Turnpike Troubadours
CHOCTAW CASINO RESORT IN DURANT, OKLAHOMA, HOSTING OKLAHOMA-BRED TURNPIKE TROUBADOURS ON AUGUST 17
The Dirty River Boys, the up-and-coming Outlaw Folk-Americana
band from the western tip of Texas, will open
The Turnpike Troubadours, the Red Dirt/Country-leaning roots rock band out of Oklahoma, as well as the up-and-coming Outlaw/Folk/Americana band The Dirty River Boys, will perform live at Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant on Friday, August 17. The show will take place at Choctaw’s CenterStage venue, with the doors opening at 7 p.m. and the performance beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased by phone at 1-800-585-3737 or online at www.ChoctawCasinos.com.
The gritty Turnpike Troubadours at their best synthesize the populist, political folk of Woody Guthrie and the outlaw-styled honky-tonk of Waylon Jennings with doses of bluegrass, Cajun and straight-out rock dynamics. Fronted by singer and guitarist Evan Felker and including bassist R.C. Edwards, fiddler Kyle Nix, guitarist Ryan Engelman and drummer Giovanni Carnuccio, the group celebrates and explores modern rural life with a full awareness of history, delicately avoiding being ornate revivalists.
Their debut album, the self-released “Bossier City,” was released in 2007. The follow-up, “Diamonds & Gasoline,” was produced by veteran songwriter Mike McClure and released in 2010. Their latest album, “Goodbye Normal Street,” is known to be more inward, hunkering down and honing more on hard country. This understated nature can mean that “Goodbye Normal Street” doesn’t grab hold upon its first listen, but it is, as they say, a grower, the kind of record that slowly reveals its depths and eventually seems like an album that you’ve always known by heart.
The quintet’s front man, Evan Felker, also writes most of the band’s lyrics. He finds his inspiration for his songs in everyday life. What is unique about the Troubadours’ songs is that they are about real people and about themselves, which allows the band to relate to their audience and create the rowdy, toe-tapping rhythms of songs like, “Before the Devil Knows We’re Dead,” “Gin, Smoke and Lies,” and the Americana favorite “Every Girl.” While they are known for setting the tone for a lively atmosphere, they also manage to integrate raw and touching songs that deeply resonate with their audiences like “Blue Star” and “Wrecked.”
With their ability to relate to their fans and create an atmosphere that is sure to get boots out on the dance floor, the talented Turnpike Troubadours will keep fans singing and dancing all night long.
The Dirty River Boys, can proudly claim to have recorded their first album acoustically. For a band to do so with success, they would need raw-vintage talent, a ballsy temperament and just the right amount of dirty faith. Throws these together along with a lively rock show and you get The Dirty River Boys.
The band has quickly won over audiences of all ages with three-part harmonies and traditional but manipulated musicality, by redefining genres and uniquely fusing classic folk and hints of bluegrass with a modern rock edge.
Band members Nino Cooper, Travis Stearns and Marco Gutierrez bring stories of personal experience and heartbroken outlaws to life with their poetic verses. The Dirty River Boys also deliver whiskey-slamming, foot-stomping energy to classic instrument combinations of acoustic guitar, mandolin, harmonica, fiddle, cajón, snare, and banjo. The Dirty River Boys remind those listening that rock and roll is here to stay as long as it is kept a little dirty.
ABOUT CHOCTAW CASINO RESORT IN DURANT, OKLAHOMA
The AAA Four Diamond Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant includes 330 hotel rooms, a natatorium, fitness center, business center, full-service spa, and three retail outlets. In addition, there is a 175-seat amphitheater, five restaurants and 110,000 square feet of gaming space, including over 4,100 slot machines, 30 poker tables, and 48 table games. For more information, visit www.ChoctawCasinos.com or www.Facebook.com/ChoctawResort.