Country 2 Country, Glasgow reviews: Avery Anna | Shaboozey | Nate Smith | Cody Johnson

Country is back in style, and it certainly looks good on Glasgow, writes Graham Falk

The Country 2 Country festival made a triumphant return to Scotland this weekend, as Glasgow music fans donned their Stetsons and (literally) buckled up to welcome some of the hottest country music stars on the planet to the Hydro.

With country enjoying a real renaissance of late thanks to Beyoncé, Post Malone and Kendrick Lamar’s flirtations with the genre, it was perhaps no surprise to see the venue welcoming a capacity crowd on Saturday, with a line-up consisting of hitmaker Avery Anna, Cody Johnson, Nate Smith and Shaboozey.

Following Avery Anna’s (★★★★) stunning vocal performance was no mean feat, but the introduction of the Virginia native Shaboozey (★★★★) was one of the highlights of the night, with almost everyone in the 14,000-strong crowd off their feet and tipping their cowboy hats in appreciation.

Arriving on stage just after 7pm, with his anthemic hit A Bar Song (Tipsy) proclaiming he wanted to “pour another double shot of whiskey”, the lyrics definitely resonated as the party atmosphere ramped up.

Shaboozey performs at Country 2 Country at the Hydro in Glasgow on Saturday | Hope Holmes/C2C Glasgow

Introduced as one of the nicest men in the music industry, next on the menu was the open-hearted Nate Smith (★★★★★). With the undeniably catchy Whiskey On You booming out of the speakers early into his set, Smith had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the minute he stepped onto the stage. The California-born performer is still a relative newcomer, but clearly he’s already at home on a big stage, blasting out an intoxicating combination of songs such as Bulletproof, Wish I Never Felt, and even a cover of Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars, and taking a trip into the crowd for World On Fire.

Smith was a hard act to follow, but headliner Cody Johnson’s (★★★★) dominant stage presence, coupled with a powerhouse setlist, only served to cement his place as one of the genre’s brightest stars. Nine studio albums into his career, his unfaltering connection with his fans was built long ago, but even this true champion of country couldn’t have imagined his smoky baritone and ultra-Southern enunciations would see him adored this far across the Pond back when he first broke out in 2011. Right now though, country is back in style, and Johnson makes it easy to see why.

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