On reaching the Paddock Stage – the first thing to adjust to was that it had rotated by 90 degrees form previous years – the second was an unusual sight in Manchester – blazing sunshine. It therefore offered a bit of respite from the burning rays, as the opening event of Buckle & Boots 2023 was a Songwriters Round – one of many littered across the weekend. Although Buckle & Boots can be very much Manchester orientated this Songwriters Round was to showcase Birmingham via their most well known Americana performers Gasoline & Matches. Although not as well advertised as it could've b ..read more

The key to the success of a Songwriters Round very much depends on the line up chosen – sometimes 4 strangers on stools with little in common can be an entertaining but dry event. The magic normally comes with the cross pollenation between artists. For the first Sunday Songwriters Round after Church - there would be no worries on this front, for despite being as geographically stretched as they could be, Tennessee Twin , Donna Marie & Sarah Yeo were certainly no strangers and often fly under the flag of convenience – The Song & Stories Collective. Born during Lockdown they have played ..read more

It’s hard to explain the collective joy that #TEAMw21 had on seeing Katie Nicholas on the grounds at Buckle & Boots. It has been at least five years since any of the team had sighted her and so we all decamped to the Paddock Stage to see her and within seconds we were instantly rewarded. In fact it was only as she opened with “Chemistry” that it really struck home quite how long it had been. We'd forgotten exactly how well she plays the guitar, her fantastic stage presence, sense of humour and let's not forget a damn fine voice! "Chemistry" is now nearly 10 years old but still sounded a ..read more

Robyn Red had arrived early at Buckle & Boots to soak up the atmosphere ahead of this highly anticipated performance. Highlighted by #TEAMw21 as one to watch, solely on the strength of her new single "When The Sun Sets" rather than her earlier one. Curiously enough it was that earlier single "Like A Bullet" that was to start things off. Stripped of it's somewhat dubious percussion, this was a different beast entirely - even with just Robyn and an acoustic guitar it easily generated more excitement and power than the recorded version. Robyn, an elegantly tall figure with long flowing blond ..read more

There was a slight mismatch in B&B policies between the two stages as Two Ways Home prepared to open their set on the Paddock Stage. With the Main Stage overrunning slightly they were told to kick off exactly on time - even though a large number of the people that would eventually move across to the Paddock Stage were watching the final moments of Main Stage action - not sure a 2 minute delay would have hurt that much . It meant that many may have missed the opening of "The Closest Stranger" but they were certainly in place to see its final notes played out as the tent duly filled to capa ..read more

Having started proceedings at Buckle & Boots nearly 10 hours earlier, the duty fell to Gasoline & Matches to close things down on Day 1 of the Paddock Stage. The reality is that they have really grown out of these 30 minute slots and are more than capable of filling a lengthier slot however they took their allocated 30 minutes and squeezed as much into it as they possibly could, including a new member, some shameless showboating , audience participation and a drink or two! They may have transferred from Main Stage to Paddock Stage but this was still to be a “Main Stage”“performance ..read more

Having already burdened Neeve Zahra by naming her as having produced one of the best debut UK Americana EP’s ever, it was time to see if the Manchester based teenager could reproduce the elements that made that EP so strong, in a live environment. For this show she would have just an additional guitarist Drew, who somewhat towered over her, but they were to make a formidable team. She opened her set as she opens her EP in an positive mood with the upbeat “Because I Love You” – with Drew picking out the songs prominent guitar line and providing backing vocals. Neeve has a definitely Dolly infl ..read more

Having not seen Hayley McKay previously this was a chance to catch up with the artist who impressed us with her EP "Breathe". Taking to the stage with a fiddle player and additional guitarist for company, we doubt there was another act that so visibly enjoyed their time on the Main Stage Hayley opened with a track from that aforementioned EP, "Thinking About You", the snappy chorus enhanced by the fiddle and a stomp box with Hayley working overtime, selling the song with gestures and smiles. "Said you liked my dress - I was happy that you noticed" Between songs there was the strange sight of ..read more

This was by no means Katy Hurt's first rodeo at Buckle & Boots having graced the Main Stage at least twice before - however without doubt this was surely her most complete performance, well balanced, well paced and highly entertaining. Having the large LED screen behind her showing her name and an explosive burst could not have been more apt for tonight she was on fire! Having seen Katy but a few weeks earlier in an acoustic format, we knew that she was in fine voice, and that she has amassed a clutch of songs easily able to fill tonight's set list with room to spare for a few more, howev ..read more

A lot of the fun preparing for this years Buckle & Boots has been investigating into the names lurking in the lower reaches of the bill and then discovering that among them are a number of bright young talents who seem destined for greater glory and are ready to shake things up a bit. Grace Kelly is one such talent, with an EP launch in Manchester on June 2nd - this was a chance for the Buckle & Boots audience to get a sneak preview, although today Grace would be appearing with just a guitarist for support, whereas those lucky enough to have tickets for the EP launch will get to see a ..read more