6th Annual Lone Star Music Awards LIVE Blog
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Saving Country Music’s LIVE blog of the festivities transpiring as part of the 6th Annual Lone Star Music Awards. The event will be at The MARC (formerly the Texas Music Theater) in beautiful San Marcos, TX, just south of Austin. I’ll be doing my best all night to keep you informed of all the events, performances, and winners. You should get those refresh fingers stretched out, and don’t be shy to pipe up below in the comments section if you have your own observances you would like to share.
This event is not planned to be televised or broadcasted, so I’ll do my best to immerse you in the experience through words and pictures.
This years awards show will feature performances by Reckless Kelly, Joe Ely, William Clark Green, Thieving Birds, Chris King, Slaid Cleaves, Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis, Zane Williams & Kylie Rae Harris. You can find all the nominees and categories by the link below.
6th Annual Lone Star Music Awards Nominees
6th Annual Lone Star Music Award Winners:
- Album of the Year – Jason Boland & The Stragglers “Dark & Dirty Mile”
- Song of the Year – William Clark Green “She Likes The Beatles”
- Songwriter of the Year – Jason Isbell
- Live Act of the Year – Turnpike Troubadours
- Americana / Roots-Rock Album of the Year – Reckless Kelly
- Singer-Songwriter / Folk Album of the Year – Guy Clark “My Favorite Picture of You”
- Producer of the Year – Lloyd Maines
- Album Artwork of the Year – Dierks Canada
- Country Album of the Year – Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis
- Emerging Artist of the Year – The Thieving Birds
- Hall of Fame Inductees – Kent Finay and Joe Ely
10:50 – Alright folks, things are wrapping up here at The Marc! I’ll be recapping the winners and then I will be out of here to the after party at the Cheatham Street Warehouse. Reckless Kelly is closing out the night playing Tom Petty.
Thanks to everyone for following along!
Overall it was an excellent night of some great country music of all colors. So many great musical takeaways on the night. It’s great to be turned onto some new names, and see some deserved names get recognition. It is especially good to see Jason Isbell get some recognition. He was so screwed at the Grammys, it’s good that someone is recognizing what he’s doing, even if it is folks in Texas who he’s once removed from. I think it shows the character of Texas music fans (who voted on these awards) to see he deserved it, as well as giving recognition to Kacey Musgraves who after all, is from the state.
Overall my biggest takeaway might be the very first performers, Zane Williams & Kylie Rae Harris. They made a huge impression. So did Chris King, and William Clark Green. I would have preferred that the organizers would have allowed performers to play a few extra songs, or had something else planned when they began running ahead of schedule, or just finished early. It sapped a little of the enrgy from the place. But overall, it was an excellent night of Texas music fellowship.
10:37 – Everyone who left early is missing out. Reckless Kelly is proving why the deserve the headliner spot.
10:28 – Another picture of Joe Ely with Reckless Kelly because they were so badass.
10:23 – I have to say, I had heard William Clark Green’s “She Likes The Beatles” before, but he really sold me on that song with his performance tonight. Reckless Kelly just took the stage to close out the night.
WINNER 10:21 – The Lone Star Music Award for Album of the Year goes to Jason Boland & The Stragglers for “Dark & Dirty Mile”.
WINNER 10:18 – The Lone Star Music Award for Song of the Year goes to William Clark Green for “She Likes The Beatles”.
10:17 Whoa! Joe Ely just killed it! That was Reckless Kelly backing him up by the way. Song of the Year award coming up!
10:13 – Joe Ely playing a super extended version of “Cool Rockin’ Loretta”. The original country rocker is killing it!
10:07 – Joe Ely & his band take the stage!
9:58 – Robert Earl Keen and Joe Ely accepting his Lone Star Music Hall of Fame induction.
9:56 – And Joe Ely takes the stage! Playing “Dallas”. “Have you ever seen Dallas from a DC9 at Night…” Love this.
9:52 – Joe Ely: “Nothing fills up those empty spaces like a song.”
