The Long Road 2025 – Reviewed!

Leicestershire, home to pork pies, foxes, and southern American charm since 2018 – yes, we are returning once again to the fields of Stanford Hall for The Long Road festival, a cornucopia of country music and Americana in the heart of England.

Walking into the site we can already see the fruits of this festival’s continued growth, with much extended campervan fields and a plethora of extra camping, and we can smell the morning breakfasts being cooked in the Friday sunshine. I am particularly invested in how fancy everyone’s set-up is, having walked past a gazebo with a full kitchen set up including hanging pots and pans, and a sink area. Roadies come PREPARED.

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The festival arena itself remains mostly unchanged (bar the addition of a new stage which we will investigate later) but there are some notable omissions from this year’s line-up of extras, like Solo Stove whose gorgeous firepits (and late night s’mores) I will definitely lament later. I was also hoping for the return of the Harley Davidson shop, but I do think the inclusion of the Hat Bar where you can buy and DIY your cowboy hat with various trinkets and branding, is pretty darn cool.

Anyway, off we go!

FRIDAY

One big upgrade for this year’s festival is that the main stage opens tonight, giving Roadies a whole extra evening of musical action to look forward to – where in previous years the Interstate stage bore the Friday entertainment mostly on it’s own. I do think immediately setting up your chair and plonking yourself down at the Rhinestone is a bit nutty for 11am though… *side eye*.

Heading out into the back of the site, we decide to check out The Hitching Post, Long Road’s newest addition, which is a stunning peaked tent stage filled with tinsel and disco vibes. I love the fact that the side wings provide a heap of seating undercover, and that the wooden floor makes for the ideal dancing space – perfect for the weekend’s line/square/barn dancing schedule.

The area surrounding this new stage is also home to a lot of exciting food offerings, and a plethora of picnic tables – if there’s one thing this festival just does exceptionally well, it is making sure you’ve always got somewhere to sit and eat. I choose pulled spicy pulled chicken tacos which are a taste sensation but structurally the worst I’ve ever tried to eat. Delicious and frustrating in equal measure.

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From there we pop over to Lil Possum County, a hay-baled area set up for kids activities, where a possibly deadly, definitely chaotic, game of dodgeball is being waged. We opt instead for a quick game of Cornhole, before heading to the Weber Grill area to investigate a very delicious smell…

The thing is, even if you have just eaten Tacos… you could always eat more Tacos… and the Tacos being made here smell phenomenal. Weber is running cooking classes and competitions all weekend, but you’ve gotta be quick to get a tasting token. Next door, Ariat are already doing a roaring trade in boots and tees – along with London Shoeshine who are there to giddy up your kicks (and you can even get them branded if you want!).

We head back over towards the main stage area, to the High Falootin’ VIP to case the joint. Having spotted some nice comfy sofas around the mini tent stage there, we sit down in the sunshine where Katie Rigby is singing about how she’s pretty sure she was born in the wrong place (a Brit into country music) with ‘Past Life Cowgirl’ – her viral tiktok hit. Katie has an incredible voice, I really hope to see her here again, hopefully on a bigger stage.

First up on the Rhinestone stage is Liam St. John, bringing a wakeup dose of energy to a sleepy Friday evening. Bopping about in a wifebeater tank with a Crybaby haircut, you might not expect the truly brilliant Britney Spears ‘Toxic’ cover, but you should be super sad if you missed it. It’s a great set overall, and Liam is funny and charming (especially when he manages to say Leicestershire correctly, we stan a man who practices our silly words). A quick trip around to The Front Porch stage takes us to Oscar Blue, singing gorgeous soft melodies in the evening sun, then Ashley Monroe lights up the Rhinestone in a black fringe party dress to deliver her soulful songs.

There’s no rest for the wicked as we take ourselves back to the furthest corner of the festival to grab some dinner (Cajun shrimp from the Bayou truck, my annual favourite haunt) and then head into the Interstate tent for Fantastic Negrito.

Fantastic Negrito (aka Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz) is one of the coolest cats I’ve ever laid eyes on. Unfortunately beset by sound issues, the frustrated band is yelling at techs to turn various things up and down, while Xavier bounces around nervously and tells us he feels awkward. Luckily after around ten minutes it does get solved and they launch into a blues laced set of wall-to-wall delight. Guitarist Clark Sims absolutely wails, Bryan Simmons on the keys is just so full of life and fun, and Fantastic himself is pure unadulterated joy in stripy socks. It is instantly one of my favourite sets of the weekend, I have been genuinely lost in their music and will probably binge every Spotify song whilst writing this up.

