What to see at C2C 2023!
Country to Country (C2C) Festival is back and ready to party with a wide array of live music, food, drink, and a country-themed marketplace for C2C 2023. The renowned festival takes place between March 10 to March 12, 2023, at The O2 in London, 3Arena in Dublin and The Ovo Hydro in Glasgow.
We applaud (and encourage more) regional representation, but here we’ll be focusing on the London edition of C2C 2023 because it is Europe’s biggest country music festival and it is celebrating it’s tenth anniversary.
Here, we’ll look at the main line-up and several bonus events for ticketholders and non-ticketholders alike!
Top tip: Make sure you download the official mobile app for iPhone or Android. There you’ll get a map, set-times, an interactive planer, and notifications about surprise performances.
All weekend: C2C 2023 London
C2C 2023 London: daytime stages (including free live music!)
We’ve always said that C2C excels itself for the amount of live music available for free, which is pivotal for inclusion and growing the UK fanbase. This year’s free daytime stages are Big Entrance, Icon and The Wayside.
BIG ENTRANCE STAGE
Adam Doleac
Alexandra Kay
Alyssa Bonagura
Brian Collins
Catie Offerman
Emma & Jolie
First Time Flyers
George Birge
Hannah Ellis
Jade Helliwell
Jess & The Bandits
Jonathan Terrell
Leah Blevins
Megan McKenna
Paris Adams
Randall King
Remember Monday
Smithfield
Tyler Booth
ICON STAGE
Brian Collins
Brooke Law
Dan Davidson
Emma Walker
Eric & Jensen
Haley Mae Campbell
Hannah Ellis
Jess & The Bandits
Jolie Harvey
Jonathan Terrell
Lucy May
Paris Adams
Smithfield
Thomas Kavanagh
Tigirlily Gold
Two Ways Home.
THE WAYSIDE
Alyssa Bonagura
Brian Collins
Brooke Law
Catie Offerman
Dan Davidson
Frist Time Flyers
George Birge
Haley Mae Campbell
Hannah Ellis
Jade Helliwell
Jolie Harvey
Jonathan Terrell
Leah Blevins
Lucy May
Paris Adams
Randall King
Smithfield
Thomas Kavanagh
Two Ways Home
Tyler Booth
Highlight: Given how much they do for country music in the UK year round with their The Round Up event and tour, we recommend checking out Two Ways Home.
THE SALOON HOSTED BY APPLE MUSIC COUNTRY
Ticketholders will have access to the free stages and several more daytime stages, including The Saloon (All Bar One) which will be hosted by Apple Music Country. Festivalgoers will get to hear live music, on-air interviews and country entertainment throughout the day.
THE BLUEBIRD CAFE STAGE
We must also recommend that ticketholders make plenty of time for The Bluebird Cafe stage. It’s well worth queuing for because the seated songwriter’s round has some top draw names like Amanda Shires and Jeff Cohen (who write hits for The Shires, Josh Groban, Sugarland…and Evan and Jaron, if any of you remember 90s American modern rock as much as we do here at Music Closeup!)
Adam Doleac
Alyssa Bonagura
Amanda Shires
Catie Offerman
Drake Milligan
Hannah Ellis
Jeff Cohen
Madeline Edwards
Randall King
Highlight: Amanda Shires is a world-class talent. Take any chance you get to see her!
C2C 2023: the main event!
We think highly of the daytime stages, but the main draw for most fans are undoubtedly the U.S. country megastars that grace The O2’s mainstage each evening. The night involve spectacular main stage shows and intimate Spotlight Stage performances in between. The names speak for themselves if you have even a passing interest in contemporary country music:
Friday, March 10, 2023, C2C 2023 London main stage line-up
Thomas Rhett
Jordan Davis
Lainey Wilson
Introducing Nashville: Tyler Braden, Caylee Hammack & Alana Springsteen
Spotlight Stage: Ashley Cooke, Mackenzie Porter & Corey Kent
Breland performing a special opening set
Saturday, March 11, 2023, C2C 2023 London main stage line-up
Lady A
Midland
Morgan Evans
Matt Stell
Spotlight Stage: Drake Milligan, Sam Williams & Elvie Shane
Sunday, March 12, 2023, C2C 2023 London main stage line-up
Zac Brown Band
Old Crow Medicine Show
Mitchell Tenpenny
Lindsay Ell
Spotlight Stage: Amanda Shires, Kameron Marlowe & Madeline Edwards
Highlight: Elvie Shane is a talented up-and-coming artist who is definitely worth checking out.
