C2C Country To Country 2014
Festival (Day 1):
Updated March 28, 2014 - Reviews and Interview links added
Updated March 28, 2014 - Reviews and Interview links added
The Brilliant, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
C2C Setlists, Press and Blog
reports, Fan Feedback, Audio and Video
First up:
CMA Songwriters Event (Indigo O2, London; Friday March 14, 2014) Bob
DiPiero, Brett James, Striking Matches and Martina McBride. Also attending the
event backstage: Sarah Trahern (CMA CEO), Damon Whiteside (CMA Senior VP) and
Scott Borchetta (President & CEO of Big Machine Records).
Photo Credits - See the Frography Facebook Gallery (22 Photos)
Hels Bels
Photography (Helen Parish) Flickr.com (25 Photos)
UKCountryMusic.net (35 Photos)
 |
| CMA Songwriters |
CMA Songwriters Series an evening with the storytellers behind the hits took
place the evening before C2C 2014 on Friday, March 14 at The O2’s IndigO2. It
was hosted by award-winning songwriter Bob
DiPiero with an intimate evening
of songs and the stories behind them featuring Martina McBride, Brett James, and the “tastemakers” hot new signed
US duo Striking Matches.
(Review) For The Country Record by Vickye Fisher (Writer
& country music blogger extraordinaire) - How Striking Matches Stole The CMA Songwriters Series 2014...As
part of the Country to Country festivities in London, England this past
weekend, the celebrations of country music kicked off with the CMA Songwriters
series...But it was Striking Matches who really stood out to everyone in attendance.
Many in the audience had not previously heard of them, as they have only just
been signed, but afterwards they were the only ones being talked about, for
their solid tracks, their effortless but fantastic guitar skills, and their
incredibly strong connection as performers. Justin Davis and Sarah Zimmerman
have only been playing together for 3 years, but in that time they have become
so tightly rehearsed, their guitar duets complex and expertly composed, yet
carried out with ease and always performed dynamically and with a smile. They
were electric to watch; from Nashville favorites such as ‘When The Right Comes
Along’ and ‘I Ain’t Leaving Without Your Love’ as well as their own singles
‘Trouble Is As Trouble Does’ and ‘Make A Liar Out of Me’, they had style and
conviction and were just as vocally on form as they were instrumentally. Sarah
even excelled on the mandolin and had crazy skills with a slide; all of this
prompted constant praise from the other writers on stage, with even Bob DiPiero simply blown away by what
he was witnessing. Following Martina McBride, who seemed to be having a little
bit of an off night vocally (although still great, she struggled a little on
the higher notes), they more than held their own but showed an endearing
down-to-earth attitude that had them nervous to perform alongside the greats
and blushing with praise. Overall it was a great night but had everyone sure
that Striking Matches are going to break out, and break out big time.
Caption Competition?!
(LEFT)
Country to Country 2014
(#C2C2014)
This was the second of its
kind and biggest country festival in the UK. The joint venture between the O2
promoters, the Country Music Association in Nashville and BBC Radio 2. Country
music A-listers aim was again to “bring a little piece of Nashville” to central
London with fans heading two-steppin down to the Millennium Dome/ North Greenwich Arena, more known in this modern
branding world as the London O2 Arena.
The C2C: Country To Country music festival took place over two days of 15th and 16th of March 2014 and was again compered by Radio 2’s 67-year old “Country King” Bob Harris (OBE).
The C2C: Country To Country music festival took place over two days of 15th and 16th of March 2014 and was again compered by Radio 2’s 67-year old “Country King” Bob Harris (OBE).
