Sunday 31 March 2013

C2C Country To Country 2013 Festival (Day 2)

C2C Country To Country 2013 Festival

Includes: C2C Setlists, Press reports, C2C Fashion, Video, Audio,  Photos, Fan Feedback and related links and news on the artists appearing at the Country To Country 2013.

DAY TWO (Sunday March 17, 2013)
C2C Day 2 Line Up:  Darius Rucker, LeAnn Rimes,
Carrie Underwood & Brantley Gilbert 
BRANTLEY GILBERT

C2C BRANTLEY GILBERT Setlist included:
Dirt Road Anthem / My Kinda Party/ Read Me My Right /
You Don’t Know Her Like I Do / Country Must Be Country Wide /
Kick It In The Sticks/

Watch Brantley Gilbert’s C2C performances:
"Country Must Be Country Wide” >> YouTube
“Kick It In The Sticks” >> YouTube  "Dirt Road Anthem” >> YouTube 
 “Read Me My Rights” >> YouTube

C2C BRANTLEY GILBERT Day 2 Live Review
(by Pip Ellwood entertainment-focus.com) - Day 2 of Country To Country proved to be just as varied as Day 1 and seemed even busier. After Tim McGraw’s electrifying headline set on Saturday night, the crowd was energised for another day of great country music with Brantley Gilbert, LeAnn Rimes, Darius Rucker and Carrie Underwood all performing over the course of the day.
First onto the stage yesterday was upcoming country star Brantley Gilbert. Brantley came onstage to a red and black backdrop, which showed two crossed arms and hands that were doing the rock sign. He had a tattoo sleeve, pierced ears and he was wearing hip hop attire, all baggy trousers and chains and the riffs of the guitar and the volume of the drum beat suggested: we have a country rebel on our hands here.
Thanks to The BG Nation -
He kicked off his set is a mass of dark, dirty noise. This was something that we didn’t expect a country singer to provide for us – which just goes to show how diverse the genre really is! He was straight talking and said exactly what he thought – whether you agreed with it, or not, which was brave and we admire him for that. He stated that he was a red neck on several occasions and he was a country boy through and through. “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” went down particularly well, which was written about someone he dated when everyone warned him to stay away from her – though he wouldn’t listen to them, although in hindsight, he should have done! Brantley said a few controversial statements during his set and we think that he was out to provoke a reaction and he seemed to have a giggle as he said these things. He has a lot of guts. We particularly enjoyed his tales of singing around the campfire, next to the cow shed on a farm in the deep South with the other red necks, knocking back moonshine and forgetting what happened that evening – before launching into “Kick It In The Sticks”.

Brantley has completely changed our view on country music. Tim McGraw said last night that country was a diverse genre, but it’s not until you’re exposed to it, that you can really hear that. Over the last two days, we’ve heard country-folk, country-pop and now we have country-grunge/punk/rock!! Who knew?
Brantley will appeal to all those that have a bit of attitude and those with a naughtier nature!! Think the Eminem of country, perhaps?

www.mirror.co.uk - The opening act, totally unknown to the UK public but not to this crowd, has a voice like Jon Bon Jovi and band who play nothing but guitars, bass and drums.
No fiddle, no banjo... this is loud, crunching rock music and the only clue that multi-tattooed Brantley is a country singer comes in his lyrics, which tell grown-up stories about small towns, dirt roads... and home invasions.
Explaining what he calls the proud redneck philosophy of his new song “Read Me My Right”s, he yelled: "If I see a man put his hand on a woman in front of me I'm gonna BUST his ass... and if I see a man break into my home and my family's in there I'm gonna SHOOT his ass!"
Cue big cheer from the crowd as he launched into Read Me My Rights, part southern rock, part redneck rap, but a great song and totally convincing. As are his fighting man's anthem Take It Outside and the sweatily lecherous G.R.I.T.S. (Girls Raised In The South). Girls in the south of England seemed to like 28-year-old Brantley too, judging by the screams when he took off his shirt and the scores of women who rushed down the stairways to touch him when he did a lap of honour through the crowd during his last song.