Lindsay Ell is simply brilliant live.
If you’re quick, you can still get weekend or day tickets. Following successful pre-events, C2C 2023 kicked off at midday on Friday March 10, 2023, and doors will open at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
The Official Aftershow Parties
As the final notes ring out on the main stage, the faithful can keep the party going by hotfooting it to Indigo at The O2 for more live music and country DJs into the early hours. These after parties are also a good option for people who don’t have tickets for the main arena show but don’t want to miss out completely. Tickets are £15.50 plus booking fees.
Friday Official Aftershow Party
Ashley Cooke
Nate Smith
Country DJ
Saturday Official Aftershow Party
Breland & Friends
Country DJ
Sunday Official Aftershow Party
Kameron Marlowe
Country DJ
Highlight: Breland is on track to be huge. Catch him in smaller venues while you can!
Friday and Saturday night: The Dukes of Highgate Barrelhouse Takeover in London
If you’re in London and don’t have tickets for the whole festival, why not join in on the fun at raucous honky-tonk hoedowns instead? There will be DJ sets, live music and line dancing well into the night at C2C’s new Barrelhouse venue.
The Dukes of Highgate kicked off the festival weekend with a bang with a Thursday night set featuring the Hackney Hillpickers and Savannah Gardener. Next up, there’s Sheyna Gee and Matt Hodges on Friday, March 10 and Kelley Swindall and Morganway on Saturday, March 11.
Kentucky-born, London-based DJ Ryan Ray and line dance expert Bea Burridge will round out the Southern-themed entertainment each night.
The venue opens at 6:00 p.m. for a 7:00 p.m. start, and tickets are £12 plus booking fee
Sunday morning: Song Suffragettes at The Saloon
Despite dancing the night away on Friday and Saturday, there’s no rest for the wicked! If you’re in London, pull your boots on and mosey on back to The O2 for a chilled-out songwriter’s round. The Song Suffragettes will be ready to serenade festival wristbandholders from 10:30 a.m. at The Saloon (All Bar One).
That name might sound familiar. It should! It’s a collective of female songwriters that have been performing a weekly residency in Nashville since 2014. Over 380 talented women have performed over the years and as an indicator of the quality and visibility of the event, 28 have since signed record deals and 60 earned music publishing deals.
London already has its own monthly Song Suffragettes residency showcasing UK and U.S. talent, but this is the group’s first performance at C2C festival. Two country powerhouses, together at last! The C2C 2023 edition will feature Alyssa Bonagura, Haley Mae Campbell and Paris Adams.
Alyssa Bonagura grew up on the road in a musical family, recorded a duet with Kenny Rogers when she was 10 (!) and received her diploma from the prestigious Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) from Sir Paul McCartney himself! As well as writing and performing her own material, she’s written for Aerosmith legend Steven Tyler and Jessie James Decker too.
Haley Mae Campbell has a fascinating perspective to offer since she was born in New York but raised in South Carolina. Her songs have been streamed over 20 million times on Spotify, helped in no small part by her 2021 hit Never Been In Love which debuted at Number 1 on the U.S. All Genre and Country iTunes charts! She’s toured with contemporary country stars like Luke Combs, Brothers Osbourne and Lauren Alaina, and she will be performing at Darius Rucker’s Riverfront Revival in her hometown of Charleston later this year.
Paris Adams became prominent in the UK country scene as part of the Midlands band The Adelaides. She’s now performing as a solo artist following the release of her debut single, Gold. In addition to the Song Suffragettes round, she will be performing at C2C 2023 London on Saturday (12:20 p.m. at Wayside) and twice on Sunday afternoon (1:40 p.m. at Big Entrance and 3:00 p.m. at Icon).
Most of all, enjoy your weekend, whoever you see! Let us know your favourite C2C artists in the comments.
When you’ve finally recovered from C2C 2023, check out musiccloseup.com for more music news, reviews and photography.