Equiblues Country-Music Festival

Ne nous quittez pas sans laisser un petit mot sur le Le Livre d'Or merci !

At first glance it's easy to dismiss a singer-songwriter who seems to have just appeared on the music scene; especially a young female. In the case of Maren Morris that would be a mistake on several counts. Mention "teen singer" and eyes roll and stereotypes spring to mind, but one phrase sung with this vocalist and all that evaporates.

Maren has been performing live for many years and recorded her first CD at age 14. She also writes and performs her own music in her band. The Arlington, Texas high school student released her second record of all-original tunes in October 2007 titled "All That It Takes".

Her style transcends Rock, Country, Blues and Pop styles, with soulful vocals that invite yet defy comparison to current and past musical performers. Maverick Magazine (UK) said Maren "...conjures Emmylou Harris, Bonnie Raitt and Natalie Maines" while the Fort Worth Weekly called her "...a tiny hurricane of blue-eyed soul." Whatever you call her Maren's innate vocal phrasing, intuitive writing and solid guitar performances stun audiences at live shows and shine through in her recordings.

Maren attended the first ever Grammy Camp, presented by the Recording Academy, as the only Texas artist invited - helped by an introduction through the Texas Music Project - among 43 students from across the nation. The Camp teamed her with other songwriters, musicians and music industry greats such as producers David Foster and Paul Williams. She is also a voting member of the Academy.

The singer/songwriter has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with such talent as Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Cheyenne Kimball, Bob Schneider, Monte Montgomery and the Randy Rogers Band. She was named 2007 Songwriter of the Year and the 2006 and 2007 Female Vocalist of the Year by the Fort Worth Weekly and Rising Star of the Year at the 2005 Terry Awards. A tour of England in the summer of 2006 marked Maren's first foray outside the United States, consisting of five live shows and three BBC appearances with a trip to France coming in the summer of 2008.

Maren Morris has been paying her dues for years and is finally earning the respect of her peers and others across the music industry. Those who might once have viewed her as a novelty must now reckon with the fact that she has grown in all areas of music. Her writing, vocal ability and guitar playing have all come of age.

STOP THE TRUCK is the Texas Roadhouse band!

STOP THE TRUCK provides a unique Texas roadhouse show, featuring a wide range of traditional Texas favorites, ranging from hard-hitting country compsitions to vintage western swing covers!

STOP THE TRUCK performs a wide range of crowd-pleasing arrangements ranging from traditional country to ska and reggae. Featuring a vocal powerhouse trio, this is a group that sings as good as they play, they are masters of theree part harmonies, whether in tribute of Bob Marley or Bob Wills !

Carrie est originaire de Texico, Nouveau Mexique. Elle habite à présent à San Angelo Texas. Elle écrit et interprète ses chansons. Elle suit des études de kinésithérapeute, et a récemment enregistré un CD 4 titres à Austin. Elle y a rencontré Kevin Tondre, le batteur de Kevin Fowler, qui, impressionné par son talent, l'a pris sous son aile, et a décidé de produire son disque. Elle a fait l'ouverture d'un concert de Kevin qui l'apprécie beaucoup.

Enfin, moi je l'adore, elle a du caractère, ça se sent, et, en plus, elle est très jolie !!!

Singer/Songwriter/producer/musician born in Duncan, Oklahoma and raised in Seminole, Texas. Freddy holds many BMI and CMA Awards, including CMA’s Triple Play Award, Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame and Texas Guitar Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

Freddy’s songs have been recorded by such legendary artists as Merle Haggard, George Jones, Willie Nelson, the late great Ray Charles, The Wilburn Brothers, Janie Fricke, Rattlesnake Annie, along with new comers John Cody, Pauline Reese, Big and Rich, and so many more.

Though born in Oklahoma Freddy is a true “Texan” all the way with several famous Texas songs including the title track for James Michener’s move “ Texas”. Other “ Texas-themed” songs include, “Texas and Oklahoma”, “My San Antonio Rose”, and most recently, “Texas All The Way” and “One Less Honky Tonk In Texas”, a Texas Music Chart topper recorded by Pauline Reese.

