A later start than we would have liked, we were coming from 20 minutes away as were staying in a hotel and were enjoying casually getting ready!

Arriving just in time to catch Alana Springsteen’s set, the weather was quite windy and cold but didn’t deter anyone from arriving early.

Alana and her band, (the band were from the UK), were the perfect openers for the last day of TLR. The band had learned all her music prior to the show with just one hour’s rehearsal as well. You wouldn’t have known, you would have assumed that this was her regular band that had toured with her for years.

Playing songs such as You Don’t Deserve A Love Song, Alana also played a medley of Taylor Swift songs and her single with Mitchell Tenpenny Goodbye Looks Good On You. The majority of Alana’s set was much heavier and rockier than we are used to from her, especially on record but this rock heavy set really suited her style!

Alana went acoustic for the song amen which was beautiful and emotive. Closing with here’s to all my exe’s, it was clear she has built an even bigger fanbase after her set.

Alana is set for great things. Her album Twenty Something really is something and if this show was anything to go by, then her headline shows are only going to be even better, especially if she keeps using the same band in the UK she did for The Long Road.

Catching a bit of Megan Moroney in between interviews, Moroney was clearly one of the more popular acts of the weekend. A beautiful set that blended traditional and modern country well, Moroney was humble and grateful on stage and her vocals were on point throughout! We aim to spend more time with her music.

We managed to catch just one song of the Color Me Country All Stars performance on The Rhinestone Stage and that was Gabe Lee. He played his song Buffalo Road on the keys for which is about a little field west of Tennessee where he grew up! The song was rich of Americana goodness and his artistry won over the crowd so much that he has been cited as another artist that people keep mentioning as a favourite!

Running for The War and Treaty’s set at The Interstate Stage, we felt so lucky to have been a part of their show in the audience and in a way on stage (as they mentioned Building Our Own Nashville). The phenomenal duo really set the bar high and will go down in TLR history as one of the greatest ever sets. Taking us to church and Nashville, Michael and Tanya are sheer brilliance in vocals and performance! Soulful songs to get lost in, every note played and every vocal note hit struck a chord.

Check out our full review here.

Back to The Rhinestone to catch a little bit of Caylee Hammack’s set! Hammack has such an incredible voice that you can’t help but stop in your tracks to listen. A firecracker on stage, Hammack wowed the crowd with her performance! I will always laugh a little at the song CrockPot as for ages I thought it was Crack Pot!

Breland’s set, a favourite of my sons followed. Breland as ever did not disappoint and was full of energy and good times.

Playing a set for 45 minutes is never enough when it comes to artists like Breland who have that headline energy. Performing tracks such as Throw It Back, Cross Country, Thick, Natural and Here For It, Breland also brought out special guests in Alana Springsteen for For What It’s Worth (which he released with her) and the UK’s own Kezia Gill for Praise The Lord.

Breland also treated us with his new and very country sounding single Cowboy’s Don’t as well as another new song that he debuted at C2C Festival called The Extra Mile. The Extra Mile was a last minute addition to his set list, replacing another song. I wonder what the song was?

Closing with My Truck, the crowd were dedicated and enthusiastic throughout and My Truck brought even more fire to an already heated performance! Breland is one of those artists that should be seen on their own headline tour. Every time we have seen Breland, he mixes it up a little and always makes sure he gives his all.

This set was just a taster of what he is capable of! Just getting the party started, you could tell that even Breland himself was itching for a little more!

After Breland was the much anticipated UK debut of Eli Young Band. Many in the audience had been fans for over a decade so this was very special! The band delivered a fantastic performance and both artist and fans felt a shared love for each other as it really was a celebrated moment to finally have them here and what better place for a debut than at The Long Road Festival? Playing old and new tracks, the highlight for us and yes an obvious one was when they performed Even If It Breaks Your Heart. I have always felt that this is one of the greatest songs ever written (Eric Paslay and Will Hoge). What made this more of a highlight than we could have dreamed was that Will Hoge was also on the festival bill and joined Eli Young Band to perform the song! That’s a moment we are likely never to get again!

The one downside of The Long Road Festival is that everyone who plays is good at worst! This makes it incredibly hard to choose who to see and the clashes will always make you miss someone that you wanted to see and make you have a massive fear of missing out! This was the case for us so many times. We would have loved to have seen all of Color Me Country All Stars but then we would have missed The War and Treaty and seeing as we spent most of Saturday at The Front Porch Stage watching the Color Me Country All Stars with their respective solo sets, it was a sacrifice we had to make although not lightly!

Another artist we had planned to see was Tré Burt on the Front Porch Stage but schedules ran behind and it wasn’t possible. Artists such as Joshua Ray Walker, Tyler Booth and so many more just ended up not working out for one reason or another.

Having a mad panic after my sons lost their football, this made us also miss the John Prine Tribute which we really wanted to see and very much have regret! My kids come first though and so many behind the scenes people helped us look backstage (where it landed) to no avail. However, by a chance meeting (bumping in to) the lost property man Colin, he dedicated his time to look even further afield (quite literally) and found it in the cattle grid. He said my sons face upon getting back made it worthwhile! Colin was one of many excellent and dedicated staff across the weekend who’s hard work truly made a difference in so many people’s weekend experiences.

Catching about an hour of Cam’s sensational and very moving set before the kids were simply too tired and cold, we reluctantly said our goodbyes to the festival and mourned the loss of the finale!

Cam was every bit a headliner. She not only saved the festival by replacing Jon Pardi last minute but she earned that spot too! She made dang sure that she gave the performance of a lifetime and we are so sad we didn’t see it all. From the emotional and celebratory moment she arrived on stage, the fans were heavily invested in her performance. Cam couldn’t give a bad performance if she tried. One of the best voices in country music, Cam is sunshine and overall good vibes. You can’t be sad when Cam is smiling and singing to you. Sweet but sassy, Cam is the girl next door as well as the mum who won’t take any sh**.

Playing songs from both her albums, we were delighted to hear she is working on a third.

Here is a review of what we did see.

Another year over, another memory that will last for a long time!

Bring on 2024!