The 2024 Scrapbook
During the past twelve months, Walt Disney Studios decided that 2024 would be the year to distribute an MCU film with an R rating. I feel this is massively on-brand for us and sets the tone for what you are about to read.
When I read this back, it feels like a written version of a Ted Kravitz notebook (the first of many subtle F1 references in this piece) as I recount the year. You might expect a chronological approach - "In January we saw this, and in February, it was that blah blah blah" - but for me, March is where 2024 really kicked off as a "Fearless" year of travel. Taylor Swift is going to feature heavily in this post (hence the reference), and there will be plenty more to come. If we handed out awards, she’d obviously take home Entertainer of the Year and probably have a strong case for our Female Vocalist of the Year (despite very tough competition from Alana Springsteen, Kelsea Ballerini and Kacey Musgraves), while the Hayley Williams-fronted PARAMORE would easily claim our Duo or Group of the Year. But we need to wait until May for Queen Tay Tay to make her first official appearance as we dive through the last twelve months.
The early part of 2024 saw a return from Ashley McBryde, joined by Corey Kent, who shared a story of consuming a beverage from a Croc (those Australian audiences are WILD and we sadly reflected on another poor season for the Dallas Cowboys (this would come on to be a similar position when we look at this season) before Jordan Davis and the enigma that is Ashley Cooke came back to London.
At the start of March, I made my first trip to a country with which we have historically had a great rivalry (1966 is the one that matters most to us). However, I was made to feel more welcome than I’ve ever felt anywhere on Earth. I discovered that Henning Wehn isn’t the only German with a sense of humour because our trip to Berlin for weekend one of C2C: Country to Country was wonderful and dispelled every negative stereotype about German people as they are more entertaining and enjoy jokes a lot more than we do. The London event for us is like joining a NASCAR race, but Berlin - wow, you really made me emotional and the weekend stands out as one of the biggest moments of the year.
The German capital played the perfect host for schnitzel, beer towers and great music. We spent time having a blast chatting with Carter Faith, Lauren Watkins, Halle Kearns, Alli Walker, Alexandra Kay and Zandi Holup although Old Dominion and Brad Paisley headlined so it wasn't all about the girls over in Europe. Daytime shows in cinemas, bowling alleys, and restaurants made the experience even more unique. Our buddies Kyle Daniel, Kenny Foster, Tyler Sjöström, and JJ Shiplett were great company on stage and at the bar, making the whole weekend immensely enjoyable and I can’t recommend the festival over there enough.
The opening night Bluebird Café show featured the QUEEN of the festival: Alana Springsteen. Alongside the unrelated Wilsons (Stephen of the junior variety and Rita), they opened the festivities at the stunning Passion Church where the vibe was perfect, and was the perfect curtain raiser at one of the most beautiful venues that you will ever set foot in.
Fast forward a week, and it was Murray Walker time: GO GO GO during C2C London! The whole thing goes by in a flash but I do recall discussing the benefits of drinking water from a can with Brad Cox, the dangers of consuming edibles with Tigirlily Gold, debating my favourite Spice Girl with Sophia Scott, and somehow convincing Hannah Dasher to head to The Dukes Head in Highgate but beyond that I ignored a WhatsApp group and had some beers with the people who regretted creating it 😉 as we had the best time celebrating the tenth edition of our own festival.
Brad Paisley, Old Dominion (ably backed by Brothers Osborne), and an electric set from Kane Brown were the perfect finales to three nights in London. They kept the fire burning for the long-awaited return of DIERKS BENTLEY which we are incredibly excited to witness in 2025.
When I read this back, it feels like a written version of a Ted Kravitz notebook (the first of many subtle F1 references in this piece) as I recount the year. You might expect a chronological approach - "In January we saw this, and in February, it was that blah blah blah" - but for me, March is where 2024 really kicked off as a "Fearless" year of travel. Taylor Swift is going to feature heavily in this post (hence the reference), and there will be plenty more to come. If we handed out awards, she’d obviously take home Entertainer of the Year and probably have a strong case for our Female Vocalist of the Year (despite very tough competition from Alana Springsteen, Kelsea Ballerini and Kacey Musgraves), while the Hayley Williams-fronted PARAMORE would easily claim our Duo or Group of the Year. But we need to wait until May for Queen Tay Tay to make her first official appearance as we dive through the last twelve months.
The early part of 2024 saw a return from Ashley McBryde, joined by Corey Kent, who shared a story of consuming a beverage from a Croc (those Australian audiences are WILD and we sadly reflected on another poor season for the Dallas Cowboys (this would come on to be a similar position when we look at this season) before Jordan Davis and the enigma that is Ashley Cooke came back to London.
