When The Cosmic Boogie Boys Ruled Britannia

Described by Third Man Records (and many others) as one of the brightest young luminaries in roots music today, Sierra Ferrell brings a dose of beautifully strange magic to everything she touches. Third Man having recently released, Sierra Ferrell – Live at Third Man Records .. an album that follows on from the West Virginia-born artist’s acclaimed 2024 studio album, Trail of Flowers. Recorded direct-to-acetate last September, the album documents the evening the 4x GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist brought her 2025 tour to a close at Third Man Records’ Blue Room in her adopted hometown of Nashville, TN..

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Blow out your birthday candles, steal your cake ..

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Staying true to her roots, Seirra has made a name for herself.  In a short period of time she’s proven herself to be one of Country’s most exciting up-and-coming stars. Those Grammy’s are testament to that. and were awarded as follows: Best Americana Album, Best Americana Performance (“American Dreaming”), Best American Roots Song (“American Dreaming”) and Best American Roots Performance (“Lighthouse”).

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Born and raised in West Virginia, Ferrell was surrounded by music from a young age. After growing up on her mom’s love for ’90s music, she soon found herself playing in a number of different local Blues and roots bands. In 2018 Ferrell self-released her debut album Pretty Magic Spell, and sophomore album Washington by the Sea the following year.

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On her most recent album, Trail of Flowers, she expanded her sights and embraced co-writers, multiple backing vocalists and producers who had worked with country and ‘folk’ legends like Gillian Welch and Brandi Carlile. The result was Ferrell’s most expansive album to date, complete with songs which sit comfortably in the thousands-strong arenas the 37-year-old headlines. Bluegrass tradition remains, but tracks, such as Dollar Bill, are now likely to align themselves with more commercial markets.

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Take me for a twirl on that floor ..

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Ferrell has said of the album, “I wanted to make a fuller sound with bigger drums, but still stay true to the stripped-down feel of old-time music.” It’s a delicate and difficult balance to achieve but one Ferrell manages - showcasing a preternatural skill for combining pop, ragtime, bluegrass, folk and jazz into cohesive and compelling statements.

On stage, don’t expect a stripped-back image of a 60’s folk singer, or the jeans-and-a cowboy-hat mold of a country star, Ferrell’s over-the-top displays and numerous costume changes take on a life of their own. At any moment she may appear in a stiff white wig that’s part beehive, part Marie Antoinette costume piece, and a ball gown befitting a Southern belle, its hoop skirt cascading in yards of glossy ruched fabric. Tiers of ruffles may flutter at her elbows, and a corseted bodice erupt into a bouquet of rich red roses that decorate the bust. The next, she’ll dazzle the crowd in a spectacular silver-star outfit, or massive skunk costume (I kid you not).

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This was certainly the case during her headlining debut at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre. A performance and production that proved to be commanding, powerful and larger than life. The 23-song set punctuated her with stunning covers, including Neil Young’s Love is a Rose and a show-stopping encore rendition of Kris Kristofferson’s Me and Bobby McGee.

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Support act Nikki Lane joined Sierra late in the set for a rendition of Dottie West‘s Lesson In Leavin’, wearing a moon costume to complement Sierra's tasseled, shining-silver-star attire (the pair released a studio version of the song last summer). The Red Rocks show is now the stuff of legend, so keep those fingers crossed for an official audio release at some stage.

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Every set of curtains opens to the open road ..

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In her twenties she headed out across the country, traveling by train. Her travels took her to New Orleans and Seattle, where she played in several bands and various busking duos/trios (let’s just say it was a nomadic youth spent freighthopping, busking, and battling addiction). Eventually she released the afore-mentioned debut albums via Bandcamp, but it was her live shows that caught the attention of the labels based Nashville. She signed to Rounder Records in 2018.

• Sierra: ".. I grew up poor - so I found myself playing outside a lot. We had one TV with bunny ears and aluminium foil, it was sat on the ground and was only operational by turning a knob on its side. I spent most of my time outside, using my imagination, exploring and playing games. We didn’t travel a lot because my mother was a single mom raising three kids, two of whom lived with her. However, I’m really glad that I had the chance to grow up outside and experience more than living in a high-tech world – it really changes people a lot .."

