2 April 2017 - El Paso Timesproduction.elpasotimes.net/LCMusicFestival2017/LCMusicFest-2017.pdf · ends of country music: The Marshall Tucker Band, the queen of country Ta-nya Tucker,

2 April 2017 Las Cruces Country Music Festival

R1 April 2017 3Las Cruces Country Music Festival

Overview.................................................Page 4

Schedule and map................................Page 6

Travis Tritt ...............................................Page 8

Kacey Musgraves ................................Page 10

NMSU Rodeo marks milestone 75th year .................................................Page 11

Eli Young Band....................................Page 13

Tanya Tucker ........................................Page 15

Alyssa Newton ....................................Page 26

Brian Christopher and the Wild Oats..............................................Page 28

Table of Contents

» New MexicoDepartment of Tourism» Pic Quik» Las Cruces Sun-News» ABC Channel 7

» Hotel Encanto de LasCruces » Zia Country» VIP SouthwestServices & Shuttle» Sisbarro

» Premier Distributing» Citizens Bank» WDG Architects» Red Mesa Designand Development» La Posta de Mesilla

» Pecan Grill» Steinborn Real Estate» Coas Books» Pioneer Bank» Hilton Garden Inn» Ashley’s Furniture

» Bagwell Financial» Carrillo Law Firm» Run Culture» El Paso Electric» Merrill Lynch WealthManagement

» Las Cruces Magazine» Century Bank» Lahann Law Firm

Sponsors

ends of country music: The MarshallTucker Band, the queen of country Ta-nya Tucker, and the one and only TravisTritt.

In between we will have local favor-ites the Yarborough Band and the JustinKemp Band rocking the Sisbarro SouthStage. Saturday night will host home-town favorite Bri Bagwell followed bythe Eli Young Band and Kacey Mus-graves. The weekend promises to begreat from start to finish, so I hope youhave your tickets already because theyare going fast.

There are so many moving pieces thathave to come together to put on a suc-cessful festival, it is not just about themusic. First and foremost, there is thestaff at Visit Las Cruces who work tire-lessly each and every day to showcaseour great city. I am so proud to be part ofthis great group of professionals. We arealso fortunate to have the wisdom andguidance of Barbara “Mother” Hubbard.Barbara is a wealth of information andshe has single-handedly brought more

Where has the time gone? It seemslike just yesterday we had the idea for acountry music festival in downtown LasCruces, and today we are celebrating ourfifth anniversary! For those of you whohave been with us from the beginning,you will remember a small stage setup inthe intersection of Griggs and MainStreet, with a few dozen rows of chairsand a handful of vendors. Many thingshave changed since then, but it remainsour privilege to present some of thegreat legends of country music as well asup-and-coming artists who are now fre-quent names on the country charts. VisitLas Cruces is very proud of what wehave accomplished, but we know therewould not be a festival without the greatsupport of our sponsors, vendors, and ofcourse, the fans.

The Las Cruces Country Music Festi-val has always been more than just ashowcase of great country music talent.We created the festival to help put LasCruces on the map, and to create a signa-ture event the entire community couldbe proud of. An event that would drawpeople from around the state, region andcountry, and give them an opportunity toexperience all the things that make LasCruces such an amazing place. Our hopewas that if people could experience just asmall taste of Las Cruces during the fes-tival, they would want to return againand again to visit White Sands, Mesilla,the Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Mar-ket, downtown Main Street, our nationalmonuments, and the many other thingsthat make Las Cruces unique. We en-courage everyone to discover our uniquecuisine and experience the beauty andfriendliness of our hometown. We stillhave a long way to go, but we feel we aremaking an impact and Las Cruces is get-ting noticed.

This year, we think we have out-doneourselves. We have had great lineups inthe past — from Charlie Daniels andKenny Rogers, to Dustin Lynch, TheSwon Brothers and Cam — but this yearwe have taken it to a new level.

Friday night kicks off with three leg-

tourists to Las Cruces than anyone else.In addition to Barbara, we are fortunateto have Gene Dries as our Nashville-based Creative Director and DickersonCatering managing logistics for theevent.

Of course, there would not be a festi-val without our sponsors and the supportwe receive through the Friends of VisitLas Cruces, Inc. Thank you for believingin us and helping us accomplish our mis-sion. We are honored to have your sup-port and trust, and we will work fever-ishly to make you proud to be part of thisexciting event.

Finally, thank you to the City of LasCruces for embracing the festival andfor making our out-of-town visitors feelat home. The memory of a festival isshort-lived, but the friendliness and wel-coming that our visitors receive will be alasting memory.