INDUCTEE 9:49 – Robert Earl Keen surprises the crowd by coming out to induct Joe Ely into the Lone Star Music Hall of Fame.
INDUCTEE 9:47 – Kent Finay is inducted into the Lone Star Music Hall of Fame. Kent works with the Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, TX.
9:39 – Reckless Kelly or Joe Ely coming up next!
9:33 – So as I explained earlier, somehow this thing got way ahead of schedule (inexplicable for an awards show), and that has made from some awkward pauses in the presentation and some questionable filibustering from the podium. We are waiting right now for the next band to take the stage.
WINNER 9:29 – The Lone Star Music Award for Live Act of the Year goes to The Turnpike Troubadours.
9:25 – Jason Isbell is not on site, so a video plays of him accepting the award, thanking everyone for accepting him into the Texas scene (he’s from Alabama, but married to Texan Amanda Shires who was also up for a couple of awards). Then a Sturgill Simpson plays as they get ready for the next award.
WINNER 9:21 – The Lone Star Music Award for Songwriter of the Year goes to Jason Isbell!
9:18 – William Clark Green playing “She Likes The Beatles”. Really digging this song!
9:13 – William Clark Green singing about his hometown of Tyler, TX. He’s up for the award for Songwriter of the Year, which according to the screens, is coming up next.
9:09 – By the way, The Marc is the same venue you see if you’ve ever watched The Texas Music Scene with Ray Benson, or seen the videos on YouTube.
9:04 – After five incessant minutes of wiener dog jokes to stall, William Clark Green takes the Lone Star Music Awards stage.
WINNER 8:59 – The Lone Star Music Award for Americana / Roots-Rock Album of the Year goes to Reckless Kelly for “Long Night Moon”.
8:56 – So they’re literally filibustering now to kill time as the next band sets up.
WINNER 8:50 – The Lone Star Music Award for Singer-Songwriter / Folk Album of the Year goes to Guy Clark and My Favorite Picture of You .
8:48 – So apparently this thing is 20 minutes ahead of schedule. Very strange for an awards show.
8:46 – Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis!
8:36 – The cover that Dierks Canada did, if you haven’t seen it.
8:34 – Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis take the Lone Star Music Awards stage!
8:30 – One of the coolest moments of the night so far. Dierks Canada—Cody Canada’s son named after Dierks Bentley—accepting his award for Album Artwork of the Year. His acceptance speech is great. That’s the proud father hiding behind the monitor speaker, taking a picture with his phone.
WINNER 8:25 – The Lone Star Music Award for Producer of the Year goes to Lloyd Maines! Lloyd is not here, so a video of him accepting the award (and playing his famous steel guitar) plays on the screens.
WINNER 8:24 – The Lone Star Music Award for Album Artwork of the Year goes to Cody Canada Some Old, Some New, Maybe A Cover Or Two! It was done by Dierks Canada, Cody’s young son (named for Dierks Bentley), who comes out to accept. Very cool moment!
8:20 – The Thieving Birds left a path of destruction, and now to more awards!
8:14 – The Thieving Birds reminding us that what makes Texas music is a mix of country AND rock acts. And below that is a shot of The Marc now filled to the brim with fans.
8:08 – And The Thieving Birds take the stage. It’s about to get LOUD!
WINNER 8:06 – The Lone Star Music Awards winner for Festival of the Year goes to MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, CO!
WINNER 8:04 – The Lone Star Music winner for the Gruene Hall Venue of the Year goes to the Cheatham Street Warehouse! (where the after party will be).
8:01 – Slaid Cleaves appropriately ends his set with his “Texas Love Song”. He started with “Still Fighting The War”, and told a funny story about finding a piece of graffiti in a New York bathroom that said, “I hate this part of Texas.”
7:58 – Slaid Cleaves takes the Lone Star Music stage, and Cody Canada accepts his Male Vocalist award.
7:51 – The amazing Slaid Cleaves now takes the stage for an acoustic set, accompanied by mandolin.
