I have always loved country music so this past semester has been awesome! I have been able to travel to the famous Luckenbach Dance Hall, watch the livestock show at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, see the Zac Brown Band in concert, and watch the 50th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
I have always loved country music so this past semester has been awesome! I have been able to travel to the famous Luckenbach Dance Hall, watch the livestock show at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, see the Zac Brown Band in concert, and watch the 50th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards,
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It’s not every day that you can take a class solely dedicated to studying your favorite genre of music, but by taking the Rhetoric of Country Music I have been able to learn more about country music and the culture associated with it. I have grown up around country music, livestock shows, and the outdoors, but coming to school in Austin has changed how I have had to experience these traditions often associated with country music. Being assigned this project has been exciting, as it has given me an excuse to get out and go experience country music, getting back to doing some of the things I love. From livestock shows to concerts, I have been able to travel across the state and, for once, have fun while doing a school project.
The first thing I did for my Country Music Experiences project was travel to Luckenbach, Texas to visit the famous Luckenbach Dance Hall. It worked out perfectly- my fraternity was having our formal there- so I got to travel to Luckenbach with some of my best friends. The second picture in my Storify is from the actual dance floor, which is surprisingly a lot smaller than I thought it would be. I could not find any pictures of me and my date at Luckenbach, but the picture I did include was from dinner beforehand, which was followed by a night of two stepping and fun.
The next two events on my checklist happened only about a week apart from each other, and both took place within the grounds of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. I went home the Thursday before spring break to get some clothes I needed for the week to follow, and when I heard Zac Brown Band was playing I decided to head out to the show that evening. I grew up going to almost all of the country music performances at the Houston Rodeo, so it was fun to get back there to do something I have missed. The weekend following spring break, I traveled back to Houston again, this time to watch my brother participate in the livestock show. My 13 year old brother, Jaden, was showing his pig in the swine show. This was probably the millionth livestock show I have been to, but it seems every time to be uniquely exciting and full of different emotions.
Finally, about two weeks ago I watched the 50th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Historically, I watch the ACM’s and CMA’s with my family, but this year being on the phone with my mom during the show had to act as a substitute. Both of these awards shows are always fun to watch, and this year I got to see a performance from Garth Brooks (my favorite country artist) and an appearance from Jordan Spieth, winner of the 2015 Masters and UT Alumni (also my favorite golfer). Overall, I really enjoyed this project because it made an excuse for me to go do things I have grown up loving, and haven’t necessarily been able to do since graduating high school. I hope everyone else doing this project had as much fun with it as I did!
