LIVE REVIEW: BUCKLE & BOOTS 2025 - THE PADDOCK STAGE - AMBER SAQLADI

Having recommended Amber Saqladi as a must see at Long Road some years ago and then been blown away watching her perform solo in the early morning slot, Buckle & Boots provided the ideal opportunity to catch up with her once more. She would prove to be everything that we had foreseen at Long Road and more, this time playing with a full band and being the one artist across the whole weekend who really pushed the boundaries of Americana, with both sound and content in a totally compelling set.

Since Long Road, her recorded output does not seem to have expended at all but there would be plenty on show to suggest that exciting times lay ahead. With her long black curls hanging down under her country hat the opening song "Save Yourself" would see Amber's acoustic guitar matched with an electric guitar line. Amber seemed to relish each word

"I did my best baby to keep you sane

You played me good, I'll give it to ya

Who would have known I was a piece in your little narcissists game?"

The chorus was deliciously wordy, the lyrics fired out in quick succession, the final section included a little spoken word element. There were so many ideas and little nuances to absorb and this was just the opening song!!

Next came the song that will increase Amber's recorded output by 33.3%, when it appears as her next single "Liquor". Linking falling in love as being like getting drunk, it came with neat percussion backing Amber's guitar and would see Amber throw out the occasional kick.

A stirring chorus seemed to build to ever greater levels of intensity with each line

"You're the liquor for my soul"

It was another sensory overload, if you stopped to write one line down another two or three had passed you by before you could look up. Amber was a magnetic figure who drew your eyes towards her, her delivery was so impassioned that you dared not look away. This was like nothing else we would see all weekend and you had to savour every second of it.

Her next tune "Broken Glass" would be revealed as her most favourite creation, initially just Amber and her guitar, punctuated by occasional shimmering cymbals. The band would kick in after the first chorus but what a chorus, each line would see Amber intensify in volume and then she'd be barely a whisper over just her acoustic, before then raising it again only to end the song suddenly. Amber plays with your expectations, ripping them up bringing you what she wants you to hear. The Paddock Stage crowd were incredibly receptive cheering louder with each song.

Amber would point her guitar downwards by her side, point out into the distance and hold the mic stand as she opened the next song. It was mainly just an electric guitar creating a mood and Amber firing out lines, about "Haunted Ghosts". All of a sudden the band would burst into life, Amber would swing her guitar back to its normal position, suddenly there was an Orbison like guitar adding to the drama The percussion would then become particularly prominent before everything then faded leaving Amber to sombrely finish off the song we'll guess as being "No Man's Land". Some people perform whole sets that do not contain as much drama as this one song.

Sometimes Amber's introductions would be as mystical as the song, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" combined with "Little Red Riding Hood", resonated with something that happened in Amber's life. With that sort of introduction you could not help but be glued to every syllable trying to fathom out what this could mean. A guitar ballad for the first verse and chorus, complete with a wolf like howl there was much to muse on. Coming out of the chorus the band would join in

"Beware of the wolf - for he hides in plain sight"

It was disturbing and intoxicating - lots going on, too much to absorb on first listening - you felt Amber's anguish as she seemed to echo the pain on the line "He sunk his teeth in me" with the final word stretched over multiple syllables as in pain.

The "Angry part of the set" saw Amber do something rarely seen at a festival and that was to stand up for something. Her intro to "No Apologies" was honest, dealing with the mistreatment of women and the hostile reaction that women receive when protesting about it. It was not your usual introduction but exactly the sort of thing that Country and Folk music can highlight best.

Starting to a shimmer of cymbals, there was initially a European folk song vibe, then it was a folk song, then a brooding almost indy song leading to a rocky chorus. The one common thread being Amber who skillfully guided us through.

"I'm out for blood - cos I've had enough"

Amber's vocals would soar, implore and finally would rock out.

When she finally finished singing "There's No Apologies, no not from me" you felt that you had witnessed something truly special. It was simply stunning and mere words can't hope to capture all that happened during its four or five minute duration. Challenging stuff that an audience, maybe expecting a cover of "Jolene", could easily have been lost along the way, yet the response was overwhelmingly positive.

The final song of the set "Playing With Fire?" would open to the sound of high hats and Amber's acoustic guitar and would be in at least 3 distinct parts, , Firstly where the momentum of Amber's acoustic guitar and delivery would gradually gather pace like a snowball rolling down a mountain until it arrived at the chorus where Amber would let out a little yelp and it would then transform into a slower sort of funk. Naturally it would exit the chorus and resume the mountain rolling pace once more all of the time accompanied by Amber's wonderfully wordy lyrics

Her band would slap the bass, slay the guitar, and kill the drums according to Amber's intros and their part in this extravaganza cannot be played down. The final section would play out over just a drum beat and bass and the audience clapping as Amber fired out the lyrics once more before encapsulating everything into one big chorus.

Quite magnificent - #TEAMw21 don't pretend to have captured all that happened, if we are lucky we maybe got half of it in this review. Amber Saqladi is an undoubted talent - cannot wait to see her again.

Group Photo by kind permission of Michael Chowne.