The boundaries between southern rock and country become ever more blurred, and in that thriving scene it is hard sometimes to pick new acts worth discovering from an increasingly crowded field, hoping to capitalise on the success of the Cadillac Three, Blackberry Smoke and Brothers Osborne.

Often I rely on the recommendations of like-minded friends, one of whom (hi Chris!) a few years back suggested Nashville-based A Thousand Horses (alongside Whiskey Myers). I remember one of their gigs clashing and then they went on a long period of inactivity, but after some line up changes have returned, and this show was perfectly timed in the middle of a relatively fallow period for gigs, other than festivals.

Talking of which, an added bonus was to again see These Wicked Rivers, only a fortnight after they were one of my very favourite acts at the Maid of Stone festival. Their unique style- beards, coats and a stage set decked with soft furnishings and lampshades- can obscure the fact they are also very special musically and their southern influenced sounds, albeit somewhat heavier, made them a good opener for our American visitors.

They opened with ‘Shine On’ with a big Zeppelin-esque riff and some great soloing from guitarist Arran Day, and the more commercial ‘Black Gold’. Either side of a couple of darker favourites in ‘Evergreen’ and the heavy but stately riffery and harmonica playing of ‘Testify’, the ballad ‘When The War Is Won’ did slow the pace down rather too much in a short set.

They saved the best to last, first a new song also previewed at Maid Of Stone in ‘Horse To Water’, more Americanised than their work to date with the vintage southern feel of the Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker. Then the epic ‘Don’t Pray For Me’, beginning with John Hartwell singing his lament over a church organ- like backing before developing into a full blown rocker with Arran playing some explosive solos with his 12-string tilted at 90 degrees, concluding with a snatch of Neil Young’s ‘Hey Hey My My’.

The set only just fell short of that festival show, though at least no lampshades blew over this time, and the Derbyshire band fully deserved the congratulations they received as they hung round at the merch table after the show.

As someone who is on the rock side of the ‘too rock for country, too country for rock divide’, I was reassured to see A Thousand Horses’ five piece band mostly sporting long hair and black vests and t-shirts. Singer Michael Hobby may have been wearing a hat but to see only one cowboy hat in the crowd all night was reassuring.

More importantly ‘First Time’ proved the point musically, with some great slide guitar playing from Bill Satcher and a very Black Crowes-esque feel (or do we now have to say The Commoners?) with Michael reminding me vocally of Chris Robinson, as well as Dan Baird. Although some of the guitar parts in the verse were a little twangy, on ‘The Outside’ the solo was again rocky. After ‘Blaze of Something’ and ‘Another Mile’ where Michael donned an acoustic for the first time, I did think the gig had started rather slowly and they were struggling to build a rapport with a reserved crowd.

That all changed with ‘A Song To Remember’, with a singalong to the ‘song to remember, drink to forget’ chorus which enlivened people, and the show never looked back. ‘Trailer Trashed’, enlivened by a surprise guest appearance from Kezia Gill who had a powerfully feisty set of pipes on her, and ‘This Aint No Drunk Dial’ were more in a bro-country mould, while the lyrics and music of ‘Heaven Is Close’ conjured the evocative Americana imagery of the open road. ‘Travelin Man’ was perhaps the heaviest of the night, a raw blues rocker with a garage rock riff and Michael playing harmonica.

‘Broken Heartland’ was another to show Michael’s storytelling and songwriting skills that were increasingly drawing me to them. ‘Summer’ was rootsy and acoustic driven yet ended with a slide solo from Bill, while you could tell ‘Smoke’ was their biggest hit, as arms were waving to it, though to insert a snatch of ‘Champagne Supernova’ might have divided the audience, before a closing rock out with the rhythm guitarist who had stood dutifully behind the three original members stepping forward to trade solos with Bill.

The set had flown by but there was still time for a couple of encores. ‘Highway Sound’, with a harmonica intro, was another rocker with more superb slide playing calling to mind the Crowes and Robert Jon and the Wreck, while ‘Room Full Of Strangers’ had more of a heartland rock/Americana feel. It was a simple song, yet with a big, full sound and again a closing guitar solo taking it into another dimension.

What was even more impressive was that many of these songs left me wanting to hear more. All in all a new if belated discovery to add to my list and I suspect I could love them even more with greater time and familiarity. With the band now back on an even keel, I can see them being both airplay and festival favourites in this country.

Review and Photos by Andy Nathan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 16 November 2025.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This 600th show was first broadcast on 18 November 2025

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.

If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:

If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device

(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.