Or click here for Hart of Hood featured on Rawhide and Velvet.

“To know where you’re going, you have to know where you’ve been,” said The Band Perry’s Kimberly Perry last night (4/11) at the 2012 All For The Hall benefit concert.

Which pretty succinctly sums up an excellent musical evening. It was “group night” at the annual Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum fundraiser, with duos and groups comprising the vast majority of performers. It was a multi-generational affair—hot new artists playing the same stage as beloved veterans.

But first, co-host Keith Urban and band had to warm us up. After a quick four count from the drummer, guitars strummed the opening riff to “You Gonna Fly” as the silver curtain hiding the stage dropped and we were off.

“Third time’s a charm,” said a smiling Urban as he greeted the crowd. He wasted no time before launching into “Sweet Thing,” accompanied by a cluster of waving cell phone lights from the floor. When the house lights came up, Bridgestone Arena appeared to be at capacity—a good sign for the Hall of Fame.

Keith introduced his “spiritual brother” and co-host Vince Gill during the mid-song breakdown, and the two engaged in some impressive Allman-esque dueling guitars.

“You’re gonna get to see a lot of great bands tonight,” said Vince. “Thirty-three years ago I got to be in a great band.” He elaborated by singing the Pure Prairie League classic “Amie.”

Vince also nodded at the Hall of Fame’s brand spankin’ new Bakersfield Sound exhibit by playing Buck Owens’ “Together Again,” complete with a breathtaking steel solo from Paul Franklin.

The first duo or group to take the stage was Thompson Square, fresh from a huge ACM Award win for Duo of the Year. T2 offered up “I Got You” and the No. 1 smash “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not.”

The Grand Ole Opry’s Eddie Stubbs was on deck to assist with master of ceremonies duties between performers.

“How about having Vince and Keith as the backup band?” asked Stubbs. Yeah, you could do a lot worse.

Singer/songwriters Kenny Loggins, Gary Burr, and Georgia Middleman—collectively known as Blue Sky Riders—took the stage next, and performed the uptempo road song “I’m A Rider (Finally Home)” and “Dream.” According to Stubbs, the Riders have an album and single on the way.

“We’re Blue Sky Riders and you’ve never heard of us. Admit it,” quipped Burr.

The Pistol Annies (Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, Angaleena Presley) strutted onstage to thunderous applause. The girls swayed over the swampy intro to “Hell On Hells,” their harmonies haunting on the hypnotic blues number. “Thanks to Vince and Keith for being our backup band,” said ringleader Miranda Lambert. “That’s hot!” The Annies finished with a sassy, tough-as-nails run through “Takin’ Pills.”

Diamond Rio followed, tearing into “Unbelievable.” Rio singer Marty Roe told the audience about Keith Urban standing in for guitarist Jimmy Olander at an ACM Awards years back when Jimmy’s son was born. “Do you know how to play any Diamond Rio songs?” he had asked Urban. “Where do you want to start?” was the reply. The band closed up with its hit “Meet In The Middle,” with Vince, Keith and Olander trading flashy six string licks.

Keith introduced Little Big Town by saying he stole half of the group to sing on “You Gonna Fly.” The full LBT was present last night, starting off with the funky, mid-tempo Adam Hood song “Front Porch Thing.” Someone’s going to have a hit with that cut. Speaking of hits, LBT also played “Boondocks,” its intricate four-part vocal coda still impressive.

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This will be a family friendly event with activities for all ages. The crawfish boil will have all the trimmings such as sausage, corn and potatoes. They will also provide water to drink. They suggest you bring chairs and coolers with preferred beverages.

In addition to the food, they will also have inflatables for the kids, face painting, Abrakadoodle and plenty of entertainment. They have numerous sponsors who have made generous contributions to help make this a fun event.

Adam Hood and his band will be playing. He is a singer-songwriter from Opelika who has toured with many famous artists including Willie Nelson. His music is nationally known and is a mixture of country rock and blues.

The cost for admission is only $5 for adults and kids are free. T-shirts will be available for sale as well as cozies for drinks. A local artist will be drawing crawfish and selling the artwork during the event.

All proceeds will benefit the Pike Road Patriot Fund, which will ultimately become a nonprofit fund to complement the school budget and help with athletics and art departments. Since this is a fundraising event, donations are definitely welcome and there will be donation boxes located throughout for that purpose.

Everyone from the community is invited. They encourage you to invite friends and family to join in the festivities. They are hoping to start a tradition and are already planning on having four events per year.

For more information on this event, contact Richard White at 269-1192.

