Lindsay Ell emerges as the highlight of country music's biggest weekend in London
One of the most celebrated forces to breakthrough in country music, Lindsay Ell, took time out of her packed US touring schedule just over a week ago to come to London for the genre’s biggest weekend in the UK – Country to Country (C2C) Festival – and by all accounts has emerged as one of the highlight acts. Having released the UK edition of the #1 debut album ‘The Project’ on 9th March, she performed no less than five sets across the festival, culminating in a main arena slot on Sunday, before headliners Emmylou Harris and Little Big Town took to the stage, and Ell closed the weekend with a late-night aftershow party set. This week the singer-songwriter, who has received national radio play for her singles ‘Waiting On You’ and ‘Criminal’ and rave reviews for the album (5* in Maverick Magazine), took part in a series of co-headline dates with Sugarland star – and ‘The Project’ producer – Kristian Bush across the UK, with a packed final show in Manchester.
Praising her C2C performances, The Digital Fix described the “mind bendingly brilliant guitar-led sound… Ell is totally taking her brand of GRL PWR places”; while leading teen station Wizard Radio, who had ‘Criminal’ at the #1 country airplay slot all weekend, said “Ell took over the Spotlight Stage, shining a light as one of the most exciting female rockers… the short set was a crowd-pleaser proving that she has everything it takes to become a major player on the scene”.
Based in Nashville, Ell has a long-standing relationship with her UK fans, having travelled the world early in her career with artists like The Band Perry – including her first visit to the UK in 2013 – and Luke Bryan; showcased her multi-instrumental dexterity as one of CMT’s Next Women of Country; returned to the UK for a headline tour in 2015 and the first ever Country Music Week in October last year. Back in the US, she is currently trading guitar solos with superstar Brad Paisley on his Weekend Warrior World Tour, and is confirmed to support Sugarland on their summer tour dates and open for Keith Urban later in the year.
Named one of The Huffington Post’s “Top Country Artists to Watch,” Lindsay Ell is a triple threat: accomplished musician, unique vocalist and songwriter. The young Calgary native learned to play guitar while traveling with her father to country-bluegrass camps as a young girl. Ell honed her craft as a musical stylist and songwriter after being discovered by BTO and The Guess Who’s Randy Bachman (“American Woman” / “Taking Care of Business”) who discovered her at the age of 13. The multi-instrumentalist was soon touring alongside the likes of Luke Bryan, Buddy Guy, The Band Perry and Keith Urban, as well as wowing audiences as Carrie Underwood’s guitar player live on the 50th Annual “CMA Awards” and holding her own alongside icon Melissa Etheridge on Skyville Live.
A CMT Music Award and Canadian Country Music Award nominee, Ell exhilarated audiences from coast-to-coast as part of the 2016 CMT Next Women of Country Tour and is featured on Brad Paisley’s 2017 Weekend Warrior World Tour. Ell’s debut album ‘The Project’ – named by Billboard as the Best Country Album of 2017 – is out now in the UK/Ireland on CD & to download/stream.