Sincerely,Jennifer Bales

Interim Director/Visit Las CrucesLas Cruces Convention & Visitors Bureau

From the CVB

Festival born from teamwork

COURTESY

A publication of the Las Cruces Sun-News256 W. Las Cruces Ave.575-541-5400lcsun-news.com

President/Advertising Director

Rynni Henderson

Managing Editor

Sylvia Ulloa

Section Editor

Lorena Sanchez

Writers

Bethany BlundellCarlos Andres LópezIsabel A. RodriguezCassie McClureSpencer Taylor

Advertising Coordinator

Helene McMillian

Advertising AccountExecutives

Maria DerkJoseph GutierrezJennifer Garcia-KozlowskiAndriena MartinezDaMarrio MitchellBraden Tidwell

Staff


What was once just a vision to bringgood music to Las Cruces has now, fiveyear later, transformed into New Mexi-co’s premier country music festival.

The Las Cruces Country Music Festi-val will return to the City of Crosses,bringing with it favorite country musicstars from previous years in addition tosome of country’s other top performers.

“The reason we started this festivalwas to give Las Cruces a signature eventthat would not only be great for the resi-dents, but would help draw people fromother communities to Las Cruces,” saidChris Faivre, director of marketing forthe event. “The idea is, if we can get peo-ple to come to Las Cruces for the festival,maybe we can get them to come back afew more times and experience otherthings.”

Faivre said they still have a lot of pro-gress to make, but they are improvingand seeing increases in attendance eachyear. In fact, with ticket sales increasingby 200 percent from last year, festival or-ganizers expect both nights to be com-pletely sold out. Faivre attributes it tothe loyalty of sponsors and fans.

“We’ve had really great fan support,”he said. “They’ve turned out every yearand that has allowed us to get biggernames for entertainment every year af-ter that.”

On Friday, the performers set to hitthe stage are Yarbrough Band, MarshallTucker Band, Tanya Tucker, JustinKemp and Travis Tritt. Saturday will fea-ture Brian Christopher and the WildOats, Alyssa Newton, Bri Bagwell, EliYoung Band, Abe Mac Band and KaceyMusgraves. Two people who are lookingforward to attending the event again areJoe and Monica Escamilla. The couple,who first met on a country dance floor 28years ago, said they still love two-step-ping the night away to great music.

“We love this event,” Monica said.“There are so many great performers,and it’s amazing that this event bringsthem all together under one roof in littleLas Cruces.”

Even for the fan who isn’t as dedicat-

ed to country music as the Escamillas,the event is still fun to attend, Faivresaid. There are a variety of vendorsscheduled to attend the event, and a kidarea with free admission for children 12and younger to make the perfect nightout for the family, as well.

The weekend starts off with a VIPparty at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces.Faivre said if there is one thing they tookto the next level, it is this party, whichwill consist of Bri Bagwell meeting fansand playing music throughout the night.

During the festival, the New MexicoState University Rodeo will be ongoing.The NMSU Rodeo celebrates its 75th an-niversary, and will have special events tocommemorate the milestone. They alsomoved to a new location at the SouthernNew Mexico State Fairgrounds to ac-commodate for the increase in atten-dance.

Moving back to downtown MainStreet, there will be a variety of per-formers on two different stages playingthe hottest hits in country music wellinto the night. The festival will close Sun-day with the Tough Enough to Wear PinkCountry Breakfast at the New MexicoFarm & Ranch Heritage Museum, fol-lowed by the finals of the rodeo.

“What we try to do is configure thefestival so we can optimize the space toensure the best fan experience,” Faivresaid. “Each year we try to up our gameand challenge ourselves to take the festi-val to the next level.”

Bethany Blundell may be reached [email protected].

Overview

Country fest’s fifthyear is a definitecrowd-pleaser

If you go

What: Las Cruces Country Music Festival 2017

When: 6 p.m. Thursday, April 27; 1 p.m. Fridayand Saturday, April 28-29; and 9:30 a.m.Sunday, April 30

Where: Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces,downtown Main Street, Southern New MexicoFairgrounds and New Mexico Farm & RanchHeritage Museum

Cost: $35 for single day, $60 for weekendpass (includes rodeo), $150 for VIP pass

Info: www.lascrucescountrymusic.com

OUT’N’ABOUT FESTIVAL WEEKEND

Las Cruces Farmers and CraftsMarket

The Las Cruces Farmers and Crafts Markettakes place on Main Street and features morethan 300 vendors from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.Saturdays and Wednesdays. The market isopen Saturday along downtown Main Street,from Las Cruces Avenue to Griggs Avenue. OnWednesday, it is held on Plaza de Las Crucesoff downtown Main Street.

Info: www.fcmlc.org

Spring Showcase of Homes

The Spring Showcase of Homes shows some ofthe more awe-inspiring homes on the marketin Las Cruces. Visitors don’t have to be in themarket for a new home to check out theselistings.

The Spring Showcase of Homes is from Friday,April 28 through Sunday, April 30 throughoutLas Cruces:

» 4 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 28

» 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29

» Noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 30

Info: lascrucesshowcaseofhomes.com

Mesilla

Nestled south of Las Cruces, the town ofMesilla is a small gem that will fill your daywith shopping, dining, art, uniquely localproducts and more. The Basilica of San Albinooverlooks the historic Mesilla Plaza and if justone must-see stop along the plaza. Enter fromValley Drive by turning onto Avenida deMesilla and follow the road until you reachMesilla. Turn west onto Calle De Santiago andcontinue to the plaza; or venture off thebeaten path and check out some local shopsand eateries outside the plaza.

