What began in 2013 as a three-day festival at the O2 Arena in London has grown into a sprawling multi-city event across the continent. This year’s festivities begin March 13 and run to March 15 at London’s O2 Arena, Glasgow’s Hydro and Belfast’s SSE Arena. And next year, Manchester will join the ranks.

It was announced across the festival’s official social accounts this morning that in 2027, events will also take place in Machester’s AO Arena and the New Century Hall. No dates are yet confirmed for next year’s Country to Country festival, but pre-sale will go on Wednesday 18 March with general sale commencing Friday 20 March. Details can be found in the post below.

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There’s no lineup yet announced for the 2027 festival, but 2026’s festivities will be headlined by Zach Top, Keith Urban and Brooks & Dunn. The festival’s official site asserts C2C as “the best in country music and programming” including performances from “the world’s best country stars as well as emerging talent from Nashville, UK and Europe.”

Country to Country’s landing in the North will be supported by Manchester Accommodation BID, which Manchester Evening News described as “a ground-breaking initiative led by the city’s hotel and serviced apartment providers to help bring new events to Manchester and Salford.” The goal of the Manchester Accommodation BID is to “deliver better visitor experiences and additional activity to drive more staying visitors,” as well as assuring Manchester can compete better in a global market.

The C2C expansion comes soon after the BRIT Awards took place at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. It was the esteemed award ceremony’s first time outside of London. Sacha Lord, the Greater Manchester Night Time Economy Adviser from 2018 to 2025, commented on X about the recent event buzz around Manchester. He says, “in terms of Events, nowhere in the UK is coming even close to Greater Manchester.” He went on to list recent landmark events, “MTV Europe, The Brits, The MOBO’s, and now Europes Biggest Country Music Festival” saying the choice to set these in Manchester “isn’t a coincidence.”

The so-called Capital of the North has a rich music history, with icons such as The Smiths, Oasis and The 1975 all calling Manchester their hometown. Country music stars such as Megan Moroney and Brandi Carlisle are both making trips to the UK on their tours this year, proving the hotly rising country music scene in the UK has strong roots in the North.

To register for pre-sale Country to Country 2027, sign up for the festival’s official mailing list, here. Pre-sale takes place on Wednesday 18 March, ahead of general sale on Friday 20 March.

The last year has seen a revival of country music into British consciousness, with Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ topping the charts upon its release, earning ‘TEXAS HOLD ‘EM’ (the LP’s lead single) a nomination for ‘International Song of the Year’ at this year’s BRITs. This year alone has witnessed Beatles legend Ringo Starr return to country for the first time since 1970 with his album ‘Look Up’ and country-pop girlband, Remember Monday, lead the race in this year’s speculation surrounding the UK’s Eurovision entry.

Over a month since UK Americana Music Week 2025 was hosted in Hackney, the introduction of UK-Country Music Association has arrived at the perfect time for country fans and enthusiasts across the UK. The new organisation promises to work in accordance with the UK’s music market, and alongside other prominent organisations, including: the British Country Music Association (BCMA) and the Americana Music Association (AMA-UK) to effectively create a space for country music within the mainstream scene.

Having the interests of musicians, artists and industry professionals at the forefront, John Finch, Chair of UK-CMA has said: “We are fighting the cause for the UK country music industry… When it comes to the UK country scene, it is artists from the US that dominate the limelight. American artists get all the plaudits! The UK Country Radio Airplay Chart is packed with Nashville artists but rarely includes any UK-based acts.”

He continued: “UK acts are as good as, and in some cases better than, many of their US counterparts. We believe that greater awareness of the UK scene, especially in other markets like the US, Canada, and Australia, will propel more tracks by UK artists into key playlists, which will increase streaming consumption and ticket sales.”

country music representating the UK, finally!!!!’ https://t.co/p7gmcBPnB1

— georgia (@ge0rgiastars) February 4, 2025

Finch’s thoughts follow multiple reports that country music’s popularity has propelled in the UK. Last May, IQ Live Music Intelligence revealed the streaming of country music had increased exponentially and had “grown by 380% in the past five years”, with one in every 100 streamed tracks being a country song. The Economist furthered the report in August, adding that country overtook easy-listening within the UK’s top 5 of most popular genres.

