As my good brother-in-law likes to declare, minutes after the chimes that herald each new year, ‘Well that’s it all over for another year.’ In the same spirit the AC team of Richard, Emma and myself breathed a sigh of relief that we’d recorded fifteen (fifteen!!) interviews and with the good help of my friend Edith Bowman, managed to introduce all of the acts who played on the C2C stage at Glasgow’s 2025 Country festival.
If that’s not enough the weekend was rounded up emotionally by Lainey Wilson presenting our programme’s producer (he invented the show with myself back in 2008) Richard Murdoch, with his first ever award. It was a Country Music Association award for his contribution to widening the popularity of the genre. Proudly, we boast five awards for the show over the years we’ve been on air but on this occasion it is such a joy to see Richard in the limelight.
The award could not have come from a more fitting artist. We are all huge Lainey fans at the AC as you must know by now. We have championed her music since we first heard What a Man Ought To Know, her first major release back in 2021. So it was truly joyous to end the interview we recorded about her huge success over the last few years with her surprising Richard by presenting him with an award which recognises the work he puts in to making the AC such a special show. I am often asked if I know any of the stuff I say on air and I usually reflect that I would know none of it were it not for the notes my producer gives me. Between us we have always vowed to learn as we go along as there is always so much more to know. Sharing what we have found out brings us both such pleasure. All of this would not be possible without the newest member of our team, Emma Gallagher. Emma has been such a great colleague for us and it was Emma who booked every artist to be interviewed in my tiny dressing room backstage at The Hydro and whose subterfuge managed to keep the award a surprise until the very last moment.
The event itself was, perhaps the most successful festival yet. Each night was special and, in the lucky way that the venues rotated, we kept the best show until the final night with Lainey Wilson’s masterclass 90 minute Whirlwind. It hit all the right notes and played songs we loved to perfection with some added live edge on tracks like Heart Like A Truck and the beautiful acoustic picking on What A Man Ought To Know. But…there were so many highlights over the weekend. I only missed two shows (because of interview duties) but I heard 49 Winchester and The Castellows made many friends. For me the stand out moments came from Dierks Bentley – perhaps some of the finest players to grace the stage (and thank you for the shout out Dierks), Avery Anna, the amazingly emotional set by Shaboozey, Cody Johnson (what a voice!),Wyatt Flores and Lainey Wilson. I’m sure you may have a few things I missed so please feel free to add in to the blog here.
However we will celebrate all of the acts withe extended conversations and tracks from this Tuesday and the following week with all of this available on BBC Sounds. Do join me from 8 p.m. this coming Tuesday on BBC Radio Scotland.