Freddy lives in Spicewood, Texas on the outskirts of Austin on Willie Nelson’s golf course. He continues to contribute to the Texas music scene and his fellow musicians. His latest song -- recorded by Scotty Joss -- “Back Playing Honky Tonk Again” says it all for Freddy. For more information on Freddy’s 50 plus year career, check out his website

Mark McKinney’s music evokes good times, plain and simple. Whether going to a backyard kegger, painting the town red with your rowdy friends, or simply being with those people who know you better than anyone else, Mark McKinney’s music takes you there. Equipped with a positive outlook and a true passion for creating and sharing music, McKinney is bursting onto the scene and having the time of his life.

For his debut solo album, Get It On, McKinney took from his own experiences (as well as those of his closest friends and family) to produce a collection of songs that has been appropriately described as “foot-stompin’, sing-a-long, ornery country with a strong melody.”

The album is, in Mark’s own words, “a journey through the mind of a Southern man.” And yet something in the fun and honesty applies to everyone – we can all relate to and take a little something from his music. McKinney, born and raised in Big Spring, TX, distinguishes himself from the typical “rockin’ country” artist by drawing from a wide range of influences. He credits his father for instilling in him an appreciation for upbeat, energetic songs.

He blends his musical tastes as easily as drinking beer and eating barbecue, and he admits to a diverse musical background. “Although I grew up listening to country legends like Willie Nelson and Charlie Daniels, I was also heavily influenced by rock and pop.” This blend of influences has helped secure Mark a unique place on the Texas scene – and helped keep him from getting boxed into one genre.

For Get It On, Mark teamed up with his best friend, Nashville-based producer Rob Dennis (Lynyrd Skynyrd,the fray,Cross Canadian Ragweed) who, along with producing Get It On, recently formed the independent record label Super Loud Music – the label Mark now calls home. In preparation for Get It On’s completion, Mark had been busy shuttling between Nashville and Austin – stopping only long enough to rock Texas country fans with his live show.

While working on his debut CD, Mark teamed up with Kevin Fowler. Together the pair wrote a song called “What’s Your Point,” which is slated to appear on Fowler’s own upcoming record. Mark’s live show can best be described as a high energy, full throttle experience. He is constantly changing his live show and playing a full schedule of dates across Texas and Oklahoma. Mark is a star on the rise with the experience and attitude needed to bring great new music to the masses. Mark McKinney is blazing onto the scene in a big way, and bringing the good times with him.

Mark McKinney (USA)

SAMEDI 16 AOUT 2006 en soirée

Kacey vient d'être nommée "Female Vocalist of the Year" aux Texas Music Awards 2008 !!!

Kacey Musgraves is a singer songwriter-Texas born and Texas proud. She has been performing professionally from an early age, learning instruments and playing live shows.

A major, recent stop on her musical journey was appearing on the 5th season of USA Network's, "Nashville Star". She was one of ten finalists selected out of over 20,000 hopefuls vying for a spot on the show-but didn't win. "Nashville Star was an amazing opportunity. I definitely don't see not winning as a bad thing. I'm young and I've got plenty of time to earn my grit on the road. I'm not a quitter." Kacey wrote 10 of the 12 songs on the album, several of which were co-written with fellow Texan, Miranda Lambert. "Writing is such a huge part of who I am.

I want my music to be taken serious. It's my story...no one's gonna write it for me." The songs that weren't written by Kacey on the album are two well deserving, well chosen covers. "I grew up hearing Neil Young at home and was inspired to pick up the harmonica, so cutting, "Heart of Gold" felt natural. I'd call myself an old-soul.

I picked out an old "Byrd's" album from my grandpa's record collection. When I heard the song, "You're Still On My Mind", I knew instantly I had to cut it." Kacey's music hints of influences like Loretta Lynn, Chris Knight, Radney Foster and Tom Petty with a love for old-school country music. She enjoys performing live and loud and plays the mandolin, guitar and harmonica. "I want to see more girls playing on the Texas music scene.

So I'm going to put myself out there, work hard, and have fun."

