For a number of years now, the bigwigs who control the
country music output from Nashville’s Music Row have been chipping away at the
UK market. We have had the odd live date, occasional press visits and the increasing
availability of releases via the expanding platforms. However Saturday March 16th
2013 may well become a watershed day when a sledgehammer was put through the
barrier formed on the perception that the UK doesn’t do country. Of course this
is doing a disservice to the mass of home grown and touring talent that has
been bubbling under the surface since the heyday of the Wembley festival. Yet
the scale of the operation carried out under the Country to Country banner is
unprecedented especially in the electronic age of mass instant communication.
On this first instalment of a two-day early spring festival,
four A-list artists were unleashed on what is becoming the nation’s highest
profile entertainment venue with the mission of bringing modern mainstream
country music to the masses. It was definitely a smart choice Saturday as a
combination of Tim McGraw, Little Big Town and Vince Gill had enough diversity
in their arsenal to broaden appeal and deliver a show that highlighted once
again how country music houses a wide range of styles. All three are
established performers at the top of their game and they were ably joined by
Kristian Bush who is striving to emerge from the shadow of Sugarland and
enhance his solo status.
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| Photo Hels Bels Photography |
Tim McGraw was awarded the headline slot and thoroughly
respected the adoring crowd with a set list that encompassed his 20 year career
as an eminent performer. He may draw criticism in some quarters with his rock
star posturing and pushing the genre to the edge but he knows what he does and
delivers a first class high energy performance. His latest album TWO LANES OF
FREEDOM is gathering critical acclaim and heading to legendary status so it was
inevitable that several of its standout tracks were featured in the set. ‘Nashville Without You’ is fast becoming
a personal favourite and was outstanding on the evening while the exceptional title
track had its rightful place at the heart of the encore. Although it was a
little disappointing that ‘Southern Voice’
wasn’t aired, the wonderful ‘Everywhere’
was perfect compensation, while the charismatic main set closer ‘Live Like You Were Dying’ echoed around
the cavernous North Greenwich Arena (Sorry O2! but you’re only the sponsor). Big
arenas are not the perfect setting for many acts but they definitely suit Tim
McGraw.
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| Photo Hels Bels Photography |
If perhaps you belong to the school of thought that Tim McGraw
encroaches a little bit too much into the sphere of rock, then the set of Vince
Gill would have resonated a lot more. The legendary singer-songwriter –
virtuoso guitar player is a giant of American not just country music and for an
hour and a quarter his talents lit up the arena with a sound that straddled the
factions of the genre. The traditionalists would have loved the trio of pedal
steel laden gems that featured early in the set including the sublime ‘Take Your Memories With You When You Go’. Gill
often referred to his slower numbers as ‘pretty songs’ but was prepared to
sprinkle his set with a mixture to ensure maximum exposure of his breathtaking
guitar skills. The title track from his recent album GUITAR SLINGER, ‘Pretty Little Adriana’ and ‘Oklahoma Borderline’ all were fine
examples of what he can do when increasing the tempo a little. It was a canny
move to enlist the services of Vince Gill as his ambassadorial status will ensure
the generations are bridged. This is essential for country to progress as a
stand-alone genre and not blur into the world of rock and pop.
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| Photo Hels Bels Photpgraphy |
For over fifty years country music has been under attack
from the spreading wings of popular music which has often been successful in
snaring artists who stray a little too far away from the core. This is as
relevant in 2013 as it was in the Nashville Sound days of the early sixties.
Therefore it is good to see bands like Little Big Town keen to stay true to
their roots despite residing on the lighter side of the genre. The four piece
interchangeable vocal band who are currently riding the crest of the wave of
their most successful album to date, TORNADO, were for me the anticipated
highlight of day one and they didn’t disappoint. It was immensely satisfying to
hear live the two best of tracks from the brace of recent albums in ‘Sober’ and ‘Little White Church’ but as is often the case other songs can have their
status elevated when experienced in person. ‘Tornado’ was an example from the latest album while the quartet
also amusingly accepted the challenge of delivering a countrified version of
Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’. Amongst established favourites such as the
country radio smash ‘Pontoon’ and
atmospheric a capella intro to ‘Front
Porch Thing’, Little Big Town fuelled the comparisons to Fleetwood Mac with
a version of ‘The Chain’. This band had everything and confirmed their
growing status in country music.
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| Photo Hels Bels Photography |
Kristian Bush had the difficult task of launching the
festival while many punters were enjoying the free music being offered outside
the arena by selected UK artists. In contrast to the perceived view that his
set may be along similar lines to his CMA singer songwriter dates, he rose to
the challenge of rocking the arena and succeeded by the end of his fairly short
set in getting people off their feet. With the added bonus of being flanked by
the exceptional talent of Larkin Poe, Kristian Bush showed glimpses that there
may be a fruitful post- Sugarland career if his destiny is in this direction.
At the conclusion of day one, there was an extremely
positive vibe that Country to Country was on its way to achieving the goal of
opening the floodgates for a Nashville invasion. The very respectable turnout
must have pleased the organisers and the slick operation made the day an
enjoyable experience. Subsequent reports of day two confirmed this as Carrie
Underwood closed a festival that had exceeded expectations. Preparation for
2014 is underway and one day you may look back to Saturday 16th
March 2013 and say ‘I was there’.