Cross Canadian Ragweed at Colorado State in July

Ft. Collins, CO-(June 23, 2025)-Colorado State University (CSU) and Professional Bull Riders (PBR) have announced that Cross Canadian Ragweed will headline the opening night of the two-day CSU/PBR Last Cowboy Standing event on July 21-22. The concert will take place on Monday, July 21 at Canvas Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado. Tickets can be purchased at https://csurams.evenue.net/events/PBR

The iconic group, widely regarded as one of the most influential bands in Red Dirt Music, will take the stage in place of country superstar Tim McGraw who has been forced to cancel his Fort Collins performance due to a recent back surgery. After a 15-year hiatus, Cross Canadian Ragweed played their first concerts in April at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma, welcoming more than 185,000 fans at 4 sold-out shows. Known for their renown live performances, the band will open the two-day event at CSU pairing PBR with full blockbuster concerts. PBR and Cross Canadian Ragweed first crossed paths in 2005 when the band played at the official PBR After Party in Bentonville, Arkansas, following a PBR premier series event in nearby Springdale. PBR and Cross Canadian Ragweed partnered up at several other PBR events after that.

“Twenty years ago, Cross Canadian Ragweed brought the house down with an unforgettable after-party, and we immediately recognized the power of this up-and-coming band,” said Sean Gleason, CEO and Commissioner of PBR. “We couldn’t be more pumped that the band is back together and have agreed to open the Last Cowboy Standing event in Fort Collins. It’s going to be an epic night of great music and the greatest bull riding on earth.”

The Western Sports Festival begins on July 21 at 7:30 p.m. MT with Round 1 of PBR’s Last Cowboy Standing. In this intense, ride-to-survive showdown, 35 of the world’s top bull riders will battle through a challenging two-night competition for their shot at a $100,000 first-place prize from the $200,000 total purse. The action continues July 22 at 7:30 p.m. MT with the dramatic conclusion of the grueling event, where only the toughest and most committed will remain in the hunt for the title. Each night wraps up with full 90-minute concerts: Cross Canadian Ragweed takes the stage after Round 1, while Jon Pardi brings the festival to a celebratory close following the championship round.

About Cross Canadian Ragweed
Formed in Yukon, Oklahoma in 1994 by band members who were childhood friends, Cross Country Ragweed is known for their blend of country and rock music, particularly within the Texas Red Dirt scene. The band consists of Cody Canada (lead vocals, lead guitar), Grady Cross (guitar), Randy Ragsdale (drums), and Jeremy Plato (bass). Blending different elements of rock, country and jam band music, they released seven studio albums and three live albums between 1994 and 2010, achieving significant success and helped define the Red Dirt genre. At their peak, the band played over 250 shows a year. While the band disbanded in 2010, they reunited in 2025 for sold-out stadium shows in Oklahoma and Texas.

About PBR (Professional Bull Riders)
PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 1,000 bull riders compete in more than 200 events annually across the televised PBR Unleash The Beast tour (UTB), which features the top bull riders in the world; the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT); the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD); and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, and Canada. In 2022, the organization launched PBR Teams—10 teams of the world’s best bull riders competing for a new championship—as well as the PBR Challenger Series with more than 50 annual events nationwide. PBR events are broadcast on CBS Television Network and Paramount. PBR is a subsidiary of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a premium sports and entertainment company. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, X at X.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.

DS: Bob Schneider at Gruene Hall April 2011

Dal Segno:

The video below is a live performance of the song '40 Dogs' from a Bob Schneider show at Gruene Hall on April 1, 2011. This was during a time when Bob had already played a Monday Residency at Saxon Pub in Austin for 8 years. This redidency has continued to this day which means he is in his 22nd year of performing weekly at Saxon Pub as Lonelyland.

'40 Dogs' as well as some other Bob Schneider songs were featured on the soundtrack for the 2023 movie 'Happiness for Beginners' starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes. I'm honestly surprised it hasn't been licensed several times.

Schneider has the honor of having won the highest number of Austin Music Awards for various categories, having won 58 to date based on Austin Chronicle’s archives. Eric Johnson is second place for musicians with 33 AMA’s.



More content:
DS: Indian Head Ranch Trail Ride 2012
New Series: Dal Segno (Introduction)

Ryan Bingham at Whitewater Amphitheater

Below are some photos and video from Ryan Bingham back on May 30th at Whitewater Amphitheater.

Ryan Bingham has performed at Whitewater quite a few times over the years since 2013, we also saw him back in 2016 with Willie Nelson. This show happened 9 days after Merle Haggard died, he was supposed to perform at this show as well.

