August 17, 2025

Braxton Keith, Jesse Daniel & Hannah Juanita’s Country Revival at Whitewater

*Jesse Daniel, Braxton Keith, Hannah Juanita*

COUNTRY music.

That’s the best way to describe what transpired at the Whitewater Ampitheater in New Bruanfels on a sweltering Saturday night in Central Texas, August 16th. Some folks with damn good taste slotted Hannah Juanita, Jesse Daniel, and Braxton Keith to all take the stage on the same bill. It was hot. For a moment, it was wet as a deluge swept through the area. It was everything that an evening in central Texas is about. And for those that made it out, it was a memory they won’t long forget.

It was three performers with six first names, and Braxton Keith with his Rollie Fingers mustache capped it all off making a strong case for why he’s the next hot thing in country music.

Hannah Juanita and her kick ass band from Nashville blew into to perform a rousing set of actual country music to open the evening. The don’t call Hannah Juanita “The Hardliner” for nothing. This is one Tennessee Songbird you don’t have to worry about fluttering away to the world of electronica pop. With her beau Mose Wilson bending the strings of that hot Telecaster, they’re drawing a hard line between what’s country, and what’s not.

A few songs into Hannah’s set, it started raining as hard as it ever does. They didn’t skip a beat, and nobody in the front row was leaving. She featured songs from her 2024 album Tennessee Songbird, including her signature song “Hardliner Blues,” and the very fun “Granny’s Cutlass Supreme.”

Juanita also featured a brand new song she just released called “Tears and Tequila,” and played “Georgia on a Fast Train” by Billy Joe Shaver to mark the Texas legend’s Heavenly birthday. And speaking of new music, Hannah’s guitarist Mose Wilson also just released a new Louisiana-inspired album called That’s Love.

Also speaking of new music, Jesse Daniel had some of his own to showcase from his 2025 release Son of the San Lorenzo. It was selections from the album, and fan favorites like “Soft Spot (For The Hard Stuff)” and “Think I’ll Stay” that ingratiated Daniel to those unfamiliar to his music in the massive crowd. Jesse Daniel doesn’t sing country music. He bleeds it, sweats it, lives it. Then when they allow him up on stage, it comes out like a big exhalation.

Jesse Daniel has been breaking in some new players in the band recently, including an old, familiar face. After steel guitar player Zachary Moulton left Silverada, he played with The Vandoliers and some others, but has officially found a permanent home in Jesse Daniel’s band. According to Jesse, they couldn’t be more thrilled to have him, and as anyone who knows about steel players, Moulton is one of the best. Lead guitarist Matthew Lee from Nashville also made a big impression.

And those who fell in love with steel player Caleb Melo after seeing him in Jesse Daniel’s band, don’t fret at his departure. According to everyone, things are still cool. Caleb just wanted a change of scenery, and is now playing with Ben Haggard. And after living in Texas for a spell, Jesse Daniel has relocated back to the West Coast for the moment, and will be touring the West Coast as his next junket.

But ultimately, the throngs that assembled at the Whitewater Amphitheater Saturday night were there to see the man of the hour: Braxton Keith. In fact, many folks at the Whitewater Amphitheater remarked how they’d never seen the GA section fill up so quickly after the gates opened. This was in part to the quality selection of openers. But it also speaks to the meteoric rise of appeal in Braxton.

Braxton Keith is a phenomenon all his own. But not dissimilar to Zach Top, Braxton is creating cross-generation appeal in true country music, with the vast majority of the front rows filled with teen and 20-something fans, all singing every word to every song, whether it was one of Braxton’s originals, or one of the many classic covers he featured during the set.

A Keith Whitley song, George Strait’s “The Chair,” Johnny Paycheck’s “Slide Off Your Satin Sheets,” Eddie Rabbitt’s “Drivin’ My Life Away,” they all made appearances during Braxton’s performance, and none of the younger crowd was making prune faces at their fathers and grandfather’s music … this is what they’d come for, along with Braxton’s original songs, including his massive hit “Cozy.”

Braxton Keith sings country music like the clouds rain, the sun shines, the river flows, and the birds fly. It’s such a natural, effortless, and flawless enterprise, you can’t help but be mesmerized, as the thousands at the Whitewater Amphitheater were.

It’s fair to say that Braxton’s music has a sensible approach, attempting to cast a wide net, focusing on mid tempo love tunes kind of like a Randy Rogers Band experience, though definitely signature to Braxton Keith. Originally from Midland, he’s now made a home in San Antonio when he’s not in Nashville, and has found an incredibly appreciative base of supporters there.

Not only does Braxton’s audience veer younger, they also veer more Hispanic, meaning he’s bridging cultures and generations. He’s making country music cool to a vast cohort of people in Texas and beyond who cut their teeth on George Strait, but now have a country music hero from their own time and generation to celebrate.

Alex Torrez of the Torrez Music Group helped curate the evening at Whitewater, and has been building something really special with Braxton. As Keith shouted out his openers Hannah Juanita and Jesse Daniel, he followed it up with “That’s country music right there.”

And that’s what it’s all about. As the size of the crowd assembled at the Whitewater Saturday night attests, country music is the hottest thing in country music at the moment, and these three performers represented the resurgence in Nashville, on the West Coast, and deep in the heart of Texas.

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