Joel Schoepf pulls the Trigger

Photo credit: Mike Fackler
When we go see some of our favorite bands play live shows, we don't always think about the hard work that goes on behind the scenes. Joel Schoepf is one of these highly talented folks that has seen many miles on the road and is VERY skilled at making sure all the T's and I's are taken care of. Joel spent a few years out with Cross Canadian Ragweed then Cody Canada and The Departed, plus he has worked with Jack Ingram, Roger Creager, Dickson Productions and is currently full time production manager at John T. Floore's Country Store.

This photograph was taken by Mike Fackler, who is production manager at ACL Live and a stage manager for Willie Nelson & Family. Mike is the stage manager for the main stage at Willie's 4th of July picnic. The photo shows Joel tuning up Willie Nelson's beloved Martin N-20 "Trigger" before Willie joined Neil Young plus Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real on stage at Whitewater Amphitheater on Tuesday, April 26th! Soak in the greatness of this photo, and think about how few people have likely been allowed to come within 5 feet of this legendary guitar!

Texas Music Scene Profiles Whitewater Amphitheater!

We love Texas Music Scene and we LOVE Whitewater Amphitheater! Texas Music Scene just put out a GREAT video profile of the coolest riverside outdoor venue that we are lucky enough to have right here in our backyard!

Whitewater's 2016 concert schedule!

Bret Graham's tribute to Merle Haggard

Bret Graham's tribute to Merle Haggard on Thursday, April 21st at Brauntex Theatre looks like it was a great show! I had prior obligations or I would have been there, but here is video from his wife Cynthia, and hopefully more to come!

Mama Tried:



Sing Me Back Home w/Zack Walther & Joel Hoffman:

Preorder Fallon Franklin's New Album!

Fallon Franklin has a modest Kickstarter goal of $3000, which she has already exceeded as of April 21 with 37 days to go! The cost of recording, producing, mastering, promoting, releasing and touring a new album far surpasses what $3000 will buy you, so PLEASE pre-order this album and help Fallon get that much closer to the true cost of this album, and you will NOT be sorry you did! I've heard several track demos (like the one below), and they are Fallon's most real and personal work yet!

Fallon Franklin had her first paying gig at 15-years-old. She had performed at school and church events, but after playing that first full show, she knew that being a professional musician is what she was meant to do. Her first full album release was in 2001 and 6 record releases later, she is on a journey to complete her biggest feat yet: an album full of the most personal songs she has ever written.

"Writing and performing is my therapy. I know a lot of musicians say that, but it hasn't just made me 'happy', it's kept me around. From singing background vocals on countless other artists records, being on TV, or singing for 10 people at a dive bar...this is my life and not one moment of singing has been more important than the other." Fallon says about the importance of music in her life.

Her past records have been speckled with personal writing, but a lot of her records have been a means to an end. She has written songs from multiple perspectives, and songs that were meant to fill a place on a record. Her upcoming, yet to be titled release is a direct chronicle of the last year of her life. In over 25 years of performing and releasing albums, this is new for her. "The last year, I have endured things that no person should have to endure. Unmentionable things took place that I said years before would be things I wouldn't be able to get through if they ever happened to me. From the first song on the record, to the last song on the record, there is a progression of the events that took place that is evident in the tracks. Each song is a personal account that archives shock, pain, survival, loss, stumbling through day to day, connections and people that have aided in my healing, and then finally where I am wanting to go and how I am trying to get there."