WINNER 7:48 – The Lone Star Music Award for Musician of the Year goes to Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly!
WINNER 7:46 – The Lone Star Music Award for Male Vocalist of the Year goes to Cody Canada!
WINNER 7:42 – The Lone Star Music Award for Female Vocalist of the Year goes to Kacey Musgraves!
7:35 – Chris King is kicking our asses!
7:30 – Sturgill Simpson probably had little chance of winning for Album of the Year because people are still learning the name, but it was really cool to hear his name called for an award here deep in the heart of Texas, right beside people like Bruce, Kelly, and Kacey Musgraves.
7:28 – Texas songwriter Chris King takes the stage!
WINNER 7:24 – The Lone Star Music Award for Country Album of the Year goes to Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis for “Cheater’s Game”!
WINNER 7:20 – The Lone Star Music Award for Emerging Artist of the Year goes to The Thieving Birds!
7:18 – Wow. Zane and Kylie positively stunned. Shivers moment here at the Lone Star Music Awards.
7:14 – Zane Williams & Kylie Rae Harris play “Pablo & Maria”. Breathtaking.
7:11 – Zane Williams & Kylie Rae Harris. Zane introducing the third song says that Kylie was “The most serendipitous thing that has happened in my career.” He tells the story of how she walked out of the crowd at a show in McKinney, TX and asked if she could sing with him. The rest is history.
7:04 – The presentation stars off with Zane Williams & Kylie Rae Harris playing an acoustic set. The sound in this place is great.
7:00 – The screen has been raised. Here we go! This will be a fun night!
6:56 – The Marc is a beautiful music venue, with excellent sound and great sight lines. THere is a bottom concert area, and then huge balconies flanking the sides and along the back of the venue. The ruffles you see on the ceiling is for acoustics. There are two big screens flanking the stage, and between acts, a large white screen descends to hide the band changes, while awards are presented on stage right. If it is like last year, each performer will perform around three songs: a breath of fresh air compared to most award shows. It has really filled in since I took these pics. As you can see, the panty line formed early ;).
6:50 – So to help set the setting, here are some pictures of where we are. San Marcos is just south of Austin, and has a beautiful downtown square where The Marc is situated. Like many county seats (San Marcos is the seat of Hays County), there’s a big court house in the center, with a square of old brick buildings around it. I want to say the marquee was a lot more impressive before it because The Marc, but I may be wrong.
April 27, 2014 @ 5:16 pm
Cool.
Between this, Stagecoach Fest, and that Moonrunners thing, there is a lot going on in the country music world at the moment. Regarding the Lone Star Awards, like others, I just wish there was some way to view the proceedings.
April 27, 2014 @ 5:17 pm
Thank you for live blogging this event!!!
April 27, 2014 @ 5:32 pm
We need to figure out a way to get this awards show on TV! I would watch this from start to finish. And it wouldn’t suck like the ACM and CMA shows.
April 28, 2014 @ 9:48 pm
Someone is suggesting that this be on TV ?????
Mmmm…….NO!
The 6th annual (that 6 years) Lone Star Music Awards are being held in San Marcos, a drunken fest for college kids (I was once there myself). The best thing about San Marcos, I guess the school. It was held in a venue that holds…… from the pictures it looks like maybe pushing 100 people in attendance. Folks, this is the best of LoneStar Music and it’s not crammed like sardines? I wasn’t there, but I’m sure that the only nominees in attendance were either performing or were called to be notified that they won and “Please be here to accept the award”.
So, I don’t think this will be televised anytime soon. Not in my lifetime (I’m 30).
Proud supporter of Texas Music, Outlaw Music & Real Country Music.
~Keep it Western Friends!
April 27, 2014 @ 5:58 pm
Good for Cody and Kacey.
April 27, 2014 @ 6:00 pm
Congrats Kacey! As you said Trigger, Sturgill was a long shot this year. But after hearing Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, I think he’ll have a much better shot for sure next year.
April 27, 2014 @ 7:18 pm
Thank you for coving this. I am a huge fan of the Texas Music scene. Nice to see real country music alive and well!
