed with a 5-piece band and a big vocal delivery. The presence of pedal steel adds a nice dynamic and songs like, Same Truck, Feelin’ It, Damn Strait and It Matters To Her, are all well received and delivered with energy. His is a commercial sound with plenty of evidence that country is indeed the new Pop music. A song for his grandfather, Five More Minutes, is somewhat different to his more up-tempo numbers, and This Is It captures a memory of when McCreery proposed to his now-wife. As a winner of American Idol back in 2010, he certainly has the voice and, with a number of successful albums to his name, a career that has seen him gather both momentum and popularity.
Brett Young is next to take the stage and his second appearance on the C2C bill (he also appeared in 2018) sees an increasing maturity in both song delivery and stage presence. His is a soulful voice and one that emotes the song sentiment very well. The absence of a bass player seems strange and the fact that his songs are mainly in commercial, radio friendly territory wins him plenty of new fans. Hits like 1,2,3, Mississippi, You Didn’t and You Ain’t Here To Kiss Me are well known and the growing crowd sing along. Equally, In Case You Didn’t Know and Weekends Look A Little Different These Days celebrate a new-found domestic bliss, his wife and young daughter, and a new perspective on the things that matter. A great cover version of the John Hiatt classic, Have A Little Faith In Me is superbly delivered with just Young and his acoustic guitar. He has five album releases over a ten-year career to date and is certainly poised for continued commercial success.
Darius Rucker is well known to Dublin audiences. Whether through his early success as the main vocalist with Hootie and the Blowfish, or his subsequent activity in pursuit of a solo career in country music, Rucker is an assured performer with a fine voice. He mixes his set between cover songs and a selection from his four solo albums, together with some old Hootie and the Blowfish hits. He is all about delivering a good time experience and his easy way with the audience is evident right from the start. Favourites like, Southern State Of Mind and Don’t Think That I Don’t Think About It are performed alongside covers of the excellent Hank Junior song, Family Tradition (with both Brett Young and Scotty McCreery joining Rucker onstage for a sing-off). Hootie hits like Only Wanna Be With You and Let Her Cry are performed, and sound as vibrant as ever. The popular hit, Valerie (The Zutons), made famous by Amy Winehouse, sits alongside Wagon Wheel, and the fact that the original chorus to this song was written by Bob Dylan in 1973, with the verses added in 1998 by Ketch Secor of the Old Crow Medicine Show, is completely lost on an audience who are channelling Nathan Carter in their recognition. History In the Making, Hands On Me, Beers and Sunshine, all show the prowess of a crack band with solo slots highlighting the rich talent on stage. A really energetic conclusion to the first day.
Saturday
Hailey Whitters is a songwriter from Iowa and a new talent to most folks on this side of the big pond that separates USA from Europe. Her new album, Raised, has just been released to increasing critical acclaim, and her track record of writing songs for artists such as Little Big Town and Alan Jackson, among others, is not to be ignored. She has a warm stage presence, a down-home personality and a winning smile. Her band includes the superb fiddle player, Wesley Halls, who is a member of Flatland Cavalry, and his playing elevates everything about her set. Whitters is traditional country in every way and a breath of fresh air at the start of another music marathon. She should not be able to convince the audience to turn on their mobile phone lights at 5.30pm in the afternoon, but she pulls this off to great success, although her vocal was drowned out occasionally as the sound balance and volume was bedding down for the evening, Whitters delivers a strong performance and wins plenty of admirers. Her songs, Janice At the Hotel Bar and Heartland are well received and How Far Can It Go features a tribute to Trisha Yearwood with a section that includes She’s In Love With the Boy. The song, Ten Year Town tells her tale of trying to make it in Nashville and the cover of Take Me Home Country Roads (John Denver) is played with just an acoustic guitar and Whitters sweet vocal. A very strong performance overall.
