LIVE REVIEW: COUNTRY CALLING 2026 - NEEVE ZAHRA / AGS CONNOLLY - HOMESTEAD STAGE - TAYNEE LORD - CAFFE NERO STAGE

Country Calling was one of the few festivals #TEAMw21 can ever recall where so much was happening at once, and the account below is another of those impossible hours where ideally we'd have covered every second of every set but the pesky laws of physics intervened once again. Things would start with Neeve Zahra who we'd captured earlier in a relaxed format, on the Little Wrangler stage a few hours earlier.

We'll have to give the hosts a thumbs down for a poorly researched introduction, failing to know that Neeve actually had an EP out before Breakup Breakdown was unforgivable, given the praise the #TEAMw21 had heaped all over it!! Neeve, ever the professional chose not to pull them up on it, instead diving straight into "Empty Heart".

A delightful melody that allowed Neeve to wrap her vocals delightfully around, was matched by the way that she would gently elongate the word "Heart" of the title. A second version of the day of "Karma" let us once more relish in Neeve's low levels of revenge. It brings a lot of humour into a song that could otherwise be bitter.

A special treat would come in the shape of a new song never played before, it was something we had talked about during our interview earlier in the year, so this was a most exciting development. Only a few weeks old, with a working title of "The Best You'll Ever Get". there was a lot to try and absorb however with a chorus of

"I wish you the best, but I'm the best you'll ever get!" it immediately seemed a welcome addition to the Zahra catalogue.

Neeve's current EP, provided the sassy "Never Get Another" which was a more of a searing put down, that gives Neeve the upper hand in a break up situation. It would close with a most polite "Thank You". The EP is a little gem, and in "Love & Hate" there is another of those melodies that allows Neeve to display her vocal talents to the max, while her "oohing" is an absolute delight.

Had our introductory hosts done their research, then they would have discovered "Love Me", the song from Neeve's first EP "A Country Kind Of Love", that took her to Nashville. From the opening few seconds, the guitar, the lyrics and Neeve's vocals all combined to make the complete package, something truly special. That she was only 17, when she wrote it, is a marvel in itself, yet as she approached the final choruses and threw in the really big notes, everyone was aware that they had witnessed an event.

It was criminal to have to leave Neeve, just as she was about to reprise "Step Right Over" but these were the tough choices to be made and as Neeve's voice disappeared on the slight breeze, then shortly another voice came into earshot singing a familiar refrain as Taynee Lord, and her band ( The Crookes) were rocking out to the Fine Young Cannibals, "You Drive Me Crazy". It has been a good few years since #TEAMw21 last saw Taynee in London, however she made such an impact in the few songs we saw her for, that an opportunity like this was always going to be taken. On that previous occasion it was both a songwriter's round and she only has an acoustic guitarist for company.

Today with a full band backing her, she was a tiger unleashed, prowling the stage, virtually unable to stand still as if the band were directly plugged into her. Rarely have we seen an artist, so intensely feel every song that she performed. We had barely got seated then the band put their foot on the accelerator turning "you Drive Me Crazy" it into a mad rockabilly version that would finish with a kick in the air from Taynee.

The tassles on Taynee's dress accentuated her every movement, and given that she was nearly permanently mobile, that was a big effect, especially when Taynee herself was already a myriad of facial and and hand expressions, all of which were put to use during "Like The Midnight". With the pace driven by a frantic piece of percussion, and intricate guitar riffing, this all made for an aural assault on the senses. It was hard to quite absorb it all to tie it all back to the drama of the spoken intro but it was entertaining all the way.

Taking it down a little, "Love Hard" was one of the songs that had made us fall for Taynee in the first place, especially the line about not listening to someone, if there was something good being played in the background! A slow soulful self deprecating look at herself, came with powerful vocals, there was no way you could ever accuse Taynee of ever underselling a song.

A fast drum beat announced the arrival of "Back To The Country", a punchy little number by any standards, complete with a band rocking on all engines, Taynee had to go full Tina Turner to maintain her authority at the front of the stage, it was electrifying stuff. Going to her EP "Pretty Promises" released earlier in the year, "Still Searching" played on the theme of having to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince.

This again saw her band turn into a full rocking combo, throbbing bass, riff heavy guitar and power percussion made for a most enthralling wall of sound. From the same EP, came her new single, "Game Of Chess" drawn more from The Queen's Gambit than studying Kasperov against Deep Blue. Using chess as a metaphor this had a new wave urgency and spirit about it and quite frankly we loved it.

As Taynee introduced a forthcoming Maren Morris cover, we did somewhat raise our eyebrows and settle down for a cover of "My Church", however she pulled the rug of expectation from under our feet by announcing no such thing - it was to be "The Feels", and the band all of a sudden morphed into a funky little outfit - with Taynee letting loose a variety of yelps in a most authoritative version. Just as Taynee was launching into "T Shirt" it felt like sacrilege to leave, however we now had a rendezvous with Ags Connolly.

For those in need of a history lesson, Ags was a pop up act at the first ever C2C, and with possibly the exception of Susannah Clegg, almost certainly the most authentic country performer of the whole festival and it was heartening to see a large number of fans turn out in recognition of that. As we joined his set, Ags had begun and he was mid way through "Wrong Again (You Lose A Life)", his beard was fulsome as ever, though now sporting a more greyish tinge to it. It could be in preparation for the Father Christmas market, though as long as he keeps performing like this there'll surely be no requirements for any side hustles.

This was in many way a typical Ags performance, superior songwriting, matched to a sharp wit and a masterclass in entertaining. Looking relaxed in jeans and a shirt, you could safely settle down, knowing that you were going to be in for a treat. Announcing his intentions to "bring the mood down", he would do so in the most entertaining fashion, moving on to "Heading South For A While" - "There you go" he'd say on completion.

Announcing "Get Out Of My Mind" as an old song he feels he always should play it was plain to everyone to see why. #TEAMw21 have seen Ags play this tune many times across the years and its impact never diminishes, that's how good a song it is. Finishing by shaking his guitar to extract every possible decibel, this was as good a performance as anyone, on any stage managed across the whole weekend - it was that good!

Another tune from the vaults "I Saw James Hand" has transformed over the years, it used to be a song that shone a light on an otherwise lost performer, now it lights a candle in remembrance. Giving us a feel for just quite what it was that transfixed Ags on seeing him, he would follow up with a James Hand cover, from his tribute album of James Hand songs "Midnight Run". It came with a cryptic message that it was not what you thought it was about.

With a new album coming, a taster would come with the title track "Yesterday's Man" -

"Running down every chance and gambling on love", it was immediately clear that Ags best days are in no way behind him, and it was noticeable that a number of other performers including Savannah Gardner and Susannah Clegg had popped along to check his set out. Another of the "mega hits" would come with "I'd Be Good For You", once again capturing the human condition perfectly

"You'd be wonderful for me & I'd be good for you".

Moving straight on, there was a definite Mexican feeling for "In Love At All", which should have "I should count myself lucky that I'm" preceding it in brackets.

If this has yet to convince you, then the final songs would have certainly bowled you over, after giving thanks to the listening audience Ags would launch into "I Hope You're Unhappy", which has none of the expected malice you might imagine, it's more a song of forlorn hope that an unhappy ex may find her way back into his arms. He would close with a bit of a croon on "Slow Burner" but not before praising both Country Calling and once more his attentive audience.

"Live music is not in a great place - but looking at a crowd like this you would not know it"

Giving his most considered extended vocals of the set, Ags would close off the most impossible of hours, in the most impressive of ways - Long Live Country Music.

Additional photography courtesy of DC Brown