They say “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” but they never said that you can’t change it!
Due to (In Gavin’s words)
“The stars aligning” the latest instalment of this twice-yearly fixture in the
country music calendar became a one day special – and how special it was!
In addition, the format of
the day also changed, instead of a build-up of artists which grow in experience
and fan bases, we saw three of the best male artists on the scene each take to
the stage following by a highly anticipated writer’s round, combining
them for an afternoon of music and stories.
We even saw Gavin deviate
from his normal strict timekeeping, this was cast aside in favour of an early
set start to allow more time for a certain artist who we know likes to talk.
Kicking off the show was
Matt Hodges, followed by Gary Quinn, who invited on stage, to sing a duet, his
special guest Mikki Evans. Jeremy McComb
followed the trend and also invited guests to the stage, including Robyn Red
(on her way to another show) for a solo performance as they can’t find a song
they both know; followed by his touring guitarist Yannick Van Riet to rock out together.
The afternoon was rounded off by that quite special writers round, and
yes, it ran over time!
With Jeremy centre stage you
know you were in for fits of laughter, even when the sentiment of the story is
supposed to be a sad one. Matt warned we might end up in tears, based on an
previous telling out in Nashville but the laughter had already taken hold. Often,
we can’t believe some of these events actually happened, but we all knew where the
story was going from the minute Jeremy mentioned the hot water pull cord in the
Quinn’s bathroom – yes, he pulled the disability alarm cord during the show in
South Wales the previous night. Whilst we are used to artists playing along
during a round, these three bounced off each other adding the raucousness of
the event – it certainly wasn’t PG! “Whoop whoop” could be Mr McComb’s and the
event’s title – a warning of an afternoon of fantastic music and stories. Yet
again CITA didn’t disappoint.
Despite the fun, throughout the day, there was a repeated sentiment of gratitude, to the hosts but also to the audience. An appreciative audience, that enables artists to deliver their craft.
We at Silverball Country
echo the gratitude, as its you, the fans that enable Country Music in the UK to
survive and grow. Keep buying the music, the tickets and the merchandise and we’ll
see you at an event soon!
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