The Long Road Festival prides itself on being a home for all shades of Americana, from boot-stomping honky-tonk to delicate folk storytelling. On Friday, I caught one of those quieter, more intimate moments when Maya Lane stepped onto the Front Porch stage. Her performance drew the kind of hush that only true storytelling can create, with every lyric pulling the crowd closer.
“It’s great to play those intimate stages and be really close to the audience, like seeing exactly how every single person is reacting,” Maya told me afterward. “Especially, I find that the songs that are more lyric focused, or slightly more like softer and mellower, seem to obviously go down really well in those settings. People can really hear what the song’s about, get the lyrics, understand it. But there is something also really fun about being on a big stage, like playing all your upbeat songs and seeing the crowd picking up off each other.”
Maya Lane @ The Long Road Festival 2025
Storytelling at the Core
Maya has always seen her music as rooted in storytelling. “For me, music really comes down to the storytelling. The core of my music is the lyrics and what I’m trying to convey and the message. But I think if I can find a way of doing that and having fun in that, that’s the ultimate aim.”
That philosophy has carried through into her collaborations too. “Everyone’s always going through something, and I often get a lot of inspiration from my friends and their relationships. There’s normally always a common feeling that we can all relate to, whether it’s betrayal or heartbreak or whatever it may be. I just try and channel my experience of that and put it into the song, maybe using someone else’s experience to create an interesting story.”
Maya Lane @ The Long Road Festival 2025
London Roots, Nashville Lessons
Growing up in London shaped her in unique ways. “I feel very lucky to be surrounded by so many different cultures, to have access to so many different types of music and venues. There’s always been an abundance of places to play, and over the years it has changed as venues have shut down. But I know I love going to Nashville and getting inspiration from places like that. Each country has their own kind of musical vibe and style, and being able to tap into all of that and learn has been really beneficial for me.”
Her time in Nashville gave her a new perspective on collaboration. “They have a different way of going about writing, and it’s really inspiring to see. The pace of it is different, the way they go about it is different. Being part of that community, and it really is a community out there, has been so inspiring. And they’re also super accepting and welcoming of us English artists, which is really nice, especially us up and coming folk country artists.”
Maya Lane @ The Long Road Festival 2025
No Boxes, Just Music
The blurred boundaries between genres don’t worry Maya. “Over there, no one thinks I’m a country artist. They say I’m folk, or Americana maybe. But over here, if I’m wearing cowboy boots, I’m a country artist. I don’t mind what you think I am, as long as you like it, that’s all I care about.”
Her inspirations reflect that openness. “I’m inspired by so many different types of music. You see artists crossing over genres, like Kacey Musgraves who kind of bends the genres, or Breeland who does the same thing. It’s really nice to see that happening, and especially at a festival like this, you have Americana, folk, pop country, rock country, all of it. A nice, healthy mix. It keeps people engaged and depending on your mood, you might feel like a different type of thing some days.”
What Comes Next
The next chapter is already in motion. “I have an EP coming out in September, which I’m excited about, and then hopefully it will step into first album world. That’s something for me I feel really strongly about as an artist, that I want to have. I would love to put out my first album and really just carry on doing what I’m doing, and hopefully to a bigger level, connecting with more people.”
And she’s not giving up on either end of the scale. “I would love to get to the point where I can go and headline main stages and then be in someone’s living room the next day, giving a fan that experience. That’s really important to me.”
Maya Lane’s journey continues with her headline show in London on September 3 at The Grace in Islington, followed by a co-headline with Georgia Rhodes in Manchester on October 9. Judging from her performance at The Long Road, both shows are not to be missed.
Maya Lane @ The Long Road Festival 2025
Interview with Maya Lane @ The Long Road Festival 2025, Leicestershire, by Henry Finnegan on 24th August 2025. Instagram: @finneganfoto | Facebook: @finneganfoto
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