Friday’s Rhinestone headliner Drake Milligan has brought a very imposing stage backdrop emblazoned with his name in giant red letters, to match his postbox red shirt and spangly red white and blue glittered guitar. What follows is a rip roaring, furiously fun romp through Drake’s upbeat country songs, to a huge arena crowd. We are 30k strong here this weekend, a big jump up from previous years and it is really noticeable in the roar of appreciation for Drake tonight.

“Y’all this is crazy, we have been all over the world these last few years… but I don’t think I’ve ever experienced something as cool as this in the UK right now. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a crowd this big sing this song before…”

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The patriotic lighting dances across Drake as he yells “Everyone give me a YeeeeHaww!” and commands the gods to stick a drink in his open hand. ‘Bad Day To Be A Beer’ is undeniably cheesy as a song, and obviously I can’t help but love it. Between the band making a dance-train across the stage, a cheeky Elvis ‘Burning Love’ cover (a nod to Drake’s past life as an Elvis impersonator) and him popping down to the front row to shake hands with everyone, it’s clear he came to dominate this UK performance and is absolutely succeeding.

‘Slow Dancin’ (To A Fast Song)’ has the entire arena grooving along with Drake and his hips. As he puts it himself “If nothing else, shake it for the critters and the squirrels”. It’s a stellar start to the weekend’s festivities, and a great Friday nightcap.

SATURDAY

Kicking off Saturday with Aussie gal Fanny Lumsden’s set is just the tonic, she bounces about in gingham bloomers and treats us all to a fantastic cover of Gotye’s ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ which I do think I like better than the original, and a particularly poignant song she wrote about the bush fires in Australia – ‘Great Divide’. Following her set, Fanny came out to the side of the stage to host a meet & greet alongside selling some of her frankly brilliant merchandise. With a name like Fanny and an Australian sense of humour – well, it’s gotta be the best seller of the weekend.

A stroll through the woods to Buddy’s Good Time Bar is required to catch Ireland’s Janet Devlin (of X-factor fame) was a great choice. It’s a busy space with a lot of people crammed into the front of the tiny tent, all attempting to jig along to Janet’s upbeat set. Joking about her song ‘Emotional Rodeo’ Janet laughs “I’m diagnosed BPD you know, so I’m a fun time” before launching into it. I also giggled a lot at her admission that she makes men call her Daddy (after her song of the same name), and even has it tattooed inside her lip – what a queen.

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Back on the Rhinestone, we catch Lancashire’s Jake O’Neill crooning ‘Gotta Go My Own Way’ and having a little confidence wobble “Woah. This is a lot of people. Not gonna lie… shitting myself a lil bit!”. No worries required there Jake, your voice is stunning and everyone is appreciative. I also love the fact that we are seeing lots of home-grown country artists this year.

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Next up we rock up to The Showground to watch the annual Hot Dog Eating Competition, which is usually fairly uneventful as mostly people forget that bread is hard to digest and only manage four or five. Today though? A hero has come to call. The winner takes the wiener (trophy) with an astounding TEN hot dogs consumed this year, which is both amazing and a little grim. For less challenging entertainment we decide to pop over to Lil Possum County to watch a water gun fight, and try our hand (feet) at some barn dancing at The Hitching Post.

On the main stage Mackenzie Carpenter shows up looking like cowgirl Barbie personified in a black two piece, with matching black hat and boots – not gonna lie, I wish I was her. During song ‘Country Queen’ she finds a girl in the crowd to gift a hat to, in a Taylor Swift-esque moment, and it’s clear the crowd is ready to boogie along with her. Laughing, Mackenzie says “All my favourite country women have songs about murdering their husbands… This song is a song about someone who’s gone fishing and they ain’t coming back” and proceeds to play the very catchy and funny ‘Gone Fishing’.

A cover of Cyndi Lauper’s (Country) ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ is prefaced with “I just countrified it” to a huge crowd, Mackenzie has been such a highlight of this festival, and I am still kicking myself for not getting over to the merch shop for my own Country Queen hat.

Up next Larry Fleet gives a sweet performance of ‘Things I Take For Granted’ alongside his very fun band, including the aptly named bassist Crazy Legs who appears to mostly be made of elastic.

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Taking another quick trip to The Showground for the Dog show, we are highly amused by the Dogstacle course, many hounds in bandanas, and one particular woofer whose ‘best trick’ is making things disappear… well, mainly food.

We also catch a little of the soaring vocals of Rissi Palmer at The Front Porch, under the gorgeous glowing festoon lights for the Colour Me Country takeover. Grabbing ourselves some pickleback shots and freebie pickles from the truck behind, we join the ranks of people taking a seat around the stage for a beautiful soft evening of soulful listening. Rissi absolutely commands the crowd, and every time I see her I am blown away by her voice – bring her back every year, I will never tire!