Fallon says that she believes that music has become so emotionally mainstreamed that people don't have negative or a positive reaction to most music on the radio. Every song is intricately written by a team of writers for a soul purpose of being background music for our daily lives. "Sometimes that isn't a bad thing. We don't need full on emotion from our music every time we listen. Sometimes we need a catchy beat to nod our heads to. I miss the days of hearing a song and being spoken to. That's what I hope listeners get from his record. Everyone connects with pain, loss, and recovery. Why sugar coat that? Why homogenize and tone down a song in order to sell a record? We need to give music listeners more credit. They want to feel strong emotions. They want to connect to a song. Am I nervous to have my diary set to music and my dirty laundry out for everyone to hear? Sure. However, if it makes someone out there not feel so alone and feel like they are the person in the song, I have done my job. Hearing listeners response to the record already has been a part of healing for me. Every "wow, this song really got to me", is a bandaid handed to me." Fallon goes on to add, "it has been healing for me to go back and hear what I wrote during each stage of trying to recover who I am and seeing how far I have come and how much further I have to go. I had lost myself and I'm back. Each song leads up to that discovery."

Fallon is now a single mother that performs up to four shows a week. She hopes to grab the attention of a publishing company through this record that Fallon herself says is her best writing to date. Fallon goes on to add, "Each song on this record is better than anything I have ever written before, and I think that that is due to the fact that each song bleeds the truth. Each song came from such a deep place in me, that the honesty inside of me just wrote the song for me. I was just a hand with a pen".

Fallon will be finishing up this album in the next few weeks and needs your help through her Kickstarter campaign. Help her reach her extended goals today by pre-ordering a cd, requesting a song, or even booking a house concert.

Fallon's Kickstarter Page

Here's a demo cut of Valentine!

Spring Fling line up!

This Sunday, April 24th from 2 to 10pm at Billy's Ice is Spring Fling! It's a fundraiser for the Humane Society of the New Braunfels Area, and will include LIVE MUSIC, silent and live auctions, food trucks, adoptable dogs on site and MORE!

location:
Billy's Ice
1193 TX-337 Loop
New Braunfels, TX 78130

Here is the live music schedule!
2 R.C. Sanders, J.R. Scott & Claire Cunningham
3 TBA (Tristan, Brittney & Aubrey) +Elisa Maria
4 Drew Kennedy, Kathleen O'Keefe & Angie Keilhauer
5 Alli Mattice Band
6 Dennis Jay, Matt Kersh & Tyler Derryberry
7 Slim Bawb and the Fabulous Stumpgrinders
8 Dan Adams & Kris Smith
9 Kori Free & The Groove Hounds


Get there early and don't miss the much anticipated return of Claire Cunningham in our first set!

Visit HSNBA.org for more details!

Bret Graham's Merle Haggard Tribute

Thursday, April 21st, Bret Graham is doing a Merle Haggard tribute show at Brauntex Theatre! Bret has already performed great Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson tributes at The Brauntex, and now in the wake of losing Merle Haggard back on April 6th, enjoy songs from the enormous catalog of songs that Merle masterfully performed over the years, some that were written by him, and some that have become Merle Haggard standards.

This is part of the ValMark Chevrolet Greatest Hits Live tribute series that started at Brauntex Theatre back in the fall of 2011! Below is video from Bret's Willie Nelson tribute!

Get tickets NOW!

VIDEO: Recap of Willie Nelson and Ryan Bingham


Who: Willie Nelson and Family + Ryan Bingham
When: Friday April 15, 2016
Where: Whitewater Amphitheater, New Braunfels

My wife and I saw Willie Nelson at Whitewater in 2010 with Ray Wylie Hubbard and Seth Walker opening the show, and at the time that was the best live show I had ever been to. I don't know if it was the spirit of Merle Haggard hanging in the air or something else, but Ryan Bingham opened the show and then he and his band got back up toward the end of Willie's set for a couple of Merle Haggard songs and they closed the show with a gospel set. MAN what a show! Willie always speaks through some lyrics of some songs, but try singing the same stuff for 40 or 50 years just because everybody wants to hear them and I'm sure you'd lose a little of your drive for giving 100% to those songs each time too! He did, however do MUCH less of that this time than he did in 2010, and I would say everything was almost perfect! Whitewater has done a great job rebuilding from the floods last May and October, and as usual they rebuilt bigger and better!

View photos from this show on Facebook<== LOOK!

Below I'm including a sample of Willie's show, and I'll eventually get a Ryan Bingham video posted as well, but I have to get this up soon, because I want you all to see how great this show was! I also might post a few complete songs to YouTube as well, so be on the lookout!

