Flatland Cavalry Gets Big Opportunity To Open for Luke Combs
Luke Combs doesn’t need any help selling tickets on his currently sold-out “Beer Never Broke My Heart” tour. He’s arguably the biggest artist in all of country music at the moment. But he’s calling in the cavalry for his show Saturday night (12-7) at San Antonio’s 18,000-capacity AT&T Center anyway. Combs has tapped the fast-rising Flatland Cavalry as one of the openers for the show, and it will be a big opportunity for the Texas country band on one of the biggest stages of their career.
Led by singer and songwriter Cleto Cordero, the Lubbock-based band grabbed people’s attention with their debut album Humble Folks in 2016, drawing comparisons to the Turnpike Troubadours and other top shelf Texas/Red Dirt bands. Like a lot of Texas music, the melodies might be infectious, and the music might groove, but songwriting is always at the heart of what’s happening, as well as a tie to the musical lineage of Texas through the cut of the fiddle.
Flatland Cavalry released their newest album Homeland Insecurity on January 18th, and after finishing their college obligations, have been making a run at taking their sound nationwide. They just finished playing a West Coast tour in November, and are slowly creeping up in font size on festival posters as an emerging headliner. Perhaps proving they can bring it on a big stage will allow them to hop on some other big tours heading out of the Lone Star State, or even be considered for a San Antonio Rodeo of Rodeo Houston berth in the coming years.
The band also just released a new song called “Sober Heart of Mine” as part of The Next Waltz Vol. 2 compilation. Their tour continues on through December and January, and they’ll be playing with William Clark Green on multiple dates in February.
If you’re going to see Luke Combs in San Antonio, make sure to get there early and take in Flatland Cavalry. Jameson Rodgers is also one of the openers on the date.
Flatland Cavalry Tour Dates:
Dec 5 Thu – Wave – Wichita, KS
Dec 6 Fri – Tower Theatre – Oklahoma City, OK
Dec 7 Sat – AT&T Center w/ Luke Combs – San Antonio, TX
Dec 12 Thu – The Big Secret At City Hall – Platteville, WI
Dec 13 Fri – Bourbon Theatre – Lincoln, NE
Dec 14 Sat – First Avenue Club – Iowa City, IA
Dec 22 Sun – House of Blues Dallas – Dallas, TX
Jan 3 Fri – Grizzly Rose – William Clark Green – Denver, CO
Jan 11 Sat – Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, OK
Jan 24 Fri – The Signal – Chattanooga, TN
Jan 29 Wed – Mile Zero Festival – Key West, FL
Jan 30 Thu – Mile Zero Festival – Key West, FL
Feb 5 Wed – Terminal West – William Clark Green, Kenny Freeman – Atlanta, GA
Feb 6 Thu – Amos’ Southend – William Clark Green, Kenny Freeman – Charlotte, NC
Feb 7 Fri – The Basement East – William Clark Green, Kenny Freeman – Nashville, TN
Feb 8 Sat – The Grey Eagle – William Clark Green, Kenny Freeman Asheville, NC
Feb 12 Wed – The Broadberry – William Clark Green – Richmond, VA
Feb 13 Thu – Union Stage – William Clark Green – Washington, DC
Feb 14 Fri – The Sinclair – William Clark Green – Cambridge, MA
Feb 15 Sat – Gramercy Theatre – William Clark Green – New York, NY
Feb 19 Wed – The Burl – William Clark Green – Lexington, KY
Feb 20 Thu – Off Broadway – William Clark Green – St. Louis, MO
Feb 21 Fri – The Blue Note – William Clark Green – Columbia, MO
Mar 7 Sat – John T. Floore’s Country Store – Helotes, TX
Mar 13 Fri – Cameron County Amphitheater/ Event Center – Parker McCollum – South Padre Island, TX
December 6, 2019 @ 9:55 am
I have been a huge Flatland Calvary fan since they were the first opening band for Gary Allen at Whitewater Amphitheater several years ago. I bought their EP Come May and Humble Folks that night. I remember watching them as an opener at an indoor show at Floore’s and it was a mostly empty venue with a very small crowd in front of the stage. I stood outside and shook their hands and was able to take photos with then fiddle player Laura Jane. I remember telling my wife as we watched them load and pack their own van /trailer that they wouldn’t be doing that very long. I saw them every time they played in San Antonio and surrounding area that year and for the years that followed. Each show the crowd got bigger and bigger. Cleto would write new intros into his songs just to make them more interesting. To see them now have a tour bus traveling the country , headlining shows and now open for Luke Combs at the AT&T center, is a tremendous accomplishment for some truly humble folks. I hope that their sound is enough to catch the hearts and ears of main stream country fans, because these guys are for real!
December 6, 2019 @ 10:01 am
Nothing more rewarding than watching a band or artist start out, pound pavement, pay dues, and get rewarded for it. Thanks for the story.
December 6, 2019 @ 10:27 am
What ever happened to Laura Jane?
December 6, 2019 @ 12:35 pm
I can’t say for sure. I do know she posted on twitter in July of 2018 stating she had played her last show for Flatland Calvary. She talked about how music was a joy and the best part of music was meeting fans of the fiddle while on the road. She did say she looked forward to her next endeavor in the music industry. I know she has played a concert or too here and there filling in at fiddle. For Dalton Domino a time a or two. This may be speculation but their was some comments from fans that said the band wanted a more experience fiddle player. I think that is part of the reason they went to Wesley .When he was introduced on social media, they made a comment on how he had been playing fiddle for a long time and had been in a couple bands. I think she was great don”t get me wrong, but i think the band was doing everything in their power to achieve a certain level of sound and cohesiveness as a unit together and it sounds like felt Wesley gave them more of what their goals were than Laura Jane did at the time.
December 6, 2019 @ 11:49 am
Seeing Luke Combs next Wednesday, unfortunately Morgan Wallen will be opening instead of these guys.
December 6, 2019 @ 2:26 pm
Living in Louisville, I almost never get Texas artists unless I travel. Three years ago I saw them play the Exit/In on a Wednesday night in Nashville in front of maybe 70 people. They’re always awesome, I’ve driven to Nashville multiple times to see them, Tulsa to see them headline Cain’s, and they’re always super nice.
December 6, 2019 @ 4:38 pm
“Cavalry”?
December 6, 2019 @ 6:46 pm
I thought the same thing when I saw it – always thought it was calvary. Turns out that calvary is some jesus-y term or something, and that cavalry is correct.
December 6, 2019 @ 7:56 pm
The way i remember it, is because of coming acrosss paperwork for the 75th Cavalry, at Ft. Campbell.
We always referred to the unit as the 75th Cav.