28 August 2026 (gig)
17 h
Seven years in and The Long Road is still doing what it has always done so well, bringing a fine balance of well-established and emerging country, Americana and roots music to Stanford Hall for a crowd that spans multiple generations.
Early on, Striking Matches were a frontrunner for performance of the weekend. Due to one of two cumbersomely imposed “lockdowns” — for want of a better word — by the organisers due to the risk of thunderstorms, their set was shorter than you'd want. But that minor irritation was easy to look past when the due performed tracks like ‘When the Right One Comes Along’ and ‘Somebody Might Get Hurt.’ Both on guitar, they lock in tightly with one another in a way that only years together can deliver. They’re instinctive and it’s exciting as a result.
Steve Earle turned his slot into something closer to a fireside chat than a gig, as he appeared alone with his guitar. “This one's for whatshername, wherever she is,” he said at one point, living up to the persona he became known for over the years. He then drifted into stories about hometowns and how it irritates him when Radiohead don’t play Creep live. “That’s why I always play ‘Copperhead Road’.” Many of the crowd hung on his every word, but there was a portion just drunkenly chuntering over the legend’s performance, which did really start to grate. “Yes, we know your husband can benchpress lots of weight,” and yes Brian you really do “love country music.” We just don’t all need to know it while watching Steve Earle.
The real find of the weekend came in Buddy's for me, with Ferris & Sylvester, a three-piece, fronted by a husband and wife duo. They had feel to burn, and their sound was welcome after a lot of classically “modern” country music. ‘Bread Winner” landed big and made me a fan in one move. They’re raw but slick, and their sound is honest, felt through, with a really tight underpinning. Great vocals, too, with hints of Catatonia’s Cerys Matthews in places…
Sheyna Gee joked about her songs being read as happy or sad. She thinks it depends on “where you are in your drinking,” which seemed to go down well, and showcased precisely what she is all about: keeping it god damn real. She delivered one of the most exciting sets of the weekend. There’s some Ashley McBryde about her, in her realness, and in her emphasis on honesty and true grit.
Errol Linton was another standout, giving what felt like a masterclass in “how it's done,” all class and deftness, with the crowd watching on looking like they'd been starved of a proper boogie. His band love what they do, and that translated to the crowd with aplomb. I, like many others, I’m sure, could have watched them all day. Rosalie Cunningham shortly after was a real wildcard. Genre bending and entirely her own thing, there’s a sense that she could be the face of a big shift in rock music. For me, I hear Queen, Bowie, Deep Purple, and plenty of latter-day Beatles in there. I’m excited by what the future holds for her…
The weekend was wrapped up by the inimitable Maren Morris. There's a beauty to how she carries herself and how she performs. She’s comfortable up there, and totally in the music. Her songs are so well crafted, yet they still feel like they're pulled straight from somewhere raw and real, not manufactured like so much country does these days. Her voice, for someone so slight, is enormous, too. Wrapping up with ‘My Church’ felt apropos for the weekend, received by The Long Road congregation like a perfect culmination to a weekend that is one big shared experience of a genre they love more and more with each year.
Sadly, it has to be said that the weather related shutdowns felt heavy handed at times, verging on a PR headache in the making. Thankfully they were rare, while The Long Road has earned enough goodwill over the years to weather such trickier waters. I’m sure the fans will be back in their droves in 2027, regardless.
