Category Archives: Texas

by | November 4, 2015 · 1:00 pm

Chesney still kickin’ it

b151f48f27201928232caa0be8f6d17bJUNE 4TH, 2016!!!!!!!!!! ARLINGTON, TEXAS!!!!!! FINALLY I GET TO GO!

At long last, I will finally have the opportunity to attend a live Kenny Chesney concert. Nash Country Weekly released this past week on Friday that Kenny Chesney will be hosting 11 stadium dates this upcoming summer, and the one stadium I’m most excited about is at AT&T stadium, aka “Jerry World”, in Arlington, which is only about 30 to 45 minutes from my hometown.

49811-thumb-266x266The Spread the Love summer 2016 tour is starting out on April 23 in Auburn, Alabama at Jordan Hare stadium followed by a performance at Chase Field in Phoenix on May 7th before finally coming to Arlington. The tour follows along the lines  with the same mantra as previous albums of his such as “No Shoes, No Shirt, No problem” and  “The Big Revival Tour”, of “a passion of living and loving music.”

The tour will also consist of other popular country artists which will only draw bigger crowds to his performances (which is pretty unbelievable since his crowds have been record setting as of late.) The other featured artists are none other than Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt, and Old Dominion. These artists will attract more viewers making the concerts even more popular to attend. Chesney has been breaking records lately like I mentioned earlier, such as “The Big Revival Tour” where Nash Country Weekly reported that he sold more than 1.3 million tickets.

kenny-chesney-stadium-concerts-2016-tourI’m so excited to finally be able to attend a Kenny Chesney concert. I have never been able to attend a concert of his because either I was out of town when he came anywhere close to where I lived, had another commitment, he didn’t tour anywhere closed to Dallas, or I was too young to fully appreciate country music. If this was freshman year of high school I would not be anywhere near as excited as I was when I found out about this tour on this past Friday.

I remember growing up as a kid sitting in my dads truck listening to Kenny’s album “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem” and liking it but not truly listening to it. It was the first country album I listened to because of my dad which is weird since he told me he used to not like country music. He told me he didn’t start listening to it until he moved down here to Texas from New York and after actually listening to it, the stereotype that he thought it was completely changed.

220px-NoShoesNoShirtNoProblems“No Shoes, No Shirt, No problem” will always be my favorite country album not only because it was good music, but because I will always think of how my dad and I became closer listening to it in the summers over and over again.

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Filed under Blog Post 3, Live Music, Texas

by | October 29, 2015 · 7:00 am

A New Texas Country Performer To Look Out For

What do you think of when you picture West Texas? Something that comes to mind may be a straight road through the middle of no where with a speed limit of 85 or possibly a dark starry night with abandoned diners. That is what I thought of too until a few weekends ago. Now, I picture the beautiful Big Bend National Park and the welcoming people of Marathon, TX. This is an image that I am sure El Paso native and country music singer Abe Mac can agree on with me.

maxresdefaultThese days it is hard for artists to “make it big” and this under the radar musician is someone I want to share with ya’ll.

When first arriving to the Gage Hotel in Marathon, I was a little concerned that I could stand at one end of the town and see the other. But once discovering that there would be a live performer for dinner, I was satisfied. I had the privilege of eating a delicious meal while listening to Abe Mac perform for the restaurant. He grew up in far west Texas just minutes away from Rosa’s Cantina. Never heard of it? Well maybe you have heard of Marty Robbins’ song called “El Paso” where he says, “night-time would find me in Rosa’s Cantina.” Mac was not only inspired by Robbins, but also many other Texas country stars like George Strait and Merle Haggard. He can play drums, keyboard, and guitar. Throw out a song and he can make a beat and play. He had no back up band with him but was using a multi track song recorder to create his own band. He would record a few guitar chords and a beat with his fist on the body of the guitar and then start playing.

But, his original songs were even better.

Mac has released two albums, “My Kind of Friends” and “American Country,” and a single since 2013. He has a couple of music videos out as well. His songs range from an array of county music topics like tequila, whiskey, girls, family, and America. Going off of that last topic, his song “Far Away,” that is accompanied by a music video, is one of my favorites.

In this song he is singing from the point of view of a soldier. It discusses the troubles of coming home after being deployed. You can tell from the music video that he actually knows people who have experienced these troubles and cares about the topic. He actually works with the American Patriots non-profit organization to raise awareness for PTSD. This is a song he wrote, not something that a producer told him to just sing, which comes through in his performance. In fact, Mac is an unsigned independent artist who just loves to play his music.

