Kane Brown Brings Out Carly Pearce, Lauren Alaina and More During C2C Festival 2024 Performance

Photo by Kendall Wilson

Photo by Kendall Wilson

Photo by Kendall Wilson

Photo by Kendall Wilson

Photo by Kendall Wilson

Photo by Kendall Wilson

Although Kane Brown has already established a strong connection with the UK country fans through his regular trips across The Pond, Friday, March 8 officially marked the first time he’d charge onto the stage at the O2 Arena for C2C Festival 2024.

As a result, the Georgia singer-songwriter’s headlining set on the opening day of the festival felt like a homecoming of sorts, with the packed-out crowd showering Kane with screams as he smiled to the sea of flannel-clad fans.

Kane Brown has become known for his ability to seamlessly weave together varying genres and stylistic influences, without it ever coming across as forced or inauthentic. He gave attendees an early sample of this with the electrifying, trap-infused ‘Grand’, which Kane performed within a neon green circle of lights - the first of many dazzling stage choices he’s been honing over the last six months off the road.

After again dipping his toes into his R&B-leaning sphere of influence with the smooth, summery ‘Be Like That’, Kane Brown showcased his versatility by segueing into his emo-EDM blackbear collaboration, ‘Memory’, before storming into the raucous, metal-tinged ‘Bury Me In Georgia’, taken from his lauded last album, Different Man.

Despite the dizzying array of sonics on display, one thing was certain throughout - country music will always be closest to Kane Brown’s heart, with the infectious ‘Like I Love Country Music’, ‘Famous Friends’ and the beautifully balladic ‘Used To Love You Sober’ all giving Kane the chance to show off his stellar vocals.

Kane Brown threw it back to the ‘90s with covers of Gretchen Wilson’s ‘Redneck Woman’ and Garth Brooks’ iconic ‘Friends in Low Places’, temporarily transforming the London-bound O2 Arena into a paradisal Nashvillian honky-tonk. He introduced the medley with a touching reflection on the struggles he faced growing up in a trailer park, with his youth marred by child abuse and racism, and Kane movingly referred to how he sometimes feels like an ‘outsider’ in country music. This only made the unanimously celebratory reception he was met with at the O2 Arena feel all the more evocative and emotional.

There was an endearing sense of warmth and geniality that pervaded Kane Brown’s demeanour, with the chart-topping megastar grinning with disbelief as the audience sang every word of ‘Homesick’, ‘One Thing Right’ and ‘Short Skirt Wether’ back to him.

He repeatedly paid tribute to the scale of the event, with the perennially cool, laidback hitmaker confessing, “Y’all making me nervous!” Despite his humility, it was evident this was an artist at the peak of his powers, as was underlined by the fact that, earlier in the day, he’d earned yet another No. 1 with the Phil Collins-interpolating ‘I Can Feel It’.

This came a mere matter of weeks after picking up his first Diamond-certified single, ‘Heaven’, joining a club of just seven country artists. This made his live rendition of the sweet ode to his wife, Katelyn, extra special, with Kane showing the crowd the new diamond tattoo he’d received while in London.

In the lead-up to the performance, Kane Brown had been teasing that he had a surprise up his sleeve for the headlining set. As it turned out, Kane had not one but three surprises in store, as he brought out his middle-school buddy, Lauren Alaina, to perform ‘What Ifs’, Restless Road and Dylan Schneider for ‘One Mississippi’ and - the biggest moment of all - Carly Pearce to deliver a rousing take on ‘Thank God’.

Kane usually performs the 2023 CMT award-winning track with his wife, but seeing as she’s currently six months pregnant and Stateside, he entrusted Carly with the honours, who again demonstrated her incredible vocals. Heartwarmingly, Kane concluded the track by letting the crowd sing the gratitude-laced chorus back to Carly, accentuating the joyful ambience of the performance.

For more on C2C Festival 2024, see below:

Kane Brown

Artist

Carly Pearce

Artist

Lauren Alaina

Artist