Shannon Lawson was raised in Taylorsville, Ky., a tiny town 40 miles southwest of Louisville that has been home to his family for generations. He spent his childhood cutting and hanging tobacco with his father and four uncles. For entertainment,
the family played music, performing at cinder block halls and jamborees in the area. While the grown-ups picked bluegrass on his grandmother's porch, Lawson and his large brood of cousins played underfoot and sometimes sang along.
When he was 4, Lawson picked up his uncle's Epiphone guitar and joined in until he got blisters on his fingers. At 7, his father -- accomplished on the guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass and Dobro -- bought his son a half-sized Yamaha classical guitar. Lawson learned chords and began strumming out tunes such as Willie Nelson's "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" on the nylon strings. Like most kids in the South, Lawson began exploring rock and pop influences during his teen years. He was heavily influenced by his siblings, an older brother who played Eagles' cover tunes in a rock band, and his sister, a folk singer who was into Joan Baez.
In high school, Lawson formed his own band, which he describes as a quirky combination of "classic rock and country." Influenced by his father, who by that time had begun exploring the more complex guitar styles of Andres Segovia, Chet Atkins and Merle Travis, Lawson honed his own skills by mimicking the virtuostic rock sounds of Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Stevie Ray Vaughan. But country still tugged at his heart.
Upon high school graduation, Lawson left Taylorsville to attend college in Louisville. Shortly into his academic experience, he got an offer that would change his life. A seasoned blues musician called Top Hat hired the young guitarist to play in his club act. Lawson left school to tour full time with the group, playing guitar and eventually singing soulful lead on blues covers such as The Dramatic's "In the Rain."
Just as suddenly as he came into Lawson's life, Top Hat disappeared from the Louisville blues scene. As a result, Lawson wound up booking the band, managing affairs and developing the act's set list. As a sideline, the young vocalist/guitarist began picking up work with a local folksinger, performing with her in area coffeehouses. Here, he rubbed shoulders with a new set of colleagues that brought him back to his family roots -- local bluegrass and acoustic artists. In 1993, Lawson hung up his blues hat for good to turn full-time attention to his new group, The Galoots, a bluegrass-based act that incorporated Lawson's experience in rock, traditional country and blues.
The Galoots soon became a standing-room-only act on the Louisville club scene. Lawson used his years of experience putting on shows in clubs to whip fans into a bluegrass-meets-blues frenzy, taking the stage by yelling "Big Yee Haw, Y'all!" He became well-known for his unexpected roots covers of pop tunes, from the Allman Brothers' "Whippin' Post" to Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower."
During this time, Lawson also became a prolific songwriter, with The Galoots producing two independent albums of original material. They soon caught the attention of the local music press and radio scene. One fan was a local DJ named Mandy Snider, who invited Lawson to appear on her show. She became a fan and soon began booking and managing the Galoots, convinced that Lawson had the talent to make it as a solo act. She also married him. Two days after their honeymoon, they packed up a U-Haul van and headed to Nashville.
Based on his songwriting ability, Lawson landed a publishing deal with the Extreme Writers Group. As his demos started landing in offices in Nashville, music execs wanted to know who the powerful voice on the tapes belonged to as well. Lawson's talent soon came to the attention of MCA Nashville A&R Manager Shane Barrett, who brought Lawson's music to label President Tony Brown. After a showcase in Nashville -- one where Lawson jumped off the stage for the an a cappella version of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" -- Brown and MCA Nashville Chairman Bruce Hinton offered him a contract.
There still remained the questions: With whom should Lawson be paired in the studio, and what direction should his big sound take? Producer Mark Wright (Lee Ann Womack, Brooks & Dunn, Trisha Yearwood, Gary Allan) had heard the buzz about the singer-songwriter and was impressed by the powerful voice and diversity of style he had heard on Lawson's demo tape.
"I love making records on great singers; that's my whole deal," Wright recalls. "Shannon just blew me away. We met for lunch, talked it over, and I walked away knowing I wanted to work with this kid." He was struck by Lawson's wide range of live musical experience. "This is a kid who played in a bluegrass band in Kentucky and a blues band in Chicago," he says. "He can sing country and R&B. I wanted to give him the freedom to experiment with all those different styles."
Consequently, Wright booked a recording studio for an entire month in order to let Lawson play with the material, try different approaches and use experimental instrumentation. "That way, if we got off schedule it didn't matter so much, and we were able to try things, keep them if they worked and throw them out if they didn't."
For example, Wright and Lawson asked Chris Thile of Nickel Creek to play a mandolin on the track "This Old Heart." As an experiment, they ran the acoustic instrument through an amp "to give it a real crunchy sound, very different," according to Wright. The team wasn't reluctant to craft songs that were instrumentally driven, such as "Bad Bad Bad" and "Chase the Sun." Of course, Wright said his kids love Lawson's bluegrass cover version of the Marvin Gaye classic, "Let's Get It On." "They had never even heard it before," he said.

