My preview of a couple of weeks back noted that the Long Road Festival is an annual fixture in my diary, and this year‘s line-up promised much. The festival now boasts six stages – adding the Hitching Post to its earlier roster – and inevitably the one problem of a large festival is scheduling clashes. Nonetheless I managed to catch at least part of the sets by 30 of the artists appearing. Even these are too many to cover in my review, so I am going to concentrate on my favourite acts, both established favourites and newcomers.
Ashley Monroe is a long-standing favourite, and she didn’t disappoint with her early evening Friday set on the main Rhinestone stage. starting her set with a solo number on piano, she then moved to acoustic guitar, backed with her band. Highlights of her set included her co-write with Chris Stapleton ‘If the Devil Don’t Want Me’, a full-on rocker ‘Hot Rod Pipe Dream’, and ‘Heart Like Mine’ co-written with Miranda Lambert on a Dollywood porch with a bottle of wine, worrying they heard a bear rustling in the undergrowth. This song, written when she was 19, was one of her two hits, although not for herself, along with ‘Like a Rose’ co-written with Guy Clark. Monroe told us that she had come to the writing session with Clark, one of her songwriting heroes, with a number of ideas, none of which he liked; he told her “tell me your story“. Monroe told him that her dad died when she was 13, her mum left for a while and came back, and despite everything she “came out like a rose“ – and so the song was born. A personal favourite of mine is ‘Weed Instead of Roses’, a heartfelt and humorous plea to restore the passion in a relationship, and she invited Fancy Hagood on as a guest, to duet with her on their cover of ‘Islands in the Stream’, a big hit for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, having been on tour with him.
Next up on the Interstate stage was a newcomer to me, Fantastic Negrito, playing a rocking blend of blues and R&B, with a New Orleans voodoo edge. His set was an early sign that a big stage presence was to be a feature of the main stage acts. But it wasn’t just show, he proved to be a compelling vocalist, with an excellent band, on both up-tempo and slower numbers like ‘I hope somebody is loving you’.
Drake Milligan, from Fort Worth Texas closed the Rhinestone stage on Friday night, with a crowd pleasing contemporary country set, with new takes on classic country themes, including his recent hits ‘Over Drinkin’, Under Thinkin’, ‘I Got a Problem’, ‘Hating Everything She Tries On’ and his closing number ‘Kiss Goodbye All Night’.
Fanny Lumsden was the first act on my “must see“ list for Saturday, kicking off on the Rhinestone stage, and she matched expectations– with a huge stage presence, including some great high kicking dance moves, and the only cartwheel (perfectly delivered) I’ve ever seen on a main stage show. She delivered a set of up-tempo high spirited country rock/pop, including ‘Roll On’ dedicated to folks in truck stops, and ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’, covering the original by Gotye. Hailing from western New South Wales, this was the last date on a on an eight week tour of the UK and Ireland and special note must be made of her merch, with a T-shirt sporting “I’m a Fanny Fan“, and a fan with the same slogan!
Switching for a run of shows on the smaller Buddy’s Good Time Bar stage for the Loose Music takeover proved to be a smart move for the stage offered some of the best Americana acts appearing over the weekend. Birds Flying Backwards were a new band to me, hailing from London, and newly signed to Loose. With keys reminiscent of The Band, or maybe Brinsley Schwartz, and a band sound combining sixties psychedelia, and Britpop attitude, they top the list of my new bands to see again from the weekend. And lead singer Joe even gave us a “peace out“ farewell at the end of the set!
Next up on the Buddy’s stage were Greazy Alice, another recent signing to Loose.The full band line-up includes bass and drums, but here the stripped back set was performed by band leader Alex Pianovich, with harmony vocals from Jo Morris. Cap-clad Pianovich bore a striking resemblance to Lawrence of Mozart Estate, the set had a low-key, chilled feel, reminiscent at times of Sam Baker, including a couple of well chosen covers – ‘Dallas (from a DC9 at Night)’, written by Jimmy Dale Gilmore, and Townes Van Zandt’s ‘Pancho and Lefty’, with originals including ‘Departures’, inspired by Austin Texas, and ‘Firefly’, in waltz time, with an old time feel.
Much anticipated at Buddy’s was Canadian Bonny Dobson, playing with the Hanging Stars, with whom she recently released the album “Dreams”. Dobson, now in her 80s, still has a delightfully sweet voice, and a mischievous sense of humour, evident throughout the set. Opening with ‘Baby’s Got the Blues’, the Hanging Stars demonstrated that they are the perfect band to support her – with a blend of 60s psychedelia, and classic Laurel Canyon Americana, always maintaining a subtle but relentless groove. ‘Don’t Look Down’, lively and up-tempo, was enhanced by fine mariachi style trumpet, which featured also on closing number ‘Rainy Windows’ which Richard Olson of the Hanging Stars announced to be his personal favourite Bonnie Dobson song.
