Two Step Inn 2023 - Saturday - Schedule and Thoughts

A new festival!  Yeehaw!  I'm sure this won't click with much of the core audience of folks who have followed me for their ACL lineups, but I think this could still be fun anyway.  

I have no clue how transportation will be, or what the stage layout will be like, food choices, beer choices, security checks, or really anything about this festival at all.  None.  But I fully expect that the people running it, with their long knowledge of the ACL Fest, will know how to make it work out.  BUT!  I'm going to do a little research and hopefully provide a little info on another post.

A few prelude thoughts for this who may be unfamiliar with this blog:

• The comments for each band are those "One Liner" things that I added to my reviews. It helps me to remember who they are (sometimes) and provides some detail on the kind of music they play.  Every once in a while they make me giggle too.
• I've made each band name a link so that you can go read the full review and listen to some tunes if you are unswayed by the One Liner.

Playlist!

Here we go:

Poor Calder Allen (Solid singer-songwriter type with chill tunes and a good pedigree)  gets the noon slot, all by himself.  Hopefully that means he gets a huge crowd of people rabid to hear the first thing that pops off.  I have a feeling that means he'll have a handful of people out there baking in the sun and waiting for the bigger names.

And the times are pretty staggered, in a way that ACL is not, so some of these times will get wonky.  Just trying to present it in a way to show what choices you need to make...

12:30/12:45/1:00

Big River (12:30)	Nikki Lane: "First Lady of Outlaw Country"
Showdeo (1:00)	Doug Stone: Mr. Sensitive!
Country Curious (12:45)	Ben Burgess: Tough guy who has written some hit songs for others finally doing his own outlaw-ish thing

I'm a Nikki Lane fan for sure.  Her sound is more rock and roll than country, but I really like it.

1:45 and 2:30

Big River (1:45)	Charles Wesley Godwin: Zach Bryan's wingman making coal dust country
Showdeo (2:30)	David Lee Murphy: The "Dust on the Bottle" guy
Country Curious (1:45)	Alana Springsteen: Rising star with pop-forward "country" tunes that remind me of Taylor Swift

I think here I'd go watch Godwin - maybe you'll get a Zach Bryan appearance! - and then go catch the tail end of Murphy to hear "Dust on the Bottle."

3:00/ 3:15

Big River (3:15)	Tanya Tucker: She's a classic country star, but I don't recognize much of this
Country Curious (3)	Charlie Robison: An old favorite, back from the dead, for more boozy fun

BRUTAL!  My instinct is still to go see Robison, just because he is an old favorite, but then I've never gotten to see Tucker before, so that may be the right choice to expand my musical horizons.

4:00/ 4:30

Showdeo (4)	Diamond Rio: 90's Nashville country, power harmonies, supreme mullets, and that "Meet in the Middle" tune
Country Curious (4:30)	Uncle Kracker: Lite-rock semi-rapper with Kid Rock's help turned lite-country guy

Might just go get a corn dog and a beer during this hour.  I guess I'd pick Diamond Rio.  I do not care for the Uncle Kracker experience.

5:00/ 5:30/ 6:00

Big River (5)	Travis Tritt: "It's a Great Day to Be Alive" is an amazing tune, plus a bunch of rockin' originals
Showdeo (5:30)	Shenandoah: Ex-session musicians churning out 80's country gold
Country Curious (6)	Niko Moon: Trap beats and mega-generic good times lyrics with a tiny country flair

Tritt's biggest song is a killer, but I'd probably prefer to go see Shenandoah.  Not strong feelings either way, except that I definitely do not want to see Mr. Moon.

6:45/ 7:15/ 7:30

Big River (5)	Midland: Modern, good-looking purveyors of the sound of the rest of this poster
Showdeo (5:30)	Jo Dee Messina: "I'm Alright is a really nice song."  I wish I had more to say about her?
Country Curious (6)	T-Pain: The King of Auto-Tune

No thing definitely sticks out here as the one I just have to see.  I'd probably lean towards Midland just because they are kind of the up-and-coming one here who may make a bigger name for themselves.

8:30: Zach Bryan.  Excellent low-key singer-songwriter Americana.

I'm looking forward to seeing him again.  I wonder how large the crowd is going to be at this Festival.  Like, do I need to skip the show beforehand to be able to see the guy?  Or will it be fine to cruise up close around 8?