Here's a show from March of 2014 with Merle Haggard plus Wade Bowen and Randy Roger's infamous "Hold My Beer" tour. This was back when publicist rules were looser and I was in the pit more often, iPhone photo sensors were garbage (comparitively) and I didn't know how to keep a video down to a reasonable length. :-)

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DS: Indian Head Ranch Trail Ride 2012

Dal Segno: One

In 2012 I was fortunate enough to be asked along on a beatiful weekend at Indian Head Ranch in northern New Mexico (IYKYK). There was good friends, good music, good horses and good food. And a good amount of whiskey. I'm going to keep this first installment brief, because the video is long, but it's worth the watch...

Please keep an eye out for more content from more signposts from the past.



More content:
New Series: Dal Segno (Introduction)

New Series: Dal Segno

Cody Canada & The Departed 2011 at Gruene Hall

I'm starting a new series where I go back to a particular point in the history of us covering and promoting the live music culture of our area. We will re-release ancient (and hopefully improved) content. Music of New Braunfels started in August 2012, but it was born out of my love for music that was instilled in me by a few specific people's love of music.

First of all, my sister always had interesting music around, and she taught me when I was about 8 that I can listen to music at night when I sleep if I keep the volume low enough that it didn't rouse attention from outside my bedroom, so most of my childhood from that point on included some FM radio playing through my sleep cycles. Of course being in the 70's and 80's I would at times wake up in a panic wondering WHAT THE HECK that noise was, only to find out is was some weird, psychadelic keyboard or guitar riff or something. My sister also introduced me to a few 8 tracks. El Loco by ZZ Top and the Xanadu soundtrack among others.

My dad had quite a few records and a few 8 tracks and even some music on reel to reel laying around, so I would listen to his music, including Herb Alpert, Roger Whitaker, Arlo Guthrie and more.

By the time my grandfather retired, his obsession with music such as Haggard, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, David Allan Coe (among others) had gone into full force, and he would record certain times of day from the radio onto casette tape so he could go back and listen to songs he loved. I would also frequently watch shows like Nashville Now, Crooke and Chase and The Grand Ole Opry on TV with my grandparents. Oh, and Heehaw which I sort of didn't count as a music show at the time, but looking back, DANG it had some great music on it.

In roughly 2009, I began to listen to KNBT, our amazing, local Americana radio station more often, and my love and appreciation for Americana, Texas Country and Red Dirt music got added to my already highly eclectic musical taste. I also began to develop a love and appreciation for our local music scene, espcially live music.

I would occasionally step out to venues like Billy's Ice, Freiheit, Tavern in the Gruene and others to catch people like Allan Goodman, Wes Nickson, Zack Walther, Jason Allen and others, and I also went to several Roots and Branches of Americana live broadcasts back when it was at Tavern in the Gruene. Tavern in the Gruene is now Gruene Homestead Inn which is basically a Bed and Breakfast and bookable event venue (I think) at the edge of Gruene on Gruene Road.

All of that combined made me want to start posting pictures and videos from these events to let more people know about this greats music scene, because I figured if I'd been living in a hole and didn't know about it, so there had to be others who also needed an education.

So anyway, that brings us to today, and I decided I'm going to bring you this new (old) series call Dal Segno (or DS) which in music notation tells you to go back to a symbol or "sign" earlier in the song. We're going back to random points in time and re-releasing "cleaned up" versions of old videos and photos. The first installment will be out soon!

MercyMe, Zach Williams and Sam Wesley at Freeman Coliseum

Sam Wesley

MercyMe and Zach Williams along with opening act Sam Wesley have been touring America since mid March, and they made a stop in San Antonio on May 3, 2025 on the final leg of their spring 2025 tour. It's worth noting that Sam is MercyMe lead singer Bart Millard's oldest son.

During the evening they showed a teaser for "I Can Only Imagine 2". The original 2018 "I Can Only Imagine" was a story of Bart Millard's childhood and how it shaped his songwriting, his career as a musician, along with the formation of the band MercyMe. The sequel is the story of how Bart's adult life as a husband and parent shaped the co-writing of the song "Even If". This song was co-written with Tim Timmons and a host of other talented songwriters.

Zach Williams

MercyMe released the strangely upbeat single "Oh Death" back in January just ahead of this tour. Also on the newer side was a song "On Our Way" that Sam Wesley (Millard) performed with MercyMe. This is a song that Bart heard coming together and loved the song enough that he convinced Sam to let MercyMe record it after he explained the intricacies of songwriting credit. This was released on the 2021 album "inhale (exhale)", and Sam also had 2 co-writes ("Better Days Coming" and "Heart Beats For Your Good") on the 2022 MercyMe album "Always Only Jesus".

MercyMe

Sam has released 5 singles between 2021 and 2025 and seems to be close to finding his own voice and sound, and in the meantime seems to be actively working on building his own catalog of songs and co-writes. It will be interesting to see where his career goes from here. Sam isn't the only child of the band members of MercyMe pursuing a music career and touring with their dad(s), MercyMe bassist Nathan Cochran's son William plays drums in Sam's band. Look for more to come from this young songwriter and performer, he's definitely on his way.

