COUNTRY CALLING 2026: REMEMBER THIS FESTIVAL

FESTIVAL REVIEW | COUNTRY CALLING | KINGS FARM, CHELMSFORD | 14th – 16th August 2026 by Kevin O’Sullivan

There is a particular buzz you get when you see an up-and-coming singer in a small venue, close enough to the stage to see every expression, and suddenly realise you are watching someone who will soon be playing somewhere much bigger.

You know the feeling. You look around at the relatively small crowd and think: I saw them here first. Country Calling 2026 gave me exactly the same feeling. Except this time it wasn’t an artist, it was a festival.

There is something about Country Calling that suggests that, in a few years, people will be saying, “I was there in 2026.” And they will mean it as a badge of honour. This feels like a festival destined for considerably bigger things.

Trust Donna and Pete

The easy assumption with a festival this ambitious is that there must be some sizeable corporate machine hiding behind it, but there isn’t; Country Calling is genuinely independent.

Country Calling was initially conceived by Festival Director Carl Miller in 2024, following a one-day boutique country music event he organised, headlined by Kezia Gill. It was through that event that Carl first met Pete and Donna, Kezia’s management team, and conversations began about the future of country music festivals in the UK and the kind of event they wanted to see.

Rather than wait for someone else to create it, Carl, Pete and Donna decided to bring the idea to life themselves. Carl then brought in his business partners Stuart and Barnaby, combining their experience in events with Pete and Donna’s knowledge of the country music industry. From those early conversations, Country Calling grew from the seed of a small one-day event into the festival it is today.

Last year, the idea was initially aimed at the local community. This year, the ambition widened and Country Calling opened its doors to a much bigger audience. Judging by the reaction throughout the weekend, 2027 could be the year the wider festival world really starts to take notice.

The clever thing is that Donna and Pete haven’t tried to turn Country Calling into something it isn’t. Every year they travel to the United States for the best part of a month, watching artists, meeting musicians, and signing acts they believe the Country Calling audience will love.

It is a simple philosophy: trust their instincts, trust their audience and put great music on the stages.

Many of this year’s American artists were visiting the UK or Europe for the first time. They hadn’t simply been brought over because their names looked good on a poster. Donna and Pete had seen them, believed they would connect with the audience and made it happen.

The appreciation was clearly mutual. The artists seemed genuinely thrilled to be there, while the audience embraced musicians who, for many, were completely new discoveries. And when those artists return to America and start telling other musicians about Country Calling, you suspect the word will spread.

I’ll admit it: country wasn’t exactly sitting at number one on my musical bucket list before Country Calling.

It is now.

I completely understand why the genre is gaining such a huge following across generations. Shows such as Yellowstone have undoubtedly accelerated its popularity, but the appeal goes much deeper than that.

Just look at the audience. Everyone had made an effort. Cowboy hats, boots, denim, shirts, and every variation of Nashville-inspired fashion imaginable. And it wasn’t confined to one generation. Children, teenagers, twenty-somethings, parents and grandparents were all embracing it. There was a real sense of fun about the whole weekend. Despite the heat, the overriding feeling was one of joy. And importantly, people were there for the music.

Built With the Audience in Mind

Country Calling felt new, but somehow established. There was still a slight novelty to it — people finding their way around and working out exactly what this festival might become — but the organisation was remarkably polished.

From an audience perspective, almost everything had been considered. There were seven stages, but the scheduling allowed plenty of opportunity to move between the main stage and the smaller stages without constantly having to choose between two artists you wanted to see.

The VIP area was particularly well thought out. Rather than taking up the prime space directly in front of the stage, as VIP areas often do, it was positioned to the side, giving an excellent view while leaving the barrier for the genuine fans who wanted to be as close to their favourite artists as possible. The VIP area even had its own acoustic stage.

There was also a designated area for camping chairs, meaning those who wanted to sit down could do so without impeding the standing crowd. The loos were immaculate. Parking was close to the site, while media and production had excellent parking of their own. There were enough bars to keep queues moving, plus food, shopping, and signing and meet-and-greet areas. None of it felt over-engineered. It simply worked. That is the best kind of festival organisation: you notice it because you don’t have to think about it.

Friday: The Warm-Up

Friday was deliberately different. With no main-stage programme, it was primarily for campers arriving, getting pitched and settling into the weekend.

It was also a chance to discover some excellent acts on the smaller stages. The Caffè Nero Stage, familiar to anyone who knows Black Deer Festival and presented by TALENTBANQ, once again showed that a smaller stage doesn’t mean smaller talent. In many ways, it competed with the main stage for quality.

