Ah yes ... Thanksgiving.
The Real. Texas. Festival. has plenty to be thankful for. Let's get started.
* The RTF is thankful for visionary City of Mesquite administrators and elected leaders who see this festival not only for what it is, but for what it's becoming. In a day and age when many music festivals are shuttering due to soft ticket sales, the Real. Texas. Festival. steamrolls into its fifth year and is not looking back.
* The RTF is thankful for Time Warner Cable, Hooters, The U.S. Army, Coca Cola, Coors Light, Hampton Inn and Suites, Resistol Arena, Star Community Newspapers, 99.5 The Wolf, The Dallas Observer, Al Dia, Dallas Regional Medical Center, Lee Lewis Construction and all of the other sponsors who help make the festival possible.
* The RTF is thankful for Texas musicians like Stoney Larue, Eli Young Band, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Cory Morrow, Kevin Fowler, Jack Ingram, Jonathan Tyler and Northern Lights, the Old 97s, The Toadies, Bowling for Soup, Wade Bowen, Steve Holy, Billy Joe Shaver, Buggs Henderson, Robert Earl Keen, ZZ Top, Miranda Lambert, The Dixie Chicks, Kelly Clarkson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jason Boland, Mark McKinney, Reckless Kelly, Micky and the Motorcars, Mike McClure, Charlie Robison, Seth James, Doyle Bramhall II, Damage Plan, Lucinda Williams, Patrica Vonne, Valejo, Little Joe y La Familia and all of the other Texas music folks who make their music their way. They stay true to themselves, true to their state and true to their art.
* We are thankful for the fans of Texas music and the Red Dirt scene. They are the people that make the Real. Texas. Festival. tick.
* We are thankful for Gibson, Fender, Paul Reed Smith, Music Man, Guild, Martin, Breedlove, Taylor, Epiphone, Ibanez and all of the other companies who build guitars.
* We are thankful for Marshall, Fender, Peavy, Ampeg, Crate, Line 6, Mesa Boogie, Orange, Carvin and all of the people who power the sound of Texas music through amplification.
* We are thankful for Taylor Swift who continues to sell records when nobody else seems to be able to. We don't know how she's doing it, but she's doing it.
* We are thankful for Mumford and Sons who went head to head with Wal-mart and won.
* We are thankful for barbecue. Nobody does it better than Texas.
* We are thankful for the Texas Rangers -- the baseball team.
* We are thankful for Justin Bieber, who can make everyone seemingly forget about the Jonas Brothers. Now, if someone else can come along and make us all forget about Justin Bieber.
* We are thankful for Pink. She's not from Texas but she ought to be.
* We are thankful for 99.5 The Wolf. There's nobody better.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Check out the Real. Texas. Festival. April 29 and 30, 2011.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Big night for Texan and RTF alum
Good for Lindale, Texas' own Miranda Lambert.
Lambert was one of the big winners at the Country Music Association awards last evening. She won the awards for Best Female Vocal Performer, Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Album of the Year for "Revolution."
The Song of the Year was "House that Built Me" with its corresponding video winning Video of the Year.
Her fiancee Blake Shelton was also a big winner ... and that makes the Real. Texas. Festival. one of the winners at the CMA's as well. Shelton won the award for Best Male Vocal Performance as well as for Musical Event of the Year ... the duet with Trace Adkins for "Hillbilly Bone."
In fact, host for the evening Brad Paisley -- who had several underrated and funny lines throughout the evening -- was prompted to say "with the night Blake and Miranda are having, we should expect a baby in about nine months." His best line of the night was during his introduction of Dierks Bentley when he told the audience that on his latest album, Dierks returned to his bluegrass roots.
"And of course as everyone knows, bluegrass grows wild and free in Dierks' hometown of Phoenix, Ariz."
Genius.
So, how is the Real. Texas. Festival. a winner at the CMAs? Well, Blake Shelton was the headliner in the inaugural festival in 2007. It gives the festival even more credibility as a top-shelf event because of the magnitude of the entertainers we bring.
That being said, how did we do?
As you may recall ... at least the half dozen to 10 people who read this blog regularly ... we took a stab at predicting the winners in some of the major categories at the CMAs. We didn't predict all of them, but it looks like we did pretty well.
Best New Artist -- Prediction: Zac Brown Band. Winner: Zac Brown Band
As much as it drives me crazy how a band or an artist who's breakout album was three years ago can win Best New Artist, kudos to Zac Brown. It's an outstanding group, but we were pulling for Texan Chris Young.
Vocal Group of the Year -- Prediction: Lady Antebellum. Winner: Lady Antebellum
No real surprise as the luster begins to rub off Rascal Flatts.
