LIVE REVIEW: COUNTRY CALLING FESTIVAL - BROOKS HERRING - THE OUTPOST MAIN STAGE

Not many festivals would hand over their Main Stage, to a name probably ( despite our best efforts ) new to many of the attendees, however Country Calling is not like other festivals and Brooks Herring is no ordinary performer. #TEAMw21 had witnessed his ability to hold a crowd in the palm of his hand in Nashville and knew he could do the same in the wilds of Essex. From the moment he hit the stage, with just his acoustic guitar, he was able to blend his material from heavy hitting to darn good fun. During his set he would provide a lot of his back story so that by the time he left you really felt you had got to know him a bit.

Undoubtedly an imposing figure with his mohawk, fulsome beard and short sleeved shirt, revealing two heavily tattooed arms. He would immediately reveal that this was his second trip to the UK, and that he was a resident of Conway, South Carolina. His refreshing take on his opener, "Not Country" was a riposte to the sort of myths that perpetuate country songs, Brooks version is down to earth, vividly real, no hunting or fishing just hard work, it immediately started to build the picture of just who was performing in front of us. There was time spent with both the Navy and Army and he was quick to praise the UK troops that he served with. All the time as he spoke he was gently undercutting his speech with the guitar intro.

Skillfully contrasting the supposed cowboy life with active duty made for a powerful heady brew, and when sung with conviction it felt real, and for those few moments you shared those feelings, it was moving stuff and this was just his opener! When he was ready to "Risk it all" you felt the same pride and jeopardy of a soldier fighting in a foreign land.

"There's scars on my soul - the only trophy on my mantel is a flag I don't unfold"

Brooks could switch the mood in a second, and he created a Zak Brown "Beachy song", in "Island Girl" that was as sunny and catchy as the Essex weather. Complete with whistling and "Birrups!" this was joyfully upbeat.

Highlighting Nashville's fascination with co writes, Brooks would make the point that some subjects are just too personal and "How To Fix A Broken A Heart" would once again shift the mood. Intensely personal, we found out more about Brooks, his ability to fix cars, guns and even people yet feeling lost when it was the one thing closest to home that desperately needed repairing. As with the opening song, this was vividly real and you felt every word. Finding powerful extended notes and some deep bass notes. When he left an extended gap between "fix a broken" and "heart" the tension was palpable - this was true stage craft.

Brooks ability to change the mood in an instant one way or the other was once more evidenced by "Redneck Rich" lightened even more with Brooks tales of driving on the wrong side of the road in a right hand drive car! His list of redneck isms was uptempo, lyrically smart and undoubtedly funny

"One man's trailer trash is another man's treasure

We're out here getting shipwrecked together"

Time with Brooks passed incredibly quickly, he left us with "Make A Mark", which came with a stirring introduction. The lyrics are so visceral, Brooks gives an unflinching description of life during wartime "We took theirs and they took ours" and we can feel his emotion of knowing "Well I came home without a mark", at least physically. Delivered with an intensity that was a privilege to behold - this was why Brooks Herring was put on the main stage - he was tailor made for Country Calling.