Tucked away in the heart of Almondsbury, Bristol is the ever growing country music festival which is part of the Small Town, Big Music 3 Day event created by Almondsbury Creative. Saturday the 7th September saw the events second year of running an all country music event. With Canadian artist Tenille Arts to headline, the event also held an incredible line up which included many phenomenal UK acts who were scattered across both stages during the day which included Kezia Gill, Wood Burnt Red, Amy Moore, Taynee Lord and more!

An artist who opened up the main stage but won’t be opening up stages for long was the incomparable Matt Hodges. A highly talented singer/songwriter, Hodges is also an exceptional performer. Performing with just one band member on the acoustic drums the pair set the bar high with their powerful one hour set that would fit quite nicely within the top tier artists of the US and Canada. It wouldn’t be a stretch to see Hodges make quite the impression on main stages at places such as CMA Fest and Calgary Stampede.

Highlights included the wonderfully memorable track and former single Blue Ridge Road. A song with a story that would capture anyone’s attention, the song was inspired during a trip to the Smoky Mountains and staying at a place called Mountain View Lodge. Matt was advised to keep the doors and windows locked due to a visit from a black bear the night before and having been there myself and encountering a Black Bear Cub, I can imagine how often this happens. Of the song, Hodges has said previously:

“I was mid trip in Nashville when myself and a friend, Jesse Scott, decided we needed to get out of town for a few days with the aim to unwind, relax, and find some peace and quiet,” said Hodges. “I had never travelled East to the Smokey Mountains; so we found a cabin on Airbnb called ‘Mountain View Lodge’, situated on Blue Ridge Road, and instantly agreed this was exactly what we were looking for and booked it. We arrived late at night and just couldn’t believe the silence that surrounded us. As we entered the cabin we found ourselves in heaven, and as quoted in the song: ‘looked at each other and said ‘this will do’. The following morning I stepped out onto the back porch overlooking the mountains – I knew right there and then that I had to write a song.”

A set full of even more stand out songs such as How Could You, He Can’t Love You, Keep Throwing Pebbles, Outlaw and When We Were Young (all songs that could all easily be released as singles) it was clear that Hodges was quite the highlight already and many of his fans were in full force enjoying every moment. Usually at a festival you see people dip in and out of sets but people didn’t move during his whole set and were in awe for its duration. If you were there, you could understand why and if you weren’t, then we recommend catching a set before he is selling out bigger venues.

With UK country artists finally getting the recognition that they deserve and in part due to the massive dedication of the Zimagined management team, Matt Hodges will soon be leading the way alongside his female label mate Kezia Gill.