The First Annual Rodney Hayden Music Festival

Ask any artist what their favorite cities to play are and McCoy, TX isn’t likely to appear anywhere in their top 100. In fact, most have probably never heard of McCoy. And, unless you type in the county name (Atascosa), Google Maps will likely lead you astray by about 364 miles north of this particular McCoy, where the head count was a mere 30 residents eight years ago.

This…whatever you want to call it, was the site of the inaugural Rodney Hayden Music Festival. But with a little promotion Hayden was able to increase the population by more than 3,000%; if only for the better part of a day.

Seating was limited for the first half the event, with everyone indoors at the Wildcat Grill & Saloon–which, with its architectural style, seemed to pay homage to a horse barn of the old west–to beat the Texas heat.

HalleyAnna Finlay (MySpace) and David Whitbeck (MySpace), who also plays bass for Hayden, took the stage around one in the afternoon for a low-key acoustic performance to kick off the festivities, followed by Fort Worthian Jennie Morgan (MySpace), who has a lovely folk quality to her voice perfectly suited for the acoustic material she performed.

To compensate for a later then expected start, Rodney Hayden (MySpace) only played a couple of songs for his scheduled acoustic set before his guitar/mandolin player, Matt Slusher (MySpace), joined him and eventually took over solo to finish the time slot.

Raffle drawings were held between acts with prizes including: hunting and camping trips, an autographed guitar, meet and greet with Robert Earl Keen and the matching leopard-print purse and wallet won by one unlucky man.

Jason Allen (MySpace) had the pleasure of being the first full-band performance of the day, showcasing past favorites “Your Heart Turned Left And I Was On the Right” and “Lucky Arms” along side his honky-tonkified new single and cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called To Say I Love You.” Other new songs, “Jenny Lee” and “Elvis Tonight,” were pulled from his album, The Twilight Zone, which still contains past honky-tonk influences, but mixes in a hefty dose of early rock-n-roll–a la Buddy Holly and Elvis–and sounds similar to recent efforts from The Derailers. He rounded out his set with a riveting sing-along of “I Saw The Light,” proving that Hank Williams and country music are still alive and well.

Taking the stage next to an increasingly restless crowd was Texas music songwriter Gary P. Nunn (MySpace), and he did his best to charm those willing to lend him an ear with stories and songs from his long career. He even enticed the crowd to join him for “London Homesick Blues,” which is a Texas National Anthem of sorts. With the exception of Two Tons of Steel, all the other acts on the lineup are relatively young, so having a veteran like Nunn appear was an endorsement to the music Hayden is putting out. After all, someone is going to have to replace the aging Texas legends.

By the time Owen Temple (MySpace) and his band had hunkered down at 5:15 for their performance, a good chunk of the audience had already emptied outdoors for the ensuing washer tournament underneath the giant, and I mean giant, oak (later dubbed the Dolly Parton titty tree by Two Tons of Steel because of its pair of abnormally large knots) and to stake claims in the nearby field for the evening’s first outside performance from the Scott Wiggins Band (MySpace).

Hailing from 10 miles up the road in Pleasanton, Wiggins was decidedly more rockin’ than any other act of the day. However, he had a tough time getting the crowd involved and his songs were a little too tough for dancing.

Relieving him was Drew Kennedy (MySpace). He performed personal favorites “Goodbye” and “The Last Waltz” and previewed a new ode to love, “Crazy,” from his forthcoming album. He expressed his appreciation for Johnny Cash before barreling into “Cocaine Blues” and enchanted the audience with his keen, self deprecating sense of humor between songs. At one point, he expressed his gratitude for being invited by removing his shirt to reveal a two-sizes-too-small “I Heart Rodney Hayden” woman’s tank-top. Yes, it was as glorious as it sounds.

While the Buddy Holly influence is just now seeping into Jason Allen’s sound, it’s already fully developed and permeated in the music of Two Tons of Steel (MySpace), led by Kevin Geil. The band started out in the early ’90s with the moniker Dead Crickets, but as their acclaim spread, the original Crickets, who were still touring, felt fans might become confused. And thus, the Dead Crickets became Two Tons of Steel. They performed a rockabilly take on The Ramones’ “I Wanna Be Sedated” and their own “Ice Cream Man.” Geil has incredible stage presence and knows how to not only keep the audience interested, but participating as well. Two Tons!

For the final time slot, the man responsible for the day’s events needed no introduction. He’d been mingling with the festival-goers for most of the day and conversing with anyone who might have had an inkling to do some conversing. There’s not a pretentious bone in his body, he’s country to the core and makes you believe every word he sings, whether he’s crooning to the wailing of the steel guitar or blistering through honky-tonk classics, his voice hits you like a 180 grain bullet straight to the chest. Unfortunately, the steel guitar was absent at the festival, but his live band of Matt Slusher, David Whitbeck and Zach Samuell are the same guys playing on his brand new record, 12 Ounce World.

A friend made the observation, and I wholeheartedly agree, that if one thing is immediately clear the first time you hear Hayden sing, it’s that he can take otherwise ordinary songs, songs that might come off as tripe in the hands of less capable, or less authentic, artists, and turn them into something transcendent with his delivery. It’s one of the same qualities that helped make a certain Bakersfield bred, Oklahoma raised singer and songwriter into a country music legend.