by | November 2, 2014 · 8:00 am

Fayette County Country Music Opry

Screen Shot 2014-10-28 at 12.05.57 AMEvery third Monday of the month at 7:30pm, the Fayette County Country Music Club holds their very own Country Music Opry at the La Grange Knights of Columbus Hall. A house band of local musicians play each month along with the occasional out of town musicians who stop by to play for publicity and experience in front of a crowd of about 300 to 400 people.

Even though the set up is nothing fancy, the musicians that play are usually not very established, and the average age of the people who come to watch is probably around 65, the Fayette County Country Music Club Opry was a big part of my childhood days. Because my dad and grandpa are a part of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic charity fraternity, they would often have to work during the opry. I can remember as early as age three or four watching the musicians sing old country songs, from Hank Williams to Johnny Cash to Dolly Parton. I can probably sing almost any traditional country song that is thrown at me word for word, and I have the opry to thank for my impressive skills.

When I was younger, I remember my older brother, Chase, and I giving my mom the hardest time about going and after dragging us there, we were always more interested in playing “wall ball” and eating hamburgers in the back room than sitting with all the “old people” and listening to “ancient country music.” We stopped going to the opry with my parents when Chase got into middle school and they trusted us to stay home alone for a few hours by ourselves. The last time I attended was probably my sophomore year in high school to watch my friend, Briana Adams, play.

I recently thought about the Fayette County Country Music Club Opry when considering what to blog about. I got really excited about the opry because it is actually perfect for this class. When I called my mom to see if it was something that still went on, she was surprised about my new interest in it.  Looking back now I wish my juvenile self had realized how cool it actually is that little La Grange puts on the Fayette County Country Music Club Opry (at the point in my life where this tends to be happening more and more). I plan on going to check it out again soon, which I know will make my grandma happy, and I am not ashamed to say I am truly excited to hear some good traditional country music!

I wanted to share some footage from the opry, so I found some videos on YouTube. The videos are a few years old, but I feel they give a good sense of what the Fayette County Country Opry is like! Also, you should check out my friend Briana Adams! She’s so talented and definitely has a very traditional country feel!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY2vGxR7QCo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMs-lCzjbvY#t=571

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Filed under Dancing, Live Music, Texas

by | November 1, 2014 · 8:00 am

All American Girl

From her audition on American Idol to her first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, I have been a huge fan every step of the way. Carrie Underwood is by far one of my favorite artists ever. I love everything about her, her voice, her style, her story, the way she carries herself, and most of all her humbleness. I can listen to her albums over and over and never get bored. When I listen to her music it allows me to block out all the stress, worries, and problems. I guess you can say it’s kind of like my happy place. There’s a Carrie Underwood song for every occasion. I listen to her music when I’m doing laundry, studying, grocery shopping, and even for some of the tougher times in my life, like when my parents got a divorce. I have compiled a list of some of my favorite Carrie Underwood songs along with the cover art of the album.

carrie-underwood-some-hearts 1. “Some Hearts” (2005)
2. “Starts With Goodbye” (2005)
3. “Lessons Learned” (2005)
220px-Playon 4. “Change” (2009)
5. “Mama’s Song” (2009)
6. “Temporary Home” (2009)
Carnival_Ride_-_Album 7. “So Small” (2007)
8. “All American Girl” (2007)
9. “I Told You So” (2007)
10. “Something in the Water” (2014)

The songs above are only some of my favorites because the list could go on forever. I would love to one day meet Carrie Underwood and just tell her how much I love her and how fabulous I think she is. Her voice is just crazy amazing. When I’m at home I turn the music up really loud and pretend I’m at her concert. It is definitely on my bucket list to attend at least one Carrie Underwood concert. It would be so amazing to see her live. She did perform at the Thanksgiving game halftime show in Dallas one year but unfortunately I was unable to go. Oh, but believe me I was the first person in front of the TV when the half time show began.

