#dolly shine

[midlandcountrymusic]

[westxsweetheart-blog]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYXd91Fqvyg)

[livinginthemiddleofafield]

When you set the bridge on fire, you gotta watch it burn Hey, life is full of hard lessons learned You should’ve known that by now

[hellyeatexascountry]

Whitewater Amphitheater upcoming concert! I'll be there, will y'all?!

[morggielovesyou]

TMR 18...

let me preface all this by saying, I had no idea what I was getting into in regards to helping plan & implement a music festival. I wish I'd known more going into this, but I can't go back in time to change that, I can just take what I've learned and apply it to next year. that being said, here's how the day went:

Dolly Shine kicked things off for us at 2 on the small stage. their fiddle player, Wes, is phenomenal. SO stinkin good, and they are some of the sweetest guys! I like them (and their music) a lot, and I'm so so happy they could come out!

next up was a married folk/Americana duo called Carolina Story. they were super nice, and played really well. I talked to our morning show guy today about how they can easily fill the Civil Wars' spot in the Americana realm. I'm excited to be able to see their career grow!

Green Light Pistol started things off on the main stage - the small stage was probably not big enough for all of them, haha. they have 7 people in their band (5 sisters, a brother, and a fiance) and they were the winners of our 2013 Shiner Rising Star competition! they're funky and very high energy. something about sibling harmonies gives me goosebumps so much more than others.

then Erica Perry took the small stage. I didn't get a chance to listen to a whole lot of her set, but I liked the parts I did hear. her excitement and energy were infectious. it was impossible to be stressed or upset or anything other than happy around her. always smiling and jumping around and whatnot.

after Erica was American Aquarium on the main stage...and I just love those guys so much! live music is so much better when my friends are the ones on stage. it's so fun for me to see them fully in their element, doing what they love to do. I'm so glad they'll be in Texas so much this month :)

then Austin Cunningham was on the small stage. again, I didn't get to catch much of his set, but the crowd LOVED him. he wrote a song with our afternoon DJ I've told you about, called "the last great DJ" and they performed that together. 

The O's played the main stage. they are two of the goofiest dudes I have ever met in my life. they have a LOT of sound for just two guys, and they are incredibly talented. I'm honored to be able to call them friends. also, they treated my momma like a queen. always wins points in my book!

The Bigsbys were our 2012 Shiner Rising Star winners...next up on the small stage. they covered Pink Floyd and played stuff off their new album, and everyone loved them. I love those boys so much, and I'm so proud of them! I'm thankful to be a little part.

next on the main stage was John David Kent, who is one of THE nicest guys I've gotten to work with. he & his guys are extremely talented and did a fabulous job!

then Rodney Parker & the 50 Peso Reward played the small stage. he had Brook Wallace, fiddle genius of Green Light Pistol, playing with him. I unfortunately also missed a solid chunk of his set, but they sounded pretty great.

Zane Williams played the main stage for his first time at TMR...he's played that small stage for a long time now, and it was high time he took the main. his band started out playing, but Zane was nowhere to be seen...he had a cordless mic and walked up the middle aisle of the ballroom when he started singing. he caught everyone off guard, and there was one girl who was freaking out over him singing right next to her. it was really cute. he's a great guy. his band are like my brothers now, I'm really excited to see how far he goes from here.

Kylie Rae Harris closed out the small stage. I've never seen her full band for HER songs before - just singing with Zane's band, or acoustic, tons of times. she had Kimberly Kelly singing backup, and blew EVERYONE away. I am so, SO proud of her. I love that I got to see her in a stripped-down setting, but still with a full band. 

second to last on the main stage was Reckless Kelly. they are some of THE nicest dudes. I don't know what it is about the Braun family, but I think their parents used some kind of talent-enhancers in their meals when they were growing up. they are AWESOME. Big Neil was my main contact for them, and he was also incredibly nice. they're playing the Granada next month & told me to let them know if I'm coming. it'll be nice to see them when I don't have to work, haha.

finally, Jack Ingram closed the night out. he proved that he can still play his ass off & engage with the crowd. he stayed way longer for his meet & greet than he needed to, and made me take a picture with him, hah. I was glad I got to see him live (I hadn't before).

when I re-read all of this, the one thing I mentioned regarding each artist is how nice they all are. I really couldn't have hand-picked a more respectful, thoughtful group of artists! they're all incredibly talented, and it was an honor to have the opportunity to work with such awesome people.

huge thanks to everyone that came out, worked, shared such kind words, and to everyone that played! I'm really looking forward to next year :)

that's all.