LIVE REVIEW: C2C COUNTRY TO COUNTRY 2025 - BBC RADIO 2 STAGE - ABBY ANDERSON

Some acts at Country To Country are just so good that you have to catch them twice, so having already seen Abby Anderson once on the Town Square Stage, #TEAMw21 were back in the Indigo for a second helping of what Abby promised us earlier would be "The best 28 minutes of your fricking life!". Each performance would see Abby don an eye catching outfit and each would find her in high spirits, her infectious laugh and great stage patter meant that you could not help but smile during your short time with her.

The Indigo set did benefit from one additional song, the one that kicked things off for her "Make Him Wait" - Abby on piano with a slight huskiness in her voice was able to instantly hush the room. For "Where Did All The Cowboys Go", Abby was able to fill the song with her view of the very essence of being a cowboy

"The kind of man that'd walk you home

Say "Yes, ma'am" to your momma

Let you know how bad they want ya

Two-step across the floor

Never let ya open your own door"

before neatly segueing into The Chicks "Cowboy Take Me Away" and then back into the original song.

A switch to guitar saw Abby throw in a Post Malone cover of "Circles" and mentioning pop artists doing Country songs, the C2C audience were happy to go with Chappell Roan but the mention of Beyonce set off a palpable ripple of dissatisfaction around the room that let you know where the UK Country crowd stood on that particular record!

Still on guitar and showing a more serious sombre side, Abby launched into "The Reason I Stay", touching on how hard it can be to leave. Sung in a quiter huskier tone on the verses, the choruses would burst into a display of power vocals hitting some big notes with an effortless ease.

It was back to the piano for what Abby herself descibed as a controversial room splitting love song as she asked where would the line be in a relationship. For Abby it would be "Hiding a body!" hence the song "If You Killed Somebody" - delighted with the cheers she was getting she would cry "Y'all get it!" going on to affirm "Ain't nothing I wouldn't do for my man!". From her 2023 EP "First Day" came from "A serious place", Abby so full of fun for the rest of the set, visibly welled up as she sang but managed to hold it all together while delivering the line

"Baby you left me a long time ago"

Abby's final song of a second thrilling set was the story of her family "Heart On Fire In Mexico", it would afford Abby the chance to once more impress us with her range. Great company across two shows one of the undoubted stars of C2C 2025.