Mile 0 Fest has established itself as one of the premier destination events in all of country and roots music, especially if you’re into the Texas/Red Dirt side of things. Now after six years, Mile 0 Fest has its own traditions, it’s own nucleus of loyal patrons and regular performers, and a heap of fond memories.
Those knuckleheads out in Nashville might not even recognize the name, but down in Texas, the New Braunfels-based Bri Bagwell is nothing short of a Texas country superstar, minting #1’s on Texas country’s radio network, winning multiple Texas Radio awards, and doing it all in a region that’s tough for women.
“This is the best festival I’ve ever been a part of,” Cody Jinks said as he took the stage Sunday night (9-19) in Pryor, Oklahoma. Not faint praise from Cody, who’s played some big fests over the years, including his own personally curated one. And the praise was deserved.
Not all playlist updates are built the same. Sometimes you’re hunting and pecking for new songs that are worthy to add, and sometimes you can wait to share a stacked draft class of some of the finest country music you can find in the modern era. This particular update is the latter kind.
It’s very rare that you see separate production companies and promoters in music collaborating with each other in the event and festival space. But that was not the case when music cruise company Sixthman who operates multiple cruises in independent country and Americana realm collaborated with Mile 0 Fest in Key West to put on a party.
Two important independent festivals that are working hard to support and expand Texas, Red Dirt, Americana, and independent country music beyond its traditional borders will not be happening in 2020. Both the Tumbleweed Festival near Kansas City, and the Wild Hare Country Festival in Oregon have cancelled for 2020.
Christmas came early for ticket holders of the Texas Music/Red Dirt/Americana-oriented Mile 0 Fest set to transpire in Key West, Florida on January 28th-February 1st, 2020, as well as for those still sitting on the fence about if they want to go, or those who might have a ticket waiting for them under the Christmas tree.
2019 was a stacked year for top live performances. This was supposed to be a list of the top 10 live performances, but due to such a crowded field, things boiled over. And yes, there are three #1 acts. All should be considered equals at the very top level of live performance. They were all so great, it seemed unfair to put one over the other.
The Texas music and Red Dirt movement is growing. There is no doubt about that. The appeal and participation in the music is no longer regional, despite what the names might imply. It’s just as much of a genre at this point as a collaboration of local scenes, offering a much more healthy alternative to the mainstream of country.
The Turnpike Troubadours and Jason Boland and the Stragglers have just announced the lineup for the 2019 Medicine Stone Festival on the grounds of the beautiful Diamondhead Resort in the Turnpike’s home town of Talequah, Oklahoma. The lineup has expanded to 32 names in 2019.
Texas and Red Dirt music isn’t just for folks in Texas and Oklahoma. The title of the music may imply that it’s a regional thing, but the appeal is international, and the talent is world-class. No matter where you are, Texas/Red Dirt is a much more healthy alternative to the mainstream.
Though the venue isn’t as large, the Rodeo Houston Hideout Stage is the place where up-and-coming talent and future rodeo headliner hopefuls can cut their teeth. It’s also where rodeo attendees can get the opportunity to discover some of Texas’s and country music’s best budding talent.
Travis Tritt’s “team” has been revealed, and regardless of where this show goes, how many people watch, and who wins, Tritt has done a superb job picking out his contestants. I don’t think Hank done it this way, but if someone’s going to win, hopefully it’s Tritt’s hopefuls, 4 of which who’ve been featured on SCM recently.
The summer is winding down, but the fall and winter release cycle in country and roots music is heating up, with some of the most anticipated projects of the entire year to be released between now and when the hammer falls on 2018. To help you keep up, here’s a list of Saving Country Music’s most anticipated releases for the final portion of 2018.
“I am so proud of the record we have created, no matter how cliche that sounds,” Bagwell says. “I have put everything I have, and every dollar to my name creating this record for myself and my fans. I truly believe it is the best record I have ever released.”
Plain and simple, the trolling of music festivals on Twitter for not having 50/50 men vs. women on their lineups is very specifically hurting the cause to include more women on festival lineups. Expecting every festival to achieve 50/50 representation of women immediately is unreasonable to impossible in certain sectors of the music economy.
Benefiting The Young Texans Against Cancer, the 10th Annual Lone Star Jam held forth at the rodeo grounds in Austin, TX over Memorial Day weekend, May 26th and 27th. Saving Country Music braved the heat to take in the festivities and snap a few photos.
You’ve never heard of the Mile 0 Festival in Key West, Florida before, but you have now. And it will be hard to forget about it once you feast your eyes on the pretty ridiculous lineup they’ve assembled for their inaugural run. It’s scheduled for February 7th – 11th 2018 at the new Truman Waterfront Park Amphitheatre in Key West.
The 5th Annual Medicine Stone Music Festival focusing on the best of Red Dirt music and sponsored by the Turnpike Troubadours, and Jason Boland & The Stragglers will once again commence at the Diamondhead Resort in Talequah, Oklahoma. This year the event will be held on September 21st-23rd, and they have just revealed the fest’s initial lineup.
Call it cautious or guarded optimism, but after the abomination that was the 2016 Houston Rodeo musical lineup led by folks such as Luke Bryan, Pitbull, and Florida Georgia Line, and where only one artist with Texas ties and only one female performer were booked (and both were Miranda Lambert), they couldn’t go any lower, that’s for sure.
Right now, Texas and Oklahoma is being robbed of its female talent from Nashville and the two coasts. And these women are regularly sucked up into a system that absconds with their creative freedom, sexualizes their image, and drops them unceremoniously whenever their commercial viability is perceived to be spent.
On Monday, the official lineup for the 2016 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was “announced” by astronaut Scott Kelly from the International Space Station. Perhaps the aeronautical histrionics were a bid to distract everyone back on Earth from the fact that this year’s lineup is the most mundane, most mainstream-centric and generic pop tart Kellogg’s cereal assemblage of plastic talent ever accrued on this beautiful blue planet.
As for the music, the Red Fest lineup was built on good intentions. Big names like Florida Georgia Line, Tim McGraw, Kellie Pickler, and Lynyrd Skynyrd were billed alongside lesser-known bands from the local and national landscape like Hellbound Glory, The Whiskey Sisters, and Bri Bagwell. Instead of segregating independent and mainstream music, integrating it.