My sister seems to think I have an obsession with Carrie Underwood, but truth is I just love her and how she doesn’t take anything she had achieved for granted. I see a little of myself in her. I just think it’s awesome how she grew up on a farm, put her dream of singing aside to go to school, and then ultimately in the end made her dream come true. I guess you could say Carrie Underwood is one of my idols. Who is your favorite artist? Do you have a country music idol?

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Filed under Movies and TV, New Country

by | · 6:00 am

Meaningful Songs

Everyone has that one song or maybe a few songs that mean a lot to him or her because it reminds them of someone, a special event or it just makes them feel good. I have many of those song but some of the most meaningful songs for me are country songs. Although I have a lot of songs that I could talk about, I would like to share just three of those songs with you and why they mean a lot to me.

Just A Kiss-Lady Antebellum (2011)

Lady AThis is one of the songs that I have liked ever since I first heard it and it is one of my favorite songs by Lady Antebellum. I remember that I heard it on the radio one day while driving and when I got home I went online and looked up the video and I loved it even more. Since I play the piano, I really liked how the song started off with the piano and I liked the lyrics. That is why I initially liked it.

I kept listening to it often ever since I heard it but it wasn’t until a year later that it became more meaningful to me. I met my boyfriend that year and he doesn’t like country music but I decided to share this song with him. I was actually quite scared to hear what he had to say but I was surprised with what he told me. He actually liked the song and told me why he liked it. Now every time I hear that song, it brings back to memory about when I first started a relationship with my boyfriend and that is why this song is one of my favorites.

See You Again– Carrie Underwood (2012)

See You AgainA fun fact about this song is that it was written in hopes that it would make it to the soundtrack for the Chronicles of Narnia but unfortunately it didn’t make it. It is still an amazing song, in my opinion. Carrie Underwood released this song back in her most recent album Blown Away. I had heard it a couple times after it was released but it wasn’t until August 2013 that I actually paid attention to it.

My aunt had just passed away and I was affected by the loss. I missed the first week and a half of the fall semester to go to Mexico for the funeral and even when I came back I was having a hard time coping with it. While trying to catch up in school, I was listening to music and this song came on. The instant the song was over I was crying but after crying for a bit I felt more peaceful. The song is talking about losing a loved one and having hope and coping with such a terrible loss. Now every time I hear that song I think about my aunt but I don’t get sad like I used to at first. Now I think about the good times I had with her, which weren’t that many, but they were special for me and my family.

Luke Bryan pianoDo I– Luke Bryan (2009)

I think by now everyone knows that I like Luke Bryan, a lot, so there is obviously a song by him that I really like. In this case, “Do I” is one of my all-time favorite songs. This song is actually the first country song I heard, back when it came out in 2009. I was in high school and I remember that I did not listen to country music at all but for some reason this song changed that.

One of my friends actually made me listen to that song and from that moment on, I have liked country music. I looked up the song when I got home, just like every other song, and I watched the video and I liked it ten times more. I saw Luke playing the piano, one reason I liked it more, and I just liked the way that it sounded. After that, I kept listening to more songs by him and I started to listen to other artists as well and that is how I started to listen to country music. That song lead me to be more open to country music and the fact that the piano was one of the main instruments makes that song better for me. I can sing that song with many of my co-workers or friends nowadays and it is such a cool feeling to sing it with other people and it was even better to have sung it at his concert last month. I don’t think I will ever get tired of listening and singing this song.

Those are just three of my favorite songs but I could definitely talk about a lot more. If you have any songs that are meaningful to you or that you really like or maybe you like one of these three songs, I would love to hear about it.

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Filed under Reflection, Song Analysis

by | October 31, 2014 · 8:00 am

Sam Hunt’s Montevallo

sam-hunt-x2c

enhanced-14422-1410282499-9On October 27th, Montevallo, the debut album by the new hot country music artist Sam Hunt, was released. Zach Crowell and Shane McAnally produced this Country Pop album under the label MCA Nashville. New music is always so exciting especially from a very new and already popular Country Music artist. It is also exciting to see that Sam Hunt wrote all of the songs on the album with some help but for the most part he is the main writer. This is his first studio album ever! Before this album he came out with the popular single, “Leave the Night On”, which is on Montevallo. Hunt also released “X2C,” a four song EP, intended as a preview for his first studio album. The EP debuted on the No. 36 on the Billboard 200 and No. 5 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. This is the only music he has with his label MCA Nashville.

