Turnpike Troubadours Draw 66,715 for Rodeo Houston Performance
Crisis? What crisis?
The boys from Tahlequah, Oklahoma known as the Turnpike Troubadours traveled down to Houston on Saturday (3-2) to take advantage of their first ever berth on the biggest stage in Texas—the star-shaped one in the center of the NRG Stadium as part of the annual Rodeo Houston production. A big opportunity for any band, it’s especially big for Turnpike who unlike most of the other Rodeo Houston performers such as Luke Bryan, Tim McGraw, and Kane Brown, aren’t signed to a major label, and don’t receive any mainstream radio play.
Nonetheless the seats were packed for their set, drawing 66,715 to the stadium Saturday night, and they entertained the crowd with a straightforward Texas/Red Dirt country show, free of frills or fancy production like many of the other performers, but just as entertaining for many in attendance. “Thank you for being so nice to us, ladies and gentlemen,” frontman Evan Felker said in one of the few moments of banter during the evening.
The Turnpike Troubadours wasted no time launching into their two most signature songs right off the bat, “Every Girl” and “7 & 7.” The 15-song set was one straightforward performance after another, finishing with “Bossier City” and their well-known rendition of the John Hartford classic, “Long Hot Summer Day.”
How does 66,715 stack up against previous attendance numbers? Native Texan Kacey Musgraves, who just won the Grammy for Album of the Year and opened the rodeo season this year, drew 53,031 on a Monday night. Superstar Cardi B, who played the night before, set an all-time Rodeo Houston attendance record with 75,580. Comparing the numbers with other independent artists who’ve taken the Rodeo Houston stage, Aaron Watson drew 51,000 in 2017, and Cody Johnson drew 60,011 that same year. So overall, the Rodeo and the Turnpike Troubadours have to be happy with how many folks showed up.
Now Turnpike is off to the Midwest where they will play shows at the Blue Gate Theatre and The Bluebird in Indiana on March 7th and 8th, and then a show in The Caverns in Tennessee with American Aquarium on March 9th.
“If you’re not on country radio, you don’t exist.” –former Sony Music Nashville CEO Gary Overton.
Rodeo Houston Setlist:
- “Every Girl”
- “7&7”
- “The Housefire”
- “Morgan Street”
- “Blue Star”
- “Pay No Rent”
- “Down Here”
- “Gin, Smoke, Lies”
- “A Tornado Warning”
- “Something to Hold Onto”
- “Good Lord Lorrie”
- “Kansas City Southern”
- “Whole Damn Town”
- “Bossier City”
- “Long Hot Summer Day”
March 3, 2019 @ 10:38 am
I guess the weather has been a lot more fair lately, for at least some of the fans.
In all seriousness, good to see. Would have loved to have been there.
March 3, 2019 @ 10:56 am
So did they or did they not pay rent?
Please advise.
March 3, 2019 @ 11:45 am
By some happy accident.
March 4, 2019 @ 6:55 am
You’ve been crackin’ jokes with the common folks I see…
March 4, 2019 @ 3:04 pm
They’ve picked up the pieces, and are trying to carry on.
March 3, 2019 @ 11:09 am
That’s a great crowd. Hope Evan can keep his shit together and that they build off of this performance.
March 3, 2019 @ 11:19 am
Damn, no Bird Hunters! Love when they finish their sets with it, so much fun and incredible energy.
March 3, 2019 @ 11:20 am
In Texas they are the biggest drawing act in Texas Red Dirt music right now I hope they move forward with many more successful nights like this one. It shows Nashvegas just how insignificant they really are these days.
March 3, 2019 @ 11:48 am
Are you paid by this band to constantly report on everything that happens? Cause there are so many articles about them on here and I can’t understand why except for the reason I stated previously.
March 3, 2019 @ 12:04 pm
Saving Country Music is not in bed with the publicity/management of Turnpike. Truth be known, they are often a roadblock in reporting on this band, including not being able to line up the proper credentials to have a photographer shoot their Rodeo Houston set like we had planned. The reason there are so many Turnpike articles is because management/publicity has NOT been punctually informing the public about cancellations, and someone needs to. If you think it’s positive press for the band to report on how they canceled shows last minute and left fans angry, you don’t understand publicity. That said, it’s been 30 articles since the last report on the Turnpike Troubadours. One of the reasons people think I report on them all the time is because there’s a lot of interest behind this band, it it gets boosted in everyone’s social media feeds.
March 4, 2019 @ 12:47 am
But you are too afraid to call the recent TT album soft counting crows rock. Which is what it is. Name a county song on it.
March 4, 2019 @ 9:30 am
Afraid? Or do I just not agree with that assessment?
March 4, 2019 @ 7:33 pm
The winding stair mountain blues, Oklahoma stars, old time feeling, to name a few
March 3, 2019 @ 12:12 pm
And MAYBE, just maybe, they are at least a small part of helping to SAVE Country Music. Even if with some rock in there as well.
March 3, 2019 @ 3:52 pm
Is it that difficult to skip over articles you’re not interested in? Or are you in a competing band?
Most people here love this band.
March 3, 2019 @ 11:53 am
It was a fantastic show!!!!
March 3, 2019 @ 12:28 pm
Might be better to compare against CoJos 2018 numbers: Cody Johnson brought in 74,000 paid attendance at HLSR that year.