While watching him perform he was just so happy to be up there entertaining people and connecting with the crowd. While he clearly has high hopes of making it big and playing at sold out venues, he loves what he does and is in it to make himself and his fans happy.

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Filed under Blog Post 3, Texas

by | October 14, 2015 · 7:00 am

Brad Paisley’s Free Concert was Priceless

IMG_4766 (2)“FREE” is quite possibly the most important word in a college student’s vocabulary, so when Brad Paisley announced he was packing up his plethora of guitars and heading cross country on a FREE college tour, I’m pretty sure the cheers of coed country fans could be heard for miles. Naturally, I was logged on to my computer at 12:01 AM on August 26 to claim my spot among the 8,400 local Austin fans who would be crammed into the parking lot of UT’s baseball field on September 10 to watch one of country music’s biggest stars. When they opened the gates, my three friends and I booked it across the lot and somehow, unbelievably, managed to secure a spot at the front of the stage not three feet away from the mic. I knew then that it would be an amazing night!

brad concert pat

Pat Green rocking Texas Country before Brad takes the stage

Since we are in Texas it would have been sacrilegious if Brad hadn’t paid homage to our very own genre of Texas country, so it was appropriate that his opening act was none other than his old friend and Texas Country all-star Pat Green. Pat has been active on the Texas Country scene since 1995, and he hasn’t slowed down since. His song “Home” reached 5th on the country music charts when it was released this year. Pat is loved across the country, but he is especially revered at home in Texas. I mean, how could he not be with songs like “I Like Texas” and “Girls from Texas”? He certainly knows how to work the home-court advantage!

As Pat Green closed his set with “Wave on Wave”, Paisley warmed up backstage along with the Texas cheerleaders, UT’s mascot Hook’em, and his (by my count) eight guitars! At 8:40 he took the stage and his fans went wild as he opened with his hits “Crushin’ it” and “Mud on the Tires”. Donning a Texas Football t-shirt, he worked the crowd and made everyone cheer as he threw up his horns.

brad concert hookem

Brad throwing up his horns about 3 feet away from me!

Nothing could put a damper on his performance, not even the 100% chance of rain that fell as he fittingly performed “Perfect Storm” and “Water”. It seemed as though the night could not get any better…but then Brad played a familiar tune on his guitar as he was joined on stage by Hook’em, and together they led the crowd of students in the most epic performance of “The Eyes of Texas” that I have ever witnessed.

From the quirky videos playing behind him on the big screen to his PAISLEY guitars (gotta love a man who embraces real-life puns), Brad put on an unforgettable show! I’m pretty sure the crowd could be heard all the way across campus as every soul at that concert screamed the lyrics to his closing number “River Bank”. I know I certainly had too much fun shouting the line “take a…LIME AND SUCK IT”.

While having a free tour geared toward college students might seem like an odd choice for a veteran artist like Brad Paisley, it was actually a pretty smart career move. With songs like “Alcohol”, “Crushin’ It”, and “Online”, Brad’s quirky sense of humor and social commentary are the perfect tools to reel in a population of young, college-aged fans. The cherry on top is his love for college football which inspired him to launch his tour at the start of the fall semester. His new single “Country Nation” is his theme song for the tour; it names dozens of college mascots, but focuses on how even though we might wear different colors on game day we are still united through country music. With its quasi-patriotic sound, it really is the perfect anthem to bring students together, and it certainly didn’t hurt that it expanded Brad’s fan base in the process.

“We’re Mountaineers, we’re Volunteers/We’re the Tide that rolls, we’re Seminoles/We’re a heard of Longhorn steer…On two thousand country stations/Yeah we’re one big country nation that’s right”

In spite of the criticism Brad faces as he veers more toward the bro-country style, I’m not ashamed to say that I fan-girled the entire night, and my heart skipped a beat when he performed a guitar solo an arm’s length away from me. This was definitely one of the best concerts I’ve ever attended and it was a perfect start to the new school year. So thank you, Brad, for the FREE concert and for just being you. You were certainly Crushin’ It on that stage all night long!

IMG_4870 (2)

Yes, Brad Paisley was inches away from my camera lens

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Filed under Austin, Blog Post 2, Bro Country, Concert, Country Rock, Texas

by | October 2, 2015 · 7:00 am

Taking You Back to Those Friday Night Lights

Its Friday afternoon, (in my case) around 3:30, and the final school bell rings. You run out to your car, roll down the windows, plug in the auxiliary cord and its time to jam on the ride home and get ready for some of the most unforgettable nights of high school. Country music is the first thing I think of when I remember the flashy bright lights of Friday night football. Here is a playlist that I hope will help you reminisce on some of the best times of our lives.

