Literally every year after Country 2 Country, I spend the next fortnight (at least) rolling in my own sadness, mourning the passing of the best weekend of the year.

It's no exaggeration saying that extending the festival to Scotland has done the most for the growth of the country music community up here than any move made before that. Not only does it allow fans to see artists they could only dream of seeing before (someone like Brad Paisley who I'd wanted to see live for almost my entire lifetime, but had always avoided performing in Scotland) , but it provides a platform for acts to showcase their work and introduce a new wave of fans to their music - while simultaneously allowing them to market returning tours to the UK. In the past 3 years alone, with the help of C2C in one way or another, and without leaving Glasgow, I've been able to see around 30 country acts, and many more than once. I'm now part of a growing community of wonderful people who also probably underestimated just how many country music fans there are around the country (and beyond).



This year I was lucky enough to be able to find tickets for the Q&A at BBC Scotland for both the Friday and Saturday, and unlike previous years, some of the artists gave a couple of acoustic performances - having fallen in love with Midland's debut album from the day of it's release in September, and not being able to afford tickets to the actual Friday night show (although Little Big Town are a definite favorite of mine, having just seen them in September and at their last C2C appearance in 2016, it wasn't totally essential - and I would have been going almost solely for Midland), this was might have been my highlight of the weekend. Midland are spectacular, their harmonies are flawless and almost ironically the classic country sound is totally refreshing. Like they said during their interview, the Texas sound gives an edge to their music that can be lost in the very pop/RnB influenced current country charts. Lukas Nelson's acoustic performances completely blew me away, with my dad fumbling for his phone to record a snippet to show his friends - which is honestly rare. Although I wasn't able to attend the Friday, I heard that due to sound issues, his performance in the arena itself left a bad impression - and I would encourage anyone who was left with a sour taste in their mouth to listen to his music, or at least to the acoustic performances that will be released in coming weeks.

<-Midland                         Lukas Nelson->

Unsurprisingly, Brett Young's performances at the Q&A were smooth and beautiful, and he was as charming as ever. Having missed a lot of his set when he opened for Lady Antebellum, being front and centre at such an intimate performance made up for it beyond anything I could have imagined.
Although disappointed Kelsea Ballerini didn't perform, being so close to someone I've admired for so long - having followed her career from the release of her debut and being able to see her at only her second performance at the Grand Ole Opry - being able to just listen to her talk about her career and the industry (AND ANSWER ONE OF MY QUESTIONS!!!!) was wonderful. She was bubbly and friendly and easily the best interviewee of all the sessions in terms of her answers and interactions with both Ricky Ross and the crowd.


<- Brett Young          Kelsea Ballerini ->

The beauty of the Hydro is that every seat has a great view, so for where a lot of the intimacy of past C2C's in the Armadillo was lost, I would trade it any day for a good view (rather than that of the nosebleed seats we had a few years ago for Miranda Lambert) - and even better, people in the upper levels don't get SCREAMED at and almost forced back down after standing up, and don't have their phones practically ripped from their hands when recording their favourite songs (which from my video of Carrie Underwood surprising us with a duet with Sam Hunt, I have both audio and visual proof of). Despite this, I would have still liked to see some of the acts in a smaller setting, but don't feel like we lost out on too much - and hopefully as the community only grows, more seats will be taken up, and the arena will be a little warmer.

Although the overall lineup didn't (PERSONALLY) quite match up to last year, as I honestly don't think you could top seeing Cam, Jennifer Nettles, Chris Young and Brad Paisley in the same night, and that doesn't include seeing LEGEND Reba, my new favourite Darius Rucker, queen Maren Morris and the list goes on and on - basically, I loved every single artist, it was a dream come true. HOWEVER that in no way lowered my hopes and expectations for this year seeing Tim McGraw and Faith Hill was a bucket list item, and Kacey Musgraves is someone who helped strengthen my love for country music with the release of Same Trailer Different Park when I was in high school - again, not to mention seeing Luke Combs and Sugarland in the same night.