Dobson‘s best known song, ‘Morning Dew’, has been covered by many artists over the years, from the well-known version by Tim Rose, to the Grateful Dead, the Jeff Beck group with Rod Stewart, Nazareth, and even Devo. Performed with the Hanging Stars, the song sounds as fresh as ever. Although not a Bonnie Dobson original, she first recorded the classic hippie anthem ‘Get Together’ in 1969, and, like ‘Morning Dew’, the song is still pertinent today – perhaps even more so – and in its live version featured a hypnotic groove to great effect.
Next up on Buddy’s was Gill Landry, who came to fame with the Old Crow Medicine Show, but, since 2015, has had a successful solo career. Combining fine fingerpicking skills on guitar, harmonica, and songs on classic traditional country themes, and a rich resonant voice, Landry’s set featured fine original songs, occasional covers (‘Frankie’, performed as an up-tempo bar room rocker), and engaging banter between songs. Introducing one song, he told his audience that he never dreamt that when he wrote the song, one day he’d be singing it to a sea of English men wearing cowboy hats in the Midlands! We think he meant it kindly… Love and betrayal featured strongly in his set, including ‘Denver Girl’, about a Buddhist dominatrix from the eastern slopes of Colorado (or at least that’s what he told us – and that his next song was about her sister!).
The highfalootin VIP stage, an intimate stage close to Stanford Hall itself, was an opportunity to hear the fine original music of Irish artist Maria Byrne, performing on guitar with her band (pedal steel, bass and percussion). Arriving back only that morning from Rodney Crowell’s well regarded songwriting camp in Nashville, Byrne performed a short set of self-penned songs, including ‘All You Need’, ‘One More Day’, and ‘Keep On’, showcasing her sweet vocals.
Also appearing on the VIP stage, Sykamore, hailing from Western Canada, demonstrated her simultaneously sensitive and quirky songwriting, with an engaging acoustic set. On the sensitive side of the equation, her song ‘He’s Mine’ was written, she told us, to be a suitable song for the mother/groom dance at a wedding – as a mother looks at the changes in parent child relationships over time –a song for her son’s bride. At the quirky end, she proved that unusual titles can make great songs – ‘Pinto’ is based on the ill fated Ford Pinto, renowned as one of the worst cars in US history, which she told us reminded her of some of her friends relationships! We also learnt a new phrase – at least to many of us – a “California King” being someone with an overly high view of himself, “the kind you fall for at 17“, the humour of the moment enhanced by a member of the audience self identifying as a “California King!”
Closing sets on Saturday night meant a USA/UK rocking finale choice, between Midland, on the Rhinestone stage, and Danny and the Champions of the World, at Buddy’s. The only sensible outcome was to split my time between the two – the outcome between two rocking sets an honourable draw. Catching the start and end of their set, Midland – at least to this listener’s ears – shade towards being latter-day inheritors of the Eagles vibe, melodic, and smoother than many of the current crop of country bands, leaning to the rock end with songs like ‘Barely Blue’, and ‘She’s Gone’ with ‘Glass Half Empty’ a straight up country rocker, with the inevitable drinking theme. ‘Much Too Young to Feel This Damn Old’ in particular had an Eagles’ feel. The band welcomed McKenzie Carpenter to the stage, to join them on their joint hit ‘I Wish You Would’. Watching the end of Danny and the Champions of the World’s set at Buddy’s was a reminder of what a great rocking line-up Danny heads! A pedal to the metal set, with fine melodic guitar lines, the packed crowd enjoyed renditions of ‘I Guess it Don’t Matter Anymore’, ‘Never Stop Building’, ‘Stay True’, ‘Sooner or Later’, and ‘Every Beat of My Heart’.
The UK country and Americana audience has a reputation amongst many US and Canadian artists as being a welcoming space for LGBTQ plus artists, and I caught three of the artists appearing on Sunday, with personal stories to tell.
First up was Steady Habits, on the front porch stage, the band identity of New England native Sean C Duggan. Playing with his band line-up of drums, bass and guitar, Duggan told us of his teenage years, growing up with a liking for ball gowns, which he cut out for his notebook, and his decision to come out as gay at his Sunday school – to a mixed reaction, he told us – by way of introduction to his song ‘Deviate’, for everyone who is different. ‘Stay’, he told us, was about falling in love with the wrong person, shifting seamlessly from a ballad to a mid tempo rocker, with memorable lines ‘remind me we were more than two bodies on a single bed’ and ‘do I freak you out’. ‘After the Light Goes Out’ had a memorable riff, with echoes of ‘Peace Love and Understanding’ or ‘Baba O’Reilly’, with Duggan and his band closing with a fine rocker, ‘Mess of it All’.
