ADDITIONAL FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS:Songwriters Round:
Experience an intimate acoustic session on Saturday afternoon with standout performances by Ben Earle, Caylee Hammack, Eric Paslay, and Katie Pruitt as they deliver beloved tracks in their raw, stripped-back form. Doors open at 2:00pm, with the session running from 2:30pm to 4:30pm, presented by Absolute Radio Country.
Country for Kids:
Join us on Saturday morning for this lively, family-friendly event where kids (ages 4-11, with all ages welcome) can let loose and enjoy interactive fun. Doors open at 9:30am, with the festivities running from 10:00am to 11:00am.
Late Night Special & After Show:
Keep the party going after the main stage as the Elgar Room lights up with DJ sets and live performances by Our Man in the Field (Friday only), Alyssa Bonagura (Saturday only), and DJ Rattlesnake Johnny (both nights). It starts at 11:00pm and runs until 1:00am.
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TICKET INFORMATION:
Due to capacity restrictions, tickets to additional events are sold separately and subject to availability. For all additional events, you can purchase tickets for the specific event outside of the main auditorium ticket.
Dining, VIP, and hospitality packages are available for purchase. Tickets for Highways 2025 can be purchased at www.highwaysfestival.co.uk.
Age restrictions: Customers aged 14 or below must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over. All timings are subject to change.
ABOUT ERIC CHURCH:
A seven-time ACM Award winner, four-time CMA Award winner (including the 2020 award for Entertainer of the Year), and 10-time GRAMMY nominee, Eric Church has amassed a passionate fan base around his critically acclaimed catalog of music. Church’s October 2024 release, “Darkest Hour,” saw the superstar signing over all of his publishing royalties to the people of North Carolina to provide immediate relief following the devastation of Hurricane Helene while also providing ongoing funds to support a more resilient future for his home state.
This was his first new music since 2021’s Heart & Soul triple album that followed the Gold-certified Desperate Man, which earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album (his third nod in the category) and prior releases including the Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), the Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders (“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”), and the 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”), as well as 36 Gold, Platinum, and multi-Platinum certified songs.
Church is also a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, a co-owner of the iconic Field & Stream brand, has his own SiriusXM music channel, “Eric Church Outsiders Radio,” his own liquor offering, Whiskey JYPSI, and recently opened Chief’s, a six-story venue on Nashville’s famed lower Broadway.
ABOUT CHARLES WESLEY GODWIN:
For a while there, Charles Wesley Godwin was in a creative funk. A prolific writer who had already proven himself as a reflective, soulful songwriter on his first two critically acclaimed albums—drawing comparisons to Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and Bruce Springsteen—he suddenly found himself frozen, unable to find the words for his new songs and weighed down by unprecedented pressure.
What eventually set him free was his family. He needed to get back to the basics and decided to write about his life and family. This shift in focus birthed Family Ties, his forthcoming third album, set for release on September 22 via Big Loud Records. Demoed on a Tascam 4-track as a nod to Springsteen’s Nebraska and recorded with longtime producer and bandmate Al Torrence at Asheville’s Echo Mountain, the 19-track LP is a raw portrait of home, relationships, and life’s hard-won lessons.
Each song is a personal dedication—to his father, his mother, his son, his daughter, and his wife. From picking up the guitar at 20 and performing in Estonia to relentless touring with his band, Allegheny High, Godwin has built a career on genuine storytelling and heart. Now, with audiences spanning from 18 to 80, he is exactly where he is meant to be.
ABOUT ALYSSA BONAGURA:
“She’s got an album coming out … pick it up, you won’t believe your ears!” raved Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, while BBC’s Bob Harris called her “an outstanding artist.” With glowing endorsements and a powerful body of work, visionary artist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Alyssa Bonagura is recognized as one of Nashville’s top breakthrough talents.
Alyssa has amassed 20 million streams and 12.6 million U.S. radio impressions as a CMT Next Women of Country emerging indie artist. Her highly anticipated 2025 album features collaborations with ACM, CMA, & Grammy award-winner Charles Kelley (Lady A) and multi-Grammy nominated blues titan Joe Bonamassa. Known for her hit “I Make My Own Sunshine”—covered by Steven Tyler on his #1 Billboard Top Country album—Alyssa has shared stages with legends like Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, and Gary Clark Jr.
Born and raised in Nashville, Alyssa blends her deep country roots with a diverse sound that has led to international acclaim. A lifelong road warrior who recorded a duet with Kenny Rogers at age 10 and earned her diploma from Sir Paul McCartney at LIPA, she’s performed worldwide—from the Grand Ole Opry and Royal Albert Hall to Wembley Stadium. Recently splitting her time between Nashville and London, Alyssa is making waves on both sides of the Atlantic, including representing the USA at Wembley for the NFL International Games and headlining additional events at major festivals like Highways.
