Breland Proves Country Music Is For Everyone At The Electric Ballroom

“Country music is for everyone: it’s about telling stories, it’s about community,” grins Daniel Gerard Breland (or Breland as he’s known), midway through his set. And he’s right. The self-described ‘Black guy from Jersey’ has taken the hip-hop country fusion that won over Londoners at this year’s C2C Festival and amplified it for his show at Camden’s Electric Ballroom. “This is the biggest headline show I’ve ever played in my career,” he says, humbled by the cheers he receives. Breland knows how to make his mark in the capital.

Breland @ Electric Ballroom

Breland (Kalpesh Patel)
Breland (Kalpesh Patel)

There’s a buoyant, happy energy through much of his set as Breland unselfconsciously dad-dances and jumps through his hour onstage. “One of my favourite things to do is collaborate with other artists,” he tells us before launching into High Horse, a track that dips its toes into funk and disco. Genre boundaries don’t mean much to him, though he always returns to his beloved country. Natural, his homage to Shania Twain’s Man I Feel Like a Woman, is hip-swinging fun and causes a square dance to break out at the back of the room. However with his soulful voice, it’s clear that while he lives for his music, he isn’t restricted by it. Thick, his love song to large ladies, shows off his flawless RnB tones which could be compared to R. Kelly in his heyday. On the guitar solos, men and women drop down to dance to the tinny country twang. Thick shows a wit and sweetness to his attitude to women, which he carries through to the new song Thirsty. It’s a fun, cheeky, chat up line song with playful jumps and starts which he jumps through like spring-loaded.

While the 28-year-old radiates positivity and exuberance with his every move, there was far more depth to his set than you would first expect, following the release of his debut LP Cross Country a year ago now. After popping on some strawberry-framed sunglasses (“We got some strawberry glasses cos we’re gonna sing a 90s cover for you,” he explains), he and his support artist, Avery Anna, sing a beautiful version of Deana Carter’s Strawberry Wine. The song instantly expands the space with its wide intention and impact. Women remove their cowboy boots and dance in their socks. As the last chords fade, a fan is brought onstage and proposes to his girlfriend of a decade. She runs to him and folds him into a hug. “Did….did she say yes?” Breland panics, then apologises that his next song will be Happy Song. It’s a breakup song filled with misty night drive emptiness. The bass kicks in as the character restarts and the tone shifts to his acceptance through the song’s narrative.

With his band offstage, the New Jersey native explains that “you only know if you have a great song…if you strip away everything and can just sing it with one voice and one instrument”. Extra Mile, the song he performs with only guitar accompaniment, is his letter to his future self and dedicated to his grandmother, who recently passed away. It’s what Ed Sheeran tries to do but with the tenderness of a beautiful, purposeful bruise. However, it’s Cross Country that really hits us. It’s his autobiographical story of feeling like an outsider but becoming a universal echo in our broken hearts. We sing along reverently as the guitar accelerates and a stomp rises. It’s got an added sense of personal achievement at his biggest show to date across an ocean from where he was born. Happy tears run down his face and he pushes them away, astounded by our response. “That is the most beautiful thing that has ever happened at one of my shows,” he admits, and we believe him.

The only way to proceed from there is a victory lap through his biggest hits to finish the night off. Someone hands him a beer during Beers On Me which he downs in one gulp. For the few minutes of Cowboy Don’t we’re all cowboys in a honky tonk enjoying a sizzling guitar solo. Praise The Lord brings a huge post-modern revival energy to the Ballroom as we all wave our hands and give him our spirit fingers. Of course, Throw It Back, his collaboration with Keith Urban, is the big ticket we’ve been waiting for. It feels like the culmination of his personal journey. However, we couldn’t leave without the song that made him a star, debut single My Truck, with its gorgeous reworked swamp rhythm. His versatile voice taps into a communal fantasy of cowboy life, and when it comes to the crunch we behave like rock fans as his whooping twists into a soul wail. We spread out into the early Camden evening full of the joys of country life. We revel in our appreciation for what rising stars like Breland can bring to the genre through his own innovation.

