The destination for many UK Country and Americana fans this weekend (September 12th, 2020) would have been The Long Road Festival but unfortunately, that was not to be and The Long Road will return in 2021. In the meantime it’ll be doing its bit to promote UK Country music with Hometown Sounds a new online event. Hometown Sounds will premiere on Facebook & YouTube Live at 8PM on 12th September, before airing as a special edition of ‘Country Hits Brits’ by Country Hits Radio at 7PM on Sunday 13th September. Content will then be available on-demand thereafter. The show will be presented by TLR's Creative Director and Country Hits Radio Host Baylen Leonard, and feature exclusive live performances and interviews filmed in Camden Town with Ward Thomas, The Adelaides and Ferris & Sylvester - plus a guest performance from Brandy Clark remote from LA. Full details about Hometown Sounds and much more about The Long Road Festival 2021 follows:

As part of an ongoing commitment to nurture UK music, the debut Hometown Sounds show premieres on 12th September and features Ward Thomas, The Adelaides and Ferris & Sylvester - plus a guest performance from Brandy Clark.

Host Baylen Leonard will guide viewers through 1 hour of exclusive interviews and live sessions, filmed in the heart of London’s iconic Camden Town.

Whilst The Long Road is known for bringing the sounds and lifestyle of Nashville to British shores every September, the Hometown Sounds show is also developing the ongoing mission to highlight both established and up-and-coming homegrown acts. From TLR's inception, nurturing new and unsigned talent has been intrinsic to its ethos, with stages such as the Front Porch and Honky Tonk being destinations for musical discovery over the festival weekend. Set to take place annually alongside the festival, the new show provides a vital platform for the growing scene and wider country music community here in the UK.

Last year, The Long Road partnered with PRS Foundation, British Underground and The Birthplace of Country Music to send two UK artists on a transatlantic road trip, and this year, is still committed to nurturing that cultural exchange at a time without international travel and mass gatherings.

Alongside UK acts such as the hugely popular Hampshire-based twin sister duo Ward Thomas, rising country pop trio The Adelaides, and award-winning London duo Ferris & Sylvester - described by BBC Radio 2’s Bob Harris as “a rising force in British music” - Hometown Sounds also welcomes the formidable contemporary country talent from across the pond, Brandy Clark. The accomplished artist performs live remotely from LA and joins host Baylen in conversation to discuss her experience playing in the UK.

Hot off the heels of her new album ‘Your Life Is A Record’, Brandy Clark has already been running a popular online interview series during the lockdown. With 2021 promising her Long Road debut there’s no better time to welcome her as a special guest for the all new Hometown Sounds show.

“The UK Country scene has come on leaps and bounds in the past few years and has been an important part of TLR since the beginning. With Hometown Sounds we’re excited to continue our commitment to UK artists by sharing their music with as many people as possible”

— Baylen Leonard, Creative Director of The Long Road and Country Hits Radio Host

The one hour broadcast will premiere on Facebook & YouTube Live at 8PM on 12th September, before airing as a special edition of ‘Country Hits Brits’ by Country Hits Radio at 7PM on Sunday 13th September. Content will then be available on-demand thereafter.

The Long Road festival will return in full force to Stanford Hall, Leicestershire on 10-12th September 2021, with weekend camping tickets on sale now here: https://www.thelongroad.com/tickets/

The Long Road 2021 Line up so far:

BRANDY CLARK ★ DALE WATSON ★ SUNNY SWEENEY ★ GRETCHEN PETERS ★ CASSADEE POPE ★ WHITNEY ROSE ★ KYLE DANIEL ★ THE GHOST OF PAUL REVERE ★ SARAH SHOOK & THE DISARMERS ★ CANDI CARPENTER ★ LILLY HIATT ★ GANGSTAGRASS ★ THE ADELAIDES ★ SARAH DARLING ★ LAUREN MORROW ★ FLATS & SHARPS ★ NOBLE JACKS ★ MORGANWAY ★ ROSEANNE REID ★ CALLUM PITT ★ JADE HELLIWELL ★ JESS THRISTAN ★ LEGENDS OF COUNTRY

Many more acts, including mainstage headliners, to be announced...