Oh yeah, everybody's events were wiped out; Larry Joe Taylor, Gary P Nunn, even Ryan Bingham, and his was just a week after mine. Everything was wiped out, mine is the only one that happened and it was like it was meant to be. You know once you find out what you're meant to do on this Earth you're pretty much screwed because you can either go do it or shake your fist at God every miserable step of your life. So I decided I better go ahead and do this. Do you still enjoy this path you are on? Making songs come to life still excites me and that's why I surround myself with the people I think are the best. Players like Kenny Grimes (guitar), Herb Belofsky (drums), and Randy Johnson. Heck, Randy's been playing bass for me for 20 years. These players are really good at what they do and can forget about who they are and just play the song. They make those songs come to life. It’s just like birthin’ and the baby - 5 tours of Europe, 14 music festivals, 12 albums of original music, and here we are! I Believe on SteamMagazineRadio.net we are playing Gary P Nunn’s cow pasture pool. It’s a popular tune. I wrote that at Lady Bird Johnson Park while golfing. It was Celebrity Benefit so I was kind of in shock when they called me; I figured they must have run out of real celebrities. Anyway, Chris Wall and Billy Joe Shaver were there and somebody got stuck with me and I got a song out of it. KPAN was one of the hosts so they started playing it right away. Some great songs have been written or at least started on golf courses. How often do you play here at the Back Porch, about once a month? No, I do 5 shows a year; which is probably more than anybody in the history of the world. It’s five shows because they really really like me here. And what I think they like most is that every show I do is different. It's not canned; I don't get up there and say the same funny things every time. What people like is to hear entertainers interact with the audience and hear your songs.
so I tried. I got up and did three songs, one cover so they’d recognize it and two of my own. I did a Waylon Jennings tune because I figured everybody likes that and at the end, they did a little clap and asked "can you dance?” and I said, “Well I can with a girl. I can waltz and polka and two-step, but by myself holding a guitar? That would be a little unnatural for me.” And I remember their words right after that… “NEXT!” But hey, I got to skip the cattle call and go right to the regional competition, so that was an honor. You know, people say they can dance with a guitar but honestly if you get twisted in that wire and fall it’s not a pretty thing. I'll tell you what though; I'll never forget “Can you dance?” I always tell people if you can’t dance they should play the music! Speaking of which, I didn't realize 24 bands are playing your festival on June 11th and 12th. Do you have two stages? No, I used to and we would alternate between the Dancehall and an outdoor stage but people were having to get up and move their chairs and all that, so we use the Ryan Bingham Stage. Ryan's first festival was in Luckenbach and one of the requirements was to build a huge stage over the creek. Since then we've just been outside on the big stage where you can seat 2,000 people comfortably. Do you split the stage so that one band play while the next can set up? Nope, there’s 20 minutes between sets and sound check is on the fly, but a lot of these groups are duos and trios and build up to the bigger shows later in the day. Our first festival featured Billy Joe Shaver Friday night and Gary P
Nunn on Saturday night. You know if you go back and look at who we've featured, like Bruce Robison and Hal Ketchum, they're just all wonderful people. Honestly hosting this festival is like a dream come true. Well, I can’t wait to go. This will be our first year! This is going to be the best show yet. We’ve got Jamie Richards on Friday night and Dale Watson on Saturday night. Jamie is a nice guy who has eight #1 Texas hits and he’ll play my Festival. That is a nice guy! So what should we know or expect? There is only one rule and it's not a secret. No Assholes. I want people that are here to make the world a better place. People are going to have fun; they’re going to bring their happiness with them and share it with the world because it's going to enrich everybody's lives. That's what it did last year; in the middle of the COVID crisis, this festival lifted everybody's spirits during a time we needed it most. And that's what music is to me and why I'm on Earth; to bring music and laughter to people who need it the most. Is that why you’re here? I am here to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfort and I would rather stir shit up than pat you on the back. For those people who think they know everything and don't need to learn anything that's what I’m here for… to shove them just a little off-balance, make them open their eyes and think. My daddy taught me, “School is never out, son. Keep on learning.” THOMASMICHAELRIELY.COM FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE, SPOTIFY, IHEART, PANDORA
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You are very good at talking and interacting with the crowd. Yeah, I treat it just like sitting around a table and chatting; just like we are now. Honestly, if you are yourself it just comes naturally and you don't have to practice. That’s good advice. So you don't stand in front of the mirror practicing? No, but I did try for one of those "find-a-star" kind of shows about 20 years ago. Somebody gave my name to one of those and I got a call for it, STEAMMAGAZINE.NET JUNE 2020 STEAM MAGAZINE 15