>> Listen to Bob speaking on the Chris Evans show on the eve of the event:
(Thurs March 20) Bob Harris
Country will broadcast highlights from the first night (15th March) of C2C:
Country To Country Festival with music and chat from the Dixie Chicks, the Zac
Brown Band, Dierks Bentley and Martina McBride – See BBC
Page
(Thurs March 27) Highlights
from the second night with music and chat from Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts,
Chris Young and the Band Perry. See BBC
Page
Nashville UK. Paul Sexton looks at country music in
the UK with the help of some Nashville experts. The show includes an exclusive
live session performance by a new British duo The Shires, a chat with Hampshire female duo Ward Thomas and a track from
Gloucestershire’s very own The Black
Feathers – See BBC
Page
“It’s A Tipping Point Moment” Related
Post >> Listen
to David White from BBC Radio Cornwall talk to Bob Harris at the Brad Paisley BBC Showcase event in London on
Monday 17th March. They talk about C2C and where country music now stands in
the UK. “The kids in the audience are the
future of country music and country has made a connection with them” - audioboo.fm
 |
| C2C2014 Day One Collage Wallpaper CLICK to ENLARGE |
C2C 2014 O2 Arena, London. March 15-16, 2014
The Mirror
by Brian Hancill O2 Arena, London. March 15-16, 2014....... "We have a
new home for country music - it's London": America's superstars on verge
of breakthrough in UK
The key moment of the 2014
C2C Festival came at the end of Dierks
Bentley's set on Saturday night when, overwhelmed by waves of enthusiasm at
the sold-out O2 Arena, he announced: "When
I get home I'm telling ALL my friends – Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert –
EVERYONE – that we have a new home for country music and it's right here in
London." Well Nashville isn't going out of business any time soon. But
throughout this two-day event you got a real sense that America's mainstream
country superstars are on the verge of something big in the UK. Taylor Swift has already stepped over
the barriers thanks to teen appeal and an astute understanding of the tabloid
publicity game. The fact that she is a monumental talent also helps, but
in this hyper-competitive section of the music industry that's merely the entry
requirement.
Behind that comment lies the
bare fact that each of these artists could sell out O2-sized arenas from
Florida to California every night of the week if they wished. So it takes a
strategic commitment to developing a new market to bring their bands and crews
and big labour-intensive shows across the Atlantic. But it seems to be working.
This year 's C2C was a sell-out when last year's didn't quite make it. There
were eight major acts over two days plus more than 30 hopefuls on pop-up stages
outside the auditorium (hot tip for stardom: boy-girl duo Striking Matches) plus a themed marketplace selling, of course,
cowboys hats, cowboy boots and everything else western.
The Telegraph
(Rating; 4 STARS) With performances from Brad Paisley, The Band Perry and The
Dixie Chicks, Country 2 Country showcased country music at its best......Extract:
Sunday brought a headline set from Brad
Paisley, modern country music's most successful export. His best-loved
songs were remoulded to suit the event: Chris
Young (winner of Nashville Star, a country-music version of American Idol)
joined in on the party track Outstanding in Our Field, while The Band Perry
added a softer side to the haunting Whiskey Lullaby. Paisley's set was filled
with humour, in keeping with his music, but he counterbalanced that side of his
work with blistering guitar solos and a stripped-back acoustic performance,
neatly avoiding getting too close to novelty-act territory. The result was a
set that felt modern, with his instrumental cover of Van Halen's Hot for
Teacher illustrated by a Star Wars-themed animation of the band. If the latter
touch was an attempt to keep the audience interested, it wasn't necessary –
they were already with him all the way. From the world premier of Johnny Cash's
new music video I Used to Love Her a Lot to the eight contemporary headline
acts, Country 2 Country embodied the spirit of country music. This was a
community coming together to celebrate and showcase the very best of modern
country, while showing their respect to itsorigins. In the words of Brad
Paisley himself: "This is country music".
