LIVE REVIEW: OUTPOST DRIVE - THE PADDOCK STAGE - BUCKLE & BOOTS 2026
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Finally a chance for #TEAMw21 to catch up with Outpost Drive once again. The Trans Atlantic, husband and wife team of Willow and Mary Bragg Robinson. It would seem that time would speed up while they were on stage. for we seemed to get only a criminally short acquaintance with them.
They would commence with "Country Revival", initially facing each other, Mary Bragg sporting white socks and some big old industrial boots and a hat, Willow in a t shirt that had seen better days! It's a welcoming way to start any set, with Mary mainly providing the lead vocals and Willow backing vocals on the chorus and a stomp pedal. It ends as it started, facing each other, this time with broad smiles.
Mary Bragg would lay down her guitar, and regale us with the tale of having moved from Alabama to the England and arriving with no coat! Freed form guitar duties Mary Bragg would take the mic from its stand for "Lord Have Mercy". Willows intricate opening guitar playing was met with some ethereal cries from Mary Bragg on this most absorbing of openings, before developing into an almost ominous sounding blues country, as the pair would plaintively plead "Please help me please". Later Willow would occasionally speak "Please God help me" while for the chorus he would rear to his full height and power out the pained words of the title. Mary Bragg would stomp her boots, and Willow's cries would become ever more guttural and tortured - this was drama of the highest order.
The song would end and Outpost Drive would snap out of the dark world they had just created. Mary Bragg was back on guitar and lead vocals for "Rough Riders", with the words of the verse fired out at pace. The chorus would see the pair once again provide a superior sound, as their voices entwined around a crying harmony.
Musically this was one of the most inventive sets of the whole weekend, there was no way of knowing where the next song might lead. The next song "Envious Heart", would see Willow start with intricate guitar work and the pair once more providing sweet harmonies - repeating the lines "I honestly don't know everything"
Halfway through it would develop into a "Yeah Yeah" sing and clap along as Willow would deliver a high pitched vocal and a wild guitar break.
Mary Bragg would again lay her guitar down for "Mobile Alabama" and would tell the moving story of regaining her confidence to song.
Providing a further audience singalong with the "Back To My Roots" refrain assisted with both manual stomp and a stomp pedal - the twin vocals made for a highly entertaining finale. As we said at the start it seemed that that time passed by super quick with Outpost Drive, for just as the set seemed to be building to one final crescendo, their time was up and the performance was abruptly ended.
Outpost Drive will be bringing their unique sound to Country Calling - Chelmsford Aug 14th-16th