“The stars at night are big and bright… deep in the heart of Texas!”
As an early anniversary gift to my husband, I bought two tickets to see Aaron Watson at The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The show was called “A Night of Texas at the Ryman.” The all of the acts are all from the great state of Texas, and it was great to see these Texans perform at the Mother Church.
Deep in my heart I’m a Texas girl, even though I’ve lived in East Tennessee longer than I lived in Texas. I grew up outside of Lubbock in a small town called Levelland. It was literally level because it was completely surrounded by cotton fields. Spending the night listening to these singer/songwriters perform their music made me “Texas proud.”
Opening the show was Leslie Satcher and Jim Collins. They each performed three songs, which included some of the songs that they wrote for other country music stars. Leslie was born in Paris, Texas, and moved to Nashville in 1989 where she wrote songs for Patty Loveless, Reba McIntire, and George Strait. Jim is a native of Nacogdoches, Texas, and has written hit songs for Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, and Tim McGraw, and the one he seemed most proud of was for George Strait.
Then Mickey Guyton, a native of Arlington, Texas, performed some of her songs, including her single “Better Than You Left Me.” She is one of the handful of black women to make an impact on country music. She has a great voice.
Both my husband and I were blown away by Jon Wolfe. My husband said “his confidence and stage presence were awesome,” that he is an entertainer that could headline his own show at the Ryman, but that he also like that Jon showed his appreciation to Aaron Watson for inviting him to participate in “A Night of Texas at The Ryman”. We would definitely see him in concert again!
Then Aaron Watson came out on stage. This Amarillo, Texas, native was so entertaining! His show was amazing! The lights, the music, his interaction with the audience… everything was awesome, from beginning to end! He sang his hits “Outta Style”, “July in Cheyenne”, “Bluebonnets (Julia’s Song)”, “That Look”, “Barbed Wire Halo”, and “Take You Home Tonight”.
“In February 2015, Watson made history when he released The Underdog, making him the first independent male artist to debut at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart with a self-released and independently distributed and promoted album. The record sold more than 26,000 units in the first week.” {Source: Wikipedia}
The dinner prior to the show was good. We ate at a little cafe adjoining to The Ryman called Cafe Lula. My husband and I shared the rotisserie chicken dinner, which came with rotisserie potatoes. It was delicious!
We stayed the night, a block away, at the Courtyard Marriott. The hotel was so lovely and our room was spacious and extremely comfortable. I would definitely stay there again, especially the next time we go to a show at The Ryman.
The entire night was great, from the hotel to the pre-show dinner to the show itself. It made my Texas heart swell with pride for these country music artists!!
Have you been to The Ryman? If not, then you need to check out their website to see who will be on stage at The Mother Church.
Yours Truly,
Vanessa