  • 53180333300 8ff8bb8e13 o
  • 53180393238 ddfb6de992 o
  • 53180087729 d8fca971cc o
  • 53180087774 a81cbaf777 o
  • 53180087639 ceab8e5004 o
  • 53179893056 047b797c60 o
  • 53180333450 8fc944ac1f o
  • 53180393353 1e7bfb8d1f o
  • 53180087829 ffce7d0b1c o
  • 53180087964 8259433250 o
  • 53179893156 287756afc5 o
  • 53179304802 1eb456198d o
  • 53180333320 fe6207eb43 o
  • 53180087879 c14ffe5278 o
  • 53179893281 e9a42b62c9 o
  • 53180393533 0995924660 o
  • 53180393563 0368c0cbeb o
  • 53180393588 54de05b323 o
  • 53180333265 7abd38aeca o
  • 53180393468 e0a4e404f1 o
  • 53180333300 37a3ac890c n
  • 53180393238 642921c0c1 n
  • 53180087729 470672302e n
  • 53180087774 121886b505 n
  • 53180087639 416996bc84 n
  • 53179893056 3c8bfc9f99 n
  • 53180333450 eca6a90dbb n
  • 53180393353 8bbcd633fc n
  • 53180087829 2a047793e6 n
  • 53180087964 3063ab2182 n
  • 53179893156 01c18cdf44 n
  • 53179304802 41830dca1b n
  • 53180333320 646394af03 n
  • 53180087879 4018f77979 n
  • 53179893281 e9a9c96867 n
  • 53180393533 d29c63499e n
  • 53180393563 f8a1a6d4b9 n
  • 53180393588 97666e8db9 n
  • 53180333265 34c19c2f4b n
  • 53180393468 57a91fdf3c n

Breland will be supporting Shania Twain on her upcoming UK and Ireland dates:

SEPTEMBER
14th – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
16th – London, The O2
17th – London, The O2
19th – Dublin, 3Arena
20th – Dublin, 3Arena
22nd – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
23rd – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
25th – Manchester, AO Arena
26th – Birmingham​, Utilita Arena Birmingham
28th – Leeds, First Direct Arena

Live review of Breland @ Electric Ballroom on 9th September 2023 by Kate Allvey. Photography by Kalpesh Patel.

Randall King Is Changing The Game Of Country Music

Black Spiders

New Black Spiders Tour Blows The Cobwebs Away

Hard rock band Black Spiders have been around for a while. Having formed in 2008, they delivered a brace of well...
Triumph Of Death (Roland Moeck)

Tom Gabriel Warrior’s Triumph Of Death Announce Hellhammer Live Album

The impact of Swiss extreme metal forefathers Hellhammer is one that still resonates around the global metal scene...
Jungle (Filmawi)

Jungle Announce Major Outdoor Manchester Show

UK production duo Jungle have announced a major outdoor summer show headlining Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl on...
BLACK GRAPE 2023 PROMO SHOT BY PAUL HUSBAND scaled

Black Grape Declare Pimp Wars

Black Grape have just dropped Pimp Wars, the second single to be taken from their forthcoming album Orange Head which...
Punk Rock Factory (Press)

Punk Rock Factory Take The Fun Down Under

Punk Rock Factory are a band on the rise. Their seventh album of pop punk covers has just been released, and the...
The Courettes @ The 100 Club (Pauline Di Silvestro)

The Courettes Close Their UK Tour With A Dynamite Double Header

This show at the 100 club was the last night of The Courettes current UK tour, ahead of their upcoming US leg that...
Chris Shiflett of "The Churnups" @ Glastonbury Festival 2023 (Kalpesh Patel)

Foo Fighter Chris Shiflett Sits Down With Nile Rodgers

On the newest episode of the Shred with Shifty Podcast, Foo Fighters guitarist and Honky-Tonk frontman Chris Shiflett...
Randall King at Bush Hall (Pauline Di Silvestro)

Randall King Brings The Honky-Tonk To Bush Hall

Tonight, Bush Hall’s ambiance transforms. The vintage West London theatre could easily look like a museum or a...

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This

Share Thing