Ron's Honky Tonk

Twenty-four hours have passed since my first visit to Ron's Honky Tonk and I'm still excited. To see up-and-coming Country artists here in the UK (on a school night, so I grabbed a couple of colleagues!) is one of the many benefits of the global Country boom. Even though C2C at the O2 is almost upon us, Ron managed to sell out his Honky Tonk last night. Read on for a few indelible memories.

Katrina Cain

Katrina is a proud Texan and kicked us off in style. She explained the context to I Hate July (partly the heat) and then moved smoothly to Not in Love which featured something Katrina introduced as 'mini-yodelling' and it went over very well with the audience. She's been practicing so next time I'm hoping she will go full yodel. All of these songs were new to me. It's one of the brilliant things about a showcase that you always discover a new artist or two.

The set moved on through Dizzy and Truck Song, which I think is the one that made one of our posse cry. It's about the cars she used to buy from her dad and the nostalgia, the sweet memories of those autos that she now drives four hours in each direction to get her to gigs.

Husband and guitarist Andrew played brilliantly, making his six string sound just as eerie and ethereal as any pedal steel. [You're talking about glissando, right? Ed.] They're from Texas, and my British ears could not quite believe that it takes sixteen hours to drive end to end across the state.

My favourite of Katrina's was about the city boys of Dallas, I think it was called Posh Boys, and I have not found that on streaming so it might be one of the new ones due later in the year. Lady of the Night and its line about a 'midnight ballerina' was equally brilliant: it was a 50-50 between the two for me.

The set wrapped up with New Mercedes and a selfie you can now find on Instagram, by which point the whole audience felt they were Katrina's BFFs. I cannot wait to see what she does next, but it was a superb start to the night.

Paige King Johnson

PKJ needs no introduction for regular readers of the Vibes and she hails from Raleigh, North Carolina. You can read my reviews of her previous two singles below. But meeting her in person and seeing her play live after all these months was special. A nod also to her supportive husband who was in the house too.

Several of the songs came from Paige's 2022 album, Honky Tonk Heart, which I was less familiar with and some I was hearing for the first time. American Beauty and Famous Enough were stand-outs for me. Grandpa's Little Girl moistened every eye in the house and her singalong cover of Stand By Me allowed us all to practice our southern accents.

Later on Paige taught us the meaning of 'holla and swalla' and we all practiced our hollerin' and swallowin' several times during the night. A bonus for the artists was trying out some new songs on a British audience for the first time, and one about running moonshine during the depression years grabbed my attention. I think that was South of North Carolina and apparently such fast driving to evade the police led eventually to the invention of NASCAR auto racing. I loved every minute of this set and Paige even tried out her English accent on the crowd, a brave move.

Cowboys Ride Away by Paige King Johnson

Another belter from a North Carolina Cowgirl prodigy.

Americana VibesPaul Dettmann

Paige King Johnson is Feelin’ Old

Out today, a thoughtful slow burner from PKJ: I Get Old Too

Americana VibesPaul Dettmann

July Moon

I wanted to leave some mystery to the evening so didn't do any research on July Moon. I'm sure this magnified the impact of this effervescent country trio that reminded me of The Chicks from the first note. Their first UK appearance was during last autumn's Country Calling, a festival that is now the undisputed UK No. 1.

Those harmonies! The 'tude! Sheer talent. They even reference wide open space in The Highway. Get It Over With, Whiskey Drinking Women and Devil Walkin' together established this a punchy group that have fun together, look after each other and harmonise like angels, or possibly little devils. I cannot wait to listen more, and write more, as they continue to release future bangers. The band brought the house down with their final song, after requesting permission to use the title in full of F U Forever. Absolutely brilliant.

If I was listening properly, then 17 April will see the girls release Fake Flowers, which unusually was not written by the band. It was co-written by Lainey Wilson and July Moon loved it so much they recorded it immediately.

If you need further convincing, the band are even bigger Fleetwood Mac fans than yours truly, and they unleashed their magnificent interpretation of Rhiannon. They have that Mac connection in common with The Chicks too!

There was only one drawback with seeing three acts in one night and it's that I haven't had the time to listen deeply to all of the music yet. Rest assured I will be back in a few weeks with my trademark deep dives on Katrina Cain and July Moon, and I will continue to keep track of Paige King Johnson's release cycle throughout the year.

There's still an opportunity to catch all the acts before they return home. They're all playing together at Country on the Clyde in Glasgow on Saturday 14 March! Tickets available here. Special thanks to Phil of Ron's Honky Tonk and Madeline of Briar Bookings for arranging such a thrilling and unforgettable night. Encore!