The Lacs
THE LACSAll AgesSupport acts subject to change.Wear your Cotillion merch and jump to the front of the GA line. A limited number of table reservations are available by calling 316-722-4201 or in person at The Cotillion. Coat check is open during events to check your coats, hats, merch and more. Coat check is located next to merch by the front doors. All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed. On September 20, 2024, The Lacs, the Georgia-based duo of Clay Sharpe and Brian King, will release their highly anticipated album, ‘Story of a Trainwreck.’ This latest collection of 12 new recordings marks a notable shift from their signature country rap style to a more mainstream country sound, showcasing their versatility and growth as artists. ‘Story of a Trainwreck’ is a deeply personal project, reflecting on Clay and Brian’s lives as touring musicians. The album’s tracks vividly portray the highs and lows of life on the road, painting a picture of the relentless grind, the electrifying performances, and the quiet moments of reflection in between. Each song is a testament to their dedication to their craft and the sacrifices they’ve made along the way. The album opens with the track, “I Love Country Songs,” setting the tone for the narrative journey that follows. This album delves into the chaotic and often unpredictable nature of their careers, highlighting the resilience and determination required to navigate the music industry. It’s a candid look at the behind-the-scenes challenges that fans rarely see.
Kolby Cooper
KOLBY COOPERLove You, Goodnight TourAll AgesSupport acts subject to change.Wear your Cotillion merch and jump to the front of the GA line. A limited number of table reservations are available by calling 316-722-4201 or in person at The Cotillion. Coat check is open during events to check your coats, hats, merch and more. Coat check is located next to merch by the front doors. All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed.
Stoney LaRue
STONEY LARUE with Kyle Killgore BandAll AgesSupport acts subject to change.Wear your Cotillion merch and jump to the front of the GA line. A limited number of table reservations are available by calling 316-722-4201 or in person at The Cotillion. Coat check is open during events to check your coats, hats, merch and more. Coat check is located next to merch by the front doors. All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed. Throw away any preconceived notions you might have about country singers — especially ones from Texas — because Stoney LaRue smashes them all. Over a nearly 20-year career, the Lone Star-born and Oklahoma-raised LaRue has transformed himself into an unlikely Renaissance man. He is a deft songwriter, informed traveler and self-aware philosopher, a troubadour who converses just as easily about Indian yogis and gurus as he does about Texas barbecue and dance halls. LaRue highlights all facets of his complex persona on the inspiring new album Onward. The title itself is reflective of his outlook on life — if LaRue has a mantra these days, it’s “keep moving forward.” His first album since 2015’s Us Time, Onward captures the husky-voiced singer looking not only ahead, but inward. This is a man unflinchingly shining a light into some dark, uncomfortable corners of his psyche and bettering himself in the process. “You want to test your bones and see where they break,” he says, dropping one of the many bon mots that pepper his conversation. “This record is wading through all the mud and storms to hopefully come out on the other side with a wisdom that you didn’t have before. It’s a brighter way to look at things.”