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• ".. I was my mom’s only daughter, so I was like her little princess. I was a bit sheltered and over-protected. So, when I started branching out and traveling it was difficult for her, but it helped me a lot with building my own character and overcoming my anxieties and fears. Honestly, busking for me was a lot easier than playing on stage because on a stage everyone is looking at you and expecting something. Music is like another language to me and something that I love dearly. It’s fun, but when people have certain expectations of you, things can be different. Busking helped me to get to a point where performing on stage was a lot easier. When you’re busking, people don’t expect to see you, it’s just something they stumble upon on the street. People can come or go as they please, but when you have a captive audience and a couple hours to fill there’s a lot more pressure to perform at a high level, so you have to learn to bring it .."

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Could you be the guiding light, tell me everything's alright ..

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Since settling in one place (Nashville), she's quickly become a music-industry darling: She's played the Grand Ole Opry, collaborated with artists as diverse as Margo Price, Lukas Nelson, Ray LaMontagne, (most recently) Beck and Diplo, been covered by Kelly Clarkson, and has featured on the Hunger Games soundtrack, A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. 

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Currently, Sierra will spend much of 2026 on the road in the US, UK, and Europe, this will include sold-out headline shows, top-billed festival appearances and arena dates. UK dates concluded last month and major US arena dates are scheduled until the end of October when the tour concludes with a couple of dates at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. 

Some say, there’s a certain magic with country music in the UK right now.

No longer niche. More mainstream.

If so, Sierra Farrell will be stage-front. 

We indulge this playlist.

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​​ALSO THIS PLAYLIST .. There’s a Bob Dylan tinge to proceedings. First up is the Willie Nelson co-write, I Can’t Read Your Mind, which appears on Willie’s new album, Dream Chaser, Willie’s 79th studio album. Furthermore, Blonde on Blonde recently turned sixty, so there’s a little something in the playlist from that magnum opus too.

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In other news, Brad Paisley has been releasing a slew of one-off ‘single’ and EP releases these past few months. We slot the pick of that bunch into the playlist (singer-songwriter David Lee Murphy features). We dip into LA LOM (Los Angeles League of Musicians) 2025 debut, which is somewhat well-timed, given the band are currently trawling the European festival circuit before they return Stateside late July.

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ELSEWHERE .. As you will be aware (then again, maybe not), it’s the 250th anniversary of the United States of America’s independence from something or other this 4th of July. So it’s kinda apt there's a distinct whiff of the USA about it this issue/playlist. We could (but won't) call it ‘the big American birthday issue’. To that end, there’s music related flag waving from John Mellencamp, cross-country memories from George Strait, a straight-ahead decade old rock out from Dwight Yoakam, and a track from Martina McBride which, title aside, has fuck all to do with Independence Day, but means a helluva lot to those with first hand experience of its subject matter. Penned by Gretchen Peters, the track was CMA Song of the Year in 1995.

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We started the whole playlist thing off with American Dreaming and part way through we've drop a new 50th anniversary mix of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, American Girl. Iconic as anything else produced across the pond in the last five decades, the track was recorded on 4 July, 1976. More treasures from the Heartbreakers 70's archive are scheduled for release in the coming months, as Gone Gator / Universal celebrate the band's golden anniversary.

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There’s more of course .. Talking of Third Man Records (as we were earlier), we jump back to 2018 for a blast of archive material from Joshua Hedley's debut released on the label. There’s a reminder of what Neil Young can achieve when penning songs about cars, the wide open spaces of North America, and, in the case of last years Silver Eagle, a bus. As for Elton John, well he last used a bus donkey’s years ago, however, that doesn’t stop us parking one alongside his Songs From The West Coast album for a quick catch up with stellar cut, Original Sin. Given our cover pic shows Sierra Ferrell dressed like she's just stepped out of Elton's 70's wardrobe, it felt an appropriate inclusion. In other news, we blow the cobwebs from a Michael Kamen / 'Mutt' Lange composition, as performed by Bryan Adams.

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As for rounding things off, well, we thought it’s almost mid-summer (kinda), and with that comes madness .. so why not blow our street cred quota for 2026 in one swoop. To that end, Harry Styles (yes he) has the honour of closing the playlist. Why not tbh. Aside from the lad currently being in the midst of a 12 night stint at Wembley Stadium, the track has undergone a new lease of life via the excellent Project Hail Mary. Not that Harry’s version features in the film, nope, it's Sandra Hüller who steps forward to belt out a more than competent version in the karaoke scene.

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And with that, we're done.

​MCQ returns mid-month.

Get ready to put your phone down and pay attention.

Ed

For America.

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