Monday Rewind: Slade Coulter’s Big Damn Family Jam Celebrates Triumphant Second Year

I’ve been putting off finishing this article for a very long time but with Slade Coulter announcing the release of his album, Best of Me, out on Wednesday, I figured that would be the best catalyst for me to finally push this damn thing over the finish line.

The second edition of the festival boasted a lineup with Wade Bowen, Coulter, Jacob Stelly, and Cole Barnhill on Buddy Holly Ave. Saturday night and hosted the Thieving Birds, Parker Ryan, and Abbey Duncan on Friday night. And while it wasn’t the original intention, the festival ended up being held for a charitable cause. On the Thursday before the festival, Coulter posted a video to his Instagram saying that the general store in his hometown of Jayton, TX, had burned down the weekend prior. He announced that 100% of proceeds from merchandise would go towards efforts to rebuild the store.

Friday night was kicked off by Abbey Duncan, a Tech Alumni who Coulter’s manager, Dalton Domino, said is the best songwriter in the state of Texas. Duncan’s set was similar to the one I saw at JAB Fest last year. A no-frills acoustic show with some funny stories in between each song. I will say, she did seem much more comfortable at this show compared to her set at JAB Fest. Maybe it’s because she’s just gotten more confident or maybe it’s because she felt more comfortable in the Blue Light as opposed to a giant amphitheater but regardless, she killed it and started the night off well.

Parker Ryan quickly followed her and you could not get any more polar opposite stylistically. I like Ryan’s music and knew what to expect but the whiplash of going from a singer-songwriter acoustic set to a three-piece rock show was a bit jarring. But that’s beside the point, for his entire hour-long set, Ryan melted faces and he was easily the best guitar player I saw across the whole weekend. The last time I saw him in February I wrote that he was a great guitar player but now that he’s moved down to a three-piece band, he can truly let all of his talent shine. From slow burners like Stop Calling His Phone to ragers like Black Crow and Beaumont, Ryan seemed determined to make sure the Blue Light wasn’t standing when he walked off stage and he was damn near successful.

Finally, to close out night one, the Thieving Birds played a two-hour set and their first show together in 9 months. This was a set I knew was going to be special, partially because Duncan and Coulter both made it a point to say that the Thieving Birds were their favorite bands of all time, and also partially because of the crowd’s reaction to the opening song Kentucky, which blew the roof off of the venue. It was such a banger to open with and the energy didn’t dip down after that. Songs like Hey Leigh and Too Young absolutely ripped live. They also threw in covers from Father John Misty and Big Thief, both were the last artist and band, respectively, that I expected to be covered at this show but I totally welcome it. While I do think that the show lost a bit of steam towards the end, I’ll just blame that on me having a long day and being tired.

Day 2 was kicked off by Cole Barnhill, a recent graduate of Texas Tech University. Barnhill’s shows are usually a raucous affair and this set was no different. While a lot of his released material on Spotify is more acoustic-based and soft, his shows are completely the opposite. His shows are a lot more grungy and energetic and I wonder at times how he still has a voice when he’s done performing because he yells…a lot. Regardless, his shows are always a fun time and the cover of Nirvana’s Heart Shaped Box he always throws in is fantastic.

After him, Jacob Stelly took over and I don’t think I’ll ever have enough good things to say about his performances. The first time I saw him was as the opening act for Parker McCollum at a show in Corpus Christi. He absolutely killed it then and absolutely killed it at this show. His smile is infectious, he’s a madman on stage, and best of all, his music is great too. Songs like Johnny Walker and Bad Bad Things have solid studio versions but take on new lives when they’re played live, especially the outro of Bad Bad Things. The song goes into double time for it and it’s a huge burst of energy every time he plays it. He also brought out party host Slade Coulter to perform their duet Burnout together. I had heard the two sing it together at the aforementioned Corpus show but it was a lot cooler to hear it this time now that it’s been released and has racked up 1.6 million streams on Spotify and has people singing along to it.

Following Stelly, the host of the fest Slade Coulter took the stage for a rowdy hour-long set. I’ve written about my experiences seeing Slade before for this station but I’ll do a quick recap. The first time I saw him was awful and it wasn’t his fault, he played a welcome week event on campus to about 100 people who couldn’t care any less about him. The second time I saw him was also opening for Parker McCollum and while he played to more people, the same thing happened where no one cared about him. The third time was at Cotton Fest and he definitely was more appreciated that afternoon but there was still something that hadn’t really clicked for me. Maybe it’s because I finally saw him play to his own crowd or maybe it’s because I had gotten to know him a ton the day before and talked to him a bunch the day of the show but this set was magic.

Just from his opener Coming Back Around, Coulter’s stage presence and energy were extremely strong and he and his band just continued to fire on all cylinders. Other set highlights included huge sing-alongs to Stay and Hey Mary where you could tell Coulter was soaking in every moment. I also loved his performance of But Me which is an extremely explosive song live. Lead guitarist Clay Spidle is a force to be reckoned with performing live. I don’t think he stayed put in one spot for more than 10 seconds, always moving around the stage and standing on the speakers right in front of the barricades while ripping great solos. His set finished with Take It out on Me, described by himself as the favorite song he’s ever written and it was the perfect bow to wrap on his set.

Finally, to close out day 2, the legendary Wade Bowen took the stage to close out the fest. Bowen is one of the first artists I fell in love with in this scene so getting to see him on his home turf and also getting to shoot his set was a pretty sentimental moment for me. The show was special for Bowen too. Earlier in the day, he had posted a picture of The Blue Light’s stage on his Instagram saying that the stage “as a youngster gave me all the courage and forgiveness I needed to try and figure this music thing out.” He gave another speech right before he played Who I Am saying that without The Blue Light, he wouldn’t be anyone.

I’ll be honest though, Bowen’s set got off to a pretty lukewarm start in my opinion. When I Woke Up Today kicked the show off with a bang but the setlist had a pretty weird pace for the rest of the evening. It would speed up, then it would slow down, speed back up for two songs, then another slow burner. I don’t think the set really reached a comfortable pace until Honky Tonk Roll which was right in the middle of the set and absolutely ripped live. However, I won’t go too hard on this point though because Bowen and his now 3-piece band are still great live. Bowen also played a show that made me realize just how many great songs he’s put out across his career from Mood Ring to You Had Me At My Best to Trouble, he’s written so many songs that I’d consider classics in this genre and it’s always a treat to hear them live.

I don’t know if this fest will continue in its two-day, one inside one outside format but I was a huge fan of it. I want to thank Slade Coulter, Jacob Stelly, Paxton Waitman, and Dalton Domino for their kindness over the weekend and to Dalton especially for pulling the strings to get me into the first night of the fest. I had an amazing time and hope I can be invited back next time!

Slade Coulter’s debut album, Best of Me, will be released on Wednesday, November 16 wherever you stream your music. He’s celebrating the release with a free show at The Blue Light on Tuesday, November 15. I will be there and I hope I see a lot of you there as well!

(Also, Slade, if you read this, please let me listen to the album early. I promise I’m a fan and not just a lousy wannabe journalist.)