The Long Road Festival 2026 has sadly been and gone now, but was it a weekend to remember, or one to forget.
It certainly did have its trials and tribulations. Firstly, Bailey Zimmerman cancelled with only weeks to go, putting the festival organisers in an agonizing position. Who to get to replace him? Should they bump Josh Ross up a spot, take someone from one of the other days or should they try and get someone else to fill the Saturday headline slot.
Well, they chose to get someone else to fill the slot. The organisers said they had exhausted their little black book and were lucky enough to call Ronnie Wood, (from The Rolling Stones), who picked up and said he would come with his band with Imelda May supporting him.
Was it a good or bad move? It seems to be a bit of a split decision between festival goers. Some say it was a stroke of genius while others said it was a big mistake, a bit of a joke and definitely not Country or Americana.
I heard many people saying that The Long Road needed to get a better ‘little black book’!
Then there was the weather. After months of blistering heat and sun, the rain decided it was going to show up, and show up it did in force. Torrential rain, lightning storms the like of which I have never seen and, of course, the mud that goes with it all.
These two things aside, was it a good festival? Yes. Was it worth the money? Yes. Did we all have a great time, eat drink and be merry? Yes. So, all in all, it was a success.
Overall Impressions of The Long Road 2026
Over all the festival was a success. The festival ground was well prepared as usual, the vendors were in situ, although too many food vendors and not enough traders, in my opinion, the toilets were plentiful and the bars numerous.
The acts were sufficient but not as ‘out of this world’ as other years, but there were still gems and new exciting finds to be had.
The Lucky Dice car show was well attended, although the weather had some leave early, with the odd one or two covered up, which is understandable when you are dealing with £1,000s in show vehicle.
Another addition that was a winner, was the white lined walkways. In previous years getting through high audience areas was a real issue. This year the white lined sections made traversing the Rhinestone and Front Porch a breeze. Luckily, these areas were respected by most festival goers and remained clear.
The security staff were, as always, polite and the bar staff were friendly, helpful and patient.
Could there have been some additions that would have made the festival more enjoyable for the punters? Yes, for sure, but all in all a good show.
The Stages
There were the usual stages, The Rhinestone, Interstate, Buddy’s and the well-loved Front Porch.
However, the smaller intimate venues of previous years, which were linked to trade stands like Visit Texas, were nowhere to be seen. This meant escape from the crowds to a cozy little tent awning were out of the question.
The Hitchin’ Post was in full use this year and was fully enclosed with sidings fitted. This made escape from the rain possible for some and the Line Dancing within was very well attended. I do wonder how well attended it would have been had the sun been shining bright and hot?
The Interstate was as it always is and the no chair zone was back again, making it a little easier to get a spot undercover to watch whoever was on the stage at the time.
Buddy’s Bar suffered from issues throughout the weekend with the stage being closed to the public at some points. I was never too sure why but believe it was due to health and safety, numbers and slip hazards. ‘Well done’ The Long Road for keeping everyone safe but a shame the performances had to stop for a time.
The Rhinestone was, as you would expect, in prime position, just down from Stanford Hall itself. The stage was the same size and construction as usual, with a new 2026 Long Road backdrop. The large screen TVs were at the side of the stage giving everyone a good view of the stage performances. The lighting was adequate but it did seem a little dialled back and simplified compared to previous years; this could just be perception, however, with the weather creating that illusion. The sound was better this year with no crackles of distortion like there were last year. The volume appeared to be lower but it did get slightly ramped up by Sunday night.
The Front Porch was very well attended but down on last year. I’m not sure if the attendance was less or the weather kept people at stages that had cover. The bands there were as good as always, with a good mix of classic country, rocky country and pop country.
The Attractions
There were the usual attractions. The Helter-skelter, fairground stalls where you could win a huge duck or octopus, and the obligatory big wheel. The Lucky Dice car show was well attended, but as stated already, the weather affected the show cars longevity. A nice addition was the Long Road photo booths. At just £6.00, they were very reasonable and in-line with, if not a little cheaper, than you would find in a supermarket. The images produced had the Long Road logo in the middle of the sheet and looked very good quality. The only complaint we heard from patrons, was the photos were taken too quickly and you hardly had time to get sorted.