At the start of March, I made my first trip to a country with which we have historically had a great rivalry (1966 is the one that matters most to us). However, I was made to feel more welcome than I’ve ever felt anywhere on Earth. I discovered that Henning Wehn isn’t the only German with a sense of humour because our trip to Berlin for weekend one of C2C: Country to Country was wonderful and dispelled every negative stereotype about German people as they are more entertaining and enjoy jokes a lot more than we do. The London event for us is like joining a NASCAR race, but Berlin - wow, you really made me emotional and the weekend stands out as one of the biggest moments of the year.
The German capital played the perfect host for schnitzel, beer towers and great music. We spent time having a blast chatting with Carter Faith, Lauren Watkins, Halle Kearns, Alli Walker, Alexandra Kay and Zandi Holup although Old Dominion and Brad Paisley headlined so it wasn't all about the girls over in Europe. Daytime shows in cinemas, bowling alleys, and restaurants made the experience even more unique. Our buddies Kyle Daniel, Kenny Foster, Tyler Sjöström, and JJ Shiplett were great company on stage and at the bar, making the whole weekend immensely enjoyable and I can’t recommend the festival over there enough.
The opening night Bluebird Café show featured the QUEEN of the festival: Alana Springsteen. Alongside the unrelated Wilsons (Stephen of the junior variety and Rita), they opened the festivities at the stunning Passion Church where the vibe was perfect, and was the perfect curtain raiser at one of the most beautiful venues that you will ever set foot in.
Fast forward a week, and it was Murray Walker time: GO GO GO during C2C London! The whole thing goes by in a flash but I do recall discussing the benefits of drinking water from a can with Brad Cox, the dangers of consuming edibles with Tigirlily Gold, debating my favourite Spice Girl with Sophia Scott, and somehow convincing Hannah Dasher to head to The Dukes Head in Highgate but beyond that I ignored a WhatsApp group and had some beers with the people who regretted creating it 😉 as we had the best time celebrating the tenth edition of our own festival.
Brad Paisley, Old Dominion (ably backed by Brothers Osborne), and an electric set from Kane Brown were the perfect finales to three nights in London. They kept the fire burning for the long-awaited return of DIERKS BENTLEY which we are incredibly excited to witness in 2025.
April was a wild month (sorry, we’re only a quarter of the way through!) but also the calm before the tornado of European travel that followed. My friend Brendan got to see my favourite Aussie and experience the incredible FANNY SHOW (not the one your dirty minds are thinking of) for the first time, while my other friend Nat ran the London Marathon 👏👏👏 but vowed NEVER AGAIN. Meanwhile, Jon Pardi delivered one of our favourite gigs of the year at Shepherd’s Bush Empire!
Time for my best JT impression (and I did try to rock the bleached blonde look back in 2007) as "It's gonna be MAY" and probably the most magical month of the year. I enjoyed my trip to Germany back in March so much that I thought I would try and recall what I learnt from Miss Elstone during my GCSE geography lessons as I ventured to the banks of the river Rhine and the beautiful city of Cologne where I enhanced my German vocabulary as I learnt that "erdferkel" is their word for aardvark during a lovely trip to the zoo (FYI whilst I question the morality of animals in captivity, I love the opportunity to see God's beautiful creatures and admire the work that zoo's do for global conservation) and went on a booze fuelled boat down the river before heading to see a stunning show from Kacey Musgraves on her Deeper Well World Tour!
I cannot recommend going to see shows overseas and taking the opportunity to experience culture in other countries enough as the German hospitality was wonderful and I look forward to visiting more of this wonderful country. The month continued with a long overdue return to KOKO in Camden for Bailey Zimmerman's first headline show in London and a trip to the iconic Royal Albert Hall for Highways Festival headlined by Brett Young (plus his incredible band featuring our good pals Tony Lucca, Keaton Simons and the birthday boy himself Matt Ferranti) before I got to prove that I knew the words to a certain bridge for the first time.
Time for my best JT impression (and I did try to rock the bleached blonde look back in 2007) as "It's gonna be MAY" and probably the most magical month of the year. I enjoyed my trip to Germany back in March so much that I thought I would try and recall what I learnt from Miss Elstone during my GCSE geography lessons as I ventured to the banks of the river Rhine and the beautiful city of Cologne where I enhanced my German vocabulary as I learnt that "erdferkel" is their word for aardvark during a lovely trip to the zoo (FYI whilst I question the morality of animals in captivity, I love the opportunity to see God's beautiful creatures and admire the work that zoo's do for global conservation) and went on a booze fuelled boat down the river before heading to see a stunning show from Kacey Musgraves on her Deeper Well World Tour!