Vocal Duo of the Year -- Prediction: Brooks and Dunn. Winner: Sugarland
Not sure how Sugarland wins for vocal duo of the year when Kristian really doesn't sing. Jennifer Nettles does about 98 percent of the singing in that band. I thought for sure with Brooks and Dunn on their farewell tour, they'd be a lock. So, there ya go.
Single of the Year -- Prediction: "Need You Now" from Lady Antebellum. Winner: "Need you Now."
Not a fan of the song or the group, but when you have something that crosses over multiple radio station formats, it's obviously a formula for success.
Song of the Year -- Prediction: "Need You Now." Winner: "House that Built Me" by Miranda Lambert.
I saw this as a bit of an upset. I actually like "White Liar" better from that album.
Video of the Year -- Prediction: "Water" by Brad Paisley. Winner: "House that Built Me" Miranda Lambert
The true greatness behind this video is the less-is-more concept. Just her, an old house, a guitar and a tour bus. Fabulous.
Entertainer of the Year -- Prediction: Brad Paisley. Winner: Brad Paisley.
Until last night, Brad was well on his way to becoming the Susan Lucci of the CMAs in this category. I believe last night was his fifth nomination without a win. And again, he had a very underrated line in his acceptance speech: "My mentor Little Jimmy Dickens used to say, 'If you see a turtle sittin on a fence post, chances are he had help gettin there.' Folks, I had a lot of help getting here."
One final note about the CMAs (pardon the pun) ... Gwyneth Paltrow. Uh, I think she's a very good actress.
Lambert was one of the big winners at the Country Music Association awards last evening. She won the awards for Best Female Vocal Performer, Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Album of the Year for "Revolution."
The Song of the Year was "House that Built Me" with its corresponding video winning Video of the Year.
Her fiancee Blake Shelton was also a big winner ... and that makes the Real. Texas. Festival. one of the winners at the CMA's as well. Shelton won the award for Best Male Vocal Performance as well as for Musical Event of the Year ... the duet with Trace Adkins for "Hillbilly Bone."
In fact, host for the evening Brad Paisley -- who had several underrated and funny lines throughout the evening -- was prompted to say "with the night Blake and Miranda are having, we should expect a baby in about nine months." His best line of the night was during his introduction of Dierks Bentley when he told the audience that on his latest album, Dierks returned to his bluegrass roots.
"And of course as everyone knows, bluegrass grows wild and free in Dierks' hometown of Phoenix, Ariz."
Genius.
So, how is the Real. Texas. Festival. a winner at the CMAs? Well, Blake Shelton was the headliner in the inaugural festival in 2007. It gives the festival even more credibility as a top-shelf event because of the magnitude of the entertainers we bring.
That being said, how did we do?
As you may recall ... at least the half dozen to 10 people who read this blog regularly ... we took a stab at predicting the winners in some of the major categories at the CMAs. We didn't predict all of them, but it looks like we did pretty well.
Best New Artist -- Prediction: Zac Brown Band. Winner: Zac Brown Band
As much as it drives me crazy how a band or an artist who's breakout album was three years ago can win Best New Artist, kudos to Zac Brown. It's an outstanding group, but we were pulling for Texan Chris Young.
Vocal Group of the Year -- Prediction: Lady Antebellum. Winner: Lady Antebellum
No real surprise as the luster begins to rub off Rascal Flatts.
Vocal Duo of the Year -- Prediction: Brooks and Dunn. Winner: Sugarland
Not sure how Sugarland wins for vocal duo of the year when Kristian really doesn't sing. Jennifer Nettles does about 98 percent of the singing in that band. I thought for sure with Brooks and Dunn on their farewell tour, they'd be a lock. So, there ya go.
Single of the Year -- Prediction: "Need You Now" from Lady Antebellum. Winner: "Need you Now."
Not a fan of the song or the group, but when you have something that crosses over multiple radio station formats, it's obviously a formula for success.
Song of the Year -- Prediction: "Need You Now." Winner: "House that Built Me" by Miranda Lambert.
I saw this as a bit of an upset. I actually like "White Liar" better from that album.
Video of the Year -- Prediction: "Water" by Brad Paisley. Winner: "House that Built Me" Miranda Lambert
The true greatness behind this video is the less-is-more concept. Just her, an old house, a guitar and a tour bus. Fabulous.
Entertainer of the Year -- Prediction: Brad Paisley. Winner: Brad Paisley.
Until last night, Brad was well on his way to becoming the Susan Lucci of the CMAs in this category. I believe last night was his fifth nomination without a win. And again, he had a very underrated line in his acceptance speech: "My mentor Little Jimmy Dickens used to say, 'If you see a turtle sittin on a fence post, chances are he had help gettin there.' Folks, I had a lot of help getting here."
One final note about the CMAs (pardon the pun) ... Gwyneth Paltrow. Uh, I think she's a very good actress.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Micky and the Motorcars signed
The Real. Texas. Festival. entertainment schedule is starting to take shape. Offers are being made, mulled over and a few have even been accepted.
