Category Archives: Live Music

I remember growing up and thinking that “country music” was music for older people. I had that mentality until I was a sophomore in high school. I remember being in the car with brother, on our way from school and he had the country station on. As he was driving, I recall that day I was having a really bad day at school, so there I was in the car urging to get home, not wanting to carry a conversation with my brother, when all of a sudden I began to listen to the music that was being played in the radio and that was all it took for me to fall in love with today’s country music! Since that day country music stood out to me because I felt like I could relate not just to just one song but also to multiple songs because every country song tells a story.

As I was still discovering more country artist my cousin introduced me to Scotty McCreery. When I first listened to McCreery I was blown away because for one he really had that country voice and two at only 18 years old McCreery won the 10^th season of American Idol. I remember hearing him perform “Your Man” by Josh Turner and I fell in love with him! He has that deep country voice!

It was this past Spring Break that my best friend and I were very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see McCreery in concert! McCreery performed at the Austin Rodeo. It was my first time attending a concert so I was super excited! When we first arrived, I noticed that Rodeo Austin was having its annual fair. I love the fair so being able to attend the concert AND going to the fair afterwards made me an even more very happy girl! Before the concert began, they have proRodeo events where basically they have men riding bulls and horses. I had never found an interest in seeing bull riding but being able to watch it in person was a whole different story, I actually found it very interesting.

Once the proRodeo events were over, all these staff members went out on the field and began to clear everything for the concert. At first I did not know whether they were going to put a huge stage for McCreery to perform but as I was thinking about the endless possibilities, all the lights in the rodeo shut down and all you could see were the lights on people’s phones. McCreery entered the rodeo in a pick up truck! Since the rodeo is in a circular shape, he performed in the middle of the rodeo so everybody was able to see him at a good angle. He first performed “Your Man” by Josh Turner! But before he began to sing he took the time to acknowledge how his career began. I though that was just so awesome! Throughout his performance he performed his biggest hits like I Love You This Big, The Trouble with Girls, and See You tonight

Even though this was not your typical concert I really enjoyed it because it was at an actual rodeo and to me that is very country itself. The capacity was approximately from 250-300 people and there were people from all different ages. I really enjoyed this concert from beginning to end! When the concert ended McCreery got in the back of the pick up truck and went all around the rodeo was waved at the audience. A couple was kind enough to let my friend and I take their place at the very front and… I cannot end this blog without mentioning that I TOUCHED SCOTTY McCREERY’s HAND!!

When I first came to Texas many people asked me if I have ever been to Coachella, a music festival similar to ACL held in Palm Desert, which is about 2 hours from my house. I never have been to Coachella but every year in high school I went to Stagecoach, which was basically the same thing except all country music. When I say basically the same thing I mean its put on by the same company, held at the same venue, and its always one weekend after Coachella. I’m really surprised more people don’t know about Stagecoach here, I guess Coachella just gets more advertising.

The venue its held at is actually professional polo fields so there are horse stables all around which only add to the country atmosphere. There are five stages set up throughout the venue, the big one is called the “Mane Stage” (get it like a horses mane) and then there are four smaller ones. There’s also barns set up with food and dance floors inside where people can go to two step, or if you’re me you just went there to get some shade and escape the heat.

The last year I went to Stagecoach was my senior year and it was by far the best year. I got to see Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum, Toby Keith, Zac Brown Band, and Dierks Bentley. My favorites were Darius and Dierks by far though; they were having so much fun on stage it was contagious for anyone else watching. Darius kept encouraging the crowd to line dance with him, which in hindsight was not the best idea because I was standing in a mosh pit of people trying to dance so everyone was getting pushed around. Despite the blistering heat throughout the day, my friends and I went right as the gates opened at noon, and stayed until they closed after the last performer that night.

It was so amazing seeing the range of people that were all being entertained by the performers. I went with five of my high school girlfriends and we all saw my 30-year-old cousin with her husband and baby, and also my 60-year-old neighbor sitting in a lawn chair with his wife. Ironically enough, I also ended up meeting my roommate for the first time when we were at one of the smaller stages watching Old Crow Medicine Show perform and resting in the shade. This all just goes to show how country music brings people of all ages together to have a great time and enjoy the feel-good music.