The Little Possums area was back again, giving the little ones somewhere to have some fun. The treehouse fort was well used as was Cornhole, the beanbag game. Even the rain didn’t dampen that one down.
The Showground was right at the back past the Interstate and a little out of the way. Previously it had been by the Lucky Dice but this year that space had been taken up by a dining experience, The Red Dog Saloon. Hopefully the Long Road will move the Showground back to its original location in 2027.
The highly complained-about Rizla stand was more of a potting shed, and I can’t say I saw anyone using it whenever I passed by. I doubt they will return for 2027, which may please a lot of people.
The Acts and Bands
There was some grumbling about the bands and acts this year. Mainly due to the cancellation by Bailey Zimmerman who cited “spending time with family” as the reason. I find this a little weak and wonder if that was the real reason. Any which way, a Long Road Headliner drops out again. It seems to be something that hits the festival on a regular basis, to the point that when the headline acts are announced, festival goers start to speculate which one will be dropping out.
This cancellation miffed a lot of people, some who had booked just to see Bailey Zimmerman. One couple we spoke to were very upset as they had booked the festival as a birthday gift and even went to the extra expense of booking the VIP area for the Saturday to ensure a good vantage point. They reported to us that when they spoke the The Long Road ticket team, they were told, “the festival is bigger than one act and sorry but bad luck”. Now, I’m sure there is some paraphrasing in there but the message seems clear. This is an area that they need to work on or people will stop going.
The replacement of Bailey Zimmerman with Ronnie Wood was, in my opinion, a bit of a mistake. Although a great artist with many years behind him, he was neither Country nor Americana. He did put on a good show and did a few country songs, but it left a lot of people feeling a little cheated. Myself, I thought he was ok, just not country however, he did at least move around and entertain.
There were still many new act to discover and be entertained by on the smaller stages. Sadly, the weather didn’t help but they were well attended nonetheless.
The Interstate had a good host of acts including some great British acts such as Twinnie and Chanell Yates. This venue was, as you would expect with less favourable weather, packed. The amount of people in the venue didn’t seem to put people off and everyone was having a great time catching the acts of their choice or, as I’m sure some did, staying there for the day.
It reminds me of days gone by when people used to basically camp out in the now long-gone Honky Tonk.
Buddy’s was a different matter altogether. With the venue being closed for an extended period due to health and safety concerns, many people missed the bands they wanted to see there. This was a real shame and something that with a bit more planning by the organisers may have been avoidable.
This year my attention was mainly on the Rhinestone Stage so missed a lot of the smaller acts.
It was good to see Kezia Gill on the main stage, although I was a little worried it was going to be the same as the other many shows I had seen before. Boy, was I mistaken! It was the performance of her life and you could tell that she wanted it and was going to relish every second of the gig. This will have given a lot of people a new perspective on Kezia, who is one of the hardest working artists on the circuit.
For me, the standout act was Uncle Lucius. This was a band I had wanted to see for some years, and it was a show I doubt I will ever forget. The lead singer, Kevin Galloway gave us passion, real life stories and a presence that was so calm and relaxed yet very commanding. He meandered around the stage like he was in his mum’s basement with his mates just jamming but carried the years of experience he clearly had. I can honestly say, I didn’t hear one bum note, one fluffed line or one slip. It was a perfect show, one that many would love to recreate themselves.
The Food
This year the food offerings were plentiful, if anything, over plentiful. Taking up the space where many of the stalls would have been in previous years, it was like a whole street of takeaways. There was something for every taste but it seemed the BBQ side of life had a more than abundant offering. You could get anything from BBQ Venison, which I have to say was incredible, to Gurkha curry, mac & cheese, rice dishes, and yes, the obligatory crumble.