C2C Country To Country
Festival (O2 London, March 15-16, 2014) written by Laura Baldwin, a young, aspiring journalist, who covered the
Festival in Alan Cackett's absence. Alan Cackett.com
DAY ONE (Saturday March 15, 2014)
>> Highlights from C2C
2014 featuring Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley, The Dixie Chicks and Zak Brown
Band - YouTube
MARTINA McBRIDE
Photo Credits:
Frography
(by Flex) - Facebook Gallery
Hels Bels
Photography (Helen Parish) - Flickr.com/sets/ - Facebook Gallery (10
Photos)
UKCountryMusic.net (24 Photos)
MARTINA McBRIBE (16:45 - 17:30) C2C Setist: Included: “Wild Angels”, “Anyway”, “Concrete Angel”,
“Suspicious Minds” (From April 4th album Everlasting), “Little Bit Of Rain” (From April 4th album
Everlasting), “This Ones For The Girls”, “My Baby Loves Me”, “A Broken Wing”, “Whatever
You Say” , “Love’s The Only House”, “Independence Day”
Watch Martina’s highlights
>> YouTube
Related Post: Martina
McBride press conference Blog Post
Martina McBride tweeted @martinamcbride Can't wait to play
the show tonight at the O2!!! Still no suitcase, but on it's way. Hopefully
will make it here before showtime!
Martina McBride tweeted @martinamcbride Such a great time
at @C2Cofficial ! Loved singing for all of you! We love you and can't wait to
come back!!! xoxo
BBC News - US country stars perform at London festival ...Dierks Bentley's 'He blew the roof off'....
 |
Martina McBride #C2C2014
With kind permission
courtesy of :
Hels Bels
Photography (Helen Parish)
|
For The Country Record (Day One Review) Extract:... After
soaking up the atmosphere around the O2 Arena, the main evening’s events began
with Martina McBride. It was a bizarre reality that saw one of the last 20
years’ most successful entertainers playing to not even a half-full arena with
a 45 minute set, and some of that showed in her performance. Opening with a
rousing rendition of ‘Wild Angels’, she seemed to lack the enthusiasm that one
would expect to see....I also noticed her vocals improve as time went on; with
help from the crowd, she really rose to the occasion, and by the end was
belting the songs out with gusto and emotion.
Fan Comments – (C2C
Facebook) The Brilliant, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
Mandy Nowosad - Broken wings one of my favs
Donna Grant - Independence Day was amazing !!! X
Maggi Jones - And that is how it's done.....Martina
was awesome!!!! What an opening x
Tony Martin - Magnificent! All great but Broken
Wings and Independence Day were sublime
Gemma Stapley - Wild angels x
Moshe - The show overall/ Disappointing to me.
After a few wobbly vocal moments, Martina put in a pretty good opening set,
getting the audience up with a populistic "This ones For The Girls"-
a song I've always had affection for- & winding up with a powerful
rendition of "Independence Day". An all too brief set.
Steve Brewer - Great voice and a great start, but the
sound needed to come down a
notch or two.
Kelly Hubbard - She was fantastic! The only thing that ruined it for me was
everyone going in and out of the arena throughout the performance. Really
distracting and quite rude!
Shaun Yates - Shocking sound
what happened to a sound check
John Garret
Frieslaar - Great start ... But too loud guys ..
David Evans (Edinburgh) - Martina didn't have a great set vocally
DIERKS BENTLEY
Photo Credits - Frography (by Flex) - Facebook Gallery
UKCountryMusic.net (31 Photos)
DIERKS BENTLEY (18:00 - 19:00) C2C Setist: Included:
"Am I The
Only One", "Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)", "5150",
“Every Mile A Memory”, >> "Lot
Of Leavin' Left To Do", >> "Home" >> "Tip
It On Back",
“Up On The Ridge” >> "I Hold On" >> “Hey
Brother” "Hey Brother"
(Avicii cover), >> "Wish
You Were Here" (Pink Floyd
cover), >> "What
Was I Thinkin'" /
"Sideways" (from Feel That Fire), “Settle For A Slowdown”
Dierks Bentley tweeted @DierksBentley London! love the tweets and love y'all. can't wait
to do it again. you think i was a little fired up last night?!?!
