On August 19, the Odeon hosts a special evening with eight accomplished singer-songwriters and musicians from Mason and the surrounding counties. The concert will feature performances by artists well known to Hill Country audiences, including Wes Creech, John Gammill, David Hanschek, Luke Johansen, Justin McFarland, Colleen Miller, Daryl Watson and Matt Zarder. This promises to be a not-to-be-missed evening of outstanding entertainment.
Meet the performers
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San Antonio native Wes Creech grew up with the sounds of classic country and old cowboy