Cody Johnson: Headlining Country to Country in Belfast 'means everything'
Award-winning US star Cody Johnson has said it means "everything in the world" to be headlining the UK's biggest country music festival this weekend.Country to Country (C2C) runs for three days, with events in Belfast, Glasgow and London.Johnson will headline the event at the SSE Arena in Belfast on Friday night before travelling to the other venues.It is the first time he has played in the UK.
'The best we've got'
Speaking ahead of his C2C debut, Johnson said fans should expect a lot of energy. "Everyone is very excited about country music coming to Belfast," said Johnson."We came over here to give you the best we've got."He revealed that he and his entourage would be travelling across the UK by bus, something that "makes it feel like home, like we're just out on the weekend playing shows".C2C has been running since 2013, starting as a multi-day event in London. The festival expanded into Europe and Australia and has since become one of Europe's most popular country music events.
Also performing at C2C is Northern Ireland artist Janet Devlin, who took part in The X Factor in 2011.The singer-songwriter will play a special show at the Limelight in Belfast on Saturday evening before taking to the stage at the O2 arena in London on Sunday.The County Tyrone native said that having C2C in Belfast was "amazing" and she was excited to take part, having been "very much a last-minute booking". She also joked that one of the best things about it was that she got a free ticket to watch some of her favourite artists perform.
Johnson and Devlin were guests on the Scott Mills Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, which was broadcast live from Belfast on Friday morning.The broadcaster will co-host the event at the SSE Arena on Friday with BBC Radio Ulster's Country Show presenter John Kerr. Speaking of Johnson performing in the UK for the first time, Kerr said: "It's a Northern Ireland crowd so he's going to have a good time."BBC Radio 2 is the official broadcast partner of C2C and coverage will air on the station this weekend from 15:00 GMT until 18:00 on Saturday and from 20:00 until 22:00 on Sunday, with more country specials available on BBC Sounds.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
8 hours ago
- Metro
Brooke Shields podcast episode criticising Meghan Markle quietly removed
Days after Brooke Shields criticized Meghan Markle as 'too precious and serious' in a podcast, the episode appears to have been removed. The Blue Lagoon actress, 60, made headlines around the world with her appearance on India Hicks's An Unexpected Journey podcast, where she touched on their joint appearance at SXSW last March. However, according to multiple outlets, the episode has seemingly been deleted from the host's website – and a link to it on her Substack page currently leads to a 'page not found'. Speaking to India, who is King Charles' goddaughter and a patron of the King's Trust, the star detailed the time she spent with the mom-of-two for the International Women's Day panel at the annual event, led by Katie Couric. Reflecting on the talk, Brooke shared that the Duchess of Sussex had told the crowd about writing a letter regarding gender equality at the young age of 11 – an anecdote Katie encouraged her to share. 'Katie asks the first question to Meghan and she talks about how at a young age, she was already advocating for women,' she said last week, via People Magazine. 'She starts telling a story about how when she was 11 – and she keeps saying, 'Well, when I was 11, I saw this commercial and they were talking about how washing dishes was for women'. 'And she said, 'I didn't think only women wash dishes. It wasn't fair. So I wrote to the company'. 'She kept saying she was 11! She wrote to the company, they changed the text, they changed the commercial. 'It was just too precious, and I was like, they're not going to want to sit here for 45 minutes and listen to anybody be precious or serious.' The former Suits actress has spoken about this multiple times in the past, sharing that she persuaded Procter & Gamble to change their advert after calling out the 'sexism' in the footage. However, recalling the SXSW event, Brooke explained that she felt the need to step in during her fellow panellist's retelling, in a bid to 'lighten up' the proceedings. She continued: 'I go, 'Excuse me, I'm so sorry, I've got to interrupt you there for one minute.' I was trying not to be rude, but I wanted to be funny because it was so serious. '[She said], 'I just want to give everybody here a context as to how we're different. When I was 11, I was playing a prostitute.' Brooke said that, with her cheeky reference to her role in 1978 movie Pretty Baby, the 'place went insane' and the panel then became 'more relaxed'. More Trending It is not clear why the episode was taken down or when – India has not addressed the removal publicly, or shared why it was deleted. A video from their interview is still visible on her Instagram page, posted on June 1. Metro has contacted India's reps for a comment. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Reality TV legend's husband 'deported from US after being detained for 4 months' MORE: Japan's best-selling singer addresses claims Elon Musk is father of her child MORE: David Harbour explains his dating preference after Lily Allen split
Daily Mirror
