Drawing the opening slot on Saturday morning is Nicole Shortland who even the most well versed Americana fan may struggle to find out much about - even the official Long Road App just as her picture!
Those starting to dig a little deeper may find some country covers but it is not this that should drag you from your tent for an early rendezvous with Nicole.
The tune sleuths at #TEAMw21 reached out to Nicole and it turns out that she has a rather solid batch of original tunes to lay on the Long Road early birds that should repay an early jaunt to the Showground Stage.
"Ride" is a jaunty uptempo country number, while "Wrong For Me" is a ballad with Nicole laying out a relationship falling apart. It comes with some nice original lines and a touch of sassy attitude which even in it's current demo format sounds a winner
"You were just like any other asshole
Trying to pull me down!"
"Cowboy" is that elusive crossover sound that Nashville has been trying to nail for a few years - Nicole delivering a country attitude over a mixture of rootsy guitar, heavy bass notes and slick percussion.
The irony of "Hit Snooze" coming with a bouncy uptempo tune won't be lost on those that avoid hitting their own snooze buttons and make it over to the Showground stage! It's a delightful song offering a sexy reason to stay at home under the covers. These are just tasters of what this emerging talent on the Americana scene has to offer. She can tackle a variety of styles and does each one exceptionally well and the songs outlined above and a few other gems she has up her sleeves are enough to convince #TEAMw21 to be at the Showground Stage bright and early to see her.
Nicole Shortland will play The Showground Stage on Saturday - August 26th at 10:15