This year has seen a few changes to the festival calendar across the UK. With fan favourite Blackdeer festival taking a break and then the new festival Roadhouse Weekender cancelling and issuing refunds, I was feeling quite sad that the live events I adore going to were heading into decline.
Having already got the weekend of the 5th and 6th off work I started to look around for something else to do.
A new event popped up on my social media with what looked like a great line up so my tickets were booked and I was heading to Country on the Common, a new 2 day country festival in the middle of Tooting Common.
The Common was a short walk from the tube and did not provide any camping options and due to Wimbledon, hotels were quite pricey but trains from my hometown Cambridge are frequent so that was my chosen method of getting there.
On arrival the layout was well spaced with two stages. The festival organisers marketed the event as family friendly and there were plenty of activities ranging from arts and crafts to story telling. There was a silent disco tent in the middle next to a couple of fairground rides plus a campfire in the corner.
Our first stop was the bar where they served cans and we checked out the smaller stage “Travelling Barn Stage” where we enjoyed the Taylor Swift tribute Fearlessly Taylor.
We then mooched over towards the only other bar which we were relieved to see had draught beer and cider.
The main stage was our next stop.
The Country Roses were on stage. These ladies were a group of authentic country western line dancing performers. Headed by native Texan Khayla Jordan, they taught the enthusiastic crowd line dance routines giving us all the chance to get our boots scootin!
One Night in Nashville went on next providing the audience with classic singalong crowd pleasing covers of classic country songs.
At this point the festival seemed to experience a few teething issues. The queue for the bar was across the whole site.
After over an hour of waiting we finally got another drink just in time to go and catch one of my highlights of the weekend – First Time Flyers
This 4 piece country pop band comprised of Jake Morrell, Poppy Fardell, Vicki Manser and Tim Prottey-Jones offer more than
energetic and catchy songs but they have a fantastic stage presence too. I have enjoyed watching them on TikTok in recent months and love the connection they have with their audience and fans including dance moves you cant help but copy! They radiate with talent and I absolutely loved the set. I really felt as though I was watching a band that were going places and I cannot wait to see what they do next. Seeing them mingle in the crowd afterwards was really heartwarming and I was so pleased to have had a little chat and grab a photo. They are touring in the autumn and I will be seeing them in Norwich so I will let you all know what I think!
Unfortunately, the bar and food situation had escalated so I did not see Ward Thomas perform as I was waiting for a further hour. There were people complaining and leaving after demanding refunds with the organisers. This was a shame and did spoil the day for many but I felt it not the end of the world.
The Saturday night finished with the fantastic duo Ben Earle and Chrissy Rhodes
who are The Shires.
These established performers have been playing to crowds since 2013 and I have had the pleasure of seeing them live many times and I have always been impressed by their blend of gorgeous harmonies and soulful lyrics. They gave us a set full of uplifting country with a British twist but with a dash of Nashville influence.
They left the crowd wanting more and I will always love watching them perform and recommend you catch them if you can!
A few weeks earlier, I attended the Summer in Nashville event at Cambridge Rugby club. It was a fun day of line dancing, food, beer
and a variety of tribute acts. I was really impressed with a band who appeared very early in the day named The Folly Brothers. Made up of brothers Mark and Jonny Roden, this bluegrass group showed real talent in whipping up the crowd with their foot stomping tunes and warmed up the audience by getting people dancing.
I was very excited to see them on the line up for Sunday.
On arriving for day two, I was pleased to see that a new improvised bar had been created serving cans from huge ice filled coolers. This was a game changer and given the problems with the bars the previous day, this was a great solution.
We headed to see the Folly Brothers who were as good as I remembered. I particularly enjoyed their bluegrass take on the 90’s N-Trance dance track “Set you free”. They did an amazing job of getting the crowd up and dancing.
Next up was Alyssa Bonagura who dazzled on stage with her mix of melodic Americana country tunes combined with the grit of rock and roll. This Nashville native was very at home on stage with her band. She performed with confidence and flair giving a fantastic set mixed with storytelling, humour and effortless talent.
The following artist was the main factor that made me decide to book my tickets in the first place – Kezia
Gill. This flame haired power house of home grown talent has been a firm favorite of mine for a few years now. Kezia is based in the Midlands and has been touring and performing at various festivals for a long time so I was so glad to see her shine on the stage to a new audience.
Her set was full of foot tapping, dance inducing songs each one with a story to tell.
The majority of the crowd had not known Kezia before (I know this due to her doing a show of hands!) but she worked hard to get them engaged and by the end of the set, there were people up on their feet enjoying her impressive voice infused with blues, rock and Americana at its finest. I also have to say it was a treat to see her playing with her band including the guitar player Luke Thomas who has been an awesome part of the band for years and I am always impressed at how easy he makes his guitar playing look – he is effortlessly talented and it was a joy seeing him play!
The night finished with the country pop group Remember Monday. This trio made up of Lauren Byrne, Holly-Anne Hull and Charlotte Steele first came to my attention during the covid pandemic when I discovered their videos showcasing their close harmonies on social media and more recently they’ve become better known for their Eurovision entry this year.
I was not sure what to expect but they can sing, they can dance and they show their great personalities with the banter, jokes and story telling in between the songs.
I enjoyed the set although I personally didn’t feel it was particularly country but they looked as though they were having fun and they’re clearly talented, plus the younger members of the crowd really enjoyed it.
Overall, Country on the Common was a success. The teething problems with the bar and food stalls were addressed and fixed. Next time I would suggest more bars and food options or allow people to bring food and drink into the arena. The merch stand also sold out of a lot of things and there were no other stalls or vendors so maybe that is something that might be improved in
future.
I enjoyed the mix of artists and tribute acts plus having DJ Chris Armstrong playing and taking requests via Instagram in between stage performances meant the vibe never dropped keeping people there (Something I have seen at Blackdeer where the big silent gaps sent crowds off and away in search of something else).
The atmosphere was great with lots of people of all ages enjoying the music showing that the UK country scene is fantastic at the moment.
The line up was good and if they decide to put it on again in the future I would certainly put it in my diary!
Review by Becca Tilley
