The year was 2002. I didn’t have a smartphone to google what exactly a Coupe de ville was, but my young heart understood the sentiment. I too had known the agony of Brokenheartsville. I’d been there when I’d spotted Tony talking to the new girl at college. So yes, here’s to the past they could indeed […]
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When I found Charley Crockett backstage at The Long Road festival, he’d already performed one of his two shows that day. And rumbles were already going around the Leicestershire site about what a stellar, memorable show it had been. It’s not just his bright red Nudie-style suit – a gift from his home city of […]
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The Danes have a distinctive, peculiar way of applauding. To show their appreciation for a particularly good performance, rather than the ripple of unsynchronised clapping we (Brits and possibly the rest of the world) break out in, theirs is a chant-like clap in unison. It’s a sound I got used to with over four days of stunning […]
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I had accidentally fallen into an audio rut. Last month I went for an overdue coffee (and mojito doughnut) with a friend and she led with “are you still into country music?”. “Of course!” I replied. Why had she asked? This isn’t a transient aspect of my life, not like “are you still dating that […]
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The sun’s coming out, Lauren Alaina’s coming over and the toilets are going in. These are the last couple of days before the launch of Dixie Fields, a new country music festival in Chelmsford, Essex. My chat with festival pioneer Georgie is delayed because she’s been caught up in possibly the most crucial calculation since […]
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