 "Photo: Rusty Tolliver")
The second annual Lone Star State Jam invaded Waterloo Park on Saturday, April 25.
The festival was presented by Young Texans Against Cancer and brought by 415 Productions.
Thousands of concert goers came out to take on the heat for the country music, which featured some of the best artists from around the state. There was cold beer, hot women and cool country music to be had by all.
Nine bands were able to be viewed on two stages for one day of music and fun. The festival couldn't have coincided with better weather. The overcast skies soon faded and let the sun shine its light down on all who were present.
The line-up was just as good as last years, if not better. It included Bleu Edmondson, Ryan James, Django Walker, Aaron Watson, Wade Bowen, The Eli Young Band, Roger Creager, Cory Morrow and the Randy Rogers Band. The day was sure to be a long and hot one with more than a handful of live acts.
I was glad to see that Cory Morrow was back on the bill for the second year in a row. He's a true musician that has been playing and writing for years and has just put out a new record, Vagrants & Kings, with some of his best stuff to date.
Catching up with the newlywed on his bus he allowed his brain to be picked for a little while.
The conversation found its way to some of the newer albums to hit the shelves in the past couple of months from the Texas Red Dirt scene. In aggreement, the scene has produced some of the best music as of late. Such as releases from Wade Bowen, Roger Creager, Randy Rogers Band and Jason Boland.
What's great to see is how many of these songs are actually written by the artists themselves.
Cory just turned 37 this past week and he showed no signs of slowing down. He is newly married and will be moving back to Austin, establishing residency shortly. He said that there's no point of living up in Houstn, his home town, when he's always here in Austin and loves the place so much.
It's a pleasure to have Morrow back in town.
After the interview Cory headed to the stage to join friend Roger Creager for a rendition of Creager's tune "Everclear."
The duet are always a treat to see and the crowd didn't have to wait long to see them perform again. Following Creager's set he accompianed Morrow on his tune "21 Days On The Road."
All the acts put on a great show and gave the crowd their monies worth.
Aaron Watson made the ladies tear up with his love songs, and then Wade Bowen put on a mellow feel good show the audience enjoyed. The day soon turned in to night and the festival was eventually brought to a close with headliners Randy Rogers Band playing a full set. They rocked the festival in only the way that they could .
The band found recent success in Nashville and has been on a non-stop tour since their self titled release hit stores in late September of last year. The album is on the rise, and for good reason, it's amazing.
Randy rogers Band has had notable appearences on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman. They were a good choice to close the evening's festivities and will be back in town on May 15 performing at LaZona Rosa.
The Lone Star State Jam was definitely worth attending, so those unable to make it this year make sure to put a little cash away for next year's go around.
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