Category Archives: 2016

CrudeFest 2016

Crowd shot toss It was Texas music all the way — Texas musicians singing and playing their own brands of what Texans love; Texas hospitality shining through all the smiles; and on Texas oil-rich soil — or more specifically, Midland dirt in the Permian Basin region.

This was CrudeFest in its 6^th year, May 12-14, with three days of the top Texas bands playing each day. And the crowds went wild!

Thursday opened with the Caleb Young Band, which won a band contest

Aaron Watson

hosted by the production company of TownSquare Experiential. That band opened it all up in great style. Then, there were the Dalton Domino, Bart Crow, Jason Boland, and Aaron Watson bands. Attendance was light in the beginning, because, after all, it was a workday, but by the time Bart Crow and his boys got on stage, the theater area was packed.

Friday had another area band opening, Clete Bradley, and following him

Cody Johnson Band

were Rich O’Toole, Mark McKinney, William Clark Green, Roger Creager, Cody Johnson and the Turnpike Troubadour bands. Again, lighter crowds in the beginning, growing as workers’ punched themselves out on their respective time clocks.

And Saturday — on my, what a crowd! Judson Cole, a more local band, played to as many people when he opened at 2:15 p.m., as Jason Boland had played to Thursday night. And the fans kept coming. Many of whom had been there every year. Following Cole were the Sam Riggs, Kyle Park, Whiskey Myers, Wade Bowen, Kevin Fowler, and Josh Abbott bands.

Kyle Park

It was refreshing to have only one stage of music, and the time change between bands — usually 30 minutes — gave attendees a chance to visit all the vendors while also visiting with old friends.

Here’s the ‘blog’ portion of this feature…

I had two incredibly ah-ha moments. Once, when I was taking photos of all the vendors around the back area, a man, Mark or Matt, caught me. He said he checks Scene In Town all the time, even tho he lives farther away than the Metroplex; because he likes live music so much. He took a selfie of himself and me, and we parted company… I was floating on a cloud. The other was when Wade Bowen handed me his latest CD “Then Sings My Soul… Songs for My Mother.” I had already bought the music off iTunes, but was so tickled to get the whole CD for review (Buddy Magazine) purposes.

The stage crew was so nice, the video duo who made sure it all ended up on the jumbo-tron, was equally nice. The bands showed their true Texas colors at the Meet and Greets, taking time to visit with and autograph whatever the fans asked them to. Security, while never once failing to handle an unruly situation, were equally friendly and accommodating, including Victor, Robert, and Ariel. Even the ice crew, who toted me around the campgrounds that Wednesday evening before it all started to try to find activity worthy of being preserved in photographs, Greg and Tyler, smiled as I rode with them while they did their ice work. Meals served daily to crew were nutritious and tasty. The TownSquare crew — Valerie, Sammy Jo, Carolyn, Kristen, and so many others, were kind and as accommodating in the time frames their respective responsibilities allowed them to be.

Many of those employed for CrudeFest 2016 were oil field roughnecks. While today’s lower gasoline prices are a blessing to the majority of us, many of these hard-working men and women were currently unemployed and very happy to get the work at CrudeFest. My co-photographer, Beckah, works full time and came out each afternoon after completing her regular duties – another hard-working Texan. This festival, with its payroll, tourists, rentals, and other income-producing factors, had to have been a great financial boon to the Permian Basin.

A note — CrudeFest is billed as Texas’ premier Red Dirt festival, but the truth is — we Texans all know it can’t be 100% Red Dirt without the Red Dirt Big Daddies Brandon Jenkins or Mike McClure & The Great Divide playing it. Maybe next year…

TownSquare Experiential produces several festivals throughout the year and throughout the nation. Scene In Town will keep you up with them as we can.

For Thursday band photos, Click here

For Friday band photos, Click here

For Saturday band photos, Click here

For a few other photos, Click here

LJT songwriter/singer Showcase semi-finals

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Story and photos by G. Houston Hall.

Randall King

For the first time in the Larry Joe Taylor Showcase history, two people, Randall King and Jackie Darlene, tied in the runner-up round to move on to the grand finale round.

The last five weeks have proven to be the building blocks for the best of the best that the Texas Music Scene has to offer. The runner-up showcase this last Monday was no different.

Melody Mountain Ranch played to the hearts of the hopeful and the minds of the few this last Monday night. With an artist lineup that shocked, awed and shook the few that watched. Though, unlike weeks past, the runner-up showcase was supposed to be a victory for a single artist. But, because the judges could not decide which artist outdid the other, a tie was formed and a historical marker in the showcase’s four-year history was inaugurated.

This last week hosted Randall King, Buck Fuffalo, Cody Jasper, Buffalo Ruckus and Jackie Darlene. All had a different approach to the showcase. They also all had great stage presence along with excellent bodies of work to choose from. Their nerves might have been shot, but from the audience’s perspective, they were entertaining the masses and creating life-like images with their songwriting ability and instrumental pizzazz.

The winners of the historical tie where Randall King from Amarillo, Texas, and Jackie Darlene from Waco, Texas.

Jackie Darlene was unavailable for comment.

I had the opportunity to speak with Randall King over the phone this past week and he said his experience thus far in the showcase was “humbling.” For a guy from the panhandle of Texas, (to be precise — Amarillo) Randall got his start by playing at bars in Lubbock. When he initially started to metamorphosis himself into the musician he is today, it took him about two years to find his own sound. “Most of the stuff I was playing back than had more of a rock sound. But, then it took me a few years to find my own sound; and when I did, I started writing the music I truly loved.” In the beginning, he followed the old way of songwriting. Some of his influences include Keith Whitley, John Anderson, and Merle Haggard.

