Cody Jinks’ Inaugural Loud and Heavy Fest in Words and Pictures
Well I’ll be damned, Cody Jinks and Co. pulled it off. You normally talk about learning curves when it comes to first year festivals. That’s not even part of the conversation when it comes to the inaugural Loud and Heavy Fest. It didn’t really feel like a festival, aside from the usual stage alignments and schedules, different colored wristbands, and rows of food vendors and such. Instead it felt like the gathering of a tribe, or as Ward Davis said during his opening set of the fest, a huge kegger Cody Jinks threw with all of his music friends to celebrate his birthday.
Cody didn’t take long to make an appearance. After Ward Davis introduced the song “I’m Not The Devil” he co-wrote with Cody, Jinks showed up on stage to help sing it himself. After the song, the crowd erupted into a spontaneous (and surprisingly in-sync) rendition of “Happy Birthday” for Jinks. They would do this again during Cody’s headliner set after his crew presented him with a Buck Owens-style red, white, and blue guitar signed by the current roster of the Texas Rangers baseball team. Raised in Haltom City (a suburb of Ft. Worth), the Panther Island Pavilion right on the banks of the Trinity River where Loud and Heavy Fest took place was home turf for Cody. The local radio station 95.9 The Ranch and DJ Ben Ryan were early adopters of Cody’s music, and so were the Ft. Worth faithful.
From the incredible turnout, to the lineup and performances, to the quality and efficiency of the production, give Loud and Heavy Fest high marks across the board. The only problem was the long lines for just about everything due to the better-than-expected crowd. The gaggle around the merch booth was like something like you’ve never seen. As soon as the gates opened, four separate lines 50 to 75 people deep spilled out into the festival grounds, and didn’t expire until well after the last song of the evening. This wasn’t just the result of bad logistics. The super loyal fans of Cody Jinks known as “Flockers” were eager as hell to throw their money behind the cause, including for exclusive Loud and Heavy Fest merch.
The production company behind the festival called CID Presents is known for putting on events for artists with loyal and large fan bases like Dead and Co., Phish, and Dave Matthews Band. Cody Jinks may not be at the same point as those legacy acts at the moment, but if Loud and Heavy was any indication, he might be one of the first country acts to pull it off sooner than later, not just packing venues, but being the focal point for a fan base that follows him wherever he goes.
But Loud and Heavy Fest wasn’t just about Cody. Boasting an incredible lineup of independent country talent across the board, it became a destination festival for many folks across the United States. Sunny Sweeney proved that women deserve to be on the main stage of country music festivals when she played for the crowd in the late afternoon, and props to Cody Jinks and Loud and Heavy Fest for putting her there. Colter Wall proved that primitive folk and country can still compel modern audiences, and the stage in front of him was packed when he performed, despite the Texas heat becoming stifling during his set.
Paul Cauthen brought his gospel sermon to the mix, and Nikki Lane delivered her throwback-style set to appreciative fans right before there was a short delay for weather moving through the area. One big concern for Loud and Heavy was the wisdom of throwing a festival in the middle of August in Texas. The early sun was almost unbearable, but during Nikki Lane’s time slot, skies clouded up, giving some respite to the swelling (and sweating) crowd. After about an hour of delay due to a threat of severe weather that never developed, music resumed, but a very light rain fell for the rest of the fest—a very welcomed relief for attendees, and making the heat much less of a factor.
Ahead of the release of his latest album Hard Times and White Lines on October 26th, Whitey Morgan turned in a hard-driving, skull-crushing set of honky tonk music, including his new song “Honky Tonk Hell,” getting folks ready for the heavier portion of the lineup to appear. The Sword from Austin, TX fit in surprisingly well to the mostly country lineup, perhaps playing more of their “Southern metal” material than they normally would. When Texas-based Southern rockers Whiskey Myers took the stage right after, it didn’t feel like a draw down in energy or “heaviness” at all, perhaps because Cody Cannon and Company decided to step it up to help represent the “Loud and Heavy” concept.
Cody Jinks was walking around repping Corrosion of Conformity merch throughout the day, and this felt like the band Cody most wanted to play his “birthday party.” They definitely brought a heavy metal aspect to the festival, though just like The Sword, they drew one of the smaller crowds of the festival, partly because people wanted to save their spots in front of the main stage for the Whiskey Myers and Cody Jinks sets. As a business concept, mixing a couple of metal bands in with loud and heavy country music may still need to be proven out or tweaked, and may only cater to a few hardcore music listeners. But this was Cody’s personally-curated show, and he wanted them there, as did some fans who’ve followed Cody Jinks from his own heavy metal days.