Info: www.mesillanm.gov

White Sands National Monument

White Sands National Monument is less thanan hour away from Las Cruces and well worththe trip. For those looking for a way to fill theday and take in a once-in-a-lifetime view ofsouthern New Mexico beauty, the visit will notdisappoint. Enjoy the experience, and takepart in some of the of the monument’sactivities. Open seven days a week from 7 a.m.to 8 p.m. $5 per person 16 years and older.Those 15 and younger are admitted free. Thisfee is valid for entrance in to the monumentfrom date of purchase plus six more days.Calendar events for activities at White Sandsare listed online.

Info: www.nps.gov/whsa

Sun City Craft Beer Festival 2016

El Paso is a hop, skip and a jump away fromLas Cruces. Less than an hour south of the city,El Paso’s Sun City Craft Beer Festival is theperfect way to kill some time. The festival isfrom 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday, April 29 at the ElPaso Convention Center Plaza, in El Paso. Mustbe 21 or older to attend. Tickets are $30(designated drivers $10) and are available forpurchase online. Features: Over 150 beerbrands, sampling, live music, gigantic beerpongs, human foosball, food trucks, livebrewing and more. VIP tickets available forpurchase.

Due to a major Interstate 10 constructionproject, there may be closures or delays. Fortraffic alerts, visit go10elpaso.com.

Info: suncitycraftbeerfest.com

Visit Las Cruces

Looking for more things to do the weekendof the Las Cruces Country Music Festival? Visitwww.lascrucescvb.org and click on “Things ToDo.” From wine tours and galleries, tooutdoor recreation, museums and day tripsthere is a lot to see and do in and around LasCruces.

BETHANY BLUNDELLFOR SUN-NEWS

Country musicstar Lee AnnWomack singson the NorthStage during the2016 Las CrucesCountry MusicFestival. Thisyear the eventwelcomes KaceyMusgraves,Travis Tritt,Tanya Tucker,the MarshallTucker Band andthe Eli YoungBand.

JETT LOE/ SUN-NEWS

April 2017 5Las Cruces Country Music Festival


THURSDAY,APRIL 276 p.m. VIP Party(Hotel Encanto deLas Cruces)

FRIDAY, APRIL 281 p.m. Rodeo (SouthernNew Mexico Fairgrounds)5 p.m. Country MusicFestival gates open (Down-town Main Street)5 p.m. Yarbrough Band(South Stage)6 p.m. Marshall TuckerBand (North Stage)

7 p.m. Yarbrough Band(South Stage)8 p.m. Tanya Tucker (NorthStage)9 p.m. Justin Kemp Band(South Stage)10 p.m. Travis Tritt (NorthStage)11 p.m. Official CountryMusic Festival after party(Pecan Grill, 21+ only)

SATURDAY,APRIL 297 a.m. Giddyup Gallop(Mayfield High Schoolparking lot)8:30 a.m. Las CrucesFarmers and Crafts Market(Downtown Main Street)1 p.m. Rodeo (SouthernNew Mexico Fairgrounds)4 p.m. Country Music

Festival gates open (Down-town Main Street)4 p.m. Brian Christopher &the Wild Oats (SouthStage)5 p.m. Alyssa Newton(South Stage)6 p.m. Bri Bagwell (NorthStage)7 p.m. Alyssa Newton(South Stage)7:45 p.m. Eli Young Band

(North Stage)9 p.m. Abe Mac Band(South Stage)10 p.m. Kacey Musgraves(North Stage)11 p.m. Official CountryMusic Festival after party(Pecan Grill, 21+ only)

SUNDAY, APRIL 309:30 a.m. Pic Quik CountryBreakfast – Featuring awestern wear fashion showand acoustic performancesby festival artists (NewMexico Farm & RanchHeritage Museum)1 p.m. Rodeo (SouthernNew Mexico Fairgrounds)

2017 LCCMF Schedule and Map



It could be said that Travis Tritt does itall. With an Olympic performance underhis belt, multiple professional sportscontracts and acting appearances, hisname is a familiar one. But above all,Tritt’s primary claim to fame is music,and it is music where he found his homeand his greatest success.

“I consider myself to be extremelyfortunate in the fact that I’ve had somany cool things happen to me over theyears,” he said. “But I always just want-ed to be an artist, record, go out and playconcerts and try to take the music to asmany people as I could. In the process ofdreaming about all of that, I could havenever ever imagined that it would go asfar as it has.”

The Georgia native blends his child-hood influences of southern rock, bluesand gospel to create tunes that put him inthe same category of some of country’sbiggest stars. He said when it comes tohis lyrics, the meanings of his songs areself-explanatory. They are tunes craftedthrough the experiences he wentthrough and experiences he has seen hisfamily and friends go through.