Tonight’s headliner hailing from Texas are Midland playing to the biggest main stage crowd I have ever seen at this festival, it really is a sight to behold in the gathering darkness of this late summer night.

Unfortunately the lighting design seems to be centred around the idea that we shouldn’t see their faces whatsoever at the beginning, and later on when we headed further back in the crowd, it did seem like the sound was extremely muted – despite other artists during the day not facing the same issues. Regardless, they roll through hits ‘Mr Lonely’ and ‘Longneck Way To Go’, but for my choice ‘Drinking Problem’ and their Mackenzie Carpenter guest appearance for ‘I Wish You Would’ are the stand out tracks tonight.

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A lot of artists this weekend have commented on their view from the main stage over Stanford Hall itself, and Midland weigh in with “Is the Lord of the Manor in right now? I’m not used to this stuff… it’s pretty intimidating playing in front of a house like that. Tell you what I’d never invite you guys to party on my lawn man, all fifteen thousand of you?!” garnering a lot of giggles from the crowd.

As they move on to Brooks & Dunn cover ‘Boot Scootin Boogie’ they issue a warning that they’re heading into livelier territory “It’s a sexy song, are there kids here? Make sure that kid has earmuffs on” and give a heartfelt thanks to the UK crowd “As Mackenzie Carpenter said backstage ‘the vibes here are immaculate’, we are so grateful to headline here, thank you for supporting our music”.

Lead singer Mark Wystrach heads down to the crowd to sign banners, and requests that everyone puts their phone torches on (lighters at festivals are well and truly a thing of the past now aren’t they) and gets everyone to yell ‘HELL Y’ALL’ whatever that means. Sadly the party atmosphere comes to a screeching halt in the middle of the last song due to someone in the crowd having what seems like a pretty serious medical issue, and needing to be seen to by EMT’s. After around 15 minutes they are moved out to be helped further, to a round of soft applause and the band asking that “Everybody please keep this person in your thoughts and prayers…”.

“Shall we finish the song or shall we not? What do you guys say? Well, let that be a reminder that life is precious.. be good to each other… cherish the moments.” a slightly sombre Mark says, before they finally close out the song and the night. A bit of muted ending, unfortunately.

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SUNDAY

Sunday morning and it is HOT already, and Southern belle Halle Kearns is heating up the main stage (with a very cute guest cameo from her husband for a duet, and enticing people to take off and wave their boots during ‘The Boot’.

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Next up, one of my favourite performances of the entire Long Road weekend – Fancy Hagood. There is something so immediately disarming and charming about Fancy’s personality, that makes you just know you’d be good friends if the opportunity arose, and his vocals are just gorgeous.

“Wow this is wild. I’m Pretending I live in that house, and y’all are at my backyard party. I rang the bell for someone to dress me this morning and no one came.” “I’m living my best Downton Abbey fantasy here” Fancy jokes about Stanford Hall.

‘Forest’ is ethereally beautiful, as the name suggests, and with lyrical talent in spades as well, it’s a hard pill to swallow the reasons Fancy isn’t already topping the charts, but then you remember what being gay in the country music scene can mean.

“I’ve been dropped from every label I’ve ever been with, and I’ve been releasing music independently for years now” elicits a huge cheer from the crowd, “I found my sound in the UK, so thank you. I wrote this one here.” – ‘Don’t Blink’ has that high gospel sort of reach of a song that wouldn’t be out of place played to a huge arena, and I truly hope Fancy continues to make the UK a home base for his music so we get front row seats. Oh, and I loved his country cover of Robyn’s ‘Dancing On My Own’ too.

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Over at The Showground, the Cowboy Olympics are showcasing some terrifying horse masks for a frantic piggyback competition, before we are faced with the frankly quite hard to witness Hot Wings Challenge. Last year’s champion David Tomás accidentally pulls his own name from the game hat (which was only put in there as a joke) so he gets a second opportunity to maim himself, and is joined by four other equally insane contestants at the chequered tablecloth of doom.

There are many rounds of wings, increasing steadily on both the Scoville and poor life decisions scale, one of the hot sauces is even served up in a tiny coffin, and everyone has to don gloves after round 3. There are many tap-outs, quite a lot of milk quaffing, and by some miracle David beats everyone to the top (and in a moment of unparalleled self-flagellation decides to try the final wing despite having already won) to take the very silly trophy. We caught up with David after a couple of hours, who told us that his lips still hurt quite a lot, but Donna who tapped out at wing 3 was also spotted later that evening, looking rather worse for wear and begging security to let her into the VIP area to use the fancy loos…

We take a little trip to the O’Donnell Moonshine bar for a tasting session, and despite some preconceptions/misgivings about moonshine, we all came away with a favourite and a plan to use them in cocktails. For my preference – Lime (in a spicy marg situation no question) and Tough Nut (hazelnut, tastes like a Ferrero Rocher) are going on my wishlist.