We caught the Phil Ashmore Band, whose blend of Americana, folk, blues and country rock was perfectly suited to the setting. Ashmore is a prolific songwriter and a confident live performer, but what really summed up the spirit of the weekend was what happened at the end of the set: Phil came out into the crowd, eventually finishing the performance sitting in one of the comfortable chairs among the audience. It didn’t feel staged. It felt like a bunch of musicians enjoying themselves with the people who had come to see them.

Madeline Thorp delivered a high-energy performance, while Tyler Halverson took his set into the Lil’ Nashville Dive Bar. Jeff Cohen, the six-time BMI Award winner and Grammy and CMT Award nominee, also played the Dive Bar before reappearing at the Caffè Nero Stage later in the weekend. Over at the Homestead Stage, line dancing and the obligatory hay-bale seating completed the picture. It was the perfect introduction to what was to follow.

Saturday: Now We’re Talking

Saturday was when Country Calling really changed gear.

Friday had been about arriving, settling in and discovering the smaller stages. By Saturday, the main stage was open, the crowds had grown, and the whole site had that unmistakable festival buzz despite the heat.

Opening the main stage was Jake O’Neill, winner of Best Male Vocalist and Song of the Year at the British Country Music Awards. He looked every inch the star in the making, with the confidence and voice to suggest that it won’t be long before he is playing considerably bigger stages.

Then came Chanel Yates, greeted by an audience that had clearly come specifically to see her. Fans were already lined up at the barrier, another example of the next-generation talent that Donna and Pete are so good at identifying. That is what makes their approach work. They aren’t simply booking the biggest names available. They are choosing artists they genuinely believe the Country Calling audience will love. Many of the American performers were making their first trip to the UK or Europe, and the gratitude from the stage was obvious. The audience, in turn, seemed delighted to discover artists already well known in the US.

Tyler Rich, back in the UK for the first time since 2019, delivered a strong performance, while Trevor Martin — whose songs have become staples of countless weddings, ‘Promise you that’ being a particular set highlight — made his UK debut. Hannah Ellis, a familiar face to UK country fans, was as polished as ever, while Charlie Worsham, known for collaborations with Luke Combs and Old Crow Medicine Show, demonstrated why he is so highly regarded.

Halle Kearns and returning artist Madeline Merlo continued the run of performances that left you thinking: remember these names.

Parmalee: The Saturday Night Explosion

Parmalee arrived in the UK for the first time and promptly blew the place apart.

The North Carolina four-piece — brothers Matt and Scott Thomas, cousin Barry Knox and longtime friend Josh McSwain — have spent years building their career from clubs and bars into one of contemporary country music’s most successful bands.

Their achievements are considerable: more than 1.6 billion streams, six number-one country hits and multiple platinum singles. Their hit ‘Cowgirl’ reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in 2026, becoming their sixth number one. This was their first UK appearance, and the only UK show they were playing in 2026. By the time the lights went down, the temperature had finally begun to drop and much of the crowd had gravitated towards the main stage. Then came the lasers, smoke and lighting. And Parmalee.The place erupted.

For the people who had bought tickets specifically to see Parmalee, it was everything they had hoped for. For everyone else, it was a reminder of just how strong the line-up had been all day. If some people had come only for Parmalee, more fool them. They had missed a lot.

Sunday Starts With Coffee

Sunday morning began with the inevitable queue for coffee at the Caffè Nero Stage, easing everyone gently back into festival life.

Blánid provided the perfect soundtrack: mellow, beautiful harmonies and a relaxed start to the day. Then came Jack Browning, who had travelled approximately 20 minutes down the road. He had just returned from touring Kentucky and looked entirely at home on the main stage. Janet Devlin, ten years on from her appearance on The X Factor, followed with a polished performance and plenty of banter. It was a useful reminder of just how far she has travelled since those early television days. Then came Twinnie with her dynamic blend of country-pop and storytelling-driven pop; Randy Houser, in particular, is a massive fan.

And then my personal highlight of the entire weekend.

Thunderstorm Artis

Sometimes you wait for an artist because you’ve heard the music, watched the clips, and built up expectations. Then they walk onto a stage and exceed all of them. Thunderstorm Artis did exactly that.

The Hawaiian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, whose sound sits somewhere between contemporary singer-songwriter, soul and R&B, has an extraordinary voice and an equally extraordinary story.

His name comes from his mother believing she was having twins. One would be called Thunder, the other Storm. Instead, she had one very large baby: Thunderstorm. And what a musician he has become.

Donna and Pete had seen him playing in a small bar in Nashville and were so impressed that they persuaded him on the spot to play Country Calling. That single story tells you more about the festival than any amount of publicity material could. They saw an incredible artist who they thought their audience needed to hear, so they brought him to Essex.

His performance was everything you want from a festival discovery. His versions of ‘Blackbird’ and ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ brought new life to familiar songs, while his own material showed exactly why Donna and Pete had been so keen to get him onto the bill.