I cannot recommend going to see shows overseas and taking the opportunity to experience culture in other countries enough as the German hospitality was wonderful and I look forward to visiting more of this wonderful country. The month continued with a long overdue return to KOKO in Camden for Bailey Zimmerman's first headline show in London and a trip to the iconic Royal Albert Hall for Highways Festival headlined by Brett Young (plus his incredible band featuring our good pals Tony Lucca, Keaton Simons and the birthday boy himself Matt Ferranti) before I got to prove that I knew the words to a certain bridge for the first time.
The opening bars of "Applause" by Lady Gaga still heightens all of my senses to a point of fight or flight (if you know, YOU KNOW) and my week-long vacation to Lisbon in Portugal is a memory which I will truly treasure. Around a visit to the princess palaces in Sintra, an excessive amount of cider (or as the Portuguese say sidra) and wholesome days on the beach, we headed to the Estádio da Luz which is the home to one of Europe's most iconic sports teams: Sport Lisboa e Benfica where a certain Taylor Alison Swift happened to be playing to over sixty thousand people!
I was fortunate to experience three shows on The Eras Tour where we got to go to "The Other Side of the Door" in Portugal, see that "Today Was A Fairytale" in Poland and I was a "London Boy" in my home city. To use her own lyric every show felt like "the first kiss, it's flawless, really something, it's fearless." I genuinely have had the time of my life fighting dragons (again, if you know, you know) with Taylor since I first saw her at Kings College so long ago and this tour has been the most wholesome, positive and uplifting show I have ever been able to witness which I would love to relive every single second of once again in a heartbeat.
As I left the Portuguese sunshine behind, the Great British summer came calling as our own festival season entered the group chat. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Sheryl Crow was the star attraction of Black Deer Festival (after they had finally towed her tour bus out of the mud) before Morgan Wallen and Shania Twain both played to FIFTY THOUSAND PEOPLE in Hyde Park at BST for shows that will be talked about for a long time along with a more chilled out first trip for us to the world-renowned Cambridge Folk Festival which we really look forward to revisiting.
August began with a rollercoaster of emotions across forty-eight hours with a long weekend in Poland, where a poignant and reflective trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau really put the world into perspective before my second show of the Eras Tour in Warsaw at one of the most modern and stunning venues that I have ever set foot in. I feel that visiting the scene of one of humanity's darkest hours is important and something which however upsetting it may be perceived is a journey that we should all make as it really puts the world into perspective.
Fortunately going to one of Taylor's shows highlights humanity at it's very best where the final night in Warsaw demonstrated this to its fullest in an embracing and inclusive setting of warmth and magic. August also saw another UK trip from Fanny Lumsden (who clearly was missing baked goods from Greggs so much that her and her band just had to return) where my friend Becky got enlightened at her first FANNY SHOW (again not the one your dirty minds are thinking of) plus our Canadian buddies Tim Hicks and Tebey came to say hi before we headed to our final festival of the season.
A fitting end to #Taylor2024 (we all know we would vote for her) at Wembley preluded The Long Road Festival which is such a great weekend over the late August Bank Holiday, we love the site at Stanford Hall in Lutterworth and we adore the atmosphere. Don McLean singing "American Pie" on the Saturday night, a proper catchup with another of our Canadian pals Dan Davidson, an enjoyable mixer (more like this please) and the discovery of Jake Vaadeland made the weekend of experiencing all four seasons across three days another roaring success which we know will grow even more in 2025.
I was fortunate to experience three shows on The Eras Tour where we got to go to "The Other Side of the Door" in Portugal, see that "Today Was A Fairytale" in Poland and I was a "London Boy" in my home city. To use her own lyric every show felt like "the first kiss, it's flawless, really something, it's fearless." I genuinely have had the time of my life fighting dragons (again, if you know, you know) with Taylor since I first saw her at Kings College so long ago and this tour has been the most wholesome, positive and uplifting show I have ever been able to witness which I would love to relive every single second of once again in a heartbeat.
As I left the Portuguese sunshine behind, the Great British summer came calling as our own festival season entered the group chat. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Sheryl Crow was the star attraction of Black Deer Festival (after they had finally towed her tour bus out of the mud) before Morgan Wallen and Shania Twain both played to FIFTY THOUSAND PEOPLE in Hyde Park at BST for shows that will be talked about for a long time along with a more chilled out first trip for us to the world-renowned Cambridge Folk Festival which we really look forward to revisiting.