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Suitably toasty on a moonshine high, food is calling – and it’s time to sample the delights of the Texas Smoker, a fire truck fitted with smoking drums and a siren that wails to tell you that your meats are ready for consumption. Brisket chilli nachos won out this time, but every single thing on that menu is genuinely fantastic. Honestly though? The Long Road has a very well curated food selection, and a LOT of choice for a smaller festival, you can’t go wrong with any of the vendors here.

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Over on The Front Porch, Chuck Ragan’s delightfully raspy vocals are soaring out over the orange sunkissed haybales tucked into the little copse of trees there. Between the smoking chimney stack of the hut, the hazy glow of the oncoming evening, and Chuck’s southern charm, you really could think you were somewhere entirely other, than the Leicestershire countryside.

Alana Springsteen is jumping around the Interstate singing an excellent diss song to her ex who told her she was never going to make it as a singer, ‘You Don’t Deserve A Country Song’ is delightfully tongue-in-cheek and I love that for her. “He knows exactly what I mean when I sing this” she quips, looking every bit the cool girl in her green and black leather moto pants and mirrored aviators.

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No question my favourite set of the entire festival is Seasick Steve, and frankly I knew he would be, going in. It’s pretty rare actually, to witness someone act as a lightning rod for music, but that’s exactly how I have to describe Steve. Sitting on a rocking chair atop a riser, dressed in raggedy jeans and a sleeveless tshirt with his white beard blowing in the slight breeze, Steve’s past life as a hobo is projected stage side.

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There’s a distinct no frills necessity to the type of music Seasick Steve plays, unadulterated bluesy country with a side of rock and roll, and the entire show seems to be going completely off vibes instead of a plan. At any rate, he seems to be compelled to jump up and move often “I’m just practicing, because this song is called ‘Backbone Slip’” he jokes as he wiggle-dances at the front of the stage.

I particularly love his array of unusual instruments, like the Diddley Bow made from as he puts it “A piece o’wood… this is off a chevy… this is a can o’jolly green giant”, which he proceeds to play with a slide and make it sound like a whole damn orchestra.

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Leaping from a stage side platform onto the front barrier, he picks out a girl in a white skirt who looks utterly bewildered, and takes her to the stage to play her a ballad. “I’m gonna pretend its summer in Tennessee, and that I’m courtin’ you. You’re gonna pretend I’m 50 years younger” he giggles, and plays the softly beautiful ‘Walkin’ Man’, as she sits next to him in awe.

The rest of the show includes another guitar made out of a license plate, him chugging a bottle of (possibly?) wine, and heading towards the crowd when a fight between two idiots broke out. “I ain’t kidding I’ll come down there and kick your ass” he threatens, and stops the song he’s in the middle of. “I ain’t kidding cut that shit out, ‘cause I need to boogie! That’s it boys, take that shit out” he calls to security who have finally arrived at the scene. Never a dull moment.

‘Dog House Boogie’ might be the jam in the sandwich, being Steve’s most well known song in the UK thanks to his OG Jools Holland appearance, and it is as brilliant as it ever was, but I can’t state enough that Steve’s entire performance was phenomenal.

Bristol duo True Strays are playing the very tiny VIP stage in High Fallootin’ and have a funny story about one of them being mistaken for James Bay once, and being in a lot of people’s photos before they realised. Whilst I’m mostly giggling at the story, I have to say I am digging their more rock n roll sound – I’d like to hear ‘Matters To You’ again on a bigger stage.

As the sun sets on this final Long Road night, James Bay joins the throng bathed in a gorgeous array of spray lighting, looking every bit an absolute rock star. You might be forgiven for thinking that James is merely a crooner, if you only know him through radio, but I am blown away by the strength of this upbeat show and his undeniable confidence as a performer.

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Leading with ‘Up All Night’ is a great intro choice with the clap/stomp, I swear every foot in the arena is tapping along, it’s a huge crowd reaction. ‘Hopeless Heart’ is stunning, and he simply doesn’t stop moving and dancing as he’s playing, the energy is infectious.

“I’m gonna do a really old song now, if you know it sing it up loud” he calls before dropping into a flawless ‘Let It Go’, but afterwards has to take a second and jokes “You guys, when you have a summer cough you just play guitar and sing too right?”. Honestly, if he hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have even known up until this point because his vocals have been impeccable.