“That’s the unique thing with music: itshould make you feel something and itshould speak to you, regardless of whatsituation you’re dealing with,” he said.

Out of the 12 studio albums he’s re-leased, many of them have gone plati-num or multi-platinum. In addition tothat, he had the added recognition of win-ning a plethora of CMA, Billboard andGrammy awards.

Tritt said he had to alter many thingsover the years to keep up with the ever-changing trends of the music industry,like developing a social media presence,but he said the one thing that stands thetest of time is his sound.

“I think one of the things that has keptme going all these years is (that) I recog-nized that my voice doesn’t sound likeanybody else’s,” he said. “From the verybeginning, for whatever reason, myvoice had a unique quality to it.”

This is something the fans also recog-nize and gravitate to, which is apparentwith his repeated sold-out concertsacross the country. Another thing thatkeeps people coming back is the atmos-phere Tritt and his band create.

Tritt’s concerts are high-energy, withthe musicians running around the stage

and engaging with the audience. He saidhe never plays anything at a concert ex-cept for his biggest and best hits. And af-ter a career of almost 30 years, he hasplenty of those.

“An audience gets out of a show whatthey put into it, and our fans our abso-lutely incredible,” he said. “During theshow, it’s like a ball of energy thatbounces from the audience to the stageand back again.”

As part of his current tour, Tritt willperform at the Las Cruces Country Mu-sic Festival headlining Friday’s lineup.With a touring schedule that leaves Trittand his crew on the road for more than200 days out of the year, he said the life-style can become exhausting; however,

those two hours he gets to spend on thestage each night make it all worth it.

To ensure he doesn’t let all the travel-ing wear him down, he makes it a point toschedule in time to spend with his family.The father of three said throughout hiscareer, he has never missed a birthday orholiday.

Even though Tritt already claimedsuccess in the country music industry,he said he doesn’t envision slowing downany time soon. So many people desire along-term career, he said, and is hum-bled and thankful that he’s managedsuch longevity.

“I can’t imagine thinking about retire-ment,” Tritt said. “It’s a word that doesn’tcome up in my vocabulary, simply be-

cause I enjoy (my career) too much. I ab-solutely love what I do for a living.”

Bethany Blundell is a freelance writerand may be reached at [email protected].

Tritt brings decades of hits to Las CrucesMusician considers self to be ‘extremely fortunate’

BETHANY BLUNDELLFOR SUN-NEWS

COURTESY

A veteran in the industry, country star Travis Tritt brings his star power Friday, as he headlines the opening night of the 2017 Las Cruces CountryMusic Festival.

If you go

What: Travis Tritt live

When: 10 p.m. Friday, April 28

Where: North Stage, downtown Main Street





Even though her name has only beenin lights for the past few years, KaceyMusgraves worked her entire life to getto that point.

The singer/songwriter grew up inGolden, Texas, and lived the typicalsmall town lifestyle. She began singingat the age of eight and wrote her firstsong by the age of nine. That’s when shetruly fell in love with music.

According to Rolling Stone, Mus-graves had two locally-recorded albumsby her early teens. At the age of 18, shepacked her bags and moved to Nashvilleto pursue her music career. The next fewyears, she worked various jobs while try-ing to break into the industry.

After playing in open mics and finish-ing seventh on the singing competition“Nashville Star,” she began working as astaff songwriter for Warner Bros./Chap-pell. Here, she spent her days puttinglyrics on paper and learning from otherwriters.

Her persistence paid off, and she soonfound her own success. According toCMT, she has produced cuts for multi-

platinum artists, including MartinaMcBride and Miranda Lambert. Interms of her own singing career, she hasopened for Willie Nelson, Lady Antebel-lum and Kenny Chesney, among others.

“Everything is blowing my mind rightnow,” Musgraves said in an interviewwith CMT. “It’s hard to think too far intothe future because so many cool thingshave already happened. So, I’m lookingforward to all of it. It’s going to be alearning experience – just getting outthere and seeing what songs people love,having a good time and getting to knowpeople.”

The artist released multiple albumsand had many successful singles, includ-ing winning Grammy and CMA awards.She is known for her lyrical humor andher songs that are often dubbed contro-versial for questioning society’s status

quos.This includes what she tells CMT is

one of her favorite songs, “Follow YourArrow.” The tune talks about doing whatyou love and loving whomever you want,no matter if you are judged or it isviewed as acceptable.

“Being a songwriter brings a differ-ent facet to what all this means,” she saidin a New York Times interview. “Obvi-ously, it’s been a dream of mine to have asong of my own on the radio. But to haveone that I wrote with two friends of mineon the chart as well at the same time, as asongwriter, it really solidifies that love[of songwriting] for me. I love perform-ing and singing, but I think my heart liesin constructing songs.”

Bethany Blundell is a freelance writerand may be reached at [email protected].

From songwriter to stage, Musgraves closes fest BETHANY BLUNDELLFOR SUN-NEWS

If you go

What: Kacey Musgraves live

When: 10 p.m. Saturday, April 29


Cost: $35 for single day, $60 for weekend pass (includes rodeo), $150 for VIP pass


COURTESY

Kacey Musgraves headlines the final night of the 2017 LCCMF.