Brantley Gilbert just played his first shows in Europe, including an appearance at London’s C2C: Country to Country music festival, and he’s excited about the opportunity to build a worldwide fan base. “As far as building a support base in London and other parts of the world, I’m all about it,” says Brantley.
He sees it as an opportunity to spread the messages in his songs like “More than Miles” and “Country Must Be Country Wide” as far as it will go.

Fan Comments – (C2C Facebook)
Melanie Crouch - boys came out on top tonight - Darius and Brantley - bring them back next year with Big & Rich, JOSH TURNER and Cowboy Troy for some real redneck country : )
Chris Stocks - People are leaving because of it. Such a shame. but the sound guys certainly need to sort it out.
Debbie Watmore - We love it and i've got a 55 year old with me who is rocking it! LMAO
Matt Hookey -  Genres evolve, BG is definitely country. And freaking awesome too!
Gill Knowles - Dreadful, dreadful, dreadful. What on earth has he got to do with country music???

Related Post
* UPDATE * On March 28th, ACM New Male Vocalist winner Brantley Gilbert leaked a demo (>> YouTube) of a new song for his loyal and rowdy fans. The BG Nation is among the first to hear “One Hell Of An Amen,” a new track on Gilbert’s forthcoming third studio album on The Valory Music Co. The ACM New Artist of the Year nominee posted the song on his Facebook page and shared stories that inspired the personal song in a verse by verse rundown.
This song is very dear to my heart,” said Gilbert. “With the inspiration from our recent USO tour, and for all the support y’all have given me, and being a part of this amazing movement we’re in together, I wanted y’all to hear this first.”
amen

LeANN RIMES

C2C LeANN RIMES Setlist:
Nothin’ Better To Do / Swingin’ / Life Goes On / I Need You /
Last Thing On My Mind / Spitfire / One Way Ticket, Nothin, Commitment /
Borrowed / Blue /  Can’t Fight The Moonlight / How Do I Live /
Summertime (Gershwin cover) / Amazing Grace

Watch LeAnn Rimes C2C performances: ”How Do I Live” >> YouTube 
”Blue” >> YouTube “Borrowed” >> YouTube
Cover Janis Joplin “Summertime >> YouTube  “Amazing Grace” >> YouTube 

C2C Fashion
Who: LeAnn Where The 02 Arena in London When: Sunday March 17, 2013
Holding a crystal-covered mic she performed wearing a figure-hugging Hervé Léger LBD by Max Azria Resort 2013 dress, with a scalloped neckline (image), flared hem and small cut-out circles at the waist & thigh.

Putting a sexy spin on the LBD, the frock featured diamond-shaped cut-outs and a flounced hemline.
LeAnn Rimes wore Jason Wu Nadja two-tone platform sandals (Image) with a studded ankle strap (Fashion Pic )
These Spring 2013 shoes feature black & nude patent leather, faux pearl studded ankle-strap and nude mesh strap. Nadja is available online at Nordstrom - Shopbop - and Net-A-Porter

She loves England: On the Saturday LeAnn Rimes was seen sporting a pair of Hunter wellies with the Union Jack flag on them coming out of Western House BBC Radio 2 building (image). She has recorded an interview with Good Morning Sunday Show which will broadcast on Sunday April 7 when Hardeep Singh Kohli will sit in for Clare Balding - Show Details

C2C LeANN RIMES Day 2 Live Review
(by Pip Ellwood entertainment-focus.com) - Next to take to the stage was US star LeAnn Rimes who is no stranger to our shores andis one of very few country artists to have made it commercially outside the United States. Her hits “How Do I Live” and “Can’t Fight The Moonlight” were huge successes (albeit pop) and have become classics. She is now ready to release her brand new album, SPITFIRE, which will mark her return on the music scene. We couldn’t wait to see LeAnn perform at London’s very own country music festival, Country 2 Country taking place at The O2 and boy we weren’t disappointed.
It is fair to say that LeAnn has had her fair share of bad publicity in the past few years and her live appearances have been criticised meticulously so we didn’t know what to expect from the singer who was once the youngest artist to win a coveted Grammy! The set started with a great rendition of “Nothin’ Better To Do”, which was perfect for the country festival and straight away we were blown away by her incredible vocals; the woman can really sing. With her sexy black dress and glittery microphone Rimes gave the festival much needed glamour and sensuality.