Zach Williams had an impressive 9 piece band including pedal steel, sax and two GREAT background vocalists. Zach's last studio album "A Hundred Highways" was released in February 2024, but he also dropped 3 singles and en EP in 2024, and his latest "Jesus Loves" dropped back in January. Zach is a busy and talented artist, and is poised to add to his ever increasing mainstream appeal and success.


Here are some videos from this night:

Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen and The Jakes at Whitewater Amphitheater

Whitewater Amphitheater's official/unofficial kick off to thier 2025 concert season happened on Friday, April 18th with Willie Nelson and Family w/Robert Earl Keen. The Jakes from Fredericksburg played on the biergarten stage before the gates officially opened. Things have changed quite a bit at Whitewater since I was last there in 2018, but there is definitely a noticeable ease and joy from the staff that I encountered, and the night went off flawlessly... Well, except for some quick, technical issues getting Mattson Rainer's mic hot when he was announcing Robert Earl Keen.

Robert Earl Keen concluded his career as a touring musician in September 2022, but like many who have spent most of their adult lives entertaining large crowds, it's an intoxicant that is difficult to resist. After multiple attempts at finding new hobbies, he decided to spend his retirment doing what he loves the most, entertaining large crowds and continuing to write and record music. Among his accomplishments over the past couple of years, he experienced his Grand Ol Opry debut in March, he'll play Red Rocks Amphitheater on May 9 with Turnpike Troubadours, and will return to Gruene Hall on May 17.

Willie Nelson has assembled a perfect band to accompany him while still maintinaing a relatively busy touring schedule for a 91 year old. Up front with Willie is Waylon Payne who has not only had a very successful career as a songwriter and performing musician, but also has had some success in acting including expertly portraying Jerry Lee Lewis in the 2005 film "Walk The Line". He is also joined up front by his surprisingly entertaining youngest son Micah Nelson, and with 2 guitars and 2 voices adding to Willie, the sound is thick with harmony and both hints of Willie as a younger man and sounds that are both classic and new and bring a brand of Willie to yet another generation in a way that gives them an experience of the history of music as well as fresh, new songs that resonated with the crowd. There are people of all ages on hand for this chapter of Willie, including parents introducting their kids to music that was played for them as children by their parents. It's hard to believe that the original outlaws of country music are all but gone, but for now we still have Willie Nelson, and he's still got us.

VIDEOS:

Willie Nelson:


Robert Earl Keen:


The Jakes:

An end of an era...

I became interested in visiting local venues that had live music around 2010. To be fair, I've ALWAYS loved music, I just discovered (finally) that New Braunfels and the surrounding area was sort of a hot bed of musical talent, and many local restaurants, bars and straight up music venues provided a place for people to use as an outlet for that talent. So after a couple of years of getting to know people that owned and worked in some of these places, as well as some of the local talent, I decided that instead of just going and hanging out and enjoying the music, I'd try to use social media and other skills I've scraped together over the years to make an effort to shine a light on the local music scene. I wanted other people that may not have figured it out yet to realize what amazing talent spends time in the places we live near, and at the same time try to create content to provide more information to people that already loved this local music scene.

So, I started going out occasionally and enjoying some of what our area had to offer, and while I was there I would take a few notes, a few pictures and some video so i could leave behind a memory of what I experienced. Thankfully a few people gave me some advice on different things I could do that would provide more benefit for people living or traveling here, and over a 6 year period I saw and heard a lot of great things and part of my memories are available in the Archive section on the right-hand side that goes from 2012 to 2018 when I decided to take a break. There's also a lot on my Facebook page, Instagram and Youtube channel, go check them out of you'd like, but I decided even though I was stepping away from this, it didn't hurt to leave those memories behind for people to enjoy if they wanted to.

Over the past 6 years I've thought several times about jumping back in and doing something with this platform again, but I wasn't sure what that would mean, so I waited.

The 2025 schedule that was coming together at Whitewater Amphitheater finally nudged me into taking some action. This year I am going to attend several shows at Whitewater, and I'll put a few words down on here along with some photos or video, starting with this past Friday night, when Willie Nelson, Robert Earl Keen, The Jakes and even a brief appearance by Zac Brown kicked off my 2025 music season. I'll have all that ready soon, along with some video from that night.

So, when I say "an end of an era...", this time I mean an end of my hiatus, but I'm not stepping back into things exactly how it was before, I created a Facebook group that people are WELCOME to post information about upcoming live music in the area, whether you're a musician or a fan, feel free to promote any sort of live music anywhere within roughly 50 miles of New Braunfels. I'll also try to share those posts to my Facebook page. When i remember to do it... :) I'll also throw some things out there as I see them.

I do love our local music scene, and it's good to be back, and in the words of Robert Earl Keen, "It feels so good feelin' good again".


The new Facebook group:
Music of New Braunfels (FB group)

The Facebook page:
Music of New Braunfels

YouTube:
Music of New Braunfels (@musicofnb)

Also Insta, X etc at @musicofnb