When Kentucky native Logan Corbettlanded in Las Cruces last year to becomethe new rodeo coach for New MexicoState University, he inherited a highlyaccomplished athletics program thatturns 75 this year.

But the coaching job, Corbett said,also came with added pressure to buildon the team’s history of success.

Corbett is the second person to holdthe title of rodeo coach, following in thefootsteps of his predecessor, Jim DeweyBrown, the team’s first official coachwho was hired in 2002. Before Brown,the team was managed for several dec-ades by academic advisers from NMSU,Corbett said. It wasn’t until 2002 that theuniversity recognized the team needed afull-time coach, he added.

Under Brown’s leadership, Corbettsaid, “The team took a drastic turn forthe better,” transforming the team fromaloosely organized athletics program es-tablished in 1942 to a nationally dominat-ing force.

Brown’s teams earned seven nationalchampionships, nine regional champion-ships in men’s events and seven regional

championships in women’s events, Cor-bett said. Brown also increased theteam’s size, reaching an all-time high of90 members in 2009.

“There was a lot of pressure,” Corbettrecalled.

But Corbett, who joined team in themiddle of the 2015-16 season, hit theground running. At last year’s CollegeNational Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo-ming, the team captured three third-place finishes, and the men’s team fin-ished 10th in the nation, the first timesince 2011.

“My first year was outstanding,” Cor-bett said. “But there’s definitely been alearning curve.”

This season, the men’s and women’steams are surpassing Corbett’s expecta-tions.

With two rodeos left in the 2016-17 sea-son, including a competition later thismonth at the Southern New Mexico Fair-grounds, the women’s team is rankedfirst in the Grand Canyon Region, whilethe men’s team is ranked third, accord-ing to the National Intercollegiate RodeoAssociation.

Nationally, the women’s team is

JOSH BACHMAN/SUN-NEWS

Deena Norell, practices team roping at the New Mexico State University Rodeo Arena. TheNMSU Women's Rodeo team is ranked first nationally.

NMSU rodeo teamcelebrates 75 yearsCARLOS ANDRES LÓPEZLAS CRUCES SUN-NEWS

See TEAM, Page 12


ranked first, and the men’s team isranked 14th.

“Obviously, the ultimate goal in col-lege rodeo is to win a national champion-ship as a team, and I think we have a realshot this year,” Corbett said. The finalswill be held in June in Casper.

Women on the team said their re-markable season is due to hard work anddedication.

“We’re out here every day, working sohard,” Morgan Hand said, “and for us tobe not only recognized at the regionallevel, but to be recognized nationally isimportant to us.”

Hand said she and other women on theteam typically practice four days a weekfor about three hours in preparation forthe rodeo later this month at the fair-grounds.

“We’re definitely preparing harder,trying to know the stock a little better,”she said. “I definitely see a lot more peo-ple out here – we’re just really trying todominate our home rodeo.”

Deena Norell, another team member,said she expects the women to continue

their winning streak at the upcoming ro-deo. She also believes they have a goodshot at winning the national champion-ship in June.

“We have really talented girls on ourteam that work hard and put the time andeffort into it,” she said.

Currently, the full team has 65 mem-bers, Corbett said. They practice several

times a week at a rodeo facility on AggieRoad Drive, near the base of Tortugas“A” Mountain.

He emphasized that teamwork hasmade the program a success over theyears.

“It’s a team effort,” he said. “It’s sucha large operation that it’s too big for anyone person.”

To help manage the team, Corbetthired two assistant coaches, OobieHawkes and Tommy Simpson. “WhenLogan got hired, it worked out and Italked him into letting me work for him,”said Hawkes, who is working on a Ph.D.in marketing at NMSU.

In late March, five-year team mem-ber Ty Anderson, a master’s student inaccounting, was fine-tuning his bull-rid-ing techniques. But Anderson’s prefer-ence is calf-roping, which he said he hasbeen doing since he was 6.

“My best time in a calf-roping event is8.0, but I’m to get 7 seconds at somepoint,” he said.

Anderson is ranked third in the GrandCanyon Region in tie-down roping.Chance Valdez, also of NMSU, is current-ly ranked first in this category.

Anderson said he practices ropingtwo to three days a week for least an hourand likes to hit the gym at least five daysa week to keep in shape.

But Corbett said rodeo events also re-quire mental preparation, in addition tophysical training.

“Most people will tell you that rodeo is90 percent mental and 10 percent phys-ical,” he said. “Every event that you’redoing, not just the rough-stock events,but every event, is so dangerous. I be-lieve that there has to be a large amountof mental preparation.”

He said he stresses to team membersthat they should visualize “their perfectride or perfect run” and set personalgoals – and aim to break them.

Looking toward the future, Corbettsaid he wants to create an even tighterteam bond.

“I want NMSU rodeo to continue togrow more and more as a family,” hesaid. “We lean on each other and we helpeach other not only in the arena, but alsoin school.”