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My favorite line from the song, considering my job at a place that sells used tractors, is this one: “Tractors ain’t sexy, and workin’ is hard for small town people like me.” You really get a feel for where he’s coming from – he loves his town and doesn’t like hearing rich people singing about how tough their lives are, so he’s singing about his life.

Here are a couple versions of “I’ll Sing About Mine”, the first one being easier to hear (with random pictures) and the second being a live performance in Alabama:

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The 5th annual Lone Star Music Awards (www.lonestarmusic.com) were held on Sunday night at the Texas Music theater-San Marcos (www.tmtsm.com). This was the second consecutive year the awards show was held in the TMT. the crew at Lone Star Music put together an impressive lineup of performers, many of whom had been nominated for awards. With live performances, a impressive list of guest stars, this awards show showcases what is best about the Texas music scene, artists interacting with their fans.

There were two performances from upcoming female artists to kick off the show while the crowds entered. Austin’s The Wildflowers came on first, and played a short set while the doors were opened. Ashley Monical and HalleyAnna Finlay make up The Wildflowers, and they brought along Kullen Fuchs to accompany them. They sang a few originals songs, with the girls taking turns on lead vocals. Great harmonies and strong writing make this a band to watch.

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Bri Bagwell (www.bribagwell.com), originally from Santa Fe New Mexico then took the stage with her amazingly talented band. Bagwell has received a lot of press coverage lately, and is one of the newest stars on the scene. As evidenced by her nomination for Best Female Vocalist, her appearances on the Texas Music Chart, and a spot on CMT’s Next Superstar, this is a girl with everything going for her right now. Her set was very impressive, showing off a tight band, great vocals, and some very good songs, including “Whiskey” and “Banned from Santa Fe”

Emcee Mattson Ranier from KNBT radio in New Braunfels then took the stage to announce the next band, the always popular Reckless Kelly (www.recklesskelly.com). They played an acoustic set of many of their most popular songs, including “7 Days in Ireland”, “Wild Western Windblown Band”, “1952 Vincent Black Lightning”, and their latest single “St. Valentine” As they were nominated for a few awards, they were a great choice to kick off the main part of the show.

As the show went on, they would present a few awards, then go to the next live performance. The first three awards were presented. Winners were Gruene Hall for Best Live Music Venue (for the 5th consecutive year), Songwriter of the Year Hayes Carll, and Musician of the Year Cody Braun(from Reckless Kelly).

Folk Family Revival (www.folkfamilyrevival.com) then took the stage. Don’t be fooled by their name, this isn’t an old time folk band. While called by many folk-country americana, this band really rock. Made up of three brothers and a lifelong best friend, they call themselves four brothers. They have exploded on the scene recently, and have been opening for many of the biggest names in Texas. Before their set, I had never seen them or heard their music, but will be digging into the record soon. “Fallen”, off their debut record “Unfolding” is destined to be a fan favorite for a long time.

Rainer then returned to give out the next three awards. The Best Artwork award was a foregone conclusion, as Reckless Kelly had been nominated for a Grammy in this catagory, so it was a pretty easy choice. Shauna and Sara Dodd of Backstage Design Studio designed the package. Best Emerging Artist went to Whiskey Myers, a band scheduled to play later in the night, and Best Live Act went to long time Texas Star Kevin Fowler.

Songwriter Adam Hood, from Opelika Alabama, then took the stage. Hood is one of the most popular songwriters in Texas, not an easy accomplishment for someone who doesn’t live here. His performance showed why, as he ran through a solo set of some of his most popular songs, including “Late Night Diner”, “Flame and Gasoline”, and “I’ll Sing About Mine” . “I’ll Sing About Mine” is one of the popular songs of the moment, and slyly pokes fun of Nashville “country” artists who live in the big city, make lots of money, and sing about small town life being hard. Co-written with Brian Keane, the song says ” when the radios on I just don’t understand,Because tractors ain’t sexy and workin is hard,For small town people like me. And the radio’s full of rich folks singing,‘Bout places they’ve never seen. Now I aint saying their life ain’t hard, I’d love to hear about it sometime,But let them sing about their own life, and I’ll sing about mine.”

After his set, Hood barely had time to relax, as he was awarded Best Singer-Songwriter-Folk. Best Americana Album went to Reckless Kelly for “Good Luck and True Love”, who took that time to announce that after 16 years on the road, they had decided to retire. Being as the show was held on April Fool’s Day, most people got the joke before they announced April Fools. Best Country Album went to Jason Boland and the Stragglers for “Rancho Alto”

Emerging artist Whiskey Myers (www.whiskeymyers.com) took the stage, running through a great live set of southern rock originals led by Best Musician nominee Cody Tate on gitar, and Cody Cannon on vocals. They showed the crowd why they had been nominated for so many awards, including Best Live Act, and had one Best Emerging Artist.