The highlight of the Saturday night was maybe surprisingly Kelsea Ballerini - my hopes were SKY HIGH for her set, having seen her twice before, I knew she was amazing and a born performer, and she exceeded them. I totally can't wait for her to come back with a (long overdue) headlining tour in the UK, where I'll be front and centre. I only say 'surprisingly' because I expected the highlight to be Tim McGraw and Faith Hill - and while SCREAMING along to This Kiss and Live Like You Were Dying might be tied for the best moments of the whole weekend, a couple technical aspects let down the performance overall a little bit. Being high up, the lack of screens was a struggle, as I couldn't see them a lot, and occasionally the band overpowered their vocals. Aside from that, I can't fault it. It was still a dream come true.

The overall highlight, and my personal favourite set of the two nights, came from Luke Combs on the Sunday - his album is solid country gold, in the words of Midland. It's just fab, his voice in unreal, and he undoubtedly managed to create the best atmosphere. Everyone was out of their seats, everyone clapping away. Incredible. SOOOO excited to see his headlining show in October!!

Sugarland mean more to me than most acts, as Baby Girl was the song that initially helped me realise how much I love country music (alongside Online by Brad Paisley, I talk about Brad Paisley a lot but can't explain how much he impacted my taste in music). Seeing it live for a second time, and with the full band this time round, was so important and so moving to me. It's one of my favourite songs of all time from one of my favourite albums of all time. Sugarland means the world to me - and crying along to Stay was just the cherry on top of a wonderful country cake :-)))

I haven't seen Kacey Musgraves since 2014, and she was every bit as good as I remember. I had mentioned before how wary I was of her being a headliner because as much as I love her and was extremely proud of how far she's come even since the last time I saw her, I know others didn't feel the same way. My favourite songs are those that tell stories, and country music is filled with them, with Kacey Musgraves being one of the greatest songwriters and storytellers of recent. Her music is beautiful, and the show was vocally unreal - she hit every note, sang every word with crystal clarity and brought her classic sparkle to the stage. Her slow songs are her best, I know that with plenty of years of experience, but I couldn't help thinking that her set was MOSTLY sad songs. I could listen to endless sad, or slow, beautiful songs rich in visuals, and ultimately poetry - however I know many weren't quite as content with ending their weekend on anything other than a party. I get that, I do, but you can't put Kacey down as a performer. She is spectacular and always has been. Sure, I really would have liked to see Dime Store Cowgirl, My House, Pageant Material or Blowin' Smoke played - but I had also longed to see Fine, and could never pass up on It Is What It Is. Life is about compromise I guess, at least the compromise wasn't quality (or the amount of glittery sparkles).


If anyone has read this far, I applaud you (or myself, in the future reading this back). Country music means the world to me. It is something that runs in my veins, and something that I'll always naturally gravitate towards - evidently even if I can't afford to lol. C2C only breeds that love; it gives me an outlet where I can express myself among people who share passions that I had only ever previously found online. It is a celebration of songwriting and storytelling, of different personalities, and the continuously growing love of country music in all it's many shapes and sizes.

Every year since I can remember, I've always went to the effort of making resolutions - no matter how stupid the idea seems. Like every year, I've set myself the typical "get fitter, put down your phone more" stuff. Which, to be fair, I succeeded in mostly in 2016. I am much fitter than I was, although not as fit as I was earlier in the year when I was walking or running 30+ miles a week - but that's just down to weather and time restraints. I also set myself the aim of posting more selfies, and generally gaining a bit more confidence, and as much as I definitely posted more selfies than before, it wasn't so much down the more confidence than more of the pressure to accept myself as I am (another important lesson that I'm going to carry through with me to 2017, hoping the confidence I'm longing for follows suit).

However, along with a range of those little goals, like wanting to read more, try different types of exercise, cut down on sugar as much as possible etc, I want to strive for something bigger this year. I want to push myself to do something brave and exciting once a month this year. These don't have to be found universally brave or courageous, just something a little out for my comfort zone. For example, I want to get my ears pierced. The whole reason I haven't had them done up to this point is because I'm terrified of needles and I'm terrified of altering my body (a weird side effect of a crippling fear of change haha). Not only does this resolution let me tick fun things off my list, it means that I'm pushed to conquer fears and push personal boundaries, opening up so many new experiences. To name a few of the ideas I have, I want to walk the West Highland Way, and I'm planning on going interrailing in May/June. I've also wanted to try skydiving for so long, and that would be another cool experience to tick of the list.

Of course, these are just ideas, and I'll likely look back at this post in a year's time and laugh at my own naive ambition, but oh well, it's all a bit of fun. A new year means new beginnings, and new experiences/people/places/memories and I'm excited for it all. A new year does not necessarily mean a new me - but someone who uses the next 365 days to build on the person they've created and developed over the past 18 years.

