If there’s an artist that were to follow in the footsteps of the successes of singer songwriters such as Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris and Lainey Wilson then that is Lola Kirke.

Actress and singer/songwriter, Lola Kirke is unapologetically country. She lives and breathes the genre and just by being in her presence you can see that! It’s in the way she writes her music, the stories that she tells, it’s in her positive, laid back, strong attitude and it’s in her style and genuineness.

One of her unreleased tracks that she performed at C2C Festival titled Marlboro Lights and Madonna is what country music is all about. If it’s authentic, it’s country, if it’s wild and bonkers, it’s country and the story behind that song is all of those things.

In our interview after her set, Lola said of the song “I just wrote that song with Natalie (Hemby) and Jason Nix. I had run into her at the Brandi Carlisle ‘Girls Just Wanna’ weekend in Cancún. For whatever reason, I told her this story of when I was a little girl about 5 years old and how Madonna had been at the same restaurant as us in Miami on a family vacation. My mum was like “go up to her and get her autograph” and I was like “what would she sign? We don’t have anything?” My mum said “oh take this” and gave me her empty Malboro pack and I went over to Madonna like a five year old girl and asked her to sign it for me and she did. I told that story to Natalie Hemby and we were writing together a couple of weeks ago and we were just about to get into it and she said “wait, remind me of that story, it was so funny”. Then I re-told her the story and she said “Malboro Lights and Madonna, that’s a great title”. When I think of my mum, I think of Malboro Lights and Madonna and yeah, we wrote that song. I love how songs fall out of anything if you’re looking at them the right way.”

I don’t think there’s a better premise for a country song than that! That’s one of the many things that is so infectious about the music that Kirke is bringing out to the world. She’s what makes country music cool, not Beyonce.

Playing at The Wayside stage at C2C Festival, Lola Kirke was met by a full crowd. Starting with Broken Families, her audience were in awe. Her voice is stunning with a natural country sounding tone and it wasn’t difficult to feel captivated by her.

Lola performed all of her tracks from her four track EP Country Curious (that was produced by C2C Festival main stage act Elle King) and more. The songs from her EP included He Say’s Y’all, the catchy My House, the outstanding Karma ( which features Rosanne Cash on the studio version) and the exceptional and big hit maker All My Exes Live In L.A (which features First Aid Kit on the studio version). Other songs included Tennessee Sober (which is her spin on the saying California Sober), Hungover and a sensational cover of John Prine’s Angel From Montgomery.

Bringing the traditional sounds of country music to C2C Festival and blending them with a modern, fun and at times comedic twist, Kirke was for us (and many I’m sure), an absolute highlight of the entire weekend.

The UK is the first place that many of these artists have their breakthrough and for many, the first time they have ever heard an audience singing their songs back to them. I remember in particular Maren Morris citing C2C Festival as the first place anyone sang My Church back to her. Lola Kirke has definitely found her home here in the UK and by the time she returns in the UK for her headline tour and appearance at The Long Road Festival, she will have an even better experience with even more of her audience knowing all her songs word by word.

We can’t wait to welcome her back in the Summer!