Jackie Darlene

Randall was the first to go on the stage for the runner upround. On Monday night, (April 4, 2016) he had originally chosen three songs for his set; but; like the others; he was stunned that they would all be expected to play four songs. “I honestly wasn’t expecting to have a four-song set. I wasn’t upset by it. I actually saw as an extra 3-minute opportunity to show the judges and the crowd what I had to offer.” For his set, he played all originals. His first song was “I Can’t Talk To You,” the second song was “I Ain’t Waiting on you,” the third song was “Smoking Cigarettes,” and the fourth and final song was “Another Bullet.” For the most part, his music initiates the heart and soul of the listener by putting them in his shoes visually. He paints the picture that he is trying to craft then presents it in such a way that many have thought of him as sounding like a young version of George Strait. All in all, his music career has lots of potential. And like Larry Joe Taylor says at the beginning of every showcase event, “These musicians can do whatever they want in this business. All they have to do is work their @$$es off.”

The finals will be Monday, April 11, again at T-Bird’s on Melody Mountain Ranch, Stephenville. Vying for a spot on this next week’s Texas Music Festival are James Cook , Randall King , John D Hale, Kensie Michelle, Jackie Darlene and Kaitlyn Butts.

For more coverage on the showcase and other things related to the Texas Music Scene you can follow me on Facebook at Reddirtmusicphotojournalist and Sceneintown.com.

LJT’s Singer/Songwriter showdown,

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John D. Hale, courtesy photo

Story and videos by Houston Hall — Click on the links below to view the videos.

Many of you have heard of a little piece of heaven that lies between two state highways just north of a town called Stephenville. Melody Mountain Ranch, aka the place where the ever-growing Larry Joe Taylor Music Festival is held, also holds something just as special. But it is much quainter, interpersonal, and can be at times an inspiring place for those with dreams of big stages and top-selling records.

The Songwriters Showcase is the place to be prior to the yearly festival. It is held at T-Birds. Every six weeks prior to the festival for the last 4 years, Larry Joe has held this Songwriters Showcase. In years past, names in the Texas Music Scene like Parker McCollum (last year’s winner) and Dalton Domino (the 2014 winner) have had their careers jump-started by playing in and winning the Showcase.

This year, there are a few newcomers to the scene. For instance, the first week was won by Kaitlyn Butts of Oklahoma City, Okla., and second runner-up was Randal King.

This last week, Week Two, hosted John D. Hale, Jason Lovell and Brad Haefner of Buffalo Ruckus, Jesse Jennings, Jason Helms, and the Gibbonses.

Out of the five who played, John D. Hale took first place for Week Two. He was later

Brad Haefner, Jason Lovell — Buffalo Ruckus duo. Photo by Mary Jane Farmer

unavailable for comment. While Jason and Brad from Buffalo Ruckus took second for Week Two, John D. Hale will move on to the grand finale, as will Kaitlyn Butts, and Brad and Jason will move on to the second runner-up round, as will Randal King, the date of which has yet to be determined.

I had the pleasure of speaking with Brad Haefner, the lead guitarist and mandolin player in Buffalo Ruckus, and he said, “We were excited to be a part of the showcase. It’s a different feel from playing a rocking set of music on the main stage. It’s obviously much more intimate and you can get a real feel for the songs and the setting.”

When I later asked him how he felt about their set on the T-Birds stage, he responded with, “It wasn’t our greatest set of music, but I think that the songs came across in the end. Yes, there were a couple of technical issues with the sound, which kind of prevented us from sounding as good as we could have, but it really in the end it was the songs that came across and you know that’s what this is all about anyway.”

Hale did not return calls for an interview.

Dalton Domino has hosted the showcase for the last two years. When I asked about how he felt about the transition from contender to host of the showcase, he responded with, “My favorite thing out of my career… And I’m not saying that to blow smoke up Larry Joes A**. I love going into a songwriters competition and being able to find, you know, somebody I’ve never heard before that absolutely blows you away and stuff like that. And it’s an intimate thing and I love that. And it’s very quiet and it’s just pure talent. The transition part of it now is being able to do all of those things, but from a spectator’s perspective.”

The videos shown here are of John D. Hale and Brad Haefner and Jason Lovell of Buffalo Ruckus. We’ll keep following and reporting on this showcase.

For more information about it, visit Scene in Town or RedDirtMusicPhotojournalist on Facebook.

Backwater Music Festival announces partial line-up

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Press Release

When: Sept 2-4, 2016

Where: Tatanka Ranch, Rt. 66, Stroud, OK

Backwoods Music Festival has been named Oklahoma’s largest annual creative production, music and arts festival by Business Insider and will be returning for an even bigger and better festival in 2016. The festival brings international touring musicians in a cross-genre smorgasbord of electronic, jam, folk, reggae, funk, bluegrass, red dirt, and Americana. The three-day must-see event hosts thousands of people annually that camp at the Tatanka Ranch and enjoy the weekend.

Although there are seven stages, some of which immerse the audience in 360-degree environments, there’s much more than music too. The event boasts an experience greater than that of a typical concert. Large art installations, creative lighting, and transformational workshops provide plenty of other things to see and do. Activities such as a ferris wheel, helicopter rides, laser tower climb, beach and water toy activities, hay maze, giant slip n’ slide, and yoga keep you busy if there wasn’t enough already.

Still not satisfied? Go shopping at one of the many vendors on Shakedown Street, or grab a bite to eat at the many food trucks. There really is more than you can do in a weekend at Backwoods.

Backwoods’ 2016 lineup of artists is as follows:

AND MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED IN MARCH!

Tickets are on sale at the festival’s website and include camping at no additional charge.

Click Here for Tickets: http://backwoodsmusicfestival.com/ticket-information/

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