The hits kept on coming with a fun rendition of “Life Goes On” and another stunning ballad “I Need You”. Something has to be said about American artists; they really seem to be of a different breed. On stage LeAnne looked like a natural and acted like a pro and, we dare to say, was pitch perfect. The singer also previewed some of her new material. “Spitfire” was entertaining with its tongue and cheek lyrics whilst “Borrowed” got a standing ovation from the crowd, which reduced LeAnn to tears. The old classics were the most successful especially “Can’t Fight The Moonlight” which everyone stood up to dance to. LeAnn made it all look so easy and if anyone had any doubts about her vocal abilities then her a capella version of “Amazing Grace”, which silenced the arena, certainly did the trick and re-established the artist as the amazing vocalist she is.

www.mirror.co.uk - This new festival, the first in many years to tempt big US names away from the lucrative US touring circuit, is planned as an annual event to chip away at our prejudice against the very words 'country music'
Both headliner Carrie Underwood and second-on-the-bill Darius Rucker sell more records and T-shirts these days. But as a musical artist LeAnn Rimes is in a league of her own. Despite the breakthrough hits of country-pop princess Taylor Swift and years of cult success by alt-country acts like Steve Earle and Ryan Adams, most non-believers can't see behind the stetsons and rhinestones of the past.
You could still spot one or two cowboy hats around the O2 on Sunday, but they were mostly on the heads of pretty young girls who could have been out on a hen night. And the stetson count on stage? Zero. The two male stars both wore baseball caps.
(OK, this was a two-day festival and Saturday night's headliner Tim McGraw has never been photographed WITHOUT a stetson, but we can let that pass).
Oh, you're going to make me cry," said LeAnn Rimes to the crowd at Sunday night's C2C event.
We had just given her a huge and warm ovation for a new song called “Borrowed”, all about the tumultuous relationship problems that saw her check into rehab with stress and anxiety last summer.
And then she really did cry when she explained how writing her new album had helped her to deal with that pain (she met her new husband Eddie Cibriani while hey were both still married to other people and got a really hard time over it in the US media).
The waves of applause and love from Sunday night's crowd took her by surprise and led to a moving moment when we saw tears well up on the monitor screens and she tried her best to gulp back sobs.
But then her whole performance was astonishing. Though only third on the bill and with none of headliner Carrie Underwood's huge stage production, LeAnn Rimes stole this show on the pure emotion in her voice, one of the most powerful and affecting instruments in popular music. And one that seems undiminished by years of personal turmoil.

Although she has by far the biggest UK profile of Sunday's four American acts – thanks to a hit duet with Ronan Keating and a fondly recalled contribution to the movie Coyote Ugly – LeAnn's placing on the bill reflected the current pecking order in country music back home in the States.
The hour she spent on stage was a slice of musical heaven. Someone once told me that when you hear a truly great performer, every word they sing or every
note they play will dig a little way into your soul. Believe me, LeAnn Rimes is that good. In 40 years of gig-going I don't think I've heard a better voice.
Covering the whole range of country music from the traditional yodel of her breakthrough hit “Blue” to the polished pop of Coyote Ugly's “Can't Fight The Moonlight” and hyper-balladry of “How Do I Live Without You”, there is nothing this woman cannot turn into musical gold. A star since she was 13 and still only 30 years old, on the evidence of the songs she played tonight her new album Spitfire, out in April, will be a tour de force.
She finished by covering the soulful Janis Joplin version of Gershwin's “Summertime” before the band trooped silently offstage and she gave us “Amazing Grace” in pure acapella. Simply magnificent.