‘Scars’ comes with a sneaky little snippet of Elvis’ ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love With You’ and I love ‘Best Fake Smile’, but it’s smash hit closer ‘Hold Back The River’ that has a grip on this huge crowd. Everyone is singing, everyone is hugging or dancing, this is what a great headliner looks like. Kudos TLR, James Bay maybe looked like a rogue choice to some, but every bit of that was brilliant.

Verdict:

Despite weather reports threatening a gloomy weekend, once again The Long Road seems to be a shining beacon of hazy late summer, drenched in soulful wholesome vibes that are sure to put you at ease. It’s hard to put this festival in the context of festivals as a whole, because it feels as the tagline goes, like being ‘welcomed home’.

Whether you came for the boots, the beers, or the ballads, The Long Road 2025 delivered in spades. See you next year, old friend.

THE LONG ROAD 2025 ADDS 30+ NEW ARTISTS TO LINEUP & REVEALS DAY SPLITS

Today, The Long Road announces day splits for Friday, Saturday and Sunday (below), along with the final additions to an already-packed lineup – co-curated by festival co-founder and radio personality Baylen Leonard – which brings together some of Country, Americana and Roots music’s most diverse and exciting new talents with renowned artists from across the world.

Making his UK debut, Liam St. John will kick off the Rhinestone Stage (main stage) on Friday, Aug 22 – opening on a Friday to weekend ticket holders for the first time this year – with Ashley Monroe, Fantastic Negrito, Darren Kiely and more taking the evening through to Drake Milligan’s highly anticipated closing set, a UK exclusive.

Mackenzie Carpenter, Charles Wesley Godwin, Elles Bailey and Larry Fleet are among the acclaimed artists gracing the stage on Saturday, Aug 23 ahead of Midland’s headline performance; while Sunday, Aug 24 promises a European summer festival exclusive from Chuck Ragan, alongside returning The Long Road artist Alana Springsteen, Fancy Hagood, The White Buffalo, Seasick Steve and more, before James Bay closes out the Bank Holiday weekend.

Among the 33 artists joining the lineup today are Colby Acuff (Interstate  Stage – Sunday), Everette, Sykamore, and a special edition of The Round Up with Two Ways Home, an intimate songwriters round featuring Katy Hurt, Luke Flear and Emilia Quinn. Full list below. 

Last month, the festival also unveiled its brand new sixth stage, The Hitching Post, which will host a number of various activities throughout the weekend, including line dancing sessions in collaboration with London Honky Tonk bar Lil’ Nashville, singer-songwriter rounds, panels and quizzes.

Named after the traditional gathering spot where neighbours tied their horses and came together to celebrate, the immersive new area takes inspiration both from iconic Texas venues like Gruene Hall, and converted community barns across the U.S., this rustic hotspot complete with wooden floors, vintage signage and festoon lighting is more than just a venue – it’s a hub for dancing, singing, and a place to catch up with old and new friends, alive with music, laughter and community.

(The Hitching Post graphic – download hi-res here)

With most ticket types now on their final tier and 2025 already The Long Road’s best-selling year yet, demand is at an all-time high for what promises to be a landmark year in the festival’s history.

Described by DIY as a “haven of country, Americana and roots” music and culture, being highlighted this year by the likes of Summer Festival Guide, Music Republic Magazine, Music Festival Wizard, The List, Festival Insights and UK Festival Guides, the Long Road has been at the forefront of helping fans of all genres discover their new favourite artists since its inception in 2018. Check out the 2024 aftermovie here to get a glimpse of what’s in store.

Continuing a tradition of sharing its platform through collaborations with recognised partners and voices from across the music industry, The Long Road’s stage takeovers will include:

Color Me Country with Rissi Palmer – featuring Denitia, David Unlayao, Jade Turner, and Chris Linton.

Loose Music – featuring Danny & The Champions of the World, Gill Landry, Bobbie, The Rockingbirds, Bonnie Dobson & the Hanging Stars, Greazy Alice, and Birds Flying Backwards.

And new for 2025, Snakefarm Records – featuring Kezia Gill, Evan Bartels, Alyssa Bonagura, These Wicked Rivers, and Jayler.

Returning for its sixth year to embrace its ‘Welcome Home Old Friend’ ethos, The Long Road’s audiences will find even more of the elements they’ve come to know and love. With performances on stages inspired by the different kinds of venues an artist might play throughout their career, from a dive bar or quiet front porch to the large-scale setting of the The Rhinestone Stage, each reflects the many homes of country and roots music, not just in sound, but in setting and spirit, designed to tell stories, create atmosphere, and offer fans unforgettable ways to connect with artists – no matter where they are on their journey.

More than just a music festival, audiences flock to The Long Road year after year to soak up the Country lifestyle – with U.S. inspired street food and American BBQ, craft beers, dedicated line dancing sessions, campfires, vintage funfair rides, a kids camp, Country-oke, the Lucky Dice Classic Car & Bike show and more – and to experience a family-friendly atmosphere.