Planning to support over 2000 artists, musicians and industry professionals who wish to make country music their career, the UK-CMA have four main objectives within their mandate.

• Promoting UK artist’s and their music to the media in the UK and abroad.
• Aid artists to form alliances with other prominent country music communities throughout those in mainland Europe, Scandinavia, Canada, Australasia and the US.
• Develop existing talent by fostering collaboration and equipping artists with accessible opportunities to improve songwriting and live performance.
• Unite the UK’s country music scene.

With four bold aims ahead of their commencement in March, the UK-CMA have a lot of potential in contributing to the continued revival and popularity of country music within the near future.

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His last foray into the genre, 1970’s Beaucoups of Blues, didn’t break records, peaking at 65 on the US Billboard 200 chart and failing to chart in the UK. Still, the album was praised for its authenticity, with some comparing it to Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline.  

Ringo’s latest effort, called Look Up, continues that tradition. The first single, ‘Time On My Hands’, features the unmistakable twang of a pedal steel, capturing the wistful melancholy of classic country ballads. Chris Farlie of W21Music even likened Ringo’s vocals on the track to those of Willie Nelson, praising the relaxed and joyful energy that Starr brings.

Speaking about the album, Starr shared: “I’ve always loved country music. When I asked T Bone to write me a song, I didn’t even think it would be a country song – but of course, it was, and it was so beautiful. I had been making EPs at the time, so I thought we’d do a country EP. But when he brought me nine songs, I knew we had to make an album!”   

Starr worked with producer T Bone Burnett, who praised Ringo’s talent and his monumental impact on music: “He changed the way every drummer after him played… none of the work I’ve done through a long life in music would have happened if not for him and his band.”

While promoting the album, Starr also touched on the Beatles’ latest release, ‘Now and Then’, a song completed using AI technology to separate John Lennon’s vocals from an old cassette demo. Like Paul McCartney, Ringo sees both the benefits and risks of AI in music. He praised its role in ‘Now and Then’, saying, “The good side is the way we used it,” but expressed concerns about its darker possibilities: “Anyone who knows how to use it can steal you. If they just play any five of my songs into the computer, AI gets all of it… They can have me sing anything and it will sound like me.”  

This anxiety echoes McCartney’s comments last week about the potential of AI to undermine young musicians’ careers. McCartney warned that unchecked AI could “wipe out” opportunities for emerging artists, an idea Ringo seems to share, especially as the technology becomes more sophisticated, and its emulations become more and more convincing.

Imagine if the genius of Paul McCartney and The Beatles was re-created by Artificial Intelligence without their permission. It sounds like a dystopian nightmare, but now even McCartney is ringing alarm bells about AI theft of creative content. #StopAIthefthttps://t.co/vc047eGguQ

— MEAA (@withMEAA) December 10, 2024

The discussion of AI comes amid broader industry discussions. In the past month, McCartney, Kate Bush, Thom Yorke, and others signed a petition urging protections against AI models being trained on copyrighted material without consent. 

Despite the growing uncertainty around AI, Starr’s upcoming album promises to showcase the joy and authenticity he’s brought to music for decades. Based on the singles released so far, it feels like a love letter to country music—a genre built on human storytelling, something even the best AI can’t replicate.

Look Up will be released on January 11, 2025, and is available to pre-save now on Spotify.

The original release charted as number 1 during 14 consecutive days in America. While the guitar riffs evoke us into an alt-rock subsequence after following her country voice of silk, you can’t help but fall for the electronic blues smothering, making up the whole song. Never failing to transition her songwriting into novel-like stories, she captured the backbone of the song and has revealed its core meaning in this new collaborative version.

