“We
can build our own Nashville
Underneath
these grey skies”
Never has this line sung by The Shires on Friday night at The Long Road Festival been more apt. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday grey skies gave way to rain and storms, but spirits weren't dampened. Yes, there were stages closed, evacuations for safety and some mud underfoot – but what’s a festival without a bit of mud? Ok, quite a lot of mud! Walking - or squelching - our way around the site, we saw some imaginative ways of dealing with the weather – ponchos, shower caps for hats, and the one young lady repurposing an Ariat t-shirt bag (whilst never letting go of her Pint) – we salute you!
The Long Road is the fashionista festival of country, with attendees planning their outfits for months with lots of chatter about it on social media. While the weather did seem to reduce the usual fantastic array of festival outfits, some were undeterred and wore them anyway, while others dressed for the weather. Many people managed to combine Country Chic with Waterproof Chic – we could probably do a whole feature on waterproof coats (dry robes especially in fashion this year) but the dogs certainly made an effort and camping trolleys were well decorated! Perhaps next year the festival could import the idea of “drying tunnels” from American theme parks – surely perfect for UK bank holiday weather, and might reduce the number of wet guests deciding to cut their visit short.
But in between the rain, we
did Build Our Own Nashville...looking out across the sea of heads in front of
the Rhinestone stage wearing cowboy hats and trucker caps, thousands of country
fans came together for another large UK country festival, following on from
C2C, Country Calling and Garth Brooks headlining BST at Hyde Park - something
that might have been beyond a dream ten years ago. Many artists commented on the growth of
Country Music in the UK, and it goes beyond listening to American bands, as
some genuine homegrown talent made their main stage debt – First Time Flyers on
Saturday, Kezia Gill fulfilling her dad’s prophecy and her dream on Sunday,
plus 2025 talent Show winner Liam Price showing this year’s contestants what is
possible as he too took to the biggest stage on Sunday Morning. Friday Night, that stage belonged to the
biggest band in UK Country Music – The Shires – returning to the festival that
they first performed at in 2018.
The attraction of The Long
Road is the variety. As you wander
around, you’ll find a range of country music on the various stages – from open
mic sessions on the relocated Showground stage, to barnstorming shows in the
(thankfully covered) Interstate and definitely some new discoveries deep in the
woods at Buddy’s Good Time Bar. It was
there that we saw “Queer Cxuntry”, unashamedly LGBT and unashamedly creating a
truly amazing party experience.
There’s also the chance to
go fantasy car shopping at the Lucky Dice Car show, real shopping with the
range of traders who can supply you with bespoke jewellery, bespoke hats or
even a whole new outfit – especially useful on a wet weekend! The food offering was as big as ever this
year, with festivalgoers sharing benches and sharing tips for what to try for
your evening meal.
Despite the weather, this
year’s Long Road saw a lot of first-time visitors, and they will surely join
the many who return year on year, buying their tickets before the line up is
announced. If you are one of those –
early bird tickets go on sale tomorrow!
Whenever you buy your
ticket, we’ll see you next year, and we'll once again… welcome back old friends…
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