April 27, 2014 @ 7:31 pm
Great win for Isbell!! I really love william Clark green too. He’s been playing a new interesting song called Ringling Road that I like a lot too. I’ve heard of Thieving Birds but haven’t given them a listen til now. By gracious I’m a fan now!!!
April 27, 2014 @ 8:07 pm
I met Cody Canada once. Nice down to earth guy. Excellent person for the genre.
April 27, 2014 @ 8:29 pm
So glad to see Jason Boland win, that was by far my favorite album of the year.
April 27, 2014 @ 9:04 pm
Good winners – funny that Isbell and Musgraves won, both Nashville based acts, but glad that good songs won the day.
As for Canada winning vocalist, that’s another thing. He might be the worst vocalist I have ever heard, in any genre. But good for his kid.
April 27, 2014 @ 9:39 pm
Most of Kacey’s songs are about Texas in one way or another. Cody’s voice is okay his Guitar playing skills are fantastic though.
April 27, 2014 @ 9:25 pm
For the record…I wasn’t making the weiner dog jokes! 🙂
April 27, 2014 @ 9:27 pm
Good to see Reckless Kelly getting some Trigger love! Been looking forward to this awards show for a while. It’s interesting how different it is than the Texas Regional Radio Report Awards given out last month.
Thanks for the live updates!
April 28, 2014 @ 4:48 am
Good for Jason Boland and the Stragglers. Dark And Dirty Mile is a really great album. Boland has to be perhaps the most consistently good Texas artist on the scene since it broke wide open back in the late ’90s-early 2000s.
Surprised Kent Finlay is just now getting into the LSMHoF. Maybe it’s the George Strait fan in me talking, but I honestly thought he’d have been inducted a long time ago.
April 28, 2014 @ 8:06 am
Trigger, I’m honestly surprised by how little Reckless Kelly is discussed on this site. I mean, when Long Night Moon wasn’t in any of the album of the year threads, I was kind of horrified. Fantastic album by a fantastic band .Is it because they’re more in the Americana vein than country?
April 28, 2014 @ 9:28 am
There’s so many bands out there, it’s just a fact of life that I am not going to be able to find excuses to talk about all of them, and just because I don’t talk about a band or artist much shouldn’t infer that I don’t like them, or even that I don’t know about them. I’ve mentioned Reckless Kelly many times in passing, but it’s just one of those bands I’ve never gotten around to doing a full feature on. I’m sure it will happen soon. One cool thing about events like this though is it gives me an opportunity to talk about some of these bands that have slipped through the SCM cracks like Reckless Kelly and Chris King. A band like Reckless Kelly is actually receiving some decent support in the press, so I’d otherwise try to prioritize someone nobody is talking about.
Seeing Joe Ely backed by Reckless Kelly last night was one of those memorable music moments. Excellent stuff.
April 28, 2014 @ 12:06 pm
I consider Reckless Kelly to be almost a “legacy” act in Texas music, they have been around so long. I am a fan of theirs and have been for probably 5+ years now and they are one of the main reasons I got into Texas Country/Red Dirt music at all. That said, I have all of their albums and I didn’t really consider “Long Night Moon” to be among their best work. True, they have set the bar pretty high for themselves, but I didn’t think it quite measured up–my opinion, no offense intended.
April 28, 2014 @ 8:33 am
“Country Album of the Year ”“ Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis”
Aww, yay! 😀 ‘Cheater’s Game’ was one of my very favorites last year — literally, in my Top 3 or 4.
April 28, 2014 @ 9:44 am
Thanks loads for covering this, amigo.
I am going to look up all of the nominated artists and their CDs listed on the Lone Star Music site and check out everything.
Then I’m going to do some serious music buying.
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[…] Perhaps the coolest moment of the night (comin’ from someone who was not in attendance) was Direks Canada, son of Cody, won Album Artwork of the Year. If you’d like a minute-by-minute recap of the show, head over to Saving Country Music. […]