Braxton Keith
BRAXTON KEITH All AgesSupport acts subject to change. Wear your Cotillion merch and jump to the front of the GA line. A limited number of table reservations are available by calling 316-722-4201 or in person at The Cotillion. All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed. With a sound and style honed in the honky tonks of Texas and beyond, Braxton Keith is part of a new generation of country singer-songwriter – one leading a revival of its core creative tenants. Featuring an earnest love of the ‘80s country aesthetic – and all but addicted to the rush of the stage – Keith has spent the last few years of life as a proud road dog, schooling new fans of the timeless power of a revved up band and rich organic twang. But while his what-you-see-is-what-you-get approach remains firmly rooted in tradition, that doesn’t mean he’s staying put. This Warner Music Nashville newcomer lives one state line at a time. “I love the honky tonk country twang and I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” the rising star explains. “But honestly, I’m just thinking about getting up and playing another show. This is just the beginning.This is where the hard work starts.” A proud Texas native who these days splits time between San Antonio and Nashville, Keith was born in Midland, Texas, steeped in country mystique. Learning to play piano from his grandmother – a woman who loved the Cadillac cool of stars like Porter Wagoner – he grew up singing, drawn like a magnet to the sonic storytelling of gritty tunes like “The Carroll County Accident” (an all-time family favorite). Diving deep into the pure-country form, Keith picked up a guitar and soon had a taste for hard twang and tales of the heart, writing his own classically-inspired songs in a grungy, cluttered garage. He never took it seriously until college, when a friend convinced the unknown-but-obvious talent to record one – just so he’d have something to share with his future kids.“I did it – and I never stopped,” Keith says. “I caught this little honky tonk bug, and now I’m traveling the country for a living. Started out writing songs in our garage, now I’m writing songs in Nashville. It’s crazy.” Leaving school behind to earn his place in Texas’ vibrant live-music scene, Keith and a band of brothers have now been touring nonstop since 2020, racking up untold miles and hundreds of floorboard-shaking shows. Blending throwback-tonk with a sharp, barbed-wire vocal recalling stars like Tracy Lawrence (plus a little borderland buzz of San Antonio Spanish influence), Keith became a regular face in venues all across his home state, and then looked beyond.
Tab Benoit
TAB BENOIT Special Guest GA-20All AgesSupport acts subject to change. Wear your Cotillion merch and jump to the front of the GA line. A limited number of table reservations are available by calling 316-722-4201 or in person at The Cotillion. Coat check is open during events to check your coats, hats, merch and more. Coat check is located next to merch by the front doors. All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed. All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed. I Hear Thunder marks the long-awaited return of four-time Grammy-nominated artist Tab Benoit. Renowned for his distinctive guitar tone and Otis-Redding-esque voice, Benoit has been a captivating figure in the roots music world for over thirty years. Tab’s personal growth and advancement as a songwriter and musician have culminated in a benchmark recording. His new self-produced album, I Hear Thunder, for his imprint, Whiskey Bayou Records, is a testament to his fiery exuberance that first marked his career in 1992. The record not only showcases his artistic brilliance but also his profound commitment to environmental advocacy, a legacy that extends beyond the stage into the heart of the land that inspires his bluesy soul. On Benoit’s forthcoming national tour, fans will be delighted to hear the new songs and selected tracks from his vast catalog. Benoit does more than play the blues; he defines its future while paying homage to its rich past.
Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys
BOB WILLS’ TEXAS PLAYBOYSAll AgesSupport acts subject to change.Wear your Cotillion merch and jump to the front of the GA line. A limited number of table reservations are available by calling 316-722-4201 or in person at The Cotillion. Coat check is open during events to check your coats, hats, merch and more. Coat check is located next to merch by the front doors. All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed. When Texas Playboys front man Jason Roberts steps onto a stage with his fiddle and utters his first “AH-ha” of the evening, western-swing fans know they’re seeing and hearing nothing less than the living embodiment of a tradition that stretches all the way back to 1933. That was the year the charismatic fiddler Bob Wills and several other musicians in a group called the Light Crust Doughboys broke away from Fort Worth’s Burris Mills and its autocratic business manager, W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel, to form their own band. As Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys, they became one of the most popular touring and recording acts in the nation, offering audiences the highly danceable musical mixture that came to be known as western swing. Following Bob’s 1975 death, a group of ex-Playboys led by former Wills steel-guitarist Leon McAuliffe and hand-picked by McAuliffe and Bob’s widow, Betty, came together to keep the Bob Wills sound alive. Those men made a promise to one another that when the first of their number died, they would disband – and, true to their word, the group dissolved in 1986, following the death of piano player “Brother” Al Stricklin. Eventually, with the blessing of the Bob Wills estate, guitarist-producer Tommy Allsup, a longtime Wills collaborator, and Leon Rausch, the Playboys’ last great vocalist, took over Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys. They continued squarely in the Wills style, delighting old fans and making new ones, until 2018, following the death of Allsup and the retirement of nonagenarian Rausch. Today, the Bob Wills sound continues, as big and bright and brassy as ever. The newest Texas Playboys aggregation is led by two-time Grammy winner Roberts, hand-picked by both the Wills estate and Leon Rausch, whose nearly two decades in the famed western-swing band Asleep at the Wheel includes an eight-year stint actually playing Bob Wills in the Wheel’s nationally touring musical-theatre production, A RIDE WITH BOB. And, like Bob’s original band, this group of Playboys includes some of the best swing musicians both Oklahoma and Texas have to offer. . Together, Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys forge on through the 21st Century, bringing a nostalgic glow to longtime Wills fans and the joy of discovery to those who might not have even been born when Bob died.