Fan Comments – (C2C Facebook)
Darryn Youngson -  Amazing Grace unbelievable, Carrie Underwood has got her work cut out after that
James Coyne - That was worth the ticket price alone....
Christine Kelly - Absolute vocal perfection. Highlight of the entire weekend so far. Carrie has a lot to live up to as we were all Blown Away by Leann
Sian Price - Absolutely amazing performance by Leanne Rimes awesome and soooo moving! :)
Joanne Beale - Leann have never been a big fan until tonight absolutely amazing beautiful beautiful xxx
Kerry Stephens - Joint best act of the weekend, alongside Vince Gill, who wins my award for Saturday! She was incredible, humble, had a good set list and a band that accompanied her without drowning her out. What a voice!!! Loved, loved, loved her set.

Related Post
blog.sfgate.com - LeAnn Rimes reduced to tears by British fans’ standing ovation
Singer LeAnn Rimes struggled to contain her emotions and wept onstage after receiving a standing ovation from fans following her performance in London on Sunday.The “Blue” hitmaker gave a heartfelt rendition of new track “Borrowed” as well as an a capella version of “Amazing Grace” at the packed O2 Arena, and her British devotees were clearly impressed as they stood to applaud her. Rimes later took to her Twitter page to express her thanks, writing, “Wow, all I can say is wow!! London, I love you so much!! 
Big Interview: Extract: Singing sensation LeAnn Rimes hits The O2 stage for the first time this weekend for C2C: Country to Country. She tells us about new material and her plans to celebrate St Patrick's Day in the capital.
What else is going on with your music career?
There has been a big change in my life right now.
I have been at the same record label since I was 11 but that's all ended.
Nothing is set in stone, but it's exciting to have all of these opportunities at 30 years old, after years in this business.
It's a whole new world, but I'm still being creative and doing fun stuff and writing a lot of music.
 

On Friday 15 March 2013 LeAnn joined the ITV show Loose Women. Rounding off another week Carol Vorderman, Sherrie Hewson, Carol McGiffin and Jane McDonald, welcomed the US singer and novelist.

>> Listen to the Audio




DARIUS RUCKER

C2C DARIUS RUCKER Setlist:
Love Will Do That/ Alright / True Believers / Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It /
Only / Radio / The Joker (Steve Miller cover) /  Come Back Song / Let Her Cry /
It Won’t Be Like This For Long ?/ This / Family / All I Want /  
Southern State Of Mind/ Hold / Wagon Wheel / Purple Rain (Prince cover)

Watch Darius Rucker’s C2C performance “Come Back Song” >>  YouTube

EF Interview C2C: Darius Rucker interview - YouTube

C2C DARIUS RUCKER Day 2 Live Review
(by Pip Ellwood entertainment-focus.com) -  The third performance of the day came from Hootie and the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker. Darius is a man of many talents, who has now found his sound in
country music. When he entered the room, the whole O2 Arena came truly alive. We’ve never seen anything like it. His vibe was happy, joyful, humble, loving, kind, playful and he looked as though he was in his element, along with his band who had the same attitude. It was an absolute joy to watch. He was like a big, warm cuddle of fun. His positivity and energy was absolutely incredible and infectious! Faces were transformed and the entire room looked as though they were about to explode from excitement.
What we liked about his songs the most, was that the focus was on what made him happy and how the simple things in life can make you happy. His song Alright was a testament to this – go and look it up on iTunes, it’s worth it and guaranteed to make you feel good! Darius spoke of how he had been waiting for this moment, to play at The O2 Arena in London for months and he was thrilled to be on that stage, to which he received rapturous applause – I think that the feeling was definitely mutual! We were engrossed in the gig from beginning, to end. Midway through his set, he asked: “are you guys having fun yet”? That was
a complete and utter understatement, as the room felt like one huge celebration and everybody was up on their feet, dancing in the aisles and waving their cowboy hats in the air. This man certainly knows how to make his audience feel good and he knows how to entertain them!