Flatland Cavalry follow and they are a 6-piece band from Texas with a few albums under their belt already. They are new to this reviewer but I’m immediately struck by their musicality and fine ensemble playing. With the aforementioned Wesley Halls on fiddle, and main singer-songwriter, Cleto Cordero on honeyed vocals, they are an instant hit with the crowd. Songs from their new album, Welcome To Countryland, include No Ace In the Hole, Some Things Never Change, A Cowboy Knows How and Country Is – a song that captures the disparate nature of people and the narrow definitions that we place on things that we don’t understand. Older songs such as Old School and Stompin’ Grounds are full of personality and Duelling Banjos starts off with the signature sound of the Deliverance movie soundtrack, before the band kick into gear with some terrific soloing across a steady rhythm. Drummer Jason Albers and bass player Jonathan Saenz are really tight and locked-in as a unit and they provide the engine for the rest of the band to take flight. They also include another cover of Take Me Home Country Roads and leave the stage to a standing ovation – the first time I can ever recall this happening for an act who played this early. Definitely a highlight.
Ashley McBryde is a true force of nature and takes to the stage on a mission to deliver with all barrels blazing. Her return to playing live music has her completely energized as she rocks out with her very impressive band across a showet that is drawn from her recent albums. It’s amazing to think that in 2018 she released her album, Girl Going Nowhere, as a statement of where her career had taken her over the previous twelve years. It proved to be a turning point for her and songs like A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega, Livin' Next to Leroy, and Radioland form a core part of her set tonight. McBryde is the real deal with a superb voice and a genuine love of being able to bring her music back to her army of fans in Ireland. She last performed at C2C in 2019 and her placing on the bill reflects the great strides that her career has taken, even allowing for the last two years of lockdown. Her latest album, Never Will, is represented with the songs, Voodoo Doll, Hang In There Girl, One Night Standards and the wonderful Sparrow. The title song, Girl Going Nowhere, is a really strong statement of her resilience and her refusal to just quit, and a cover version of the Allman Brothers, Midnight Rider, shows all the subtle nuance that her band display. Women Ain’t Whiskey is a new song that really hits home in a stellar performance, with McBryde emoting “Thank you for choosing to be inside this moment.” A real star and a joy to be part of this experience.
Luke Combs closes the show tonight with a performance that has the capacity audience in the palm of his hand and singing along to every song. His 8-piece band really deliver a quality performance over ninety minutes, pushing the dynamic and the atmosphere to great heights. In front of it all is the powerful vocals of Combs, his impressive stage presence and his ability to drop-kick full cups of beer into the excited audience as he shotguns another can in a performance that excites and delivers a big statement. Combs has his reflective side too and tells of his upbringing in a modest home with hard-working parents. He had never been on an aeroplane before the age of twenty-five and now, seven years later, has travelled much of the globe with his music. He is humble and speaks about his wife and their first baby, which is due in a couple of months. Indeed, he recalls his song Beautiful Crazy, written for his now-wife, before they had started dating – what a cool chat-up line; to be able to play her a dedicated song!
His ballads are delivered impressively and the crowd really create a special atmosphere around these performances. She Got the Best Of Me, Forever After All, Five Leaf Clover and Even Though I’m Leaving, are all superbly performed and highlight the powerful, yet emotive vocal range of Combs. He can rock it out with the best too, and songs Cold As You, Houston, We Got A Problem, I Like It, I Love It / It’s A Great Day To Be Alive and Lovin’ On You are filled with great lines and riffs. A cover of the Brooks and Dunn song, Brand New Man, is followed by My Kinda Folk and Hurricane in a real tour de force display of the power lines that Combs is riding along these days. A really intense experience for all involved and the perfect ending to a great day of music.
Sunday
In a departure from previous years, tonight sees the introduction of three young artists who are currently making their way in Nashville and building their respective careers. Tiera Kennedy, Priscilla Block and Morgan Wade take their seats on high chairs and trade songs in between conversation and stories around their experiences and song-writing. All three artists display fine talent and a confidence borne of hard graft around the bars and venues of their adopted hometown. Kennedy hails from Birmingham, Alabama and released a debut EP last year. She has a soulful voice and her confident delivery on songs like Be Kind and Found It In You is impressive. Block has a debut album, released this year, and she has keen observational skills with songs like My Bar and Peaked In High School, cleverly constructed and full of personality. Wade is full of hidden depths and her persona is somewhat removed from the other two artists. No question about her talent on songs like Take Me Away, Wilder Days, and The Night, showing a real emerging talent. Her album, Reckless, was released last year to a lot of positive acclaim.