The Long Road Festival runs from Friday, August 22 to Sunday, August 24 2025. Weekend, Camping, Day, Kids and VIP tickets available now: https://www.thelongroad.com/tickets.

The Long Road Festival 2024 – Reviewed!

FRIDAY

It’s that last drip of summer, the deepening skies and smell of woodsmoke in the air. Autumn is on it’s way but we have one last hurrah in the form of The Long Road festival. Nestled in the woodland and fields surrounding Stanford Hall, these Leicestershire lands play host to a little slice of Americana once a year. Bring your cowboy boots and your Stetsons, it’s time to throwdown at the hoedown.

Friday at Long Road is a relaxed affair, with the main stage not being open today there is ample time to wander around the other areas and find our feet. We catch a little of American Aquarium over at The Interstate tent, who start off sounding a lot like punk-rock but eventually settle into a more country style. After a quick tour around the food offerings we opt to take seats on one of the many long benches set out in front of The Interstate, and choose Bayou Kitchen cajun shrimp bowls. This is my go-to food at TLR, so I’m glad to see they’re back again.

We mosey around, stopping to listen in at The Front Porch and once again I can’t help but admire the choice to theme this stage. If you don’t know, The Front Porch is a cabin with… well, a front porch. Bands perform on the porch as if you’re in their backyard, there are rocking chairs and smoke pours from the little chimney. While there is always a small standing crowd up front, this stage is the place to go if you want to have a chilled sit-down to enjoy the music, and tonight there are many doing just that – under the soft festoon lights and dwindling sun.

© A. Hyams for SFG

Taking a stroll around the various shopping stalls, boots and hats enticing us at every turn, we are drawn into the Solo Stove area where bright fires are crackling into the pink sky. The merch stall is already full of people grabbing their TLR t-shirts and caps, and this year there’s an incredible knitted blanket on offer that catches my eye. We decide to finish up our night with a pot of Crumble (incredible festival food choice) and joining in with the line-dancing class at The Front Porch. It won’t be the last time I hear Rascal Flatts this weekend, but hey – now I can Cowboy Hustle to it!

© A. Hyams for SFG

SATURDAY

Today, the arena is in full swing and we are heading in for a day of rootin’ tootin’ antics, off first in search of some lunch. Today we hit up the Brisket wagon, which is a truck that houses proper southern style smokers, for some low and slow fall-apart meat on top of cheese-fries. Heaven.

Suitably satiated we take to the main stage for Kristian Bush (yes, of Sugarland fame), who is bringing some melodic country rock and his dry humour to the proceedings, alongside his brother Brandon on keys.“You tighten one butt-cheek at a time, this is for all you men out there going “oh I have to dance?” that’s how you do” giggles Bush, as they drop into hit ‘Trailer Hitch’ – which I absolutely love for it’s lyrics.

© A. Hyams for SFG

In another smooth move, Kristian talks about loving the UK show Taskmaster, and how he’s watched all of the seasons (huge cheers from the crowd) before telling us that he should get paid more for bringing the sunshine here today and yelling “…this is for all you people who still believe in summertime!”.

“I’ve won loads of country music awards and never wrote a song about drinking. I apologise. Have you ever been at the bar and suddenly you can’t walk? It just happens…” is his leading line into ‘Flip Flops’, a song that will resonate well with anyone who has ever been on a bender… which let’s face it, is the entire UK population.

Kyle Daniel is up next, shouting “Let’s boogie” and launching into some classic country rock with ‘God Bless America (Damn Rock n’ Roll)’ which is, as you can imagine; very singable. A huge crowd has come out to see him today, probably in large part thanks to the exceptional performance he gave here a couple of years ago, albeit with a different backing band. We also get a taste of his epic collaboration with The Cadillac Three – ‘Summer Down South’, which comes with the comedic timing of a side of rain.

© A. Hyams for SFG

We take off after that to check out the Fort Worth x Weber grills area, new to the arena this year. To the side there’s a tiny bar where they’re mixing up cocktails and giving out bandanas and tiny hip flasks as freebies, as well as providing a hot-branding station for leather boots. On the other side under cover, Weber are doing the most mouth-watering cooking demos you can imagine, but there are A LOT of people waiting for taste today so we shuffle off to grab our own food elsewhere. Jonah Kagen is giving the Interstate a good giggle, saying that his British Airways pilot on the way here, sounded like David Attenborough.

© A. Hyams for SFG

The Yeti custom shop has brought back it’s very successful laser-cutter custom shop again, and a double size space to house all the amazing goodies on offer. I don’t know in what world I will ever need a travel cafetière that makes 10 cups of coffee, but I sure do want one now.