15 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Dustin Johnson given steamy going-away gift by Paulina Gretzky ahead of US Open
Dustin Johnson and his wife, Paulina Gretzky, are used to turning heads and ahead of his US Open bid at Oakmont this week, they've done so again Dustin Johnson, the 2016 US Open champion, received a rather saucy send-off from his partner, Paulina Gretzky, as he prepared for year's tournament. The golfing star, who won the 2016 tournament, was given a bit of extra motivation by Gretzky ahead of his attempt to add another prestigious title to his collection. The 40-year-ol d LIV golf star is returning this week to the course at Oakmont which he has described as the "hardest" he's ever played. But he's once more among the favourites to be in contention for top honours. Before his departure for the next Major, Gretzky shared a series of photos featuring herself and Johnson in various poses. DJ is seen sporting a white blazer and trousers combo sans shirt, while Gretzky dons a revealing outfit. The post is simply captioned "nobody else." Fans on social media had their share of jokes on the decision to post the carousel, however. One fan wrote: "Clearly DJ is zoned in on the U.S. Open this week. Grinding like never before," with another adding: "DJ about to post a +15 and be home by Friday evening." Other fans noted how the couple looked, with some criticising - in jest - Johnson's decision not to wear an undershirt with his white blazer. By and large, fans were excited to either see Johnson play at Oakmont or were happy for the couple for their Instagram post. Johnson's recent major performances have been underwhelming, with only one top-10 finish since 2023 and two missed cuts this year, including a disappointing start to the Masters. Despite this, Johnson expressed confidence that his game is nearing its best form at a crucial moment. "I feel like my game's been really close," he said. "I haven't really got a lot out of it." He added: "It was definitely nice to have a nice finish last week," Johnson said. "I played good every day. I didn't - you know, still kind of giving away some shots. I need to clean that up a little bit. But played really solid every day, hit it nice, gave myself a lot of opportunities. "Just still kind of gave some shots away each round that you can't afford to do at a golf course like this." The LIV star also shared that Oakmont was the most difficult course he's played. "Good memories here," he continued. "Obviously it was a long time ago. I have confidence in this golf course because I know I played well, but obviously this week puts a lot of pressure on the driver. I feel like I'm driving the ball really good right now. "Even from there, though, it doesn't get much easier. You definitely have to hit it in the fairway if you want a chance to win around here. ... It's hard to compare. I've played some hard courses, but it all depends on the conditions. "This one's hard no matter what - soft, firm, windy, no wind."
Scotsman
16 hours ago
- Scotsman
HAIM respond to Glastonbury Festival 2025 rumours:
The group will be in the United Kingdom for the Dreamland Summer Series in Margate on June 27. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... HAIM have addressed the rumours that they 'could' perform at Glastonbury Festival 2025. The discussion arose during an interview on BBC Radio 2 overnight with Jo Whiley. The band, however, merely stated that they would be 'in the area' around the time of the festival. One of the more persistent rumours alongside Pulp performing a secret set at Glastonbury Festival later this month is that of the potential that HAIM 'could' fill one of the secret slots. Whether it be the sisters performing under the pseudonym Patchwork, or perform one of the litany of TBA slots revealed since the launch of the official timetable, many believe that the group - who last performed at Glastonbury in 2022 - are going to make an appearance. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad To finish off the UK leg of their 'I quit' tour, American rock band Haim will play the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on Friday, October 31. | Getty Images for Prime Video So when the band appeared on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 2 show earlier this week (June 10 2025), the question was brought up by the host, with HAIM responding in cryptic fashion. 'Well, we're playing Margate,' Este explained, before the sisters would suggest that they 'shall be in the area.' When asked what their favourite stage at Glastonbury is to play on, Alana responded 'We love the Park Stage. The Park Stage is our favourite (because) that was like the first time we came to Glastonbury (...) it felt like a movie.' She continued: 'It was like 'What is going on? How did we get here, and also just like - you never forget the first time you step onto the farm. It's the most insane feeling, I think, that you'll ever have.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The 'best festival in the world,' according to the sisters, does have a rather large TBA sized gap on the Park Stage scheduled between 19:30 and 20:30 on the Saturday night. Do you have an event you'd like to share with us? You can now promote your What's On stories to us online via YourWorld at It's free to use and, once checked, your story will appear on our website and, space allowing, in our newspapers.