images-1Though he’s taking the spotlight as a solo artist for the first time, Hunt is not exactly new to the Country Music industry. Before signing with MCA Nashville he had a 15 song mix tape and one single called “Raised On It”. He has also co-written a few popular songs, like Kenny Chesney’s 2012 single “Come Over”, for which he received an award from ASCAP. Hunt also wrote two singles released in 2014: Keith Urban’s “Cop Car” and Billy Currington’s “We Are Tonight”. Even though he has had recent success with music it hasn’t always been his passion. Sam Hunt was a college football quarterback at both Middle Tennessee State University and University of Alabama at Birmingham. After college he was briefly signed as a free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs.

So as you can see this is Sam Hunt’s first actual step onto the country music scene. So far he has had lots of positive feedback from fans. His single made it on US Billboard Hot 100 38 times. I expect that Montevallo will experience the same type of success since the single is from the album. It will be very exciting to see how listeners will react to the album.  I love when I am able to discover an artist early on in their career because you can watch how they grow in their music and how they transform throughout their career. Definitely give Montevallo a listen when you can it is a very fun listen that will get you singing along as well as make you a new fan of newcomer Sam Hunt. He is currently on his CMT Tour: Up in Smoke with Kip Moore and Charlie Worsham that started in September and will continue through November at venues across the U.S.

Tracks:

1. “Take Your Time”
2. “Leave the Night On”
3. “House Party”
4. “Break Up in a Small Town”
5. “Single for the Summer”
6. “Ex to See”
7. “Make You Miss Me”
8. “Cop Car”
9. “Raised on It”
10. “Speakers”

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Filed under News, Reviews

by | October 30, 2014 · 8:00 am

Small Time Country: Texas Style

I have been exposed to a lot country music in my time growing up Texas, but something that strikes me is the fact that a lot of people these days don’t seem to listen to as much Texas country music as one might think, especially those that live here. I have only recently been immersed into the Texas Country music scene and over the past 2 or 3 years its has grown on me like wildfire. For me at least Texas country has the flare and rhythm that Nashville and big time artists are missing.

Steamboat

Last year I went to Music Fest in Steamboat, Colorado. Don’t ask me why there is a giant Texas country music festival in Colorado. There just is. And it’s a ton of fun. But I digress, while at Music Fest I saw many performers from Turnpike Troubadours, Cody Johnson, Randy Rogers, Cory Morrow, Jack Ingram, Roger Creager, Kevin Fowler, etc. and I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t heard these people before. They were all so good and I found myself no being able to get enough. There was something about the voices, the messages, and the fiddle that captivated me.

I learned that I loved the Red Dirt sound with the over-powering fiddle and the drunken lively audience that made Texas country so much more fun to listen to and dance to, among other things. I realize that not everyone likes a good ho down but I just couldn’t see how people wouldn’t like this music or at least appreciate it. The Texas country music scene has slipped back under the radar from its glory days in the 70’s with Willie and Weylon and perhaps many of the artists prefer it that way. Willie and Weylon were known as outlaws for a reason.

I suppose that could be a factor as many Texas country artists consider themselves outlaws refusing to conform to the industry standard that Nashville has set. I understand this and trust me, it makes the whole experience a lot more fun for those of you looking for a good time and a rowdy crowd.

Cody JohnsonA few artists I recommend for those of you wanting to dip your toes into Texas country check out Cody Johnson who’s hit single “Me and My Kind” is at the top of the Texas charts and Kevin Fowler who’s “100% Texan” and “Beer, Bait, and Ammo” are classic. Also, check out the Josh Abbott Band who gained some national attention for their single “Oh, Tonight”.

I realize that a lot people do, in fact, listen to Texas country music, but I want to get the word out that Texas country is more than just music its a life style, a story, a wild ride, but more importantly a good time.

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Filed under Live Music, Texas