“Dierks Bentley
ROCKS!” - Bob Harris (OBE) BBC Radio 2
 |
Dierks Bentley #C2C2014
With kind permission courtesy of :
Hels Bels Photography (Helen Parish)
|
Ironically, the
only slightly flat note came with a well-meaning attempt to create a unique moment
– "a song we will only ever play this one time by one of the greatest
English bands". Beatles? Stones? Nope, it was Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. Nothing wrong with that except
such a downbeat lament of loss and regret really didn't fit the mood. We were
only a few miles from the Dartford delta and if you ask me he should have done
Mick 'n' Keef's Wild Flowers. But overall, Dierks (it's pronounced Dirks, by
the way) was a revelation. We are now fans.
For The Country Record (Day One Review) Extract:... Clearly
really excited about being able to play to 15,000 fans in the UK, his
performance was full of energy while he constantly stopped to try and take it
all in. Focusing on the fun, upbeat party songs of his back catalogue as
opposed to some of the moodier tracks on his latest album, he was riding high....A
ball of excitement and full of enthusiasm, he was certainly a highlight of the
weekend.
For The Country Record Dierks Bentley Talks at C2C2014 - Interview
For The Country Record Dierks Bentley Talks at C2C2014 - Interview
Fan Comments – (C2C
Facebook)
C2C - What an entrance! Dierks Bentley has
got the arena rocking! — at The O2
Donna Maynard - Wasn't really a fan before but after
tonight's performance I am. Fab performance
Mandy Nowosad - You are total eye candy!!!
Hayley Taylor - Fan-tas-tic!!!!!! Loved every second.
Such amazing stage presence!
Danielle
Diamond - Hopefully people
in the floor section get up an start dancing soon because it seems rude and I'm
about to be an obnoxious American and start it up!
Al Booth (BBC Radio 2 producer for Bob Harris)
tweeted @albooth2 Bold move to do a Pink
Floyd cover in London on pedal steel and fiddle. Fortunately @DierksBentley
nailed it. Beautiful
m1lrr (Edinburgh) - He was superb live, especially
liked his rendition of Hey Brother.
Kev - What happened to the Dierks Bentley I
used to listen to? 20 minutes was enough for me!
THE DIXIE CHICKS
Photo Credits:
UKCountryMusic.net (9 Photos)
THE DIXIE CHICKS (19:30
- 20:45) C2C Setist: Included:
>> "Taking
The Long Way",
>> "Goodbye
Earl",
>>"Mississippi" (Bob Dylan cover) >> "Not
Ready To Make Nice",
>> "Wide
Open Spaces",
>> "Ready
To Run" ,
>> "Lubbock
Or Leave It"
, Happy Birthday Slade / "Cowboy Take Me Away", >> "Sin Wagon", >> "Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac cover), >> "Truth
No 2" >>
"Wrecking
Ball" (Miley
Cyrus cover ) -
 |
Dixie Chicks #C2C2014
With kind permission courtesy of :
Hels Bels Photography (Helen Parish)
|
This unworthy
thought was not entirely dispelled by the show. Everything seemed a little stiff for a few numbers until the sheer
instrumental of exuberance of Sin Wagon loosened things up. After that they
were musically brilliant as always, though we were disappointed that their
career-spanning setlist didn't include Top Of The World or Travelling Soldier. And
Natalie's bizarre rockabilly
flat-top haircut with shaved sides looks, frankly, terrible. Sorry, we both agreed and it has to be
said.
For The Country Record (Day One Review) Extract:... there was
definitely a sense of fun in the hour they were on stage, with little talking
between songs, just sticking to the music.. Natalie’s presence was powerful;
she commanded the stage and her voice was just as strong if not stronger live ....without
Emily and Martie it would have fallen apart. They have always been the backbone
of the group, and their instrumental prowess and smooth backing vocals were
just fabulous...
Fan Comments – (C2C
Facebook) & Twitter
 |
@albooth2 - Dixie chicks 'not ready to make nice' live
is a goose bump moment of the highest order. Reminds us what these women went
through
@albooth2 - My
word. It is lovely to have The Dixie Chicks back. Judging by the crowd I'm not
the only one who thinks so. Every song a winner #C2C2014
Karen &
Grace @KK14REN - And that's how it's done!!! @dixiechicks
just nailed it!! absolutely amazing!