Oklahoma kid Wyatt Flores is giving a fantastically energetic performance over on the Rhinestone, but unfortunately the rain is moving in fast and heavy. We run for cover under the Visit Austin barn, and manage to snag ourselves some more freebies in the form of bandanas and tote bags – which have armadillos on them. Cute. There’s even a photobooth in there, nice swag Austin, nice.

After the downpour abates, we hop over to The Showground to watch the annual Hot Dog Eating Contest. Last year was beset by calamity in the form of Brioche buns – and the winning contestant only managed a measly three dogs. No such silliness this year, as the very standard buns are brought over in giant catering trays, to the gingham-clothed table.

Drawn from a hat, the contestants fill the tables and are told that they have 7 minutes in which to chomp as many hot dogs as they can, that there’s a sick bucket behind them, and that the ambulance service people off to the side are trained in the Heimlich maneuver. A girl named Jordan (who didn’t even enter) is filling in for her absent boyfriend, and is expertly dunking her bready buns into water cups to consume faster, Aussie Harry seems entirely unbothered and looks like he’s just there for lunch, but the winner is Miles with 8 hot diggity dawgs. Congratulations man! Although I must point out, that champion scoffer Joey Chestnut has just recently downed 83 dogs in 10 minutes at his most recent match. So, there’s that.

Brittney Spencer is our next pick, she’s rocking an incredible laced-flared 70’s floral two-piece and has the most phenomenal voice, one of my favourite performers of the weekend by far. It might be overcast and cold today, but there’s no standing still when she shouts “Get your drinks up, put your tequila whisky or water up!” for ‘I Got Time’, so we are all dancing along with her.

Following Brittney is ethereal moonchild Paula Cole, who is giving ‘next-door neighbour who is actually a witch and will help you hex your ex’. “This song is about my mother” she says about ‘Follow The Moon’ a beautiful melancholy ballad. If you like Tori Amos, Sinead O’Connor or Kate Bush – this is your jam at TLR. ‘Where Did All The Cowboys Go’ and Dawson’s Creek tv show theme tune ‘I Don’t Want To Wait’ close up the show with a big old dose of the 90’s, and it’s really interesting to hear her speak on her most well-known hit; “I wrote this for my grandfather. He came back from Okinawa with more than just physical scars. It affected my whole family.”

Afterwards we take a chance to re-fuel with some delicious chicken and gravy sandwiches from the Roaming Rotisserie, and catch Brittany Spencer taking on (extremely unsuccessfully) the buckin’ bull rodeo game – kudos for trying though, that thing looks difficult.

The ‘American Troubador’ Don McLean is tonight’s Rhinestone headliner, heading to the stage with a big ensemble and not much other fanfare, smiling in his shirt and jeans. Touring through the back catalogue ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Winterwood’ come interspersed with tales of his musical career, “…don’t know how I found myself in Nashville, but I went and I stayed there, and I have been treated so well by the country music community. I’m sort of a misfit… I have songs from here there and everywhere because I’m interested in everything”.

© A. Hyams for SFG

A cover of Roy Orbison’s ‘Crying’ is lovely, but it’s clear that Don’s voice is waning as he cracks through a couple of notes. My Mum used to sing ‘Vincent’ to my sister when she was little, so we all croon along to that, but it honestly takes until the obvious choice ‘American Pie’ to get the whole arena joining in. With red white and blue strobing stage lights, Don takes the crowd’s enthusiasm for a ride – doing an extra chorus and verse to finish up. All in, I’m glad I saw him live, but I wouldn’t say it was a spectacular set otherwise.

© A. Hyams for SFG

SUNDAY

Kaitlin Butts is giving us gorgeous sunshine vocals on The Interstate as we head over to Lil’ Possum County kids area to play some cornhole and skittles, before hitting up the Weber area for a Chilli tutorial (culminating in tasters of the delicious Elk chilli, made Texas-true – no beans!).

Vincent Neil Emerson is giving a soulful banjo-picking performance in Buddy’s through the woodland walk, and we take the opportunity for a beverage and a sit down. It’s a shame the low tent stage facilitates so few people here, this is one that I wish would grow a bit for next year.

Brooke Eden is stunning in an all-white fringed outfit on the main stage, she’s enigmatic and funny, bringing her loud and proud pop-spiked brand of country to our little corner of the world.

“Have you ever fallen In love with your best friend… I did and she was a girl” she says, to cheers. “I moved to Nashville from Florida… Florida’s beautiful but you know craaazy” she laughs, before telling us “I’ve performed with my Dad’s band in country bars since I was 6yrs old… and you know I thought I’d meet a country guy there, and get married… but I met my wife.”

