This little article is going to be one of those all over the grid ones, as I go over some current things Joshua and I are up to here at Gary Hayes Country.com. Just spend a little time surfing around on the site, and you’ll soon see that we are on top of things once again.
We got a week long stretch of shows coming in September, including the Willie Nelson Outlaw Music Festival, Muddy Roots, The Time Jumpers, Ben Chapman, Reckless Kelly, Jason Boland And The Stragglers, and Mike And The Moonpies! We have so many different venues to talk about in these upcoming articles, and I also wanted to make an article about a past show, which was 49 Winchester.
We got some coverage from Americanafest coming in 2023 along with some more ideas that I have brewing for the second half of the year here. It took a little time to get caught up on everything, but I finally got us there. So let’s take a delve into what we got going on here.
My God, Joshua and I have caught some really amazing shows in our time as friends i just wanted to spend some time telling you about these three shows we saw in early part of 2023. We went to see 49 Winchester at the Basement East in Nashville, Tn ( these shows are not in order). I mostly went into these shows here as a fan, so I didn’t write down exactly every song every band did.
Issac Gibson was on point with vocals for this show, and the entire band played like a well oiled machine displaying confidence and a solidarity that many bands are still developing in the local venues. They have been invited to the Opry a few times, and there is no doubt that they will become involved in the Opry family later on in their career.
They played a list of songs from their latest smash release “Fortune Favors The Bold”, and they mixed it up with their other three albums which is important to me , because their first two albums didn’t garner enough attention to them. Well, that’s what websites like this are for! Even though I really was just enjoying these shows as a fan, I still felt the need to write about them all.
I think this band is very integral to the proliferation of Country Music to support bands like these, and the paths they are paving for the young ones now beginning to travel those same roads. This band is in it’s growing stage, there is NO stopping them, and they are on the path to becoming Opry members, and overall Legends.
Then, Joshua and I also got to spend the afternoon at Robert’s Western World, where we got to watch our old friend Joshua Hedley play a four hour shift on stage that day, before going to eat dinner and head over to the Bridgetone Arena to see Billy Strings. He played a three night residency at the arena this year, and as you know his shows are filled full pf energetic covers and LONG 20 minute jam sessions mid song.
We got to hear Ol Hed sing one of my favorites called “Counting All My Tears” from his first album, which also made it to my album of the year, and many more covers for the tourists. Now, before you go all out ape shit on me, you have to understand this is a viable means of income on Broadway and the fact that artists like him and Sarah Gayle Meech survive this way is admirable.
I mean, he really is “Mr. Jukebox”. He really can keep our city’s guests crying in their beers, as many of them did in their youth. Tell me, is that a bad thing? No, I still enjoy hitting Broadway every once in awhile
Billy Strings! I finally got to see him in the audience as a fan, like from the nosebleeds area, which enthralled me because I finally got to sit up above with an eagle eye view of a show. And all I can say about Billy Strings is 100 percent heart and soul of music, in a young adult frame. I am writing these articles not from notes, but from memory so please bear with me.
Of course you know that when he plays one of his bigger songs like “Dust In A baggie” right at the very beginning of a LONG show, YOU KNOW it’s going to be a banger! His shows contain so many solos and instrumental swaps that it’s very hard to keep track of. Especially during a 20 minute set of “Turmoil And Tinfoil”.
I mean, here is a Bluegrass band doing covers of “Little Maggie”, “Uncle Pen” and other timeless classics doing shows in an arena that has 2 small mosh pits? He has a massive, massive following and his merch generates a TON of income. His road show is rumored to be an expensive draw for the arena circuit, and the collect ability demand of his posters alone has spawned their own website!
He just absolutely slays the audience in every way, for every minute that he is on that stage. From whatever song he plays from one of his albums all the way until he ends the show , he keeps the music real and the ambiance going.
The last show we saw was an in store appearance at Grimey’s Music by none other than the Legendary Lucero. Much like the Drive By Truckers, this band has undergone a plethora of lineup changes and directions musically. I have covered their show many times, and they were doing an in store appearance for their latest album called “Should’ve Learned By Now”.
This really wasn’t an actual show per se, it was basically an in store album promotion performance. If I remember the entire show correctly most of the songs were all from the new album. But it was still a wonderful environment to see them perform on nonetheless.
So now basically we have quite a few things going on over here at Gary Hayes Country.com. I have finally caught up on a bunch of current events, Like Americanafest, Muddy Roots, some concerts at Waterloo Falls, Drive By Truckers News, Steamboat 2024, Willie Nelson News, The Steeldrivers In The Caverns, Outlaw Music Series, The Opry, Nickel Creek and over 200 festivals.
We have new album features coming up, and in the near future some plans for a new logo and some new merch to be launched at a future date, right now I choose to focus upon catching up with all of my lists of material I wanted to feature in the first part of 2023.
My partner, Joshua has created a podcast to go along with my website. This idea was totally his and I was kind of skeptical at first, but I got to e honest…it exceeded my expectations! This all HIS SHOW and every episode he shares more of the music that is in his heart. There are so many directions he can take that project, and I am excited to see what he does with it.