The 2017 numbers are kind of a fluke as he subbed last minute (day before) when Old Dominion cancelled – and still had a massively impressive draw for that.
March 3, 2019 @ 3:08 pm
And George Strait has 80+ last time he showed up. I don’t get their reporting numbers at all.
March 3, 2019 @ 12:34 pm
Dang,these dudes sound like the real McCoy. (By the way,where IS Neal McCoy ?)
Trigger,can you again tell me where I may send my lyrics to you for your inspection ?
March 3, 2019 @ 1:11 pm
They don’t play very long when they play, huh? 15 song setlist seems light for such a big crowd. When I saw them in Knoxville, I was shocked they only played about an hour and a half.
March 5, 2019 @ 2:03 pm
Ehh, that’s HLSR. There’s a 1hr artist performance after the 2 hr rodeo events.
March 6, 2019 @ 8:55 am
When I’ve seen them they’ve played between 19-22 songs.
March 3, 2019 @ 2:37 pm
I was at this show last night.. while I am excited to see Turnpike was able to play the rodeo, I feel like their style of music was a turnoff to the casual music listener.. people were leaving early and by the end of the show, it was only maybe 40% full.. coupled with the fact the acoustics of a football stadium was not conducive to their sound.. It was really hard to make out individual instruments and it was really just a wall of noise at times.. I’ll be happy to hear them again in a smaller setting..
March 3, 2019 @ 3:48 pm
Who gives a shit about the casual music listener?
March 3, 2019 @ 4:48 pm
How many people left during whatever the hell it was Cardi B did the night before? If fewer, then obviously the people who attend this event have no idea what good music is. If more, then God bless the good people of Houston.
And can someone explain to me how you have Cardi B one night and the Turnpike Troubadours the next?
And while I’m here, did anyone see Thomas Rhett on SNL? Good lord, he sucks.
March 3, 2019 @ 5:47 pm
Cardi B setting an attendance record for the Houston Rodeo is all you need to know on how Houston is Ghetto AF.. Rap/Urban music is HUGE here..
March 3, 2019 @ 5:50 pm
I love John Mulaney so I made a point to watch SNL last night. I made it through about two lines of his song then hit the mute button. Ugh!
March 4, 2019 @ 4:37 am
I was at Kacey Musgraves a few days before on opening night of the Rodeo. I can report that people were leaving during her set as well. It’s not a normal concert, and shouldn’t be judged like one. It lasts for an hour, some people go there just for the experience, and there is a giant carnival right outside the stadium.
Regarding the sound, it improved thru the set, but was generally shitty compared to Musgraves, whose acoustics were dialed in very well for a giant football shed.
March 5, 2019 @ 1:00 pm
I saw some pictures people posted on SCM Facebook… that’s weird setup. As an artist, it has to feel like a rehearsal.
March 3, 2019 @ 4:05 pm
They are one my favorite bands.. Really hoping they keep it together for the remaining shows then PLEASE take a break! Y’all need it..
March 3, 2019 @ 4:20 pm
In regards to the “what crisis?” snark at the beginning of this story: if indeed it was substance abuse that was the culprit of the many last minute cancellations (as it seems to be, especially given the comments by many artists at Mile 0, who we can assume are in the know)…..you don’t simply kick a year’s long, debilitating alcohol and/or drug problem in the course of taking a few weeks off between shows. So yes, the crisis is still there. The fact that they were able to keep it together enough to play this show, no doubt inspired by the pressure to not cancel any more shows and the $ they would be losing out on if they backed out, says absolutely nothing about the state of the crisis certain member(s) of the band are going through. In fact, I still think it is ridiculous, dangerous and childish that they are keeping Evan out on the road and not taking a proper break.
March 4, 2019 @ 9:29 am
The sad reality is that until Evan admits he has a problem and his family stops enabling him nothing will change. I thought he was doing better but seeing new pictures of him, he looks terrible and I’m need of serious help.
March 4, 2019 @ 9:00 am
I’ve always been curious as to how the bands that play the Houston Rodeo are paid. Do they receive a percentage of the gate or is there a preset amount / artist pay scale? Trig, do you know?
March 4, 2019 @ 9:24 am
Very likely they get paid a guarantee, and then there might be a percentage that gets paid beyond that if they sell a certain number of tickets. An artist like Cardi B is likely to demand somewhere close to a $1 to $2 million guarantee. Someone like Turnpike it might be somewhere in the range of $50,000-$80-000 for a show like that, maybe higher or lower (and much higher than they probably normally get). These are ballpark figures. Also important to note that Rodeo Houston is non profit.
March 4, 2019 @ 11:03 am
Last time I saw Turnpike in Houston was 2010 at Firehouse, seen them plenty times since at Gruene Hall and Whitewater, saw Evan two Sunday’s ago song swapping at Krause’s with Jamie Lyn Wilson in New Braunfels, love to see their success
March 6, 2019 @ 9:51 am
I was at the show. The band was great and I had a blast. What you have to understand is that NRG is a cavernous echo chamber. This is not a good venue for music. Unless your only requirement is loud. The vocals seemed to be lost on several occasions.
Even my wife noticed that Evan was “off”. Almost seemed as though he couldn’t wait to get out of the place. I have been to several shows and I’ve never seen him so subdued. Little to no interaction with the crowd. Kyle Nix was the star of the show. That boy is bad to the bone.
Again……….I had a great time. But, it was not a performance that would have cultivated new fans.