August began with a rollercoaster of emotions across forty-eight hours with a long weekend in Poland, where a poignant and reflective trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau really put the world into perspective before my second show of the Eras Tour in Warsaw at one of the most modern and stunning venues that I have ever set foot in. I feel that visiting the scene of one of humanity's darkest hours is important and something which however upsetting it may be perceived is a journey that we should all make as it really puts the world into perspective.
Fortunately going to one of Taylor's shows highlights humanity at it's very best where the final night in Warsaw demonstrated this to its fullest in an embracing and inclusive setting of warmth and magic. August also saw another UK trip from Fanny Lumsden (who clearly was missing baked goods from Greggs so much that her and her band just had to return) where my friend Becky got enlightened at her first FANNY SHOW (again not the one your dirty minds are thinking of) plus our Canadian buddies Tim Hicks and Tebey came to say hi before we headed to our final festival of the season.
A fitting end to #Taylor2024 (we all know we would vote for her) at Wembley preluded The Long Road Festival which is such a great weekend over the late August Bank Holiday, we love the site at Stanford Hall in Lutterworth and we adore the atmosphere. Don McLean singing "American Pie" on the Saturday night, a proper catchup with another of our Canadian pals Dan Davidson, an enjoyable mixer (more like this please) and the discovery of Jake Vaadeland made the weekend of experiencing all four seasons across three days another roaring success which we know will grow even more in 2025.
"Fall" felt like a much longer season than usual where it seemed like I spent more time drinking pints from a bus and debating whether the Millwall mascot is actually a bear rather than a lion, than heading to shows. A joyous evening seeing Tenille Arts before fun nights at an array of London's finest venues seeing Little Big Town, Larry Fleet and Sam Palladio took us through September before I headed up to Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster to check in on those gorgeous great white bears.
Whilst Taylor's tour is hard to top, October provided one of most memorable shows in a long time as the best that our country has to offer returned for an incredible special twentieth anniversary show at Union Chapel as Lucie Silvas celebrated her iconic 'Breathe In' album. The undisputed Queen of UK country also teased that a new album is in the way which definitely is one of the things we are most excited about for 2025.
We headed to The Garage to catch Koe Wetzel for the first time who was far more magnificent than I anticipated before we went ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY for the Vengaboys special of BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM at An ABBArificic night asking "Does Your Mother Know" at the Ally Pally fireworks. 2024 I found my people, I learnt who mattered and who I needed. The fireworks were special, and the night of highlighting why music as a concept and not a genre is a healer. Another gig that really stood out was Mr Marcus King and just simply he is good, like I mean really, really, really good! The audacity to open for yourself was justified plus he looks so cool, his voice is phenomenal and watching him play guitar is something else. The show at Hammersmith was so much fun and I think I connected with this more than I think I ever did at any other gig this year.
Random night's out take you to Wembley for a second time but this time it was to the arena and to see the country/americana/folk spectrum really travel as we saw Iceland enter the party as Kaleo (well backed up by Shane Smith & The Saints from Austin, Texas) said hello! I want to tell you wonders of the Kaleo set but we had fun and I mean too much fun.
Whilst Taylor's tour is hard to top, October provided one of most memorable shows in a long time as the best that our country has to offer returned for an incredible special twentieth anniversary show at Union Chapel as Lucie Silvas celebrated her iconic 'Breathe In' album. The undisputed Queen of UK country also teased that a new album is in the way which definitely is one of the things we are most excited about for 2025.
We headed to The Garage to catch Koe Wetzel for the first time who was far more magnificent than I anticipated before we went ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY for the Vengaboys special of BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM at An ABBArificic night asking "Does Your Mother Know" at the Ally Pally fireworks. 2024 I found my people, I learnt who mattered and who I needed. The fireworks were special, and the night of highlighting why music as a concept and not a genre is a healer. Another gig that really stood out was Mr Marcus King and just simply he is good, like I mean really, really, really good! The audacity to open for yourself was justified plus he looks so cool, his voice is phenomenal and watching him play guitar is something else. The show at Hammersmith was so much fun and I think I connected with this more than I think I ever did at any other gig this year.
Random night's out take you to Wembley for a second time but this time it was to the arena and to see the country/americana/folk spectrum really travel as we saw Iceland enter the party as Kaleo (well backed up by Shane Smith & The Saints from Austin, Texas) said hello! I want to tell you wonders of the Kaleo set but we had fun and I mean too much fun.
