BALLINGER – It’s no secret that Ballinger and Runnels County have captured the attention of the entertainment industry over the past 12 months. Last year a horror movie was filmed across County Runnels. This year, another film is slated to be shot in the county.
On Saturday August 7, several Texan musicians come to give a concert at Ballinger airport. Calling this a “concert” sounds misleading. The event is more like a music festival packed with national and local talent.
The event is hosted by Jeff Smith and KRUN Radio. Smith has worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to make this event happen: “It’s been a lot of work, but we think we want to celebrate all that Ballinger, County Runnels and the Agriplex are all about. I thought that would be the best way to do it. We were fortunate to have top notch musicians. “
The headliner “first class musician” is none other than Kevin Fowler of Amarillo. To refer to Fowler as a “first class musician” is an understatement. Nationally, Fowler had top 40 country hits, such as “Pound Sign (#? *!).” Several of her songs have reached number one on the Texas music charts: “Girl in a Truck”, “Here’s To Me and You” and “Before Somebody Gets Hurt”.
The busy musician, who is constantly in demand across states in the region, has released 10 albums: Beer, bait and ammunition (2000), High on the pork (2002), Living at Billy Bob’s Texas (2002), Cowardly, strong and crazy (2004), Bring it on (2007), Chippin ‘Away (2011), What country are you? (2014), Come to a Honky Tonk near you (2016), Bar stool stories (2019), and Dos Barrachos with Roger Creager.
Musicians such as Fowler and Creager shaped the energetic style of Texas country music, reminiscent of the days of the Honky Tonks. The audience is as much a part of the show as Fowler himself. Fans quickly find themselves drawn to his daring and daring music from Texan roots.
Fowler wasn’t always a country musician. He traveled to Los Angeles at the age of 20 to study music at the Guitar Institute of Technology. Upon his return, he joined the heavy metal band Dangerous Toys in Austin. Dangerous Toys is a hard rock, glam metal, southern metal / rock band that still performs today, 34 years later.
Texas country music isn’t something a musician suddenly discovers, it’s something to be born with. There is something else you can try with life, but Texas Country will always call you. This is what happened to Fowler, who ditched heavy metal music for a Texan country sound. He never looked back. Musicians like Willie Nelson and other big stars performed alongside him. Mark Chestnut did Fowler’s Beer, bait and ammunition part of his show. Sammy Kershaw recorded his own version of the song.
Smith, the CEO of KRUN, was asked how he managed to land Fowler: “Basically that was the only day he had availability. He booked solidly. If you want a big name like that plays, you have to reserve it months or even a year in advance. Everyone in Texas loves it “
But, Fowler isn’t the only star to take the stage this Saturday, “We booked Soggy Pesos, State Line Band, as well as the J. Rodney Dunn & the Lost Frijoles Band. Tickets went on sale this week. for that West Texas Saturday Saturday in the Sun for the Celebrate Ballinger concert. “
The Soggy Pesos, which are growing in popularity throughout the region, gave a concert for the making of the film in Rowena last year. The State Line Band has performed in this area before, including Dovefest 2 years ago. Local San Angelo talents who are quickly making a name for themselves are J. Rodney Dunn and the Lost Frijoles Band.
There is no shortage of talent for the Celebrate Ballinger Music Festival all day.
In addition to the musicians, there will be food vendors and others set up on the concert grounds.
The concert will take place on Saturday August 7, from noon to midnight. It’s a BYOB event. Tickets cost $ 35. There is a charge of $ 10 for the cooler. You can get tickets by going to www.KRUNam.com or you can buy them at the door on the day of the concert.
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