Russell Dickerson is something of a strange experience and is the most removed act from anything resembling country music in his frenetic performance. He looks too pumped up as he strides the stage, self-preening and flirting with the video cameras that project the side screen images for the crowd. His choice of material is also debatable and at one point he combines, I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Whitney Houston) with Shut Up and Dance With Me (Walk the Moon). This is straight pop music played by a four-piece that are way too loud, with the drums and bass pounding and killing any sense of melody. It’s not his greatest hour and the less said the better.
Kip Moore has a really big following if you are to go by the army of fans that punch the air and know every song lyric. The words are defiantly shouted out by the noisy crowd as they reach increasingly high levels of fervour during a set that is pure, out-and-out, Rock music. Moore has played at C2C on three occasions now (the other two being 2015 and 2018). He has a gravel voice that resonates, almost with Springsteen inflections, and his stage presence is lean and mean. A bottle of Jack Daniels is conveniently passed around during the performance (coloured water, anyone?) in an act of portraying the image of hard-drinkin’ and hard-livin’ troubadours. He slows it down occasionally with songs like Hey Pretty Girl, That Was Us and She’s Mine, but apart from such brief moments of respite, it feels to me like I’m being pummelled into submission. The 6-piece band are fully committed to delivering on a commanding performance, but it just doesn’t sound like country to me. Some of the songs that had the audience going wild were, Beer Money, Wild Ones, Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck and The Bull, all well received by the converted, but lacking in both variety and interest.
Miranda Lambert closes this weekend as the headline act and she delivers a very professional performance which spans most of her album releases. Her voice is as resonant as ever and Lambert knows how to work a crowd with her performance. She has an 8-piece band to deliver these twenty-plus songs, and she owns the stage with an elegance and poise that comes from the confidence of being a headline performer for so many years. Lambert also starred at the C2C in 2016, and the band is very much the same personnel over the six-year gap. They play with an assurance and a swagger that really brings to life songs like, White Trash, Kerosene, Famous in a Small Town, If I Was a Cowboy, Only Prettier, Actin' Up, Bluebird, Tin Man and The House That Built Me. A John Prine cover of That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round is really strong and Mama's Broken Heart is another cover song in a set that really delivers. Little Red Wagon and the closing, Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home), a cover of a new song written by Elle King, leaves the audience wanting more. Sadly, the lights come up and there is no encore to close the final night of this country music extravaganza. However, Lambert has confirmed her status as one of the leading lights of country music and her talent is shining brightly.
Reflection
It has been a real treat to witness live music on this scale after two years of waiting in the wilderness. Both artists and audience fed off each other and the energy was palpable across all three days of the festival. Top marks to the organisers who stuck rigidly to the scheduled time slots for each artist and who worked seamlessly to have the right stage set-up in place for every act. The onstage management was inspiring to witness as drum risers and other platforms were moved into place, and guitar/ keyboard racks assembled for the various acts. Well done to all the roadies and crew who made this possible and added to a very positive experience.
The lack of any pop-up stages outside the main auditorium remains an issue, with both Glasgow and London in a position to offer greater variety in this area. Perhaps the Dublin venue doesn’t lend itself to spotlight stages, but I found myself wondering why some local artists could not be given an opportunity to display their talents.
Other observations include the alarming lack of music from the artists on the merchandise stands. No CDs is perhaps a sign of the way music is being digested these days, but the lack of vinyl was surprising, given the recent resurgence in this area. There were plenty of overpriced t-shirts, sweat shirts, baseball caps and mugs, masks, wrist bands etc.