ABOUT ASHLEY CAMPBELL:
Ashley Campbell, daughter of country legend Glen Campbell began her career playing banjo and keyboard in her father’s band on several world tours and has found success as a solo artist in the country/Americana music scene; most notably with her debut single “Remembering” which she wrote for her father and is featured on the Grammy award winning and Oscar nominated album for the documentary Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me. Her original music has taken her all over the world, from China to Japan, to the main-stage at London’s O2 Arena to opening for Kris Kristofferson, the Bellamy Brothers as well as playing at Carnegie Hall with songwriting legend Jimmy Webb.
Ashley released her first album, The Lonely One, in 2018 which was co-produced with her brother Cal Campbell. The Lonely One album hit the Top Ten of the UK Country Chart upon release.
Ashley’s sophomore album, Something Lovely (produced by friend and co-writer of “Remembering” Kai Welch) was released October 9, 2020 with Vacancy Records. The album features eleven original tracks including “If I Wasn’t” which features Vince Gill on vocals and electric guitar. Ashley’s hard-wired musicality, clarity and easy lyrical delivery gives this collection a classic feel but the songwriting and production are right up to the minute. There is depth as well as undoubted style; a mature and confident set from a musician who has earned her place in the spotlight.
Ashley is currently writing her third album and has just recorded a duo acoustic album with virtuoso guitarist Thor Jensen as CAMPBELL/JENSEN (due for a fall 2023 release).
ABOUT BAYLEN LEONARD:
Baylen Leonard broadcasts six days a week on Absolute Radio Country, including his long running Americana and Roots focused show The Front Porch. He also hosts the UK Country Radio Airplay Chart and the popular Country Music Talk podcast interviewing the biggest names in country music.
Baylen is a two-time CMA International Broadcaster of the Year award winner and has become known for giving a diverse range of artists their first ever UK radio play. Away from the mic he is Creative director of The Long Road Festival and Head of Music for Holler. A proud native Tennessean, he still says Y’all and Toe-MAY-toe, even though he’s lived in the UK for over 20 years.
ABOUT BELLA WHITE:
Born and raised in Calgary, Bella White is the daughter of a native Virginia banjoist who instilled in his child a love of Appalachian folk, country, and bluegrass. She learned how to play music at an early age, writing her first song when she was seven. As a child she regularly attended folk festivals and music camps, branching outside traditional bluegrass as she became a teenager. As her adolescence progressed, so did her songwriting skills.
Just Like Leaving, her 2020 debut album, sounds as if it came from the Appalachian hills, not Canada. A close listen reveals that White wasn’t a revivalist — she bent old ways to suit herself, adapting Americana styles to fit her introspective and impassioned songwriting. White worked with producer Patrick M’Gonigle, a fiddle player in the Lonely Heartstring Band, to record her debut. Released on Rounder, the album helped establish her in Americana circles.
She decided to expand her musical purview for her second album, Among Other Things, working with Jonathan Wilson (Father John Misty and Angel Olsen). Deemed a Best Folk and Americana Album of 2023 by Spotify, this record embodies an enchanting sound that matches the immense depth of White’s inner world—an element brought to life by her lived-in exploration of complex themes. Recorded at Fivestar Studios in Topanga Canyon, the album featured several indie musicians, including Buck Meek of Big Thief and Drew Erikson (Lana Del Rey and Weyes Blood).
Following the success of Among Other Things, White released a covers EP, Five For Silver, in 2024 recorded in conjunction with her previous record. The five tracks that make up White’s EP feature songs from contemporary writers who have had a huge influence on her including Neil Young, Ted Lucas, Lucinda Williams, Tweedy, and Emmylou Harris.
Her remarkable rise has seen her playing on some of the biggest stages, recently making her Grand Ole Opry debut, performing at SXSW, Stagecoach and Newport Folk Festival. White recently supported Tyler Childers, Dierks Bentley, Band of Horses, John Craigie, The Paper Kites, Ashley McBryde, The Teskey Brothers, and The Red Clay Strays.
ABOUT CAYLEE HAMMACK:
With her sophomore studio album Bed of Roses, available March 7th from Capitol Records Nashville, artist Caylee Hammack keeps her musical roots intertwined with the country greats—while branching out to the outer edges of psychedelic Americana, fortifying her country backbone. An Ellaville, Georgia native with a self-described green thumb and stop-you-in-your-tracks vocals that cross the warbling buzz of hummingbird wings with the sting of a thorn, Hammack landed in Nashville at 19, turning heads with her unique mix of influences ranging from David Bowie and Kate Bush to Dolly Parton and Tom Waits.
