10/15 Some Positive Thoughts

This post is inspired in part by reading a post on Twitter by Keith Urban, recommending Travis Meadows’ new album. As much as it is human nature to form “us-vs-them” cliques, whether it is about music or sports or politics or religion or anything else, it’s nice to see people supporting each other. I also read Lee Ann Womack’s post about Kendell Marvel’s new album, and Meadows and Marvel posted about each other’s albums. So, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like the nucleus of a feel-good article.
Often, the “big names” support lesser-known counterparts by including them as openers, recording their songs, or doing guest spots on their albums. Miranda Lambert’s recently announced tour includes a lot of independent acts, including the Steel Woods, who opened for Dwight Yoakam when I saw them last month. Chris Stapleton’s albums feature songs he wrote with songwriters he collaborated with for many years before he got his big break. Jason Eady & Courtney Patton opened for Sturgill Simpson at a recent tour stop near Houston, and Sturgill donated proceeds of the concert to hurricane victims. Eric Church provided a guest vocal on Ray Wylie Hubbard’s latest album. Bluegrass bands don’t get many opportunities to play for huge audiences, but I watched the Steeldrivers open for a sold-out Alabama concert a couple years ago in Tuscaloosa, and very recently, the Zac Brown Band had the O’Connor Band for a few dates. I could go on and on, but I just wanted to put some positive vibes out there.