The food this year carried a higher price, which I believe was down to the pitch price and associated services that went with them. This was no fault of the traders who were just trying to make a living.
All of the food sampled – and spoken about to others – was of a very high quality, and the portion sizes were respectable. This is one area that the festival did well, choosing the food stands by quality.
The Red Dog Saloon was a new edition for 2026 and I’m not sure it will be returning. The reports we had from patrons were that the food took a very long time to come out and was even cold, and a platter that everyone believed was for one seemed to be for two. With such lengthy waits, some patrons left without eating because acts they wanted to see were on stage, even though they had given themselves a lengthy period between eating and the stage time.
That said there were many who had the best of times and thought it was brilliant. I guess it depends on your expectations and schedule. For me, the extended wait times would have been a killer.
Hopefully The Long Road Festival will resolve this if it returns in 2027.
Drinks
There were a ton of bars scattered all over the showground – from the long main bar opposite the lake to the intimate lounge bar in the VIP area.
All were well stocked with beer, cider and spirits, as well as soft drinks. The staff were very friendly, eager to help and plentiful. I have to say from my experience, they couldn’t do enough to help. The addition of coffee bars was also a win, especially considering the weather. You could pretty much get whatever you wanted, whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic, hot or cold.
The water points were scattered over the site giving people free drinking water (as it should be) and from what I saw, all worked the whole weekend.
The Facilities
Now the sticking point of many a festival, the facilities.
These didn’t start off so well, with one of the shower blocks in the live in vehicle area not working at all on the Friday. That in itself isn’t a major issue as there were two other shower units. The real issue was the lack of signage letting you know they were not working. I myself was a victim of this. Going into the shower cubicle, getting all ready for the shower, stepping under it, pressing the button and… nothing. Not a single drop of water fell. We all know that having a shower at a festival isn’t the most favourite thing to do, but when there is no water, it just adds insult to injury.
Luckily, this was sorted for the Saturday.
Now to the toilets!
This year they were not attended and looked after as well as in previous years. They were mostly closed off by Sunday afternoon as they were full to overflowing, and the VIP toilets were nothing short of nasty. The smell emanating from them was disgusting, something that has not happened in previous years. The Portaloos were not any better and many of them had ill-fitting doors and locks that only just held.
Considering this is one area all festival goers put high on their list of gripes, I would have thought The Long Road Festival team would have worked hard on this one. Even if the days are a wash out, if the toilets are good, people say good things.
The showground was well looked after, even when the predicted rains came. Yes, rain and thousands of people turn nice ground into slop, but the festival organisers had this one covered. Plenty of wood chippings and straw were spread in the bad areas, which although not completely drying the areas, did make them traversable and safe. The entrance to the VIP became especially bad and was a major slip hazard, but a couple of bags of wood chippings and the ground was safe and dry to walk on and non-slip. Well done TLR.
Summary of 2026
All in all, the festival was good, not brilliant, but good. The showground was well presented and safe, although Buddy’s needs looking into as closing a stage for an evening is not good. The food was brilliant, as were the bars and coffee stands. The addition of the photo booths was a nice touch but maybe the money spent on them could have gone to more attendants for the toilets and possibly emptying them. The Lucky Dice was, as always, great and there was a good showing of cars, bikes and trucks.
The acts were good but the festival needs to look into having a standby or two for if the headliner pulls out, which seems to happen all too often and they definitely need to work on their little black book.
Adding some undercover areas such as sail tents that have been used at other events would be a real winner as it would give people places to go if the weather got bad. Little improvements could take The Long Road Festival back to great.
One real disappointment was the greatly reduced number of dogs this year. Maybe more tickets can be made available for them, as it’s an integral part of the festival now. The suggested covered areas would work well in giving dogs somewhere to shade themselves from the sun, if we get any.
Worth going to? Yes
Worth going to in 2027? Alot of people will wait to see who is headlining before buying tickets.
For me, yes, I’ll be there for 2027, singing my heart out to whoever is up on stage.