Also, thank each and every one of you for following Music of New Braunfels and reading what I post, it really means a lot that so many of you have found this service useful! Please make sure you follow me on Facebook and Twitter, too!

video:

links:
Whitewater Music Amphitheater's 2016 Live Music Calendar
willienelson.com
binghammusic.com

Erin Enderlin's upcoming local tour dates!

I first saw Erin Enderlin doing a Sunday afternoon "Rooftop Ramble" show at River Road Ice House with Drew Kennedy. I wasn't sure what to expect because I hadn't looked her up, but the first words that left her mouth in her amazing voice had me immediately Googling her to figure out what I've been missing out on! Turns out not everybody had missed out on her so far, because she's had songs of hers cut by Lee Ann Womack, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis and Luke Bryan and those are just the ones I've heard about! If you want to judge for yourself how good her voice (and her writing) really is, check her out at one (or more) of the local dates listed below! Erin will also be with us on Saturday, January 21, 2017 for the 5th Annual Blowin' Off Steamboat Festival at Freiheit Country Store!

Local Shows - FULL SCHEDULE
Apr 20:Sam's Burger Joint - San Antonio at 7
Apr 21:Riley's Tavern
Apr 24:Luckenbach at 1 w/Kayla Ray & Jackie Darlene
Apr 27:Saxon Pub - Austin w/Kayla Ray
Apr 29:Vineyard at Gruene at 7

Erin was on WFAA's Good Morning Texas today!


Here's another one of her MANY great songs!

Angie Keilhauer of The Voice in New Braunfels

Check below for several local dates over the next 2 weeks!

Angie Keilhauer's blind audition for season 10 of The Voice aired on Tuesday, March 1st. Angie is from El Salvador and her family moved to Marietta, Georgia when she was eleven years old. Angie's mom played lots of Dolly Parton when Angie was young, and she fell in love with music and more specifically the personal stories behind the songs. Angie wanted to be a singer for as long as she can remember, and after some time during college playing gigs in bars for small payouts and sometimes sleeping in her car while on the road, she decided that even though it can be tough she had to do music no matter what. Angie decided to drop out of college and be a full time performer on a cruise ship where she could play often for large audiences without all the hassles of travel on the road. Angie also plays private events, corporate events, parties, weddings, bars, restaurants and more, but her primary source of income and performance experience came from playing on Carnival Cruise Lines for the past couple of years.

As Angie walked onto stage for her blind audition, Christina Aguilera immediately pegged that Angie was wearing cowboy boots from the sound of her walking. With her adoring family watching from just off stage left, Angie performed "I Hold On" which was written by Dierks Bentley and Brett James and first released by Dierks in 2013 on his seventh studio album 'Riser'. Angie played the first verse, chorus and second verse to nothing but back and forth looks from the judges, lots of smiles and some swaying back and forth from Christina who seemed to be enjoying the performance. Christina never hit her button, that when pressed indicates "I WANT YOU" as the chair lights up when it turns around to face the performer. But after Angie got through the second verse and reached the second chorus, Blake, Pharrell and Adam all three hit their buttons at the exact same time, and Angie's family let out sounds of joy as Pharrell pointed out was louder than the entire audience as he invited her to bring them out onto the stage with her. When presented with the choice of which coach of those that hit their button during her performance, she chose Blake Shelton which made her the 11th member of #TeamBlake.

Angie's blind audition:


Now *I* for one fully expected that between her voice and obvious comfort with performing and playing the guitar, that she would make it pretty far through the course of the show. Angie was paired with Pop singer Teresa Guidry for "The Battles" round, and Angie came out victorious and went onto "The Knockouts". Unfortunately, when Angie went head to head with Paxton Ingram and fought to keep her spot on #TeamBlake, she was eliminated when Blake chose Paxton, stating that he loves that she's always up for any challenge and doesn't pick easy songs, and she's such an artist that she always digs in to find a way to make any song work for her. But Blake thought Paxton connected with his song choice and everybody could feel it. I feel it ultimately came down to a poor song choice for Angie, as she performed the Sam Hunt/Josh Osborne/Shane McAnally song "Take Your Time". Angie did a GREAT job making it her own, but the strength of the song just wasn't there.