Of course “Boys of Fall,” by Kenny Chesney is first on the list. Every lyric gives me the chills, but the beginning really stands out, “When I feel that chill, smell that fresh cut grass/ I’m back in my helmet, cleats, and shoulder pads/ Standin’ in the huddle listenin’ to the call/ Fans goin’ crazy for the boys of fall.” I am sure everyone remembers either being on the field, or supporting your team to victory. The end truly encompasses the aspect of team when it says, “You mess with one man, you got us all/ The boys of fall.” Coming from a high school where our athletic teams were such a big deal, this song takes me back to the track where we stood in our cowboy boots and football jerseys watching our friends out on the field. This is the song that most likely was played in a graduation video that immediately brought tears.

“Fireworks” by Hudson Moore is a song that really hits home. This song is one that would be played at max volume the whole way home. Coming from Fort Worth as well, Hudson Moore does a great job in honoring Fort Worth high school football. “football/game on a Friday night/ the whole town came just to watch us fight/ i’ll never forget the last game we played/ they turned out the lights but everybody stayed.” This song gives an image of the whole school celebrating a win.

“Red Dirt Road” by Brooks & Dunn. This song highlights some of the memories of high school for example, “It’s where I drank my first beer/ It’s where I found Jesus/ Where I wrecked my first car/ I tore it all to pieces.” Although this song doesn’t directly mention high school football, it brings us all back to the memories of those crazy and unforgettable four years.

“If I Could Do it Again” by Corey Smith is another song that instantly makes us nostalgic. This song contains many lyrics that eventually become senior quotes and words to remember when you are in the middle of high school. It says, “If I could do it again/I’d do it the same/ Not one regret/ I wouldn’t change a thing.” This song is all about living with no regrets and making the best of the time we have.

“Friday Night” by Eric Pasley is a song about finding that high school first love and wanting to be that Friday night that everyone looks forward to. “I wanna be your Friday night sweet ride/Summertime sunshine barefoot in the moonlight/ I wanna be your jackpot hot spot/Wide open road in a candy apple rag top/I wanna set you free, I wanna take you high/I wanna be, wanna be your Friday night/ Oh your Friday night.” It makes me think of that high school boyfriend and looking forward to getting to be around them at the football games Friday night.

So if you are ever in the mood to roll down the windows and turn the volume on max, I hope these songs will make you think of the past and those Friday night lights.

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Filed under Blog Post 2, Lists, Reflection, Texas

by | September 24, 2015 · 7:00 am

Midnight Rodeo

IMG_0209Not many people in Texas can say they don’t know how to two-step. I however, had never had that experience until recently. A couple weeks ago some friends and I decided to go to Midnight Rodeo for fun. Going to midnight rodeo seemed like a fun alternative to our usual Thursday’s down on good ole 6th street. I distinctively remember walking into that dark venue. I could hear the “clicking” of boots all around me, smell the slightest hint of beer from the bar, and see a crowd around the dance floor. It was the definition of a Texas dance hall.

Many girls and guys watched others dance around the floor like elegant swan swimming through the lake. I had no idea how many different way people could make two-stepping their own. You could tell there were classical two-step moves, but couples added spins, flips and twirls to their routine. If you’ve never two-stepped before (like myself), it was definitely an intimidating site.

Sure enough, my friend pulled me to the dance floor and began two-stepping. Now, it’s a very easy dance once you get the hang of it, but different songs have different speeds which means you need to adjust how fast or slow you two-step. Thankfully, my friend was a veteran two-stepper and he was patient enough with me. As soon as I got the hang of the basic two-step, he could tell, then began adding in twirls to the mix. It was a crowded dance floor and you have to move to the music so you don’t run into anyone. He lead me around people so smoothly, even I was in shock.

They played many songs, but I’d have to say my favorite part of the night was when they played “Copperhead Road” and every single person in the venue stood up and began to line dance. I know this isn’t two-stepping, but it was neat to see everyone be able to participate (especially the people who didn’t have partners to two-step with). The stomping of boots and hollering of people proved to be unusually comforting for me. It’s probably because it represented a community of people who have something in common coming together to enjoy a dance with one another. Overall, the experience was new, fresh, and exciting for me. I love doing things outside of my comfort zone and this definitely proved to be worth it.

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Filed under Blog Post 2, Dancing, Texas