KEVIN FOWLER- BRING IT ON - From pubs to arenas, from dance halls to county fairs, the name Kevin Fowler always means a full house and cheering crowds. With his new CD Bring It On, Kevin delivers 100% Texan country with style. And if there’s something different about Kevin, it’s that inside his pearl-buttoned Western shirt beats a heart of rock. That’s no surprise to his myriad of fans who know every word of his honky-tonk anthems such as “Beer, Bait, and Ammo,” “The Lord Loves a Drinking Man” and “Loose, Loud and Crazy.” In Bring It On’s new single, “Long Line of Losers,” Kevin pokes fun at what he calls “that somebody in everyone’s family who annoys them, the relative who gets too drunk at the family reunion. It’s a way of laughing at yourself.” Down-home humor and heartfelt sentiment are prominent themes in Kevin’s music, and as important as a good beat.

A native of Amarillo who grew up listening to Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard, Kevin rounded out his musical education in Los Angeles attending the Guitar Institute of Technology, and then returned to Texas to join the award-winning hard rock band Dangerous Toys. He dabbled with his own Southern rock band, Thunderfoot, in the late ’90s before turning his full attention to his own vision of music. Calling Kevin “country rock” sounds too tame. “Southern country” might be closer to the soul of his hybrid of Southern rock and country music. It’s the preferred music of a new generation of country fans. These savvy 20- and 30-somethings were raised on MTV as well as CMT. Their appreciation of country is evenly matched by a taste for rock ’n’ roll, and no one knows that better than Kevin. “Our fans listen to us, to AC/DC and to Buckcherry,” says Kevin. “They want to hear what we want to play. They’re a very open-minded audience. We can mix it all together, and they like it. I have Merle and Metallica next to each other on my iPod.” That open-minded, sophisticated sensibility of country’s new audience is important to Kevin and played a large part in assembling Bring It On. His live shows incorporate the usual trappings of a big rock ’n’ roll show with atmospheric smoke, bright colored lights and elaborate staging. “I wanted this record to resemble and sound like the live show,” he says. “There are a lot of songs on Bring It On that I wouldn’t have cut before. They’re too rock, and I didn’t want to freak anyone out. But one thing I’ve learned about our fans is that they don’t want a traditional record out of me. I can throw some screaming guitar in and crank the drums up. I can be more adventurous.” Adventurous, yes. Yet Kevin, whose songs often begin as “a sticky note on the dash of my truck as I’m driving around,” deeply understands the values held by country audiences. He may encourage the fans to “party like a rock star” on “Feels Good Don’t It,” but he gets “a jones for Jones, a hankering for Hank” on “I Pulled a Hank Last Night.” Each new recording brings Kevin close to his heroes, and it was hard to equal a previous duet with Willie Nelson, but singing with George Jones on “Me and the Boys” did the trick. “We sent George the lyrics and in a week we were in Nashville cutting it,” he recalls with the grin of a little boy who’s just gotten the Christmas present he wanted. For Kevin Fowler, the country rebel with a heart of rock, Bring It On is as good as it gets. “This CD is where we’ve been, where we’re going and where we are right now, a snapshot of us frozen in time.”