The alarming presence of cowboy hats was also a strange reality. So many folks trying to be authentic, when the true meaning of the cowboy hat and country and western music has been long lost in the sands of time. Happily, there were no six-guns attached to the dress code and the relative absence of cowboy boots was a blessing. I don’t recall any of the performers having a cowboy hat either.
I have to wonder about a fan base that increasingly ignores the origins of pure country music, hats and all, in favour of a new crossover-pop sound. It seems to me that the mixed messages reflect a genre in transition, yet again, and looking more towards a future that continues to mix hip-hop and pop influences into a gumbo that is no longer definable. With Garth Brooks due to arrive later this Summer in Dublin, the prospect of any reincarnation is sadly unlikely.
MCD played a really important role in bringing all this variety of country music to Ireland and heartfelt applause to them for their planning and execution. It’s a huge logistical nightmare to move these twelve artists around the venues over three days. Transport, hotels, equipment, instruments, personnel - so much that has to fall into place. Long may they bring new music to these shores, but I find myself wondering if there is room for a Legacy Artists weekend, perhaps over two days, that would include bands of a certain vintage that would attract an audience that listens more than it wants to party. The doors at Lonesome Highway are always open …
Review by Paul McGee
C2C Glasgow 11th- 13th March 2022
Country music has always been as much about escape as it has been about grounded authenticity, whether that’s leaving an abusive relationship, breaking gender or class stereotypes, or simply getting a Friday night off from a tedious day job to go out drinking and dancing with friends; a great country song offers performers and their audiences the chance to get some distance from life’s struggles. Two years to the day since the Covid-19 pandemic was declared, C2C - Country To Country returned to Glasgow, and Oh! how we needed it!
There’s usually some debate over C2C line-ups and what passes for country music these days; distorted guitars this, synthesised beats that, too folk too pop too Lil Nas X. But in the absence of any live music for the last two years, especially from international touring artists, that frustration seems to have faded from the conversation, replaced by genuine and grave concerns about the environmental and social structures of our world literally crumbling before our eyes. C2C was not a place to air grievances in 2022; it was a refuge and a homecoming for our country music family. That’s not to say the festival or the genre is beyond critique but simply that fans recognise the importance of finding and sharing joy in the moments we have, perhaps more than ever. Country music itself has a few dozen metaphors for how to see life through in hard times; on Friday night at C2C the lyrical lessons began with Hailey Whitters.
If you were scripting the perfect post-pandemic country music festival, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better opening song than Fillin’ My Cup, a song about finding the good in life’s mixed bag, which Hailey delivered with all the charismatic energy of a debutante and a headliner in one.
“You can't appreciate the sugar if you never had the salt
Ain't it nice and sweet even when it's on the rocks?”
She may still be a newcomer to UK audiences but her performance and songcraft reflect the time and effort she’s put into breaking through, now, after 14 years in Nashville. Ten Year Town is an origin story echoed by several artists over the course of the weekend but as introductions go, Hailey’s is easily the most impactful. It’s hard to pick a favourite moment from her set, every song is a full episode, each with great characters, settings and stories; Boys Back Home is a tender reflection on growing up in a rural community while Janice at the Hotel Bar is loaded with a lifetime’s wit and wisdom, somehow distilled into four and half minutes with a catchy chorus. Perhaps though, it’s the set closer, Heartland, that really sells what Hailey is all about; while the chorus rhyming alone is a songwriting masterclass, its themes of staying grounded and holding true to your path are as timely and timeless as country music gets.
Following up on the main stage, the only named band to feature all weekend, was Flatland Cavalry. The notable absence of ‘legacy’ acts at this year’s festival may have left a gap, sonically, in what is usually quite a holistic programme but the inclusion of this Lubbock, TX outfit managed to tick off a handful of the more traditional sub-genres and styles, as they honky-tonked and two-stepped their way through a set that was heavy on harmonies, while balancing banjo and fiddle with ripping guitar solos. No Ace in the Hole is a combustible number, one primed for open-air events, while Country Is coaxed an early evening singalong out of the straight-from-work crowd. The band’s “Texas countryfied” rendition of Take Me Home, Country Roads had folks up dancing in the stalls which was as surreal as it was delightful, after two years listening to music in relative isolation.