Down to the territory of Valtteri Bottas on the grid (this is not referring to him as an individual because he did us proud and accurately sounded better than half of the stuff that we heard coming out of Nashville) as friend of the site Jeremy McComb stood above Gary Quinn (that's a joke and we think it's funny so we are reiterating it) deserved higher up the podium for “Country in the Afternoon” in Putney. We don’t give people like Gavin and Christine the credit that they deserve but their efforts both in London and also what they do north of the border deserves a phenomenal amount of recognition, it is such a privilege to work alongside you and are massively appreciated to support what you do.
December became a celebration of me, my Sharpay Evans or Regina George aura was really shining through! Between nights out in Bermondsey (where we were the youngest in the pub by thirty years) along with pre and post-show drinks at Camden Assembly around Lakeview’s headline gig, party season was in full force with Kelsea Ballerini putting forward a very strong case for why she would be a very deserved Female Vocalist of the Year at next year’s CMA and ACM awards. The show at the Roundhouse is one that we will all remember, it was magnificent, it was glamorous and not only blew the entire roof off but threw the entire deck on the table, it was I’m here and I’m giving you all that I’ve got where I’m going to blow your mind which she did.
I should probably do a diplomatic post/remark about “album of the year” or “record of the year” which ticks some boxes but I write from where I feel is real and I’m going to do what every country music journalist really wished they could do: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter is the undisputed Song of the Year (Riley Green and Ella Langley’s duet “you look like you love me” was a close contender in this case) and Charli XCX’s “Brat” is my Album of the Year! 2024 was a very strong year for album’s and whilst the electropop masterpiece had such strong cultural relevance, Nashville also brought their A-Game with some true works of art. Kacey’s “Deeper Well” is my country and Americana project of the year and it was such a pleasure to see it performed live whilst “Beautifully Broken” by Jelly Roll, Post Malone’s crossover smash “F-1 Trillion”, Emily Nenni’s stunning “Drive & Cry” record and the magnificent “Golden Child” from Meghan Patrick (if you are new to the music of Mrs Mitchell Tenpenny, she is going to be the name on everyone’s lips after this year’s C2C weekends) round out my top five.
December became a celebration of me, my Sharpay Evans or Regina George aura was really shining through! Between nights out in Bermondsey (where we were the youngest in the pub by thirty years) along with pre and post-show drinks at Camden Assembly around Lakeview’s headline gig, party season was in full force with Kelsea Ballerini putting forward a very strong case for why she would be a very deserved Female Vocalist of the Year at next year’s CMA and ACM awards. The show at the Roundhouse is one that we will all remember, it was magnificent, it was glamorous and not only blew the entire roof off but threw the entire deck on the table, it was I’m here and I’m giving you all that I’ve got where I’m going to blow your mind which she did.
I should probably do a diplomatic post/remark about “album of the year” or “record of the year” which ticks some boxes but I write from where I feel is real and I’m going to do what every country music journalist really wished they could do: “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter is the undisputed Song of the Year (Riley Green and Ella Langley’s duet “you look like you love me” was a close contender in this case) and Charli XCX’s “Brat” is my Album of the Year! 2024 was a very strong year for album’s and whilst the electropop masterpiece had such strong cultural relevance, Nashville also brought their A-Game with some true works of art. Kacey’s “Deeper Well” is my country and Americana project of the year and it was such a pleasure to see it performed live whilst “Beautifully Broken” by Jelly Roll, Post Malone’s crossover smash “F-1 Trillion”, Emily Nenni’s stunning “Drive & Cry” record and the magnificent “Golden Child” from Meghan Patrick (if you are new to the music of Mrs Mitchell Tenpenny, she is going to be the name on everyone’s lips after this year’s C2C weekends) round out my top five.
A pair of shows at Electric Ballroom in Camden rounded off the year and 2024, you were a year that truly blessed us. I spent this year following Taylor around Europe but there is a gun show coming to town in 2025! I am making the most of my final year in my thirties where I cannot wait to see a real-life giant panda, catching up with some friends in Berlin (where we will also get to see Meghan Patrick perform in Europe for the first time) and spending more money than I care to care to afford seeing Kip Moore!
Spurs are still shit (stop laughing Ian because Fulham are too) and the Cowboys continue to disappoint me so once again both my teams broke my heart this year. Oasis got back together, some people say Beyoncé rejuvenated country music (but we all know it was Post Malone) and once again Gretchen Weiner tried to make FETCH happen! See you all again in 2025!
Spurs are still shit (stop laughing Ian because Fulham are too) and the Cowboys continue to disappoint me so once again both my teams broke my heart this year. Oasis got back together, some people say Beyoncé rejuvenated country music (but we all know it was Post Malone) and once again Gretchen Weiner tried to make FETCH happen! See you all again in 2025!