The team’s spring rodeo is schedule totake place April 28-30 at the SouthernNew Mexico Fairgrounds. This year,Corbett said, the team is providing freeshuttle transportation for the publicfrom NMSU to the fairgrounds.

For additional information about therodeo, visit aces.nmsu.edu/rodeo.

Carlos Andres López can be reached575-541-5453, [email protected] @carlopez_los on Twitter.

TeamContinued from Page 11

JOSH BACHMAN/SUN-NEWS

Nick Clark, a New Mexico State Universityfreshman, checks his saddle and gear beforesaddle bronc practices at the NMSU rodeoteam practice arena.


The Eli Young Band is returning to itsroots with its upcoming, as of yet, unti-tled album.

“The new album kind of feels oldschool,” said Mike Eli, lead singer andone fourth of the country group. “It’s alittle bit more garage band style, kind oflike (our 2005 album), ‘Level.’ Weweren’t necessarily going towards influ-ences outside of Eli Young Band. It wasall about going toward that garage bandstyle that we know so well, that earlydefinition of what we sound like.”

Comprised of Eli, along with JamesYoung (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar)and Chris Thompson (drums), the groupgot its start in 2000 while attendingNorth Texas State University. Theirself-titled, debut album came out in2002.

Eli Young Band on music, social media

COURTESY

The Eli Young Band is comprised of Mike Eli, Jon Jones, Chris Thompson and James Young.

Group will play songsfrom forthcoming album

ISABEL A. RODRIGUEZFOR SUN-NEWS

See ELI YOUNG, Page 14


Audiences can expect to hear the EliYoung Band’s latest single, “Skin andBones,” as well as other songs from theforthcoming album during the group’sperformance at the Las Cruces CountryMusic Festival.

The group is no stranger to the South-west, and Eli said it’s the strong fan basethat keeps bringing them back here.

“We enjoy it,” he said. “If the crowdresponds a certain way, and they’re hav-ing as much fun as you’re having on-stage, the energy becomes somethingyou look forward to. The Las Crucesarea is one of those places.”

Songs that especially resonate withaudiences are the hits “Drunk LastNight” and “Even If It Breaks YourHeart,” for which the band received aGrammy nomination in 2013.

The group aspires to put on a goodshow and provide a brief escape fromfor its fans.

For that reason, they also shy awayfrom getting political at concerts, or ex-pressing too much of their personalopinions in their music and interviews.

“We respect each other enough

where all four of us can have our ownopinions without feeling as if one guy isspeaking for all of us,” Eli explained. “Itbecomes a heavy thing. There’s a reasonwe’ve stayed together 17 years. One ofmy biggest pet peeves is when I go to ashow and an artist is up there pushing anagenda on me, instead of letting me en-joy the music. This is about music andnot politics. Some people need a breakfrom that.”

The guys are still finding their foot-ing on social media. Scroll through theirTwitter page, for example, and you’llfind rehearsal photos, concert remind-ers and a few videos, but not much else.The lack of forays into political stancesand commentary on hot topics of the dayare a stark contrast to some of theircountry music peers, who post constantupdates on a range of subjects.

Eli acknowledged that such updatesdon’t quite come naturally to the Eli

Young Band.“It’s more of an effort,” he said. “As

you get older and into your 30s, startinga family, social media is not necessarilyyour highest priority, but it can be fun.People sometimes (think) they can sayanything to you, which is kind of a dou-ble-edged sword. Our fans want to hearfrom us and we’re happy to do it.”

The band easily connects with fansthrough they best way they know how:through music and in concert. It’s some-thing Eli said they hope to continue wellinto the future.

“We’re very fortunate to play musicfor a living,” he added. “What we wantmost is to continue doing what we do. Asyour life span continues down the road,you just hope music is big part of yourlife, even when you get old and gray.”

Isabel A. Rodriguez is a freelancewriter and may be reached at [email protected].

Eli YoungContinued from Page 13

“What we want most is to continue doing what we do. As

your life span continues down the road, you just hope music

is big part of your life, even when you get old and gray.”

MIKE ELILEAD SINGER OF THE ELI YOUNG BAND

COURTESY

The Eli Young Band has been together for 17years, and in that time has been no strangerto Las Cruces.

If you go

What: Eli Young Band live

When: 7:45 p.m. Friday, April 28





Texas native Tanya Tucker first roseto fame at the age of 13 with the debut ofher hit song, “Delta Dawn,” followed bythe fan favorites “Love Me like You UsedTo,” and “San Antonio Stroll.”

Regarded as a country music icon,Tucker continues to tour and play showsacross the country, despite not havingreleased a studio album since 2009.

Before hitting the stage at the upcom-ing Las Cruces Country Music Festival,she shared her take on career highlights,reality TV — she starred in the 2005 real-ity TV show “Tuckerville” — and the loveshe has for her fans:

Q: Catch us up on what you’ve beenup to these past few months. Can welook forward to any new music fromyou soon?