Not to be ignored, Tenille Arts gave a classy acoustic performance on the Spotlight Stage which had been relocated to the back of the arena where it debuted in 2018. Whether this was due to audience feedback or crowd control measures in light of social distancing, it seemed to work this time around and these low-key performances produced some truly special moments for artists and fans alike. Tenille Arts’ radio-friendly crooning was an ideal palate cleanser to transition Friday evening into Friday night and the crowd had well and truly settled in by the time Ashley McBryde took to the main stage.
Ashley has been working her way up the bill at successive C2C events, first debuting on London’s Spotlight Stage in 2018. She played second on the main stage at Glasgow in 2019 and was the talk of the festival from there on out. The next time she plays it will be as the headliner. For years to come. Her songs are second-to-none; vivid, powerful vignettes of tragic and flawed characters, real situations, and raw emotions, all fortified by the sincerity of her delivery. Opening with rocking murder ballad Martha Divine was a statement of intent that Ashley and her band came to play hard. They guided the audience through a well-constructed set that showcased the depth and breadth of country storytelling with a heartland rock bent. Driving songs, praying songs, cheated and (award-winning) cheatin’ songs, break-up songs, radio songs, all-American songs; this set had everything. The quiet disbelief of Girl Goin’ Nowhere countered with the longing of Sparrow, before closing with the unguarded honesty of One Night Standards was a rollercoaster worth the price of admission.
Then it was Luke Combs’ moment to shine. He certainly has the accolades to justify his top billing but still had to deliver something special to claim the night from his openers. Instinctively he left it all on the stage with a 23-song set that included covers of Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw and Travis Tritt, as well as a seemingly endless string of hit singles from his expanded 2-LP catalogue. The fact that only 7 of those songs came from his debut album and yet every one was as good or better than the last, speaks to the strength of the songwriting powerhouse and performer that he has become. Even Though I’m Leaving hits the heartstrings with such velocity it’s hard to be in the room, while Hurricane feels like it might blow the roof off the place. It’s no exaggeration to say he put in overtime, wrapping up his set with two minutes until curfew, he came back out after apparently agreeing a penalty fee to play his two-song encore. It was worth it to close out with a 9-minute rendition of Beer Never Broke My Heart that saw Luke hi-fiving, hugging, shaking hands or taking selfies with next to everyone along the barrier. It might have been confronting for some fans but for others it was the surest sign of “normality” shown in a long, long time, and for that alone it was welcome.
Saturday saw a dynamic shift in the Hydro as more fans, now free of weekday work commitments, were able to attend from earlier in the evening and party harder into the night. Glasgow seems to strike it lucky with the line-up rotations between cities each year because Saturday nights always go wild. It may have started out sensibly enough with a songwriter round but the rest of the night was a riot! Russell Dickerson’s RnB-infused pop country dance party got the audience loose and limber before Kip Moore unleashed his set of rock-heavy anthems. Was any of that vaguely country? Gateway country, at a push. It was good fun though, and those guys really put on great live shows.
The Introducing Nashville songwriters showcase that opened the main stage was a fantastic way to fit more talent into the programme while minimising the risk or complications inherent with moving large touring parties around amidst a global pandemic. The three artists who ultimately performed, Priscilla Block, Morgan Wade and Tiera Kennedy, had their own distinct approach to songwriting and performance and it was wonderful to journey into each of their songs and come out the other side a little transformed by it. Priscilla’s Like A Boy displayed stunning vulnerability while Morgan’s performance of Met You took the air out the room. Tiera closed out the set with an unreleased song, Alabama Nights, that was more fun than anyone should have before teatime on Saturday.
Over on the Spotlight Stage another two talented acts offered up acoustic performances. Brittney Spencer was captivating, her voice sweet but commanding, and her frank lyrics on Sober & Skinny cut right to the heart. Rising star out of Rockwall, TX, Erin Kinsey was one of the youngest artists to perform in the main arena this year. Her songs had an effervescence about them, some rapid-fire phrasing and probably the only lyric to reference Paramore at C2C, ever.