Since being eliminated from The Voice, Angie is on tour which includes several stops in New Braunfels and San Antonio, followed by stops from one end of the country to the other throughout May.

Local Shows - FULL SCHEDULE
Apr 16:Pour Haus at 5:30 SEE VIDEO!
Apr 17:Billy's Ice
Apr 21:Freiheit Country Store (opening for Cory Morrow)
Apr 22:Herbert's at 5
Apr 23:Vino en Verde
Apr 24:Billy's Ice w/Drew Kennedy & Kathleen O'Keefe at 4
Apr 24:Quarry Hofbrau

links:
AngieKeilhauer.com
Angie on Facebook
Angie on Twitter
Angie on YouTube

Fredericksburg outdoor live music in jeapordy!

So I just saw mention that the sound ordinance has been added to the Fredericksburg, TX city council agenda for this coming Monday night. If you love music and are able to attend, please do! If you aren't able to attend but can share this, please do! We don't want outdoor live music to slowly and quietly get stamped out across the state or even country, if we turn out in numbers to show our support wherever things like this happen, they will KNOW we LOVE MUSIC!

Here's the letter from City Manager Kent Myers to the Mayor and City Council about the subject:

K Phillips touring w/The Counting Crows & Rob Thomas!

It was announced yesterday that K Phillips and his band will be touring as opener for at least 38 dates this year with Counting Crows and Rob Thomas, including some Texas dates in September!

K was born in San Angelo and grew up in the Concho Valley area of West Texas. K went to high school in Corpus Christi, and high tailed it to New Braunfels as quickly as he could so he could immerse himself in the local music scene while attending Texas Luthern University. Robert Earl Keen was among the more powerful musical influences on K as he was growing up, but he became familiar with the "next gen" locals (at the time) including Stoney LaRue and Ryan Bingham, and his love for music and songwriting exploded! K was frequently sited performing with other local favorites Daniel Thomas Phipps, Little Brave, Luke Leverett, Brandy Zdan and more. K performed both as a solo act and with with a band as K Phillips and the Concho Pearls, which grew into a HUGE favorite of both Music of New Braunfels as well as thousands if not zillions of fans. K told me if it weren't for the strong music scene in New Braunfels and venues like Gruene Hall, Saengerhalle and others, he probably wouldn't be a full time musician today.

K started going to The Outlaw Roadshow in 2012, and was surprised in October 2014 that his own "Kat's Song" had been selected into a set list by Adam Duritz of The Counting Crows. That is one of those HUGE, life changing moments in his life that he almost missed, because he had a gig across town at the same time, but was urged by his friend Nakia who was playing keys during that set to "stick around because this is gonna be cool". Reluctantly, he stuck around to watch his friend play with The Counting Crows, then he heard a familiar keyboard riff that was followed up by some lyrics of his own! Adam pulled K up on stage with him to finish out the song.

K moved out to Nashville in 2015 to pursue other facets of his career, and although I've lost touch with some of his activities since then, I was not at all surprised K was getting this opportunity, because he truly is one of the great performing songwriters that was steeped in the Texas music scene.

K has played at Galleywinter's Greenfest numerous times, and he played a solo set at the @musicofnb/TX Citizen 3rd Annual Blowin' Off Steamboat Music Festival at Freiheit Country Store back in January 2015. Below are a FEW samples of K from his time here in Texas, plus a clip from The Outlaw Roadshow in NYC last year. A special thanks to Claire (clairvoyant94 on YouTube) for allowing us to use a clip from her video! I also threw in the Counting Crows performance of "Kat's Song" referenced above!