A: We’re going to break a record mak-ing this record. I’ve recorded the musicand had a blast in the studio. Now we’reworking on the label deal. I can’t wait forthe fans to hear this album.

We’re thrilled to come back to LasCruces, again.

Q: You’ve had such a prolific careerbeginning at a very young age. Whatstands out to you as some of the high-lights?

A: That’s a tough question. Well, per-forming with my heroes, of course, suchas Merle Haggard, George Jones and Lo-retta Lynn. I just love them so much.We’re losing our trailblazers every day.

Q: Your reality show, “Tuckerville,”debuted at a time when reality showswere really starting to take off. Whatwas your inspiration for doing theshow and would you ever consider do-ing something like that again?

A: That was so much fun, it was thereal deal. We just allowed the cameras tocapture it all, no filter. I thought it wasfun to show the fans what it was reallylike. And yes, I’m an open book, let’s doanother show!

Q: Would you consider being ajudge on some singing competitionshow?

A: I’d love to mentor young artists.Q: Are you a fan of reality TV? A: Who isn’t? I love the Bravo shows

— all the housewives!Q: At the festival you’ll be joined by

several other country music artists. Isthere anyone in particular you’re look-ing forward to seeing perform?

A: It’s an incredible lineup. It’s alwaysfun to play festivals because I don’t get tosee other artists unless we’re at an eventor award show. I love seeing everyoneand cutting up backstage telling war sto-ries.

Q: Is there anything (aside fromyour performance) that you’re mostlooking forward to seeing or doing?

A: I love getting out there to the localrestaurants. I’m a foodie.

Q: What is your favorite song to per-form live?

A: “Delta Dawn.” It’s the song that putme on the map and I’m so thankful for it.

Q: What else do you still hope to ac-complish?

A: I have new dreams every day andI’m always brainstorming with my team.I want to get this new album out. I want tokeep touring and seeing the fans. I’m sothankful for them. They’re the reasonfor all my success and I appreciate themso much. See y’all soon!

Isabel A. Rodriguez is a freelancewriter.

Tanya Tucker reflects on career, upcoming albumISABEL A. RODRIGUEZFOR SUN-NEWS

COURTESY OF WEBSTER PR

Tanya Tucker

If you go

What: Tanya Tucker live

When: 8 p.m. Friday, April 28















Las Cruces’ homegrown country art-ist, Alyssa Newton, returns to perform atthe 2017 Las Cruces Country Music Fes-tival. Newton is currently working on amusic degree at Belmont University inNashville, Tennessee, where she writesand performs often.

“It’s kind of surreal honestly,” New-ton said. “I grew up going to the festival,and to come back and play (for) it is adream. I really enjoyed Cassidy Pope’sset. I remember my friend and me stand-ing in the front row trying to get her totouch our hands.”

For roughly 12 years Newton hasgrown as a musician, getting an earlystart at a relatively young age. She hasbeen playing guitar since she was in thefirst grade, and got her first guitar 2years later.

“I definitely already had the inspira-tion to play music when I was young,”Newton said. “Going to Las Cruces Coun-

try Music Festival merely reinforcedthe inspiration that was already there.”

As Newton’s music experience pro-gressed she began to play in front ofsmall crowds and soon expanded to play-

ing at various venues andevents around Las Cruces.

“I got a lot of experi-ence leading worship atschool and at church,” shesaid. “I always played thatmusic and country.”

Her musical momen-tum is showing no signs ofslowing down as Newton

continues her career in Nashville, a citythat is nationally recognized for its sig-nificance to the country music scene.

“Music was definitely the motivationto move to Nashville,” she explained.“I’m a songwriting major and I moved tochase songwriting. Belmont Universityis a really cool school. Some notable peo-ple went to this school, like Brad Paisley

From Cruces to Nashville,Alyssa Newton is on the riseSPENCER TAYLORFOR SUN-NEWS

See NEWTON, Page 27

AlyssaNewton


and the Florida Georgia Line.”Apart from gearing up for LCCMF,

Newton is focusing on a genre specificshowcase series at Belmont. The winnerof each genre’s showcase gets the oppor-tunity to perform on the University’s“Best of the Best” show which includesperformances from each genre’s show-case. Newton won the audition for theChristian genre. Performing with New-ton at the country fest is a band made upof friends she made at university.

“It will be really neat because I’ll getto show them Las Cruces and I don’tknow if any of them have even been toNew Mexico,” Newton said.

As far as sound and style, Newton con-siders it to fall in the intersection be-tween country and pop, much like one ofher highly successful influences, TaylorSwift, and newcomer Kelsea Ballerini.One of the cornerstones of the style islyrics about relationships.

“A good chunk of my songs are aboutrelationships,” she said. “The song ‘TheEasy’ is about a relationship that I’m hop-ing for in the future. It’s kind of a cool be-cause it may be for a future husband or

spouse.”Newton has a few songs that add va-

riety to her story telling.“I have another song called ‘Two

Cents’ which is about people who maybehave too much to say and you wish they’dmind their own business a little more.”