ThinkCountry @AnnetteCountry - Apparently dancing to the @dixiechicks is
banned in block 101..... Some people shouldn't be allowed to concerts!!
#C2C2014
Moshe - A weak
start for the Dixie Chicks, I thought, but overall a pretty good set that was
well received. Their personal statement single "Not Ready To Make
Nice" got a very enthusiastic reception. It seems the OTT treatment meted
out to them in the States after Martie's "Bush" comments still rankle
with many fans. I thought Martie's
voice sounded rather strained at times, but I was quite happy with their set.
Chris Harris -
There were a lot of very
pissed up people on the floor. Even saw a "cat fight" at one point with 2 girls yanking each others hair!
during Dixie Chicks.
m1lrr (Edinburgh) - The Dixie Chicks they were awful, looked to me like they were just going through the motions
Stuart Mcniff - Natalie Maines vocals during the Dixie Chicks on Saturday night was dreadful.
Suzanne Palmer - I loved the entire weekend. I have to
say though that I was (and still am!!!) devastated that the Dixie Chicks didn't sing Travelin Soldier!! I was so excited to see them I could
have cried on Saturday morning, but they left me a little cold. I didn't want to hear wrecking ball
or bob dylan I wanted to hear their songs. Sorry if that is not what people want to hear but I was
disappointed!
ZAC BROWN BAND
Photo Credits – Frography (by Flex) - Facebook Gallery (9
Photos)
ZAC BROWN BAND: 21:15 - 22:45 C2C Setist: Included:
>> "Whiskey's
Gone", “Keep
Me In Mind”, >> "The
Wind", >> "As She's Walking Away", “Island Song”, >> "Free", >> "Goodbye
In Her Eyes",
>> "Never
Never Land"
by Metalica, “Enter Sandman” (Metallica cover) >> "All
Alright”, “Knee Deep”, “Colder Weather”, “Day For The
Dead” >> "Jump
Right In", >> "Who Knows" (+ band intros), "Let It Rain" (The Grohl Sessions), “Natural Disaster”, “Toes”, "Chicken
Fried", “Uncaged”, "Devil Went Down To Georgia" (Charlie Daniels
cover),
>> Listen to the Zac Brown
Band C2C Press Conference (CMR Nashville):
“The O2 has been absolutely rocking, that was a fantastic set from The Zac Brown Band” - Bob Harris (OBE) BBC Radio 2
 |
Zac Brown #C2C2014
With kind permission courtesy of :
Hels Bels Photography (Helen Parish)
|
People are always better on stage so I tried not to write them off in advance. But it was no use.
The three numbers we sat through reminded me variously of the Charlie Daniels Band, Jimmy Buffet and, most of all, Mumford and Sons – all major negatives in my book. Food and drink were a much more appealing prospect than listening to any more. So we tiptoed out and left poor Zac with only 19,998 souls to cheer him on.
Al Booth (BBC Radio 2 producer for Bob Harris)
tweeted @albooth2 - There is no band cooler and no better voice in country
music right now than than that belonging to Zac Brown. Fantastic finale to
#C2C2014
m1lrr (Edinburgh) - I loved, until the awful
skeleton thing at the end.
Bob Harris (BBC Radio 2) tweeted @WhisperingBob ...and not forgetting the amazing set from @zacbrownband @BHarrisCountry @BBCRadio2 Thursday at 7 pm.
Moshe (Forum) - The Zac Brown Band started brilliantly - their distinctive
brand of country, often with a nice "islands" lilt to it.. For the
first 40 or so minutes of their set, I'd give them at Ten! Fine
musicians,
great performance, fine songs- & definably country. Then it all got a bit weird. Zac & the boys got into heavy rock
territory with long, self
indulgent solos & no traces of country. I stuck it out
for another twenty minutes or so, hoping a return to the country ZBB, but by then I'd had enough & joined the exodus of
fans leaving early. And
their set had started so brilliantly!