Hudson Westbrook
HUDSON WESTBROOK Special Guest Grant Gilbert THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT TEXT “WAIT” TO 49798 TO BE ADDED TO OUR WAITLIST IN THE EVENT ANY TICKETS ARE RELEASED.All AgesSupport acts subject to change.All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed. Hudson Westbrook, a Lone Star State native from Stephenville, Texas, is not your typical country music artist. As a Texas Tech student, he discovered his passion for music at the age of 15 and began writing his own songs less than a year ago. His debut track, “Take It Slow,” is a testament to his unique style, blending infectious melodies with a modern yet sentimental touch. This distinctive sound garnered over 1.2 million on-demand stream streams in its first week and has 28,000 fan-generated TikToks using the sound to date. This led to selling out 1800 tickets in 48 hours for his first big show in Texas. With his undeniable talent and refreshing approach to country music, Hudson Westbrook is poised to make a significant impact on the music scene.
Aaron Watson
AARON WATSON with Special Guests Midnight SouthAll AgesSupport acts subject to change. Tickets will be sent via MOBILE delivery only, and will be available 72 hours before the show.All tickets purchased for the original date will be honored for the new date.All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed. About Aaron Watson:Aaron Watson’s career is perhaps summed up best by Forbes, who says he’s “one of country music’s biggest DIY success stories.” For over 20 years now, Aaron Watson has traveled the land as country’s ultimate underdog troubadour – a truly independent artist with the spirit of the American frontier in his veins, and a self-made empire to match. Working without corporate backers, he has nonetheless reached the Top 10 of Billboard’s Country Album chart five separate times – an impressive feat by any standard – and that includes his triumphant 2015 set, The Underdog, which landed at #1, becoming the first independent album in the history of country music to top the Billboard Country Albums chart. Matching sold-out shows across the country with homegrown hits, he’s followed suit at country radio, making history in 2017 with “Outta Style” and “Run Wild Horses.” “Watson has made a career out of giving his fans music that focuses on the positive. Music that serves as a salve to what ails them. Music filled with light and joy and an abundance of pride for the country he calls home,” said People.com of the 2021 American Soul album. Still pushing into the wind, Unwanted Man finds a creative renegade continuing to do what he does best, now working at the most “dangerous” level of his career. With a dozen additional records under his belt, Watson is exceeding major-label-sized metrics while maintaining his independence, further galvanizing his “Texas country’s reigning indie underdog” (Rolling Stone) brand. “There may be no more genuine singer-songwriter at the moment than Watson,” says Texas Monthly, pointing to a self-made businessman, chart-topper, and road warrior whose authenticity has made him a country music staple.