Following her Stray and “Change Of Heart” release, she will be taking to the stage in London. On the 25th of August she will be hosting an intimate show at the Lafayette venue in South London. However, she has just announced an additional gig in the UK, following right after el London appearance. On the 26th August she will be performing at The London Road Festival in Bottesford.

These London appearances aren’t the only plans in her diary, though. The singer has a long journey ahead of her, visiting amphitheatre performances as well as arena bookings of which she will be sharing these dates with artists such as Chris Stapleton, Tyler Childers and Willie Nelson. She is now making her way through the United States and will be wrapping up on the 6th October, alongside Stapleton, at the Bryce Jordan Centre found in Pennsylvania.

Price took to this album in a kind, yet diligent, manner. Praising herself and observing the happenings of the outer world around her from a safe distance. A freedom-filled and mushroom fueled workpiece, taken to an asserted appreciation of her surroundings. This is her fourth studio album and a landmark in breaking the long awaited collaboration between the two country/folk singers on “Change Of Heart”.

During Women’s History Month, Margo Price says, “I’m real excited to share this stripped down take on ‘Change of Heart’ featuring Sierra Ferrell. Sierra is one of my favorite new voices in music and I loved getting to work with her on this acoustic version of the song.” She continues “I love to lift up other women in the genre when I see somebody putting out great art. In an industry that tries to drive us apart, it’s freeing to break down those barriers and say, “there is room for everyone.”

The brits should consider purchasing a London show to see Margo Price because, due to her track record, she doesn’t step on English grounds very often. Her last gig in the UK sits back in March, 2018, when she played at the Country 2 Country Festival hosted at the O2.

Tickets are available here.

UK Tour Dates:

25/08/2023 – Lafayette – London
26/09 – London Road Festival – London

The album was released via BBR Music Group (also known as BMG) who the pair recently signed with, and the duo discussed their new album on BBC Breakfast when it came out. Produced by Lindsay Rimes, ‘Good Years’ was co-written by the duo along with some amazing co-writers.

We’ll be live on BBC Breakfast this morning from 8:40 chatting about our new album which is out TODAY!!!! pic.twitter.com/JjKtn5X6Aq

— The Shires (@theshiresuk) March 13, 2020

Lead single ‘Lightning Strikes’ came out at the beginning of 2020 and is one of the most popular songs from the album, with 500,000 Spotify plays. Other singles indluded ‘About Last Night’ and ‘Independence Day’, which Earle spoke about in an interview with Billboard. ‘About Last Night’ is a power ballad that is reminiscent of Lady Antebellum’s sound, with Earle telling Billboard “we’ve always wanted to get a ‘Need You Now’.”

Finally our new album Good Years is out for you to hear! It’s been such a journey and we’re so happy to have you along on this ride with us! The start of the Good Years era Let us know your favourite on the record! Listen here: https://t.co/mFE2Z8lrfi pic.twitter.com/Tyz7qiNvyM — The Shires (@theshiresuk) March 13, 2020

The duo released acoustic videos of both ‘About Last Night’ and ‘Independence Day’, as well as ‘On The Day I Die’ on their YouTube channel. ‘Independence Day’ was also the only song for which they filmed a music video – a simple live recording of the song along with some home videos, which currently has 62,000 views.

A UK tour is planned for 2020, set to run from April to June. However, the coronavirus could be a disruption as the threat is ongoing. One of their shows has already been cancelled – The Shires were supposed to perform at C2C festival on Saturday 14^th March, but the entire evening was cancelled by the organisers. As of yet, there has been no news on whether the tour will go ahead or not.

The Shires formed in 2013 and, before long, signed a record deal with Decca and released their debut album ‘Brave’ in 2015. The album made them the first ever UK country act to chart in the Top 10. This was followed by multiple sold out tours and three more albums, including ‘Accidentally On Purpose’ which charted Top 3 in the UK Albums Chart and number 1 in the Country Chart. Throughout their career, the band have collaborated with many artists, touring with other country acts such as Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood and Shania Twain.