This past weekend, the world of country music found itself a new home for the night – The Royal Albert Hall. Cowboy boots and hats descended on the iconic South Kensington venue as the wait for the inaugural Highways Festival was over, with Stephen Wilson Jr, Jackson Dean, Morgan Wade and Kip Moore leading the way. Aside from the main event, it was a busy schedule for attendees with Alyssa Bonagura hosting a Country for Kids event in the morning; a songwriters round with William Prince, Jillian Jacqueline, Kat Hasty and Stephen Wilson Jr; a post main event performance by Ferris and Sylvester and a late night DJ set from Absolute Radios’ Baylen Leonard.
Stephen Wilson Jr is quickly becoming a regular feature in the UK. At the start of last year he joined Brothers Osborne on their tour; at the start of the year he performed at Americana Fest; will be back in a few weeks’ time with Drake White; and also has the claim of being the first act to perform on stage at The Highways Festival. Taking to the Albert Hall stage with his steel guitar player Scotty Murray, you could be excused for thinking Stephen had the backing of a full band. The pair brought plenty of energy to the set as Stephen showed his vocal range whilst performing ‘Cuckoo’ and ‘Billy’ in a set that included a rendition of Happy Birthday for his sister who was watching in the crowd on her first trip to the UK. Stephen closed his thirty-minute set with ‘Holler From The Holler’ to huge cheers and applause as Highways was well and truly making its mark on the UK country scene after just one artist.
Stephen Wilson Jr is quickly becoming a regular feature in the UK. At the start of last year he joined Brothers Osborne on their tour; at the start of the year he performed at Americana Fest; will be back in a few weeks’ time with Drake White; and also has the claim of being the first act to perform on stage at The Highways Festival. Taking to the Albert Hall stage with his steel guitar player Scotty Murray, you could be excused for thinking Stephen had the backing of a full band. The pair brought plenty of energy to the set as Stephen showed his vocal range whilst performing ‘Cuckoo’ and ‘Billy’ in a set that included a rendition of Happy Birthday for his sister who was watching in the crowd on her first trip to the UK. Stephen closed his thirty-minute set with ‘Holler From The Holler’ to huge cheers and applause as Highways was well and truly making its mark on the UK country scene after just one artist.
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Having spoken with Jackson just a few hours before he took to the stage (https://www.countryintheuk.com/jackson-dean-sitdown.html) we already knew that he was about to kick it up a notch and make sure everyone left the Albert Hall knowing the name Jackson Dean as one of the most spoken about names in Nashville this year made his hotly anticipated UK debut. Jackson used the set as an opportunity to play tracks from his debut album ‘Greenbroke’, as well as a new track about his former dog ‘Big Blue.’ Jackson had told us earlier how he felt the room was made for a performance of ‘Wings’, and he won’t have been disappointed as the auditorium lit up with phone lights for the song. The crowd will certainly have had ‘Fearless’ and his smash hit ‘Don’t Come Lookin’ in their heads during the intermission as his set came to a close with the same energy and power as it started with a thoroughly deserved standing ovation. Jackson certainly wouldn’t have wished for a better UK debut than what was witnessed at this years Highways Festival and we are already counting down to when he returns this side of the Atlantic for his tour and appearance at Long Road later this year.
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A change of pace was brought to the auditorium after Jackson Dean, with Morgan Wade taking to the stage for a stripped back set with her guitarist Clint. As the lamps and side table came to the stage, it was a good change for the evening to show the width of an artist’s talents. On Morgan’s last visit she came with her full band, but this set gave a more intimate feeling – despite being at a packed Albert Hall. Throughout her set she offered a mix of familiar songs and an opportunity to hear some of those that will be appearing on her upcoming album – Psychopath. Despite being an acoustic set, Clint still found time to do a guitar riff solo (it’s the Albert Hall so has to be done), before the pair received a standing ovation as she closed out with Wilder Days.
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All three artists on the bill will have surely looked at how Kip Moore has made his rise to the headline spot in the UK as inspiration for themselves. Back in 2015, Kip was opening the main stage at Country to Country in front of a fairly sparce crowd before returning to start playing his own shows in front of just a few hundred people. Fast forward a little over 8 years later, and aside from the Covid years, there has barely been a year where Kip hasn’t played this side of the Atlantic and it has won over and is beloved by many fans in the UK country scene. Stepping into the headline spot for the inaugural Highways Festival, the organisers (and fans) couldn’t have asked for a better artist to set the standard. For the next two hours, every seats in the Albert Hall wasn’t needed as the entire crowd stood to sing along to hits from his new album (Damn Love), going all the way back to songs that he performed during his C2C 2015 set – for his OG fans! Throughout the set, there was the expected chemistry and enjoyment from Kip and his band, The Slow Hearts, with plenty of jumping on speakers; running from side to side; and plenty of times where they almost seemed to pause and wonder how they got here. Being the Albert Hall, there was no pyrotechnics or giant screens, and that just added to the genuine energy in the auditorium from both Kip and the crowd, and the focus was truly on the stage for the full set. After a hell raising non-stop set, the tempo did close down for the encore with an acoustic version of Guitar Man, before taking his final bow for his latest trip to London – draped in the Union Jack
Following it’s first event, Highways Festival looks set to stake a claim as a not to miss country music event on the UK calendar. The day offered a unique experience for music fans of all ages in a room that artists will be queuing up to perform in.
Following it’s first event, Highways Festival looks set to stake a claim as a not to miss country music event on the UK calendar. The day offered a unique experience for music fans of all ages in a room that artists will be queuing up to perform in.
Kate Green, Getty Images.