I have seen hundreds and hundreds of acts perform over the years. I didn’t much get into taking phone videos at concerts until mid-2021. After the covid lockdowns, I no longer took for granted that I could go enjoy live music. This new playlist, “I Was There” is a collection of videos I found on YouTube where I remember being in the audience.
Month: March 2023
March 6, 2023 More Recent Concerts
It’s been awhile since my last post, but I’ve seen a LOT of live music recently.
On February 18, I saw Jason James at Gruene Hall. I’ve seen him several times and he always delivers “very country” music, both originals and classic covers. If you enjoy the music of artists like Lefty Frizzell, Merle Haggard, and George Jones, then you’ll probably like what you hear.
Also on February 18, I saw Wilkinson’s Quartet across the street at The Grapevine at Gruene. The first time I saw Candler Wilkinson IV was with the Railhouse Band at Threadgill’s in 2017. He does a little of everything, from yodeling to singing in other languages.
I saw Tiffiny Dawn on the evening of February 18. That was one busy day of music. She covers a good range of music, from classic country to R&B and rock and roll. She covered Elvis Presley and Chris Stapleton, so she has good taste. She also sang a little in Spanish. She is also an original songwriter.
On February 19, I went to the album release party and concert by Grouchy Like Riley at Gruene Hall. This band has been playing at Gruene for many years. They can go from Jimmie Rodgers to Chuck Berry, and play both originals and classic covers from country, folk, R&B, and rock. They even threw in an original polka instrumental.
I caught just a little of The Hot Pipes with Michael Milligan at the Gruene Grove after that. They play bluesy/jazzy music, often turning songs into extended jams.
February 21 was Mardi Gras. Slim Bawb and the Fabulous Stumpgrinders played at Gruene Hall. Originally from California, Slim Bawb has played music for a living since 1974. He has a lot of Louisiana influences. There was everything from beads to a king cake, and the band wore luchador masks for one song.
February 22 was a full day at the San Antonio Rodeo. The Turnpike Troubadours were the headliners. Earlier in the day I saw the Eddie Rivas Band (which did a cover of Tennessee Whiskey that was close to seven minutes, with some nice saxophone) and Felix Truvere (Texas Country with steel guitar).
On February 25, I attended the 7th annual Tuscaloosa Fiddle Fest in Alabama. Talented musicians from a dozen states showed up to compete for prizes, including fiddlers who have won national contests such as the Grand Masters and who have played at the Grand Ole Opry. You could take the top five from the open division of this fiddle contest and put them in any fiddle contest in the country. There was a headlining performance by Iron Horse Bluegrass, which is best known for the “Pickin’ On” series covering artists from other styles of music, but they also play some traditional and original bluegrass. The Baker Family from Missouri won the bluegrass band competition, with Trustin winning the fiddle grand champion prize (though honestly every one in the top five was professional quality). Young musicians were also well represented. The Parker siblings from Arkansas, the Goebel siblings from Kentucky, and 10-year old banjo player Alex Davis are among the elite young musicians who played. The organizers and judges played during the lunch break. My cousin’s wife Sharon Bounds of Bounds and Determined is one of the organizers. I helped run the festival’s web site the first two years, 2015-2016.
On March 1, I saw Kinsey Rose in Nashville at Ole Red. The last time I had seen her was 2017, so it was good to hear her again. On March 2, I saw Cody Atkins (classic country covers with fiddle and steel) at the Johnny Cash Bar and BBQ and Mindy Miller at John Rich’s Redneck Riviera. Mindy played as a duo with her husband, who played steel guitar. Mindy has a new album on the way in a couple of months with original material, but the majority of her set was classic country covers.
On March 4, I passed back through Tuscaloosa on my way back and saw a free music festival honoring the 100th anniversary of Druid City Hospital. Sets alternated between the main stage and the side stage, so the music kept flowing. On the main stage were The Locals (local band specializing in classic rock covers), CashBack (Johnny Cash tribute band from Birmingham), Adam Hood (highly accomplished local songwriter who is better known in Texas than in his home state), and The Powell Brothers (Houston, Texas group with a rock sound, but country influences). On the side stage were John Bull and Peggy Gaines Walker (John is a member of the Alabama Blues Hall of Fame and Peggy was a Nashville R&B artist in the 1960s who was featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s program about Nashville’s R&B scene), Cashmere Williams (R&B, was part of Ruben Studdard’s band), and Matt Jones (local songwriter with four albums of originals).
I wasn’t kidding about seeing a LOT of music! I posted a good many phone videos on Robert’s YouTube channel
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