As a country music fan living in England, when I first heard about Highways festival - I was overjoyed, intrigued and dying to get myself down to the Royal Albert Hall. A brand-new Country and Americana festival, Highways arrived in London on Saturday, May 20 2023 – and I was lucky enough to attend.
Showcasing Country and Americana’s biggest stars in the iconic Royal Albert Hall, “one of country’s more thoughtful artists”, Kip Moore, headlined the inaugural festival - storming the stage as the final act of the evening. But before Kip wowed the crowds, a trio of talented country artists took to the stage to perform in the historic location.
First to take to the stage was singer-songwriter Stephen Wilson Jr. who flew in from rural Southern Indiana to perform his gritty hits that resonated with the entire auditorium and felt real and raw too.
Stephen was raised by a single father, and often referenced his dad throughout his set on the main stage.
One of the songs that really stuck with me was Billy - but The Devil was also a hit that I really enjoyed.
Jackson Dean then arrived on-stage donning a classic cowboy hat and looking like a total rocker as he crooned his best-loved hits like Fearless - which the entire crowd knew and sang along to.
It was almost impossible to believe that his raspy soulful voice belonged to a 22 year old, who was born in 2000.
And prior to Kip Moore taking to the stage, softly-spoken Morgan Wade left fans going wild with her performances of Wilder Days and her all-new single Psychopath.
Sitting on the stage in an intimate setting while surrounded by lamps with ornate shades, Morgan crooned acoustic versions of all of her best-loved songs while strumming a guitar and chatting to the audience in-between.
Following a trio of country performances that left the audience tapping their feet and slapping their knees, it was then headliner Kip Moore’s turn to rock out with the country music lovers. Sending fans into a frenzy as he appeared on-stage, Kip rocked out to his latest single Damn Love at the start of his set.
The audience firmly rose to their feet when Kip rocked out on-stage, with everybody out of their seats and the entire auditorium rocking, rolling, and bouncing to the beat.
Kip worked the crowd like I'd never seen a crowd worked before, with them singing every word and getting hot under the collar at seeing the "delicious" star - as one woman gushed to me in the merch queue.
Intimate yet grand, Highways filled the iconic auditorium with soul as the four country artists played to the packed crowd in the place that they all expressed love and admiration for.
In a chat with Mirror US ahead of his headline performance at the Royal Albert Hall, Kip, who has graced the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, spoke of the "all-time bucket list" gig.
When asked about how the Opry compares to Royal Albert Hall, Kip candidly replied: "I love the Opry, I love playing the Opry, but being able to headline Royal Albert Hall is just something that has been an all-time for me."
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