Miranda Lambert admits to nerves as she returns to London for Country To Country

Country music superstar Miranda Lambert admitted she was “really nervous” as she returned to the London stage for the first time in seven years.

The singer, who was named entertainer of the year at the Academy of Country Music (ACM) awards earlier this week, headlined the first night of Country To Country festival at the O2 Arena.

The event has returned for the first time since 2019 after two consecutive cancellations due to the pandemic.

Dressed in a red top with rainbow tassels, a cutoff denim skirt and blue glittery cowboy boots, she opened her 90-minute set with song White Trash from her album Wildcard.

Addressing the crowd, she said: “I missed you so dang much. If you can’t understand me I will try to rein it in.

“I haven’t been here in seven years. I’m so happy to be here, it’s badass.”

Introducing her latest single If I Was A Cowboy, she said: “I haven’t done a new song onstage in three and a half years.”

Lambert also treated the crowd to hits including Settling Down, Bluebird and The House That Built Me.

Ahead of song Acting Up, she said: “I was really nervous to come out here,” before reflecting on playing the track at her first show in her home town after a long absence from the stage due to Covid, when she did not play a show for 380 days.

Lambert closed out her set with a barnstorming run of crowd pleasing hits including Automatic, Tequila, Gunpowder and Lead, Mama’s Broken Heart and Little Red Wagon before ending with Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).

Country To Country will return to the O2 on Saturday when Darius Rucker will headline, followed by Luke Combs on Sunday.

The festival is also taking place at the Glasgow Ovo Hydro and the 3Arena in Dublin.