A sampling of K Phillips from recent years:


Blowin' Off Steamboat (video by Scott of River Man Productions):


Counting Crows performance of Kat's Song:


Clairvoyant94's full video of Kat's Song:

Waylon Malone 4

Sunday is the 4th Annual Waylon Gruene Malone's Throwdown Musical Benefit and Fundraiser at River Road Ice House! Music starts at noon and they're running it until 10:30 with GREAT music all day! Live AND silent auctions available, so make sure you get there and help raise money for a FANTASTIC cause!

LINE UP
12:00Skylar Hamilton, B.J. Thibodeaux & Sylvia Kirk
1:00Wilkes County Deeds
2:00Noel McKay, Brennen Leigh & John Arthur Martinez
3:00Kori Free and the Groove Hounds
4:00Tommy Elskes, Brent Michael Wood & Mark Jungers
5:00Mario Flores & The Soda Creek Band
6:00Robyn Ludwick & Shelley King
7:00Auction
7:30John Evans Band
8:30Drew Kennedy, Lisa Morales & Matt Harlan
9:30Reed Brothers

Waylon 4 The Cure on Facebook

Tuning Out Cancer Benefit

Tuning Out Cancer is Saturday, April 9th at River Road Ice House! Doors open at 5pm, and LIVE MUSIC starts at 5:30 with Aaron Stephens! Full line up is below! This 3rd annual event is raising money once again for VisionWorks: Camp Discovery!

INFO
Date/Time: Saturday, April 9 at 5pm
Location:River Road Ice House, New Braunels, TX
Beneficiary:Camp Discovery

LIVE MUSIC
5:30Aaron Stephens
6:00Zach Coffey
7:00Kelley Mickwee
8:00Hot Tub Country
9:15Mike McClure
10:30Rivers and Rust

2016 Hays County Fair, Music & Crawfish Festival

Tonight and/or Saturday head up to Kyle to the Hays County Fair, Music & Crawfish Fest at Central Texas Speedway. They'll have LIVE MUSIC, crawfish, carnival rides, helicopter rides, high speed go kart racing and more!

Admission:FREE
Concerts:FREE
Crawfish:$12/plate
Parking:$5.00
Carnival Wristbands:$20/day

LIVE MUSIC

Friday, April 8, 2016
5:30Broken Arrow
7:30Logan Ryan Band
9:30Red Dirt Coalition

Saturday, April 9, 2016
2:00Slim Bawb and the Fabulous Stumpgrinders
4:30Armadillo Road
7:00Mothership Connection
9:30Years Gone

more info here

Spring Fling!

Please come to Billy's Ice on Sunday, April 24th between 2 and 10pm to help support the Humane Society of the New Braunfels Area by attending their Spring Fling which will consist of LIVE MUSIC, silent and live auctions, food trucks, adoptable dogs ON SITE and more!

Here are the performers (so far) that will be on hand for the event!
R.C. Sanders
J.R. Scott
Claire Cunningham
TBA Band (Tristan, Brittney & Aubrey)
Kathleen O'Keefe
Drew Kennedy
Angie Keilhauer [unable to attend]
Alli Mattice Band
Tyler Derryberry
Dennis Jay
Matt Kersh
Kris Smith
Dan Adams
Kori Free & The Groove Hounds

Visit HSNBA.org for more information!

2016 Crawfest

The 2016 CRAWFEST will be Friday, April 29th and Saturday, April 30th at the Comal County Fairgrounds. With a relatively great craw fish season this year, it'll be mud bugs-a-plenty! But still, make sure you're there during the earlier hours they are open both days to ensure you get your fill! My favorite part of this festival (the live music) is better than ever this year, here's the line up!

Coming April 29-20th!

We are less than two weeks away! Coming up April 29-30th at the Comal County Fairgrounds in New Braunfels! Crawfish, live music, and more!

Posted by Crawfish Festival of New Braunfels on Monday, April 18, 2016


GET TICKETS NOW!!

