Venue: Manchester Academy 3.
Date: 4th May 2019.
Headliner: LANCO.
Support: Bailey Bryan.
To get the party started was the wonderful Bailey Bryan. This young, soulful and talented singer songwriter however showcased her musical ability in just the couple of songs I heard. The brief experience I had with Bailey left me curious as well as pushed me to find out more (I have since downloaded all her music on apple music!) However the small section of her set I heard I can say this; her name is one that we will be seeing a lot of in the years to come as her career grows from strength to strength.
I’m glad that LANCO gave me the opportunity to learn about this young rising star. One of the songs I did hear was Perspective, Bailey’s most recent single from her upcoming EP – it was this track that captured my attention the most. Bailey captured the raw emotion perfectly creating a song which enabled me, along with many others in the crowd I’m sure, to build understand and relate to her story. I’m excited to see what the future has in store for Bailey.
I would definitely buy tickets to see her again.
Five piece country band LANCO was then welcomed to the stage by the eager crowds for their first headlining show in Manchester. LANCO, short for Lancaster and Company, formed in 2013. The band consists of front man Brandon Lancaster, guitarist Eric Steedly, drummer Tripp Howell. bassist Chandler Baldwin and Jared Hampton who plays a number of instruments.
Hallelujah Nights was the song that kicked off the set which lasted around 70-80 minutes. Honestly, I lost track of time as I was enjoying the high energy performance from start to end. The next track they performed was Long Live Tonight, which was the first single released from LANCO’s debut album. The album, Hallelujah Nights, was released in January 2018 consisting of 11 songs all of which told a story of love, life and celebration. In my opinion, this was one of the best albums released during 2018. Every single song that was on that album captured your attention with the beautiful melodies and powerful performances. Having the opportunity to have seen LANCO performing their songs live made it all that more beautiful as well as even more powerful. Other tracks they performed on the night included We Do, So Long, Singin‘ At The Stars along with the other catchy tunes from their album. Rival, the new single from the bands upcoming album was another track they played during the set. It’s a song about achieving your goals in life through determination; it’s a great track.
What I loved about LANCO more is how they engaged with the crowd – even becoming part of the crowd themselves when they performed the covers. I did question how they would do a whole set with only one album; but they answered that with this section of the show. They covered a Manchester favourite by Killers – Mr Brightside before dividing the crowd to create this feeling of summer nights singing along with friends. The covers also took me back to the months I lived in Nashville; especially Drink In My Hand and Springsteen by Eric Church. Another one of the highlights for me; which was clearly enjoyed by the crowd who sang and danced as the band performed was the cover of Free Fallin‘ by Tom Petty.
Choosing to end the show with two fan favourites was probably a clever ploy to leave the fans wanting more. They were also the released as singles from the debut album, plus they was the tracks which drew me to LANCO at Country to Country. Born To Love You was the song they played before leaving the stage, eventually returning to perform my favourite LANCO song as an encore, Greatest Love Story.
My expectations after the set at Country to Country 2018 were high; as mentioned before I did question how they would fill a full set. They far exceeded any expectations I had of them; as well as shown me what the future has to hold. LANCO will be back in the UK soon playing bigger and better shows in venues which hold larger crowds! This show is up there in my all time favourites of bands/artists I’ve seen live; LANCO were simply incredible.
If you haven’t seen them yet make sure that you do at the next opportunity that is presented to you. You will not regret it.
Rating; 10/10.
Tell me below what your all number one experience at a concert; who was it and what made it special?
Kelly xox
Setlist.
Travel and Tunes 