“They told me if I wanted to keep my career in country music I had to stay silent. Did that for 5 years and… don’t do that. I don’t recommend it. I came out 3 years ago with a music video with my wife in. I just had to scream it from the rooftops.” She says, as she leans into her Trisha Yearwood cover ‘She’s In Love With The Boy’ with altered lyrics to ‘Girl’. Her own single ‘Outlaw Love’ for “…anyone who has had to fight for their love” is the true star of the show though, it’s a cracking set. I will also celebrate anyone who has the courage to be vocal about diversity in a traditionally conservative genre.

Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors sing about family and home in Tennessee, and chats to the crowd like an old friend. Some helpful fan decides to help Drew with the pronunciation  of our location and yells “It’s LESS-TAH”, to which he chuckles and says “Thank you for that, a couple of weeks ago we were in Sweden and I got their town really wrong, felt like an idiot”.

© A. Hyams for SFG


Drew also tells a story about his Grandad, who was a ‘big fish’ telling tall tales. Apparently he once told a story about being invited to a dog show at Sandringham, and accidentally getting in a car with The Queen. Years later, when his Grandfather died – they got a letter of condolences from The Queen’s office. The song ‘Dragons’ is a gorgeous tribute to him. Drew also plays the harmonica, signs the jackets of fans, and is just all-round nice. ‘Find Your People’ is maybe my favourite add-to-playlist song of the weekend, and had the whole crowd dancing along.

Bringing earlier Interstate performers The National Parks on stage for a boogie during their collab ‘Dance With Everybody’, it’s a great ending to a wonderful set. Call me a new fan.

Randall King, self-proclaimed purveyor of honky-tonk and some classic rock n’roll, is bringing deep south to the rain-spattered main stage; “Do you know what time it is? It ain’t time to go home y’all… it’s tonk time!”. ‘You In A Honky Tonk’ conjures the image of The Blues Brothers having bottles thrown at them unless they play Rawhide on repeat. Randall might be trying to re-write the honky-tonk lore, but if you’re from the UK – you were brought up on cowboy depictions from the movies. “You stood out in the wind the rain, all to listen to some of our songs… I really do appreciate it so much. I get to live the dream on this stage” he says. You can’t go far wrong if you’re nice, nice to look at, and have a great voice. Randall gets my vote.

Russell Dickerson closes out TLR’s main stage offerings with a party atmosphere, gyrating his way across the stage and dancing with his guitarists.

Referencing our bank holiday Monday; “I heard you guys have a holiday tomorrow? So we’re gonna go big tonight right?” is slightly overshadowed by the immediate and hefty downpour – which he is nicely shielded from under the capped stage. ‘Love You Like I Used To’ has everyone up and dancing along despite the soggy conditions, and new song ‘Bones’ garners a roar of approval from the arena.

© A. Hyams for SFG

Russell is a fantastic performer, it’s such a shame that the heavens have opened though, as many people are packing up and defecting to other stages or even home to campervans. There’s plenty to keep everyone occupied around the arena still, with bands continuing on other stages and entertainments all over. Despite the rain, the beautiful soft festoon lights and the roaring fires are highlighting golden joyful faces, a sign of a festival well-done. There’s no other way to describe this festival than overwhelmingly friendly and consciously chilled out.

The tagline for The Long Road is ‘Welcome Home Old Friend’ and after a few years of attending this truly amazing little festival, I fully feel in the fold. Let’s hope for sunnier climes in 2025. See you next year, old friend.

Postponed: The Long Road Festival

The lastest on TLR’s cancellation for 2021:

As the U.K. begins to move cautiously out of lockdown, our team have been working hard to navigate the ever changing landscape for festivals, to bring you that little slice of Nashville we’ve all come to love and enjoy.

At its core, the festival is the meeting point of a global Country community and following extensive conversations with US artists we have taken the tough decision not to move ahead with the festival in 2021. The limitations to curate this year’s line-up and wider considerations around the running of large scale events here in the U.K. will ultimately prevent us from delivering a festival that stays true to our founding ethos.

We are now focussed on ensuring that the festival’s third edition will be one hell of a party. As we look ahead to that moment, we are excited to share that The Long Road will now occupy an earlier date in the calendar each year, taking place 26th – 28th August 2022, adding a whole lot of Country to your bank holiday weekend!

For those of you who already have tickets, your booking will be automatically transferred to the 2022 event.  Your support means so much to us, and getting in early means you’ve secured your tickets at the best prices.  Should you not be able to attend these new dates we will of course refund you. All ticket holders will shortly receive an email from their ticket provider with further details on this process.

The moment we can all reunite once again, dancing arm in arm in the Honky Tonk, what a fine time that will be.

Here’s to then!

Team TLR x