I hate trying to come up with catchy titles, hence the aforementioned.  Did it get your attention?  First things first, and people who know me have heard this before – I hate February, it is the worst month of the year. The first obvious reason of course is no more football.  No, I don’t spend every waking hour of the fall watching football.longines replica  I am a huge fan, but don’t freak out if I miss a game or two.  I just get a lonely, empty feeling about the same time every year, usually a week or two leading up to the Super Bowl.  And that’s not the only reason.  February just seems so drab, boring, blah.  Everything is dead.  The trees are bare.  The grass is brown.  You never know from day to day what to expect from Mother Nature.  We spent the first half of the month in a deep freeze and the latter with nice little tease of what we can expect during the spring – which is always short lived anyway here in Texas.  March, on the other hand is one of my favorite months.  Growing up in Austin, March was always an exciting time of year.  First of all, March 2^nd is Texas Independence Day, enough said.  And along with great weather, March meant it was time for many college and high school sporting events and music.  From music festivals such as SXSW, the mother of all music festivals, to the beginning of many outdoor concert series – March signals the dawning of a new season of great live music.  This spring will mark the first time that I will participate in many events and festivals, not just as a music fan, but as producer and sponsor. 

So here we go.  As you may well know (if not, now you do), 2011 marks the inaugural year of the LoneStarMusic SXSW showcase.  We are super excited to be involved with an event such as SXSW.  The LSM showcase will take place at Antone’s on March 19^th.  Yeah, that’s right.  Kick ass venue on a Saturday night, right in the middle of it all.  Once we locked down the date and venue, it was time to make sure we brought in the caliber of talent that would, well, basically blow the doors of the place.  And I think we did a damn good job.  Sons Of Bill will kick of the festivities followed by Cody Canada & Seth James (The Departed), Carolyn Wonderland and Joe Ely.  That there my friends is a stellar lineup.  And that’s not the only SXSW function involving LoneStarMusic.  We will also be hosting, along with Freebirds and Gibson Guitars, day parties Thursday – Saturday at St. Vincent de Paul on South Congress.  Live music will start each day at 4PM with bands such as Stonehoney, American Aquarium, Band Of Heathens, The Trishas, Mike Ethan Messick and many more.  So if you are in the area, wristband or no wristband, LoneStarMusic has you covered.

The next week we jump directly into the LoneStarMusic Awards.  This year’s awards show presentation will take place March 27^th at the new Texas Music Theatre in San Marcos, TX.  First of all, this new venue is amazing.  I have been fortunate enough to work closely with the crew over there and have seen the transformation take place, from digging up the original concrete floor that was laid down in the 1940’s to hanging of the lights and sound.  Texas Music Theatre is going to make the awards show a truly special event.  Some of the artists nominated for this year’s LoneStarMusic awards will be performing, such as Max Stalling, The Trishas, Javi Garcia and Lincoln Durham along with special guest Hayes Carll.  And, since it is an awards show, we will be giving out some hardware.  Whether it’s an artist or band you may have never heard of or your favorite Texas/Americana music staple, competition is tight this year.  Every category is coming down to the wire.  And with many multiple nominations such as Randy Rogers Band, Turnpike Troubadours and Sean McConnell, who knows what the outcome will be.  You will just have to come and witness in person, and enjoy some great live music while doing so.  Tickets for the event are a whopping $5, you can pre-purchase your tickets at LoneStarMusic.com.  Tickets will go on sale early next week (first week of March).   Whatever tickets that are not sold online will be available at the door.  I will let you know that there are only 650 tickets available, so I would advise you to get yours early.  Voting ends February 28th.  If you have not voted yet, click the banner above and it will take you staight to the voting ballot. 

After the awards show, we will be able to get to enjoy some of the other great music events happening around the state of Texas.  April kicks of a great run of concerts and festivals.  Ray Wylie Hubbard will be holding court April 2^nd at Whitewater Ampitheater with his annual Grit n’ Groove festival featuring Chris Robison (Black Crowes) and Joe Walsh (Eagles) along with many others.  Lone Star Jam follows April 16^th at Waterloo Park in Austin with Casey Donahew Band, Roger Creager, Turnpike Troubadours and many more.  Reckless Kelly will be taking the field May 1^st with their third annual Reckless Kelly Softball Jam at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, TX.  Schedule to perform with RK is Charlie Robison, Micky & The Motorcars, Hayes Carll and many more.  You can also catch Reckless Kelly at Luckenbach March 12^th.  Spring Break w/ The Braun Family also includes Micky & The Motorcars and Muzzie Braun.   Luckenbach will also be hosting The Mud Dauber Fest & Ball March 26^th with Charlie Robison, Kristen Kelly, Uncle Lucius and more.  Details on all these events can be found at LoneStarMusic.com. 

So, there you have it.  That’s why I hate February.  Go out and see some live music this spring. 

- Shane Jones

https://www.orisonlinesale.com