Rob Brydon marks the 100th anniversary of country music by dressing like a cowboy and driving 2,000 miles across the southern US in his new three-part series, Rob Brydon’s Honky Tonk Road Trip. The genial Welshman pilots a Ford Ranger pickup truck on a circuit through Tennessee and Kentucky, with stops in Virginia, Alabama and Mississippi, immersing himself in the genre’s culture.
Brydon, known for his road trips with Steve Coogan in The Trip, initially doubts his qualifications as a guide. He phones Gavin & Stacey co-star Ruth Jones for a pep talk; she reminds him that their 2009 Comic Relief cover of Islands in the Stream reached No 1 in the UK, outperforming Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ original.
The series features interviews with country music veterans like Grand Ole Opry fixture Bill Anderson and 92-year-old tailor Manuel Cuevas, as well as younger stars such as Luke Combs and bluegrass banjo player Tray Wellington. A surprising appearance by Gary Barlow, who has been honing his songwriting in Nashville since the 1990s, provides Brydon with an opportunity for light-hearted banter.
While the show focuses on music, current politics occasionally seep in. During a guest spot on Nashville radio station WSM, Brydon jokingly asks if the US and Canada are still friends, throwing the hosts off their stride. The aftermath is not shown.
Brydon proves a good fit for this breezy format: amiable, interested, self-effacing and always ready to dress the part, even if he struggles to find a cowboy shirt in a medium size.