Kellie Loder, from Newfoundland, played on the Front Porch and VIP stages, and I caught part of each set – impressed with her strong rich locals, fine guitar work, and quirky lyrics. Telling us about her own childhood – she “fucking hated to wear frocks”– by way of introduction to her song ‘Suit and Tie’, she raised a big laugh from her audience with her song ‘Gross With You’, inspired by watching a couple too lovey-dovey to bear, with the classic line “I wanna be gross with you/ even if I throw up over you.” Throughout she demonstrated fine songwriting chops, as evidenced by the line “Our hearts are tangled up again like two kites in the wind” in her song, ‘Honey I’m scared’.
Fancy Hagood was an instant hit when debuting in the UK at the Country to Country festival in 2024, with a fabulous voice, and “from the heart” lyrics. In his own words, he was regarded as “too gay for Nashville, too Nashville for LA“ in the early years of his career and he boasted that “he has been dropped from every contract he’s ever had“. However, his self facing humour belies a very talented songwriter, and performer. Looking up from the Rhinestone stage to the grand facade of Stanford Hall, he joked that he was fulfilling his Downton Abbey fantasy – and had called for tea first thing in the morning. ‘Losing Game’, he told us, is a song inspired by the least favourite/most toxic lover, noting that most people he meets on the hinge app are themselves unhinged!
‘Isn’t That Life’ was written the night “the shit hit the fan“. He had been intending to write a savage album, but instead spend a year in therapy – good for him personally, but bad for his songwriting! Throughout his set, Hagood wears his heart on his sleeve, but with humour and humility. ‘American Spirit’ – inspired by a brand of cigarette– might seem an odd song for a non-smoker, but, he told us, he had dated lots of guys who do smoke – “they look cool!” ‘Southern Curiosity’, which closed his set, references the depth of his southern influences – singing “I got roots down in Alabama/I got friends up in Tennessee/wild child, but I mind my manners/southern curiosity”.
Back on the Buddy’s stage, Alyssa Bonagura impressed with a full on rocking set, featuring her powerhouse vocals, and huge stage presence. A packed crowd enjoyed her additions of ‘No Stopping This Train’, ‘New Wings’, a fine cover of Dolly’s ‘9 to 5’, and a classic closing version of her song ‘I Make My Own Sunshine’, written she told us when living in Liverpool.
Back to the Rhinestone stage for the final two closing acts – Seasick Steve was speaking the blindingly obvious when he said at the start of his set – “I’m not country – but I am loud” – and proceeded to demonstrate the truth of both statements. A true one off, his energy and drive were evident throughout his set, switching between guitars and his one string diddly bow, his music powerful and primeval. He even found the energy to intervene briefly in a domestic dispute which spilt over at stage front – before returning to the stage. An irrepressible showman, he kept the closing night crowd engaged and entertained, before the final act, James Bay.
Closing the Festival, Bay demonstrated that he is both a fine singer and guitarist, and fine songwriter, with a full-on stadium pleasing set. Spanning his 10 years of music releases, he opened his set with ‘Up All Night’, from his 2024 release “Changes All the Time”, while ‘Hopeless Heart’ from the same release, featured later in his set, together with ‘You and Me Time’. Bay has a classic soul tinged smoky voice, and a fine falsetto, demonstrated powerfully on ‘Let it Go’, from his first album, “Chaos and the Calm”, released in 2015. Bay closed his set with ‘Best Fake Smile’, from the same release, and ‘Hold Back the River’, his big 2014 hit, which announced him as a major artist.
Inevitably, at a big festival with so many acts playing, some could only be caught for a couple of numbers – honourable mentions are due to Robbie Cavanagh, demonstrating his fine rocking credentials, on the Buddy’s stage; the Jaywalkers, on the new Hitching Post stage, from the UK, but demonstrating their charming command of old time Americana, and Will Varley, playing in duo mode as the Southern Rust, playing songs from his well crafted new album release “Machines Will Never Learn to Make Mistakes Like Me”. Varley recounted the story of his seven-year-old daughter telling him that “all your songs are sad Daddy“ but he had to admit that his attempt to address this had still not quite crossed the “happy“ line. And Evan Bartels showed two sides to small town life in Nebraska – brought up in Tobias, a town of only one hundred people, he described his childhood as like having a “prairie playground“, but reflected that for many US small towns, the meth epidemic has changed everything, a chilling thought. Simeon Hammond Dallas demonstrated her growing following, with a well attended early morning set, on Buddy’s stage.
Finally, a brief mention of acts I failed to catch –three familiar names I have enjoyed before, the First Time Flyers, Elles Bailey and Kezia Gill and an act flagged up by several people I spoke to, to be caught on a future occasion, Liam St John.
A great festival, thoroughly recommended to all lovers of Americana and country music, in all its flavours – roll on 2026!