We've already signed our headliners. We have a couple of publicity embargoes as our headliners have shows booked in the area. We don't want to step on those shows so we'll wait until we've been given the green light to promote our headliners.
That green light will come Jan 1 ... so Jan. 1 at the stroke of midnight, be sure to check the Web site www.realtexasfestival.com for the announcement of the RTF headliners for 2011.
Trust me y'all ... it's big and Texas music fans will certainly not be disappointed. I say this every year, but we could have the largest attendance ever at the festival with the Friday and Saturday night headliners we've signed.
That being said, there are some signed entertainers that we can talk about.
For example, rising Texas music alt-country rockers Micky and the Motorcars have been signed for the festival. Micky and the Motorcars are an Austin-music scene stronghold and have been for a number of years.
I was unaware of the fact that Motorcars frontman Micky Braun is the brother of Reckless Kelly frontman Willy Braun.
Like many of the Texas bands and artists, they are true road warriors. They play some 215 shows per year and are traveling all over the state and nation. That's one of the things that sets Texas bands apart. They can log more miles touring in a year and some national recording acts -- simply by traveling the state.
Think about it ... from Kingsville to Amarillo and from Texarkana to El Paso -- that's a lot of miles.
The festival will also feature two of the hottest Tejano/Latino groups going today. One of them, Los Texmaniacs, won the Grammy for Best Tejano Album in 2010 for "Borders y Bailes."
Grupo Vida will be making a return performance at the festival, having played the event in 2010. The Electric Cowboys, as they are referred to from time to time, certainly entertain with an electric performance. They just might be the most versatile act on the bill.
The festival will also bring back the Battle of the Bands event for high school "garage bands." There are only eight performance slots available, but that doesn't mean more bands won't have the ability compete.
It has been our hope to have enough bands submit audition materials to where we can actually have preliminary rounds. And remember, there are no restrictions on the style of music that can be submitted for the Battle of the Bands.
True, the festival leans toward alt-country, country rock. But the Battle of the Bands event can feature anything or everything -- Rock, Rap, Metal, Grunge, Techno, Alternative, Emo, Thrash, Punk, Ska, Gospel, Hip Hop, Dance, Goth, Electronica ... it just doesn't matter.
The Real. Texas. Festival. prides itself on having one of the most diverse entertainment line ups and concert series out there.
The 2011 edition will be no exception.
We've already signed our headliners. We have a couple of publicity embargoes as our headliners have shows booked in the area. We don't want to step on those shows so we'll wait until we've been given the green light to promote our headliners.
That green light will come Jan 1 ... so Jan. 1 at the stroke of midnight, be sure to check the Web site www.realtexasfestival.com for the announcement of the RTF headliners for 2011.
Trust me y'all ... it's big and Texas music fans will certainly not be disappointed. I say this every year, but we could have the largest attendance ever at the festival with the Friday and Saturday night headliners we've signed.
That being said, there are some signed entertainers that we can talk about.
For example, rising Texas music alt-country rockers Micky and the Motorcars have been signed for the festival. Micky and the Motorcars are an Austin-music scene stronghold and have been for a number of years.
I was unaware of the fact that Motorcars frontman Micky Braun is the brother of Reckless Kelly frontman Willy Braun.
Like many of the Texas bands and artists, they are true road warriors. They play some 215 shows per year and are traveling all over the state and nation. That's one of the things that sets Texas bands apart. They can log more miles touring in a year and some national recording acts -- simply by traveling the state.
Think about it ... from Kingsville to Amarillo and from Texarkana to El Paso -- that's a lot of miles.
The festival will also feature two of the hottest Tejano/Latino groups going today. One of them, Los Texmaniacs, won the Grammy for Best Tejano Album in 2010 for "Borders y Bailes."
Grupo Vida will be making a return performance at the festival, having played the event in 2010. The Electric Cowboys, as they are referred to from time to time, certainly entertain with an electric performance. They just might be the most versatile act on the bill.
The festival will also bring back the Battle of the Bands event for high school "garage bands." There are only eight performance slots available, but that doesn't mean more bands won't have the ability compete.
It has been our hope to have enough bands submit audition materials to where we can actually have preliminary rounds. And remember, there are no restrictions on the style of music that can be submitted for the Battle of the Bands.
True, the festival leans toward alt-country, country rock. But the Battle of the Bands event can feature anything or everything -- Rock, Rap, Metal, Grunge, Techno, Alternative, Emo, Thrash, Punk, Ska, Gospel, Hip Hop, Dance, Goth, Electronica ... it just doesn't matter.
The Real. Texas. Festival. prides itself on having one of the most diverse entertainment line ups and concert series out there.
The 2011 edition will be no exception.
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