Peter - The audience seemed happy to hear their
faithful rendition of Metallica's Enter Sandman. I was not. Also the ten minute
jam was trying to say the least. They were my low point.
Tony Lewis - You're lucky if you've just got sound
problems with one artist. Last
night there was poor sound for all four talented artists/bands. They deserved better.
Steven Wilshaw
- I have to mention ZBB, mega talented, but it wasn't a ROCK CONCERT, pretty
indulgent I thought. They
criticised Luke Bryan for being pop, then they turn into some heavy
rockers....?
C2C Day One Sum
Up's -
Kev (Former Amazon Top 1000 reviewer) - Sh*t evening .... hated just about all of it. Bits of
Martina were OK, Dierks was awful (I left during "5150" - Photo ), Dixie Chicks as dull as I expected them to be, Zac
Brown were self indulgent. I think that's it for me with the C2C -
horrible venue, horrible
seating, too loud, awful people (why must people fiddle with their f*cking phones ALL the time
people are on stage?). Worse
country music event I've ever been to! got the impression that [some
people] had no idea who the acts were, it just seemed to be a random evening
out for them. Funniest thing was when Bob Harris first appeared - I heard the
woman next to me say to her friend, "Who's that?"
Moshe (Readers letter and country magazine
contributor, prolific forum poster) - I don't know if it was the worst gig I've
been to - but certainly a
disappointment to me. I
didn't recognize the Metalica thing Zac Brown Band went into, but I didn't like
it whatever it was, & got peed off. Sad thing is, I loved the first half of
their set & already rated it as the highlight. Comparing to the Sunday show I attended at
C2C last year, last year was
100% better. This year, not many highlights for me. Part of Martina's show, the Dixie Chicks
& the first half of Zac Brown. But too much pop from Dierks & rock
adventurism from ZBB.....My feel overall about todays' do was the overall idea seemed to be, let's do a Country Music Festival where
the music doesn't sound country!
A bit unfair,
maybe. Martina was certainly country &, for the most part, so were the
Dixie Chicks. The Zac Brown Band were for the first 40 minutes, but then something
weird happened! And Dierks Bentley-
I know he can do proper country, because I heard him & was impressed with
him on Bob Harris Thursday night. But tonight- nah!
....It was all this Bro'
Country type of stuff & grandstanding for the audience. I had started to look forward to his
segment after hearing him on Bob Harris Thursday night. Not much country, I headed out of the arena after about 25
mins, returned for the last
ten minutes or so.
After a
brilliant start with the CMA Songwriters thingy Friday night, I found today overall a disappoint.... But people do drift in & out...
the couple sitting next to me were there for Martina, left shortly after Dierks came on, were back for The Chicks & left shortly after the ZBB came on. On the other side of me, they only
really responded to the Dixie Chicks & left early in the ZBB set. A lot of people probably only there for
one or two acts.
london2k (Forum) To be honest, the Songwriter event was my favourite part of the
entire weekend. I wasn't overwhelmed by Striking
Matches, but seemed to be in the minority, as
almost everyone else loved
them. The star, as I had expected, was Brett
James, who has one of the most emotive vocal instruments I've ever
heard....Martina Mcbride opened with
a powerful set. I've seen her many times and her voice was in FULL stride.
'Seriously good form. Dierks Bentley
was also great. A solid, arena-quality performance. His voice is good, but not
perhaps great. His songs
are pretty good, but not stunning. He's one of those guys who isn't GREAT at
any one part of the game, but is very good at everything....The Dixie Chicks were so-so. We found the sound very distorted on their
set (not the case for MM and
DB, so the problem was with the Chicks' sound mixer, I suppose). It was watchable,
but not much more than that.
Photographs used
with kind permmission courtesy of
Helen tweets @helsbelsphoto Was so awesome meeting @dixiechicks at the
weekend!! @MainesMusic @EmilyRobison @martiemaguire #C2C2014
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