Friday, April 29:
8:00Midnight River Choir
10:00William Clark Green (CD Release)

Saturday, April 30:
Bud Light Stage:
6:30Kurt Reece
8:00Wade Bowen
10:00Pat Green

Zydeco Stage:
11amSlim Bawb and the Fabulous Stumpgrinders
1:00Jean-Pierre
4:00Dr. Zog

Valmark Hall:
12:30Kaylee Rutland
2:00Bill Ayers
4:00Jason Allen


visit crawfishfestivalnewbraunfels.com for more info!

Photo: Sturgill and Merle

I saw this really cool photo of Sturgill Simpson and Merle Haggard in March retweeted by Ben Haggard. Turns out Ben was the photographer too!



Ben Haggard on Twitter
Sturgill Simpson on Twitter

Merle Haggard - Big City

This video is from Merle Haggard's 2014 appearance at Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, TX. SO glad I got to see him perform live before we lost him today! He will be GREATLY missed!



SO Sad to hear of the death of Merle Haggard

SO SAD to hear of the death of Merle Haggard

March 2014 at Whitewater Amphitheater
My original post is below, but tragically I just found out that Merle Haggard passed away today... I will add more information later if some becomes available...

Ben Haggard
Here is a post from Ben Haggard's Facebook page at 1pm today:
"A week ago dad told us he was gonna pass on his birthday, and he wasn't wrong. A hour ago he took his last breath surrounded by family and friends. He loved everything about life and he loved that everyone of you gave him a chance with his music. He wasn't just a country singer.. He was the best country singer that ever lived."



--original post--
Merle Haggard turns 79 today, join me in wishing him a happy birthday and speedy recovery from some recent health crud he's been dealing with that forced him to cancel shows in both March and April so far this year. Sorry that he won't be at Whitewater later this month, but I wish him well and hope to see him on stage again real soon!

Here's some video from that 2014 performance at Whitewater...

Happy Birthday Jeff Strahan!

Happy birthday to a man that left a big mark on the blues scene in New Braunfels, and the world of music in general! Jeff Strahan passed away in January 2014 a devoted husband, father, lawyer and amazing blues/rock musician that will always be remembered by many.

links:
JeffStrahan.com
Jeff Strahan on iTunes
Related posts

VIDEO: Throwback Allan Goodman

I caught this video of Allan Goodman, Tony Taylor and Stan Little the last time I saw Allan in February before he passed away on May 21, 2014. Allan was one of my favorite songwriters to see play live, and he always had fun doing it!

Local band TBA to perform at Burnet Bluebonnet Festival

Photo by Vicki Witt
This time TBA doesn't mean what you think it means, it's an acronym for the three sisters that form this band. Tristan is the drummer, Brittney is a singer and guitarist, and Aubrey is a singer and bassist. They grew up in a family full of musical talent, and nearly 4 years ago they played their first offical gig at Sandra's Cantina & Grill in Spring Branch, TX. They played at the 2nd Annual Blowin' Off Steamboat Music Festival in January 2014 just before heading off to Houston to audition for America's Got Talent, and although they didn't make it onto the show, it was a very valuable learning experience! They have continued to play in Canyon Lake and New Braunfels and have played quite a few shows with The String Slingers at Oma Gruene's Secret Garten. With all the growth that comes from playing as a band for 4 years, it's great to see these girl's hard work pay off in getting to play this well-deserved gig at the Bluebonnet Festival! You can also see TBA at Spring Fling which is a benefit for the Humane Society of the New Braunfels Area on Sunday, April 24th at Billy's Ice!

Here is the full line up for Bluebonnet Festival, April 8-10 in Burnet!

Friday, April 8
Main Stage
8:45Dale Watson and his Lone Stars

Saturday, April 9
Jackson Street Stage

1:00TBA (Tristan, Brittney & Aubrey)
2:30Texas Crossing
4:30Allen Ray and Southeren Comfort

Main Stage
12:30Hired Guns
2:15Cody Beyer
4:00Light Horse Harry
8:30Bri Bagwell
10:00Jason Boland and the Stragglers

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