It Won’t Be Like This For Long” was written about how he feels to be a parent and how much he loves his kids – how wonderful. The song was a beauty. He sang Hootie and the Blowfish’s song called “Let Her Cry”, which was a touching moment, particularly as he explained the reasons behind the song, which seemed to touch him on an emotional level. Not only is he a lovely man, but we think that he might be a bit of a softie too, a man with a huge heart. He covered the Steve Miller Band’s song “The Joker” and this is where he got the audience singing along with him and the smile on his face was a picture. He was loving being on that stage and we were loving watching him performing for us. He even took a picture of the crowd on his iPhone, so that he could post it on Twitter! What a humble and down to earth guy.
He finished on a real high, by singing “Purple Rain” by Prince to an incredible standard. His stunning vocals, sunny personality was absolutely brilliant and we’re now off to check out and buy all of his albums! Darius didn’t just pick us up as new fans, but he has picked up thousands of fans here this evening. We can’t wait to see him back in the UK.

www.mirror.co.uk - He's not exactly a household name, but likeable Darius was the singer in Hootie and the Blowfish, a mega-successful US rock band in the 90s who sold next to nothing over here.
The American couple next to me at the nachos stand at the interval even said: "OK, let's go and see Hootie."
Now 46, he's a big noise in country with a rollicking feel-good combo who brought to mind the onstage cameraderie of Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band.
Though I I did find myself wishing, a little unfairly, that his squarely-built bass player would leave it to the skinny young guitarist to throw the rock-star shapes.
With multi-instrumentalists covering fiddle, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitars, this ought to have been the most country-sounding band of the night. But all of that was overpowered by drums with the "80s Stadium Rock" setting turned up to 11. The drummer only sounded like he fitted the music on a superb closing cover of Prince's “Purple Rain”.

But as ever in country music, the words were the saving grace. A wistful break-up song called “Don't Think I Don't Think About It” had me looking up the lyrics online and it would be hard to find a song with more poetry and wisdom for grown-ups who've been knocked about by life.
He's also had the taste to cover a little-known song called “Wagon Wheel”, originally written but never released by Bob Dylan. It's the new Darius Rucker single, it closed his show, and it's a winner.

Fan Comments – (C2C Facebook)
Paul Hull - Best of the weekend by a 'country' mile! Amazing! And Hootie songs too!
Lisa Gilbert - Blew the rest of the acts away. Can't wait for him to tour on his own next year!
Melanie Crouch - Wagon Wheel followed by Purple Rain....my life is complete : ) amazing performance from the top man : )

CARRIE UNDERWOOD

C2C CARRIE UNDERWOOD Setlist:
Intro / Good Girl / Undo It # / Wasted  */ Quitter #/ I Told You So ~ /
Two Black Cadillacs / Some Hearts */ Last Name ~ / Temporary Home #/ 
Jesus Take The Wheel * with How Great Thou Art / Cowboy Casanova # /
All-American Girl ~ / Nobody Ever Told You / One Way Ticket / Leave Love Alone /
 So Small / Flat On The Foor ~/ Cupid’s Got A Shotgun w/band intros /
Before He Cheats */ Encores: I Know You Won’t ~/ Blown Away
From album PLAY ON , ~ From album CARNIVAL RIDE , * From the album SOME HEARTS, rest of set from album BLOWN AWAY (2012)

Watch Carrie Underwood’s C2C performances,  “Wasted” >> YouTube
Intro / “Good Girl” >> YouTube “I Told You So”  >> YouTube 
“All-American Girl” >> YouTube
 “Jesus Take the Wheel/How Great Thou Art” >> YouTube  
“Nobody Ever Told You Live >> YouTube  “Last Name” >> YouTube 

EF Interview C2C: Carrie Underwood interview - YouTube

Prior to her C2C Concert “Before He Cheats” was released as a UK Single (release/focus date of March 11, 2013).
It was playlisted on BBC Radio 2 "C" listing from Feb 16th to March 16th 2013  (5 weeks , potential 25 spins)
It did not chart on published Top 100 UK Official Single Chart or iTunes Top 10 Country Chart

C2C Fashion

Who: Carrie Underwood  Where: The 02 Arena in London  When: Sunday March 17, 2013
C2C carpet - The hair is pure country, but the outfit is all rock 'n' roll. Carrie gets edgy in a pair of second-skin silver pants, a black topper with gold buttons and black leather booties. (Photo) and below

Carrie took part in a portrait session to promote the event at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London on Wednesday 13th, wearing a Katherine Feiner Fall 2013 dress. (Designer Pic - Fashion Pic )
The beautiful fuchsia-pink cap-sleeved dress, with an embroidered silver detail decorating the waistline, was styled with simple nude pumps and subtle Swarovski earrings. Those signature glossy blonde curly locks and a glossy pout completed her look.