Miranda Lambert was then given the Best Female Vocalist Award. Unable to attend the show because she was receiving the same awards at a Nashville Awards show, she sent a videotaped acceptance speech. Male Vocalist went to Stoney LaRue, and Best Song went to Reckless Kelly.

The Dirty River Boys (www.theddirtyriverboys.com)then took the stage. After telling me that they were going to “burn down the stage and show them the best live act”, they proceeded to do just that. Leaving scorch marks across the stage, they ran through a set of their original songs, a mixing of bluegrass and celtic inflences with a hard rock performance. This is a band that is literally going to make some noise in the coming year. “We’re going to raise some hell tonight!” they exclaimed, while imploring the crowd to jump up and down with them.

Zach Jennings, owner of Lone Star Music took the stage with Sundance Records owner Greg Ellis to make a huge announcement. “Eveyone here knows that Sundance records closed today, but we are here to announce that Lone Star Music will be moving into that space in September, and we are planning to keep Greg Ellis involved in the project, along with many of Suundance employees.” That got a rise out of the crowd, as San Marcos will once again have a premiere record store in town.

The last award was then presented, for Best Album. Fittingly, it went to headliner Stoney LaRue (www.stoneylarue.com), for “Velvet” Stoney then took the stage and ran through most of the songs on the album, and a few other favorites. Always a fan favorite, he kept the crowd moving throughout his set.

Overall, this was a very enjoying evening of live performances, and the staffs of Lone Star Music and Texas Music Theater deserve credit for putting on a great night of music, awards, and fellowship for the fans and members of the scene.

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The early 6 pm reservation-only show at the Bluebird Café featured Lori McKenna, Sean McConnell, Troy Jones, and Adam Hood.

Hood’s soulful voice combined his rhythm and lead guitar skills kept our toes tapping through his, “Tennessee Will,” and “Deep Ellum Blues.”

McConnell, who has kept a low profile the past few months, showcased a magnificent new bluesy song titled “Second Coming” that called for a musical revival. Additionally, his voice sounded flawless as he played his, “Reckless Love.” For his finale, McConnell honored an audience request for, “A Prayer You Can Borrow.”

Jones drove up from Alabama for the performance, which featured a reflective song about a childhood of wanting, “We Got By.” The bar section of the room sang along to his “Pretty Good at Drinkin’ Beer” and “People Are Crazy,” which he prefaced by noting he hadn’t taken a drink in years.

McKenna noted 6pm might be the earliest she has ever played the Bluebird as she sipped her drink. “There’s still light outside, and everyone is sober,” she said. Regardless, she shined on her Keith Urban album cut, “Luxury of Knowing.” Additionally, she played “How Romantic is That,” and the lyrical curveball “Sometimes He Does.”

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When Adam Hood stopped by Radio Texas Live last week we talked about everything from “wallerin around on stage” with Grammy and Golden Globe winner Ryan Bingham to the bridge that his friend Miranda Lambert’s music has provided between him and his daughter and of course his amazing music.

East Texas may not have gotten quite enough Adam Hood last week, but we were close. Adam played the KNUE Front Porch Wednesday afternoon, Electric Cowboy Wednesday night then was my in-studio guest last week on Radio Texas Live. In this first segment we discuss his first single off “The Shape of Things” a song called “Flame and Gasoline”.

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Now this is a concert I have been waiting and campaigning for for a couple of years and I’m stoked it’s finally happening. Adam Hood is one of my favorite singer/songwriters and if he’s not one of yours, time to fix it. This Wednesday (3/7) Adam will be in concert at Electric Cowboy (click here to buy your tickets) but first that afternoon at 12 noon we’ve got him stopping by The KNUE Front Porch.

If you want to get in on The Front Porch Show go by The Radio Texas Live Facebook page, we’ll have plenty of opportunities for you to receive an invite between now and the Front Porch show Wednesday.Then don’t miss him Wednesday night at Electric Cowboy

Now if you aren’t familiar with him yet I want you to check out just 3 of my favorite Adam Hood songs, that’s it just 3 and I’m fairly certain he’ll be your new favorite singer.

3. Hell of a Fight
2. Flame and Gasoline
1. Play Something We Know

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