The reaction afterwards said everything. People were talking about him. Not politely saying, “That was good.” Actually talking about him: “Who was that guy?” That’s the moment you go to festivals for.

And Then The Sunday Keeps Delivering

Kasey Tyndall brought a rockier edge to the country sound, while Drew Green, making his first UK appearance after fitting in some sightseeing in London, seemed to be having a great time. ‘Lot of Bit of You’ and ‘Good OL’ man’ were particular highlights.

Erin Kinsey followed before James Johnston took to the stage for his first UK performance. A huge queue had already formed for his meet-and-greet, and his performance showed why.

With both Australian Idol and X Factor Australia experience behind him, Johnston possesses the confidence, charisma and stage presence of an artist clearly on the rise. For many festival-goers, seeing him was the sole reason they had turned up, and it was clear just how deeply his music resonates with his audience. Many in the crowd were visibly overcome with emotion, with stories of his music helping people through difficult times, medical procedures and other challenging moments.

His performance was more than just a set — his sheer presence on stage, and especially during his walkabout through the crowd, created an incredibly powerful and uplifting atmosphere. It was, quite simply, a mind-blowingly emotional experience in the best possible way. Johnston has promised to return next year, and if he does, that alone would be worth the ticket price.

Then it was back to the Caffè Nero Stage for Luke Flear. With a look and energy that inevitably invites comparisons with Bon Jovi, Flear delivered a mixture of originals and covers with enough swagger to get the whole crowd on its feet.

Randy Houser: The Voice

And then came Randy Houser.

Houser has one of those voices that seems to occupy more space than the person producing it. The New York Times has described it as “wholly different, thicker and more throbbing”, and it is a fitting description of a singer whose delivery has become his trademark.

More than a billion streams. Hits including ‘How Country Feels’, ‘Runnin’ Outta Moonlight’, ‘Boots On’, ‘Goodnight Kiss’, ‘We Went’ and the CMA Song of the Year-nominated ‘Like a Cowboy’. He has also ventured into acting, appearing in Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, as well as The Hill.

But none of that mattered when he walked onto the Country Calling stage. This was about the voice. ‘Note To Self’, particularly poignant as a post-Covid reflection, was one of the highlights.

Big voice. Big songs. A fitting way to close a remarkable weekend.

The Bit Nobody Likes

And then, inevitably, it was over. The tents came down. The stages fell silent. People began saying goodbye to friends they hadn’t known three days earlier.

That is the strange magic of festivals. Everyone has a different experience. Someone’s favourite moment will be Parmalee. Someone else’s will be Thunderstorm Artis. Somebody will remember Jake O’Neill, Chanel Yates, Phil Ashmore or one of the artists they stumbled across on a smaller stage.

That is the point: there isn’t one Country Calling experience. For three days, the outside world disappears. The news, the worries and the general chaos of real life are left beyond the gates. Inside, people dance, sing, eat, drink, discover music and make friends. Then Monday arrives and suddenly you are back in the real world. It is sad when a festival ends because, for a few days, it gave people somewhere else to be.

The Beginning, Not the End

There is something rather special about Country Calling. Perhaps that is because, at its heart, this is a festival created by two country music fans for other country music fans. Donna and Pete are the faces most people will recognise, but it would be wrong to overlook the wider team who make the whole thing possible.

Carl, Stuart and Barnaby were among those who gave Donna and Pete the chance and, crucially, believed in what they were trying to achieve. Their contribution to Country Calling cannot be underestimated. It takes a small army to put on a festival of this size, and while Donna and Pete might be front and centre, there is a dedicated team working tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure everything comes together.

That sense of teamwork and genuine passion for the music is one of the things that makes Country Calling feel different. This isn’t simply a festival put together because there was a gap in the market; it feels like it has been built by people who actually understand country music and, more importantly, understand the people who love it.

And perhaps that is why the atmosphere throughout the weekend was so good. The audience seemed to feel a genuine connection with what Donna, Pete and the wider CC team are building. There is a real sense that everyone involved cares about getting it right and wants Country Calling to become something that people return to year after year.

So, if you’re wondering whether Country Calling is worth making the trip for next year, my advice is simple: just trust Donna and Pete. They seem to know what they’re doing. More importantly, they have surrounded themselves with a team who clearly believe in them and in the festival they are creating.

This festival is going to get bigger. It is going to get better. And quite honestly, after what we witnessed this year, I’m not entirely sure how they are going to top it — but I wouldn’t bet against them. Country Calling has found something very special, and if this year’s festival was the benchmark, then the future is going to be one hell of a ride. If you missed it this year, make sure you don’t make the same mistake twice.

Country Calling will return 13-15th August 2027. Early Bird Tickets on sale soon via www.country-calling.com