All in all, Newton is looking forwardto serenading familiar faces from herdays living in Las Cruces, but she is alsoexcited to see the festival as a fan, aswell.

“I’m looking forward to getting to bepart of the festival from behind thescenes, because I’m such a fan,” Newtonsaid. “Just being on the same ticket withsomeone like Kacey Musgraves is a totalhonor.”

Spencer Taylor is a freelance writerand may be reached at [email protected].

If you go

What: Alyssa Newton live

When: 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29

Where: South Stage, downtown Main Street


Info: www.lascrucescountrymusic.com andalyssanewton.com

NewtonContinued from Page 26


After forming roughly a year ago,Austin-based band Brian Christopherand The Wild Oats are making theirfirst trip to New Mexico, to play on theLas Cruces Country Music Festival.

Christopher is set to bring a uniqueblend of musicians and story-basedsongwriting to the festival,

“Our sound is interesting to identify,because you might say it’s Texas Coun-try, but it’s tough because we have a lit-tle bit of southern rock sprinkled in.Our members have a lot of different in-fluences,” said Brian Christopher, theband’s front-man.

Christopher’s band, The Wild Oats, ismade up of experienced musicians thathave toured in several other profes-sional acts, and recorded with big nameartists including Lyle Lovett. Accord-ing to Christopher, the wide range of ex-perience brought by each member iswhat keeps the band sounding interest-

ing.“I come from a little more of a rock

background and our guitarist comesfrom a country background, so we’lltrade off solos and it gives us a differ-ent sound,” he explained. “We try tokeep the songs from following a formu-la. We have songs that sound like there’sFoo Fighters influence, then anothersong will sound Texas Country. We justdon’t want the sound to get old and bor-ing.”

From Christopher’s perspective, theband fits into the country music genremore because of what their instrumen-tation sounds like more than what theirlyrical content is.

“I try not to write thinking aboutwhat will go on a record so that thewords are really about what I’m feelingat the time,” he said.

This writing style leads to songsabout a range of topics. For instance,the song “Hangover” is intended to be

Brian Christopher and theWild Oats head for CrucesSPENCER TAYLORFOR SUN-NEWS

See WILD OATS, Page 29


humorous fun. Christopher calls it “al-most dark humor, about partying andearning the hangover when you havethe blue collar blues.”

In contrast, the single “Ride WithMe” has a recognizable theme about es-caping work in the city in order to take abreak in the country.

“I wrote ‘Ride with Me’ when I wasworking for FedEx in Corpus Cristi,”Christopher said. “I wrote it whileworking during the holiday season, lit-erally working six days a week beforesun-up to sun-down. It’s about reallywanting to get out of town and take abreak and hangout with some friends inthe country. I was getting sick of thecity.”

While the band’s individual mem-bers have played a variety of gigs infront of large crowds, including thelarge Austin festival South by South-west, the Las Cruces Country MusicFestival will be the first large multi-band festival the band has played as agroup.

“A lot of us have been playing for

over 15 years,” Christopher said.“Things have happened a lot faster forus than on other projects. A lot of it isthat we’re seasoned now. Some saywe’re lucky, but I feel that over timewe’ve all payed our dues.”

Christopher expressed excitementand gratitude at being offered thechance to see New Mexico and to play atLCCMF, which was an unexpected gigoffer.

“The way we got the gig was a nicesurprise. One of the festival bookerssaw some of our performances on You-tube and liked them enough to book usfor annual festival for her town. That’sa huge compliment. We’re completelygrateful.”

Wild OatsContinued from Page 28

If you go

What: Brian Christopher and the Wild Oatslive

When: 4 p.m. Saturday, April 29

Where: South Stage, downtown Main Street


Info: www.lascrucescountrymusic.com andbcwildoats.com

See WILD OATS, Page 30


One of most exciting aspects of play-ing LCCMF for Christopher is thechance to catch other acts on the festi-val that he’s a fan of.

“I really like Kacey Musgraves, weall like Marshall Tucker, and our bassplayer is a big fan of Eli Young,” he said“Also, one of my favorite things is to seethe bands like us that are up-and-com-ers because you get to kind of followtheir career from its beginnings.”

In the end, it’s all about the fans hav-ing a good time.

“Anytime we play a show audienceresponse is what gets me going,” Chris-topher said. “Having a song climb thecharts is cool, but walking off the stagewhile the audience cheers is the best.As a songwriter, getting positive livefeedback is really the ultimate high, be-cause is something I’m putting my timeand life into.”

Spencer Taylor is a freelance writerand may be reached at [email protected].

Wild OatsContinued from Page 29

COURTESY

Austin-based band Brian Christopher and the Wild Oats will perform Saturday on the south stage.

Documents

2 April 2017 - El Paso Timesproduction.elpasotimes.net/LCMusicFestival2017/LCMusicFest-2017.pdf · ends of country music: The Marshall Tucker Band, the queen of country Ta-nya Tucker,