Cody Jinks opened his set with his latest single “Must Be The Whiskey,” and then ran through many favorites, and a few new ones off his recently-release record Lifers, including the Billy Don Burns-penned “Stranger,” and an excellent live version of what may be considered a Song of the Year candidate come December, “Head Case.” Whitey Morgan also came out to sing Merle Haggard’s “The Way I Am” with Cody, and Tony Martinez of Whitey’s band also helped with harmonies. Tennessee Jet and Ward Davis also appeared on stage to sing with Cody during the night’s final set.
The humility Cody Jinks shows, and the way he’s able to connect with his fans from the blue collar themes of his music is what has made him a bona fide country music phenomenon. To have one artist be able to personally curate a festival, and to see the turnout be so impressive speaks to the natural appeal of an artist such as Cody Jinks, and speaks to the swelling power and reach of independent country music. The only question about Loud and Heavy Fest #2 is if it will outgrow the Panther Pavilion grounds, or if they’ll have to throw it in multiple cities next year to keep up with demand.
The inaugural Loud and Heavy Fest was one of those events when you look out over the crowd, and truly appreciate just how far independent country music has come. From the rising appeal behind artists like Cody Jinks, to all the support structure around him that makes an event like that possible, there truly are more healthier alternatives to the mainstream being created where artists can be themselves, keep control of their creative expressions, and still pack a field full of people, support their families, and keep the soul of country music alive.
The soul of country was definitely given a jolt at Loud and Heavy Fest.
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Thanks to photographer Brad Coolidge for select photos below. Brad can can be found on Instagram and Twitter.
ShadeGrown
August 21, 2018 @ 6:51 pm
Corrosion of Conformity should’ve been a huge band. There aren’t any catchier/riff heavy bands out there. People suck.
Trigger
August 21, 2018 @ 7:52 pm
I don’t want to characterize it as nobody was there to see them. They had a good crowd of people watching their set on the 2nd stage. But with Cody’s set coming up right after, if you chose to be in front for Corrosion of Conformity, you were choosing to be in the very back for Cody. That was a tough decision for some fans to make. Also, this did not feel like a heavy metal crowd. This was a country crowd, with perhaps some metal crossover.
ezra schwartz
August 22, 2018 @ 7:24 am
by the time Whiskey Myers was on, the crowd was packed on the main stage. We went over to see COC, but only because we had VIP viewing on the main stage, which enabled us to get back about 10 minutes before Cody, and still get a good spot. If you were in the main area, with a decent spot, it would have been foolish to leave to see COC, unless that was the reason you were there.
Because the music on one stage started right after the other stage finished, I figured the band before Cody was gonna get the short end of the stick in terms of viewers. in retrospect, if Cody wanted to get a big crowd at COC, they likely should have swapped them with the Sword earlier in the day, so people woudlnt have to worry about losing a spot at the main stage
Fantastic festival and day. Everything was as close to perfect as can be considering it was mid August. CID Presents put on a great festival, as they always do
Tex Hex
August 22, 2018 @ 8:14 am
As a longtime metal fan, and a newer country fan, I find this festival format really intriguing and was curious to know how it’d go. It’d seem like a natural fit, considering both genres generally have a blue-collar/working-class following. I figured there might be crossover. Maybe not so much.
Trying to think of other metal bands that could work in the future for a Loud & Heavy lineup. Thinking Atlanta/Savannah and New Orleans based bands have a subtle southern flavor – Mastodon, Baroness, Black Tusk, Eye Hate God, Crowbar, Down etc. The band Earth, from Seattle, have always had a dark Ennio Morricone western movie vibe (their bandleader Dylan Carlson literally dresses like a cowboy or a gold prospector these days). Wovenhand and Wayfarer, from Colorado, mix metal with an “old west” vibe too.
I dunno. I’d imagine eventually Cody Jinks might have to think carefully about how to incorporate his love of metal into this festival, since the genres really have very different “energies.” I could imagine he might have to phase out the metal aspect altogether.
Black Boots
August 22, 2018 @ 1:39 am
Is this a joke?
LG
August 22, 2018 @ 2:37 am
If you like current COC and haven’t heard them yet, check out Wolftooth or Khemmis.
ShadeGrown
August 22, 2018 @ 5:43 pm
Love Khemmis – will have to check out Wolftooth
LG
August 23, 2018 @ 7:23 am
I love metal, but my wife and kids hate it (especially if it has harsh vocals), so most of the time, it’s alt-country, red dirt, and folk music in my house. By myself in the car though, all bets are off!
Bigfoot is Real (Now that's Metal!)