C2C CARRIE UNDERWOOD Day 2 Live Review
(by Pip Ellwood entertainment-focus.com) -  The last performer for the C2C festival was former American Idol winner Carrie Underwood. Carrie made her UK live debut last summer when she performed at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Last night she did a reworked setlist from that show including a couple of different songs and a change in set order. She arrived on stage to the opening bars of her recent hit Good Girl and had the audience on their feet for the entirety of her show.
It’s not hard to see why Carrie won American Idol all those years ago. She has an incredibly powerful and versatile voice able to move from her powerful belt to her softer higher range with seeming ease. Dressed in a black ensemble with some seriously skimpy shorts, Carrie worked the stage and the audience like a seasoned pro.
She waved to fans throughout her performance, engaged in banter and sang her socks off. Highlights across the sets included the ode to behaving stupidly when drunk Last Night, her cover of Randy Travis’ “I Told You So” and revenge anthem “Before He Cheats”. She managed to slip a couple of older songs in the mix too including “Some Hearts”, the title track to her debut album, and All-American Girl from her second album CARNIVAL RIDE.

There’s something incredibly warm about Carrie when she’s performing. She always looks like she’s having a great time and in turn the audience feeds off that energy. Any doubts as to whether she could match her incredible Royal Albert Hall show from last year were soon quashed as she reeled off the hits and hit every single note perfectly. “Temporary Home” and “So Small”, two ballads that she co-wrote, proved to be amongst the more emotional moments of the set whilst One Way Ticket provided some much-needed escape from the miserable English weather.
For her encore Carrie performed powerful ballad “I Know You Won’t” and her current album’s title track BLOWN AWAY. As she finished the final notes of the song the crowd erupted and it was clear that she had won everyone over. She proved to be a fitting headline act for the second day of the festival offering a different kind of country to Tim McGraw’s set. She also proved that she is the best female country star on the scene today and we can’t wait for her to return again.
Country To Country was a fantastic two days of country music. We saw a variety of artists performing their own takes on country music and there wasn’t a bad one amongst the bunch. LeAnn Rimes proved to be the biggest surprise whilst the headline sets from Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood definitely stole the weekend.

Daily Mail  (Photos/ Report/Interview)- All eyes on her: Carrie Underwood wows in racy tights and tiny hotpants at London country music concert

www.mirror.co.uk - No dancers, no costume changes and absolutely no lip-synching... but Carrie's performance had more in common with slickly produced spectaculars by pop acts
like Madonna or Britney Spears than with most people's preconceptions of a country show.
In fact with her dramatic lighting, arty back projections, killer heels and a slinky black outfit showing off her sexy legs, she could be the one to follow in the dainty footsteps of Taylor Swift and score her own country-pop hits on this side of the Atlantic .
It helps that she's already known to many as the winner of American Idol in 2005, where our own Simon Cowell predicted with some accuracy that she would be a megastar. And when you consider that her best songs, such as Some Hearts and Good In Goodbye, are emotion-packed anthems full of killer hooks and giant choruses – just the kind of thing that goes down well on The X Factor in fact – it can only the negative vibe of that word "country" that's holding her back in Britain.

Or maybe it's song titles like “Jesus Take The Wheel” (which on Sunday morphed into the hymn “How Great Thou Art”) that don't go down well on these irreligious shores, even though when you sit down and listen it's a brilliant, original and thought-provoking number.
There was more than touch of Shania Twain in her upbeat watch-out-girls number “Cowboy Casanova” and the cod-reggae of new song “One-Way Ticket” had the whole stadium united in synchronised arm-waving.
Most of all, this was a SHOW, a big occasion with an energy level that never once faltered and a 30-year-old star with a great voice and commanding presence.
It doesn't matter what kind of music you think you like, how could anyone not like this?
Compere for the whole weekend was the great veteran DJ Bob Harris, and he told the crowd: "You've all been part of a little bit of history. Let's hope this rolls and rolls and we have these wonderful Nashville artists here year after year from now on."
So will C2C be back again? The arena wasn't quite sold out and most of those present seemed to be fans who knew the words already. But at the end of the night Carrie Underwood urged the whole crowd to tell all their friends what a great time they had and maybe make a few country conversions. At the risk of invoking religion again, amen to that...