The arena was packed out for headliner Miranda Lambert. Fans had waiting almost five years for her return and when it finally came, she more than made up for the delay. With a seven-piece band behind her Miranda fired through her catalogue, serving up hit after hit and hit. Four songs from 2019’s un-toured Wildcard album received rapturous applause.
“And if the whole wide world stops singing
And all the stars go dark
I'll keep a light on in my soul
Keep a bluebird in my heart”
Bluebird elicited an emotional singalong that had clearly been bottled up for the last couple of years, while Miranda’s solo performance of Tin Man silenced 12,000 people. US artists regularly say how much they love playing to UK audiences because of this active listening and reverence for storytelling but seeing it action again after such a long period without, really crystallised the magic of that experience on both sides of the microphone. The set also introduced three songs from Miranda’s forthcoming album Palomino. Recent singles If I Was A Cowboy and Strange (the latter released just the day before) were received like canon while Actin’ Up sounds likely to become a fan favourite for future Saturday night shenanigans. More dancing, drinking and singing ensued to Miranda’s fast-paced cover of John Prine’s That’s the Way That the World Goes ‘Round, and equally up-tempo Mama’s Broken Heart. There was hardly a moment to catch breath in the 22-song set before it wrapped up, rather appropriately, with Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).
The final night of C2C in Glasgow was one for the loyal 2020 ticket holders as three of the four main stage acts were primed to play the festival when it was cancelled just 24 hours ahead of opening. The silver lining for the first act on stage, Tenille Townes, was that her set was upgraded not once, but twice: from the songwriters showcase to a stand-alone Spotlight Stage slot, and lastly to a full band set opening the main stage, after Runaway June had to pull out. Her performance on Sunday evening proved what many fans already knew; she should have been playing that gig all along. Her effortless stage presence belies her powerful and angst-ridden vocal style, and songs like Jersey on the Wall – I’m Just Asking and I Kept the Roses evidence an earnestness and maturity that make her so accessible as a songwriter and storyteller. Girl Who Didn’t Care and set closer Somebody’s Daughter could have been plucked straight from millennium-era Saturday morning CMT.
Fans of 90s mainstream radio especially would have found a lot to enjoy on Sunday. Not only was an actual alt-rock legend headlining (in GRAMMY-winning country veteran Darius Rucker) but the melting pot of influences embodied by Tenille Townes, Brett Young and Scotty McCreery offered flavours of neotraditional country, soul, RnB and pop. At times it sounded – and felt – like revisiting an earlier life, a sweet kind of escape in itself. The contemporary style of Callista Clark stood out all the more in this mix, her influences sounding more Taylor than Trisha, and that’s no disrespect to her performance. The bluesy Real To Me comes straight from the heart, as does the confident and clever It’s Cause I Am. Callista’s another act who’ll hopefully make the leap from Spotlight to main stage in the near future.
The final headline set of the weekend then belonged to Darius Rucker. It was only his second time at C2C but clearly, he is an artist whose appeal transcends genres or festival stages. He is a seasoned entertainer and it was obvious how much he relished performing live in Scotland again. As with Miranda the night before, Darius pulled hits from all throughout his catalogue (including three iconic Hootie & The Blowfish numbers) and the crowd danced and sang along to all of them zealously. The six-piece band carved out an easy-going set with natural swagger, rolling through Southern State of Mind, For The First Time and many people’s lockdown party jam, Beers And Sunshine. Darius worked the stage from end to end, keeping the audience fully connected with the energy of his performance. A subtle push of the tempo landed the band at their final song of the night – everyone’s final song for the weekend – Wagon Wheel. What more could anyone ask of Country To Country’s triumphant return than to close out The Hydro with Wagon Wheel?!
Well, the house music that actually played the audience out, after Darius and band left the stage and the lights came on, was Country Roads, Take Me Home.
Review by Kendall Wilson