Releasing her standout 2020 album debut IF IT WASN’T FOR YOU, she went on to share stadium stages with Luke Bryan and Brothers Osborne, stun tiny listening rooms into rapt silence, and captivate the Grand Ole Opry. All told, she has so far racked up 235.8 million career global streams to date, won an ACM Award for Musical Event of the Year (“Fooled Around And Fell In Love” with Miranda Lambert), and picked up Artist to Watch accolades from The Bobby Bones Show, Rolling Stone, among other honors.
Bed of Roses tracks five years of patient growth. Featuring 13 fresh cut blooms, the rising star learned to tend her “garden of life” not just for a short pop of beauty, but for a long-lasting, healthy environment. “As a little girl who always just wanted a man to bring her flowers—I decided I’d be better off if I just learned how to grow my own,” she says.
ABOUT DJ RATTLESNAKE JOHNNY:
Rattlesnake Johnny is an award-winning professional country music DJ and host, who has performed throughout the UK and internationally to critical and commercial acclaim. His DJ sets have featured alongside some of the biggest artists in the music industry, along with main stage festival performances to his credit. Determined to share his passion with a wider audience, he applies his mixing and scratching skills to showcase country music in fresh, dynamic, and exciting new ways. They call him the rattlesnake because he will make you shake your tail.
ABOUT ERIC PASLAY:
Country artist Eric Paslay is a Platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated songwriter and performer known for hits like “Friday Night.” A native of Temple, Texas, he’s penned chart-topping songs for Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, and more, earning nominations from the Grammys, ACMs, and CMAs. Praised by USA Today as “flat out-brilliant” and hailed by American Songwriter as a true influencer in country music, Eric’s authentic storytelling and creative flair set him apart.
His self-titled debut album showcased his potential, and his latest release, Even If It Breaks Your Barefoot Friday Night, reimagines his biggest hits for a new era. Offstage, Eric manages Type 1 Diabetes with Dexcom’s CGM system and supports Habitat for Humanity as a spokesperson. Through his music and advocacy, Eric continues to inspire fans and fellow artists alike.
ABOUT KATIE PRUITT:
Katie Pruitt is living proof of music’s power to transform the way we experience the world. Soon after the arrival of her acclaimed debut Expectations—a 2020 LP on which she documented her journey in growing up queer in the Christian South—the Georgia-bred singer/songwriter/guitarist heard from countless listeners that her songs had impacted their lives on an elemental level. With her sophomore album Mantras, the Nashville-based musician now looks inward to explore such matters as gender identity, self-compassion or the lack thereof, and the struggle for peace in times of chaos and uncertainty—ultimately arriving at a body of work that speaks to the strength in undoing harmful self-beliefs and fully living your truth.
Mainly produced by Collin Pastore and Jake Finch (known for their work with boygenius and Lucy Dacus), Mantras delves deeper into the empathetic storytelling and incisive self-examination that defined Expectations—an album that earned Pruitt a nomination for Emerging Artist of the Year from the Americana Music Association and drew praise from major outlets like Rolling Stone (who hailed Pruitt as a “dynamic new presence”) and Pitchfork (who noted that “[h]er songs are patient but determined, navigating serious subjects with quiet familiarity”). This time around, Pruitt sets her lived-in lyricism to a folk-leaning sound informed by her love for the more experimental edges of indie-rock, stacking her songs with plenty of propulsive grooves and overdriven guitars as well as working with musicians like string arranger Laura Epling (Orville Peck, Spencer Cullum).
Although several songs took shape with the help of co-writers like singer/songwriter Ruston Kelly (Bethany Cosentino, Amanda Shires), Pruitt wrote most of Mantras on her own and imbued her lyrics with an expansive element of autobiography. In penning the album-opening “All My Friends (Are Finding New Beliefs),” she mined inspiration from a Christian Wiman poem of the same name, dreaming up a fuzzed-out and summery track etched with both self-aware reflection and sharp-witted observation on the search for clarity and purpose. Next, on “White Lies, White Jesus and You,” Pruitt shares a hazy yet frenetic meditation on hypocrisy in religion, tapping into her intense frustration with conservative Christian ideology. A profoundly introspective album, Mantras turns the lens on her own inner life with songs like “Self Sabotage”—a gloriously cathartic track that opens up about her struggle with negative thought loops. Meanwhile, on “Blood Related,” Pruitt presents a raw but poetic rumination on how family can sometimes feel like strangers, enlisting her mother as a background vocalist and embedding the track with audio recordings of her father and brother from old home videos. And while Mantras often pushes into emotionally heavy terrain, its songs frequently echo the radiant sense of joy and discovery that defined the album-making process. On “Naive Again,” for instance, Pruitt infuses the bright and dreamy tones of glockenspiel and xylophone into her melancholy contemplation on loss of innocence.
