The Thursday night show was fantastic, of course with all the hits that these songwriters have had it couldn’t have been otherwise. The night started with "Jason Boland and The Stragglers" for those of you not familiar with them they are great. They don’t have any charted hits, but their song "Pearl Snaps" was a hit with the crowd. Jason also had a special guest with him, Cody Canada of "Cross Canadian Ragweed" sang a couple of songs with Jason, and their campsite provided some of the best pickin’ around the fire. Both of these groups are from Oklahoma, but they fit right in. I was talking with Willis Alan Ramsey about how I would have to expand my column to include these guys since they aren’t from Texas, and he told me that " to be included in this style of music it’s not important where you are from. The important thing is that you write, record, and perform the way you want to, not to please some record executive in an office somewhere." Willis Alan Ramsey for those of you that don’t know has only recorded one Album and that was back in the early 70’s, and it was a terrific Album that did very well, it was also critically acclaimed. Willis told me that "the reason I’ve been out of the music business for so long is that I was in my twenties, and couldn’t handle the pressures, and success that came with the success of the album. It was too much too soon, so I just stepped back for awhile." One of the biggest pleasures I had this weekend was the chance to meet and talk to these performers. Talking to Willis Alan was a special treat, because I was told that he didn’t like to talk to the press. Somehow and I’m not sure why, but he talked to me for two hours, and this was a treat for me, because I have been a huge fan since the 70’s, getting to meet my heroes is why I love what I do. It ain’t for the money that’s for sure. Meeting Steve Fromholz, and Steve Young was also a real treat. I don’t have official numbers on attendance yet, but I was told that Thursday nights attendance was up by 30% over last year, and judging by the size of the crowd the other two nights were also way up, and it was a treat to my eyes, and the performers to see so many young people in the crowd. These younger people are the future of Texas Music, and a lot of them came from Tarleton.

Friday night was really wild. The music started at about 3:00PM, and my buddy Mike Graham started things off with a bang. Mike was backed up by an all star band, which included Davin James, Chris Schlotzhauer, and several others. Mike’s music was a big hit with the crowd, and I think their favorite song was "I Feel Like Drinkin’ Today". Next came another friend of mine "Houston Marchman and The Contraband", and they tore the place up. Then came "Mark David Manders and Nuevo Tejas", and they kept up the intensity, and fired the crowd up more. The "Red Dirt Rangers" which is another of those groups from Oklahoma really rocked the place. They have a unique rockin’ bluegrass sound that is fantastic. Trust me you’ll hear more about these guys, especially since they are dying to come play in Stephenville. Then came Terri Hendrix, she is just a bundle of energy, warmth, and excitement. Terri has a new CD that came out on 5/2, and it is a good one. Her show just kept on building the crowds energy, and excitement. Then came one of the masters of Texas Music, now keep in mind that a lot of the crowd was there to see Pat Green. What Ray Wylie Hubbard did was show the crowd that he still has it, and if he didn’t steal the show he came darn close. He did raise the bar a notch or two, Pat wasn’t going to be able to get by with a mediocre performance. When I was talking to Ray Wylie I mentioned that I heard somewhere that he was trying to get away from the up against the wall crowd. Luckily for us he told me "I’ve never heard that or said that, and besides they are my kind of people." Ray is wonderful guy, and what a memory. I had met him briefly back 1982 at a little bar he was playing at, and believe it not he remembered. It’s like I’ve been telling you these guys are genuine. They enjoy meeting the fans, and talking with them. Next came Pat Green, and he didn’t disappoint anybody. What a show, he managed to whip the crowd into a mild frenzy with his music, and energy. I thought to myself how are they going to top this tomorrow? Well to my pleasure, and everybody else’s they did.