Fan Comments – (C2C Facebook)

Angela Bailey - Carrie Amazing underwood you were awesome ;-)
Simon Large (UKCountryRadio.com) - Fantastic 2 days of top US and UK artists on show. Carrie you were more amazing than last year at the Royal Albert Hall. Pop up artists you did the UK and Europe proud. See you next year.
Mark Asplin -  I went for Carrie and had high expectations, although she sounded great I think Leann Rimes stole the day for me which was an amazing surprise! Just incredible! I felt Leann and especially Darius connected more with the audience and felt there was more soul to their performances. Carrie was great but it felt like she was just going through the motions and the set and songs were just part of a bigger manufactured machine. Was lacking a personal touch unlike the other 2. Was an amazing day though, would love next years to be in a nice field on a sunny day with more alternative

Steve Riley - Seems it depends where you sat as to what sound you got for Carrie's gig. We were unfortunately sitting where the sound was really bad and left early, with many others also complaining about the sound. Shame, as it had been incredible to that point.
Mary Fawcett - So many left early because of the sound. The music drowned Carries amazing voice and Sundays music was too rock and LOUD. Leann stole the show, Tim was beyond superb on Saturday. Thought the organisation, pop up stages and stands excellent. Terrific weekend but please next year more balance of musicality and ensure the voices aren't drowned out
Lianne Stockdale - A brilliant day on Sunday, pop up stages and stalls great, all acts were fantastic, although where we were sitting Carrie Underwood's voice was distorted for us, so slightly disappointed because she has a great voice and was really looking forward to her performance,
Paul Hanrahan - I was really disappointed with Carrie far to loud and distorted shame really. Anyway when did Country Music turn into rock music?
Michael Haggas - Stunningly powerful, but, please Carrie, don't forget to keep it country. Jesus Takes The Wheel was wonderful
Gill Knowles - Carrie, you were not wonderful. All musicality was lost with the loud band and your shouting (not singing)

Related Posts
Carrie Underwood talks to BBC Radio 2’s Simon Mayo on Drivetime 13 March 2013 (Duration: 13:56) - www.bbc.co.uk

Sony Press Release - Carrie Underwood Blows Away Fans In Ireland & UK On Her "Blown Away Tour”

Michael Cragg The Guardian (Thursday 14 March 2013) Carrie Underwood: 'I turned down a free private jet' Country music star Carrie Underwood explains why she said no to a private jet after winning American Idol, and agonises over eating a beefburger or never singing again...Extract: Why do you think the press want to start a rivalry between you and Taylor Swift?
People love girl drama. You look at the show Nashville, which has just started airing here, and there's not that many females in the business. There are way more men. It's a lot harder to make it, so if anything we should all be really supportive. I don't know, it just makes for good headlines I guess.

C2C: Country To Country Festival 2014
Blurb: Following this year's unforgettable event, a number of Early Bird Weekend Passes for C2C: Country To Country Festival 2014 were made available at 2013 prices! They went on sale Friday 22 March at 9am, for a limited time only.check out:
The O2 - www.theo2.co.ukGigs & Tours - www.gigsandtours.com
C2C 2013 Merchandise : You can still get official 2013 programmes and t-shirts at www.themerchandisingshop.co.uk
Carole Martin - Learning curve , guess they didn't know how successful gonna be so unsure how much to provide , wasn't happy that the ladies t size large was only a twelve ! In what lifetime is size twelve large, bought one of grey ones with names on it in end

LINKS

SOURCES - entertainment-focus.com , The Mirror, RCFA, BBC Radio 2,
CMR Nashville, VOC, YouTube
Photo Credits: www.xthefrog.com , The Daily Mail
Photo Galleries - Flickr ukcountrymusic