Looking over the tracklist to Mantras, Pruitt notes that a certain narrative thread emerged without her intention. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but the throughline for this record ended up being my own personal journey of letting go and learning how to love myself again—it begins with tension, frustration, and fear and resolves to a place of acceptance, surrender, and stillness,” she says. “I hope when people hear the record they feel what I felt after writing it, which was a sense of trusting myself and trusting that—no matter how bad things look—there’s always hope where there’s fear. I know that so much of the time we feel alone in our pain, so hopefully these songs help everyone to see that they can work through those big life changes and end up loving themselves a lot more.”
ABOUT MOLLY TUTTLE:
Raised in Northern California, Molly Tuttle moved to Nashville in 2015. In the years since, she has received many accolades, including two GRAMMY wins plus a nomination for Best New Artist. She earned three wins at the 2023 IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards and won Album of the Year at the 2023 International Folk Music Awards. Additionally, she has earned Instrumentalist of the Year at the 2018 Americana Music Awards, and Guitar Player of the Year at the IBMAs in both 2017 and 2018. Tuttle has performed around the world, including shows with Billy Strings, Dierks Bentley, Dave Matthews, Béla Fleck, Tommy Emmanuel, Hiss Golden Messenger, Jason Isbell, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Dwight Yoakam, as well as at several major festivals including Newport Folk and Pilgrimage. She is featured on Ringo Starr’s acclaimed 2025 album Look Up and joined his band for performances of the music at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in January. She also performed the Tom Petty classic “American Girl” with Dierks Bentley on the Country Music Association Awards in late 2024.
In 2023 and 2024, Tuttle earned consecutive GRAMMY and IBMA wins for Best Bluegrass Album/Album of the Year for her Nonesuch records Crooked Tree and City of Gold. She and her band were nominated for eight IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards..
Nonesuch released the six-song EP Into the Wild in the fall of 2024. The EP included three new songs — the title track, “Getaway Girl,” and a cover of Kate Wolf’s “Here in California”—as well as previously released covers of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” and an alternate version of the City of Gold track “Stranger Things.”
Tuttle says of the record: “With this new EP we invite you to come on a journey with us Into the Wild. I wrote the title track with Ketch Secor after a week spent in the redwoods. This song is about getting lost in the wilderness even if it’s just in the forest of your mind. ‘Getaway Girl’ was an unfinished song I had started writing for City of Gold. It’s about a whirlwind romance set in New York City, kind of like Carrie Bradshaw meets bluegrass.
“In addition to these two new original songs, we included some of our favorite covers that we’ve woven into the live show, ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson Airplane and ‘good 4 u’ by Olivia Rodrigo,” she continues. “We paid tribute to one of my favorite California songwriters, Kate Wolf, with a new version of her song ‘Here in California’ that features my dad, Jack Tuttle, and longtime friend AJ Lee singing with me. I used to play this one with my family band back in the day! On ‘Stranger Things’ (Down the Rabbit Hole Version) I wanted to go for a stripped back ethereal version of this song originally played by the full band on City of Gold.” Molly Tuttle is currently working on her next album, which will be announced later this year.
ABOUT OUR MAN IN THE FIELD:
Our Man in the Field is the musical project of British singer-songwriter Alex Ellis, crafting a sound that blends the soul beat of hip-hop with country melodies and the raw storytelling of authentic Americana songwriting. Dubbed Cowboy Hip-Hop, the music captures wide-open landscapes, both physical and emotional—songs that feel like postcards from an outsider looking in on America, loving it despite its flaws, drawn to its myths, contradictions, and undeniable spirit.
After the breakout success of Gold on the Horizon—produced by Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, First Aid Kit) and praised for its deep, immersive songwriting—Ellis has taken things to the next level with a new record, recorded at Mark Knopfler’s fabled British Grove Studios and produced by Dire Straits’ Guy Fletcher. Featuring a world-class band, the album was tracked live, capturing the raw energy and organic beauty that defines the music.
ABOUT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL:
The Royal Albert Hall is the world’s most famous stage. Throughout its 154-year history, it has welcomed a who’s who of world-renowned figures: artists, athletes and activists. No other place on earth has played host to Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein and Muhammad Ali, Ella Fitzgerald, The Beatles, and Adele. This was the Suffragettes’ “temple of liberty” – the site of Votes for Women rallies that helped change the course of British history – the home of the Stonewall concerts, and a place of celebration during Nelson Mandela’s state visit. But its eccentric history has also seen it used for a séance, an indoor marathon and the world’s first bodybuilding contest (judged by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle).
In an ordinary year, the Hall’s extraordinary auditorium presents around 400 world-class events: encompassing rock, pop and classical music, theatre, dance, films, Cirque du Soleil and sport. It typically welcomes 1.8 million visitors a year, while its 1,000 events in secondary spaces help to attract a young, diverse audience. Its Engagement program includes music therapy, concerts in the community, and workshops with A-list artists, often in collaboration with other charities, such as Nordoff Robbins and Music for Youth.