August 22, 2018 @ 5:13 am
COC!!! Wow! I had no idea they are still together. I was a drummer in a punk band in the later 1980s when we opened for them in Tucson. Drummer Reed Mullin is just an incredible musician. Great to see they are still vital.
ShadeGrown
August 22, 2018 @ 5:50 pm
My first comment was pointed at Rock and Metal fans throughout history more so than people who wanted to be up front for Cody Jinks. I saw a short clip of him coming out on stage with C.O.C. during “Who’s Got The Fire”. Jinks is the real deal and it’d have been a tough call for me too because I haven’t seen him live yet.
Kevin
August 21, 2018 @ 6:52 pm
In your fucking face music row
ScottG
August 22, 2018 @ 9:08 am
That should, at the very least, be the acronym under the logo….IYFFMR
Mike2
August 21, 2018 @ 6:53 pm
Awesome coverage for those of us that couldn’t be there. Thanks Trig and Brad!
Ulysses McCaskill
August 21, 2018 @ 8:53 pm
But is his Texas accent real?
Montanaman
August 21, 2018 @ 8:55 pm
Sounds like it was a fantastic time despite the heat. Would have loved to have been there. At least got to see Cody last Wednesday and he was even better than last year if that’s possible. Can’t wait to see Whitey for the second time in 10 days. Hope he plays a few of the new songs. I’m loving Honkey Tonk Hell, what a great low down mood it has! Who cares about the mainstream? I truly feel that history will look back on the independent country of this era with due reverence.
Amie Griffin
August 21, 2018 @ 9:15 pm
Great Article!!! It was Worth every Single Penny spent My Husband & I traveled from SW Florida!!! Can’t wait to do it Again
JB-Chicago
August 22, 2018 @ 1:59 am
Nice coverage, I’d love to see some videos! Hey CID Presents………..multiple cities next year!!!
Start working on it now……………………
OlaR
August 22, 2018 @ 2:30 am
The “Fuck Nashville” shirt looks good.
DJ
August 22, 2018 @ 5:51 am
I remember a couple other (20 year) overnight successes from Texas- I hope Cody has that staying power.
wayne
August 22, 2018 @ 6:20 am
“Sunny Sweeney proved that women deserve to be on the main stage of country music festivals when she played for the crowd in the late afternoon,”
She didn’t deserve to be there because she is a woman. Rather, she deserved to be there becuae she is a great artist.
Benny Lee
August 22, 2018 @ 6:57 am
What the hell is wrong with me that I’ve never been to Texas… Looks like it was an awesome festival.
Jeremiah
August 22, 2018 @ 7:38 am
Were there or will there be any numbers published anywhere for ticket sales or attendance? I’m curious to how this compared to the festivals with A-list Nashville artists.
Trigger
August 22, 2018 @ 8:06 am
I have not seen any official numbers yet, though I did hear estimates of 7,500-9,000 people through the gate that evening. So this is not Kenny Chesney at MetLife Stadium, but it is a pretty resounding turnout for an event built around independent country artists.
Mongo
August 22, 2018 @ 10:19 am
The flocker page said 95.9 The Ranch was reporting 20k attendance
Trigger
August 22, 2018 @ 2:46 pm
I don’t think the grounds even have that capacity. There were not 20,000 people there, not even close. But I honestly don’t have the exact number. 7,500-9,000 seemed about right to me.
Mongo
August 22, 2018 @ 5:37 pm
Yeah I wasn’t there so no clue here. Just what they were saying the ranch was reporting.
Jeremiah
August 22, 2018 @ 10:39 am
How does that compare to something like Tumbleweed?
Trigger
August 22, 2018 @ 2:45 pm
Tumbleweed probably had about 1,500 or so people, but that shouldn’t diminish Tumbleweed. They’re trying to feature Texas music outside of Texas which is an uphill battle and an important one to wage.
Ash
August 22, 2018 @ 7:56 am
The whole experience of L&H made my 20 hour drive from SC more than worth it!! Totally pumped for next year!
Best birthday party ever!!!!!!!
A.K.A. City
August 22, 2018 @ 8:14 am
Great coverage! I’ll be honest, the heat was the deciding factor in me not travelling to Texas, but I may just deal with it next year to be there.
Stringbuzz
August 22, 2018 @ 9:53 am
Had friends that travelled to this from New Hampshire.
They want to go back next year.
Dirt Road Derek
August 22, 2018 @ 12:39 pm
Great pictures and review! Heat aside, this sounds like an amazing day 🙂
Casey Mack
August 27, 2018 @ 2:41 pm
Congrats on a huge event Cody! Next year- Please bring it home to the Fort Worth Stockyards. Sincerely- your Fort Worth Stockyard OG flockers!