For so many years, and of all the songs I've heard over the course of my time at school, one lyric in particular (from Letter to Me by Brad Paisley) has stuck with me, and stands as the best piece of advice and reassurance I think I've ever been given;
"And I'd end up saying 'have no fear
These are no where near the best days of your life."
In the song, Brad Paisley sings to his 17 year old self who is struggling his way through school, giving him the advice and words that he wished he had received at that age, on everything from love to driving. In doing this, he provides him the assurance that no matter what people say, he has so many better days to come.

We've all heard it at one point or another, and probably on more than one occasion. Letting the words "I hate school" fall out of your mouth only to be met with a parent or carer informing you of what you've already been told at least a 1000 times before, "hold on to your school days, you don't know it yet but they are the best days of your life."

As I am fast approaching my final weeks of high school, I finally understand why so many people believe this. I can finally see through the rose tinted glasses my mum and dad have been wearing for years, and I understand where they're coming from when they tell me it. School provides a safety net; there is always someone to look out for you, whether that's in the form of a teacher or a solid group of friends, there are no 'real' commitments, and the amount of work involved is something that is too often trivialised. Even now, I can look at the year below me and think that they don't have it as bad as me, because I have to think about the future and what I'm doing and where I'm going, when the reality is, they have it SO much harder than me. Something I should be aware of, seen as I lived through the stress of having to ace the exams my future almost entirely depended on.

I can already see myself reminiscing about going to the canteen at break and lunch, about all the old teachers I had, about silly things like gum under tables and drawings in French dictionaries. Even things like the wet toilet roll that was thrown onto the ceiling of the girls toilets years ago which got stuck to the point that it remains there today, people setting other people's hair on fire with Bunsen burners, and all the other stupidly funny things that happened over the years. I finally understand why my mum and dad always explained that I am living the best days of my life.

However, from the very beginning, I swore that despite whatever I may think in the long run, I will never tell my own children, or anyone else going through their own high school experience, that those are the 'best days' of their lives. Quite frankly, I have been miserable for a good 90% of my high school career, and I refuse to forget the suffering I went through while at school. There was absolutely no good in the paranoia I felt (and still feel) on the bus and walking between classes everyday. There's nothing good about how fat my blazer makes me look and feel. There is nothing good in feeling too shy or scared to talk to people you actually consider friends. School is a dark place, and to forget that does not do justice to the misery I've felt over the years.

In school you can often feel trapped, the school year lasts for the majority of the year, and all your free time is laden with homework, projects and revision for tests and exams. It is not an option to not take your problems home with you, seen as you are set the task of just fixing it at home daily. I am aware that this is something that is faced for the majority of your working life, but that doesn't lessen the fact that this is your first experience of such a heavy workload - which on top of it, comes from up to 8 different subjects, most of which don't even interest you at all. Personally, the workload wasn't too big an issue, I enjoyed being able to sit down and let myself come consumed by studying (for me this meant good music and sweeties - every cloud has a silver lining). Unfortunately, most people are unable to say the same. There are a lot of young people today forced and pressured to meet expectations that are much higher than they are capable of achieving, which in too many cases can lead to anxiety and other stress induced illnesses. 

I am aware now, more so than ever, that my opinions on school will change over time. That I'll look back and sadly think about the funnier side of it all - and likely I'll long to return. In those memories, the good points will outweigh the bad ones, but in reality that just wasn't how it was.

No one benefits from the belief that your high school days are the best ones of your life. Not only does it fill those being told with dread about how miserable the rest of their life will be if they are feeling miserable in that moment, but it puts down the life of those making the statement and everything they have achieved in the time since their own school days, which in most cases includes exactly what Brad Paisley sings about in Letter To Me - getting married and having kids of their own.
 
I am in no way putting down any of the amazing experiences and blessings that school has given me personally, including trips to places like Belgium, London and Barcelona, and all the friendships I've made over the years - I'm SO grateful that I've had all that, but it doesn't mask the uglier side of school.

Not everyone has the same experiences, and although some may even realise that they are living the 'best days' of their life right there and then, some may also be genuinely experiencing their worst, and to tell them otherwise, in most cases, doesn't help anyone.