Braxton Keith
BRAXTON KEITH with Special Guests Jason Boyd Band All AgesSupport acts subject to change. Serving local favorites from The Artichoke Sandwich Bar!Wear your Cotillion merch and jump to the front of the GA line. A limited number of table reservations are available by calling 316-722-4201 or in person at The Cotillion.All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed. Braxton Keith calls San Antonio home, but the 20something songwriter hasn’t spent much time there in recent years. As one of the newest exports of Texas’ country music scene, he leaves town nearly every weekend, driving his band — and his own tour bus — toward the next show. “That bus is actually the only vehicle I own,” he says. “I drive it everywhere I go.” Whether he’s onstage or behind the wheel, Braxton doesn’t just play country music. He lives it. Inspired by the traditional twang of storytellers like Marty Robbins and Merle Haggard, he writes songs that blend modern sounds with the best elements of old-school country. It’s a balance of the contemporary and the classic, glued together by a proud Texas native who’s learned to create autobiographical music about universal experiences. “These are songs about love, heartbreak, and drinking, which are things everybody knows about,” he explains. “I’m not the only person to write songs about those things. But I’m the only person to do it my way.” Born and raised in the West Texas town of Midland, Braxton grew up playing piano. His parents were dentists. His brothers were athletes. Nobody else in the family wrote songs, but that didn’t stop Braxton from penning his first tunes as a teenager. He began playing guitar during that time, too, laying the foundation for the country sound he’d eventually pursue as a hard-touring road warrior. “When I starting writing my own songs, I wasn’t trying to be in the music industry,” he explains. “At least not yet. I was just doing it because I loved it.” After moving to San Angelo for college, Braxton discovered that a wider audience existed for his brand of raw, rootsy honky-tonk. His earliest fans were the roommates and friends who happened to catch him strumming his acoustic guitar behind the closed door of his dorm room. Informal performances around campus expanded that fanbase even further, as did his debut gig at Rockin Rodeo in Midland. “Make Up Your Mind,” his debut single, was released in 2019 and gathered more than 1 million streams on Spotify alone, broadcasting Braxton’s music to country fans who lived far beyond Texas’ borders. Neon Dreams, his debut EP, arrived one year later. Produced by P.T. Houston, the EP marked the beginning of Braxton’s connection to Nashville, where he would later partner with producer Alex Torrez to record career-defining songs like “A Little Bit Closer” and “Settle for a Beer.”
The Panhandlers
THE PANHANDLERS All AgesSupport acts subject to change. Serving local favorites from The Artichoke Sandwich Bar!Wear your Cotillion merch and jump to the front of the GA line.All sales are final. No exchanges or refunds unless a show is cancelled or postponed. The Panhandlers are four native sons from the outskirts of Texas society, having spent much of their lives in the high desert and southern prairie. Individually, Josh Abbott, John Baumann, William Clark Green, and Flatland Cavalry’s Cleto Cordero have long pursued that Far West Texas mythos and Panhandle lore. Scattered throughout their solo catalogs, the four frontmen have delivered earnest anthems and endearing balladry that embodies a Flatland life and South Plains dreams. Still, that hasn’t ever been quite enough for Abbott, Baumann, Cordero, and Green, who in early 2020 released The Panhandlers. Built around a collection of organic and visceral rural reflections, hardscrabbled character sketches, and a wide open spaces state of mind, The Panhandlers thrived under the guidance of songwriting scholar and album producer Bruce Robison. With a Who’s Who of musicians in tow and recorded on analog two-inch tape at Robison’s The Bunker Studio, the pairings fit hand-in-glove for the set of windswept vignettes and honky-tonk mosaics. Now, some three years later, they pick right up where The Panhandlers left off. Tough Country finds the four songwriters diving further into rough West Texas caliche and rich Panhandle soil, unearthing campfire compositions, forlorn ballads, romantic rendezvous, and charming singalongs. Like their previous efforts, Tough Country finds the four working with Robison together once again at The Bunker for a desert-swept sonic punch that offers hints of Western Swing, Flatland folk, and rollicking country ambiance. Much like the plainspoken poets, dancehall desperados, iconoclast artists, and the cowboy wordsmiths they call heroes, The Panhandlers walk the fine line between romanticizing the rugged land and its hearty inhabitants with gentle acknowledgments and sincere homages, all the while blazing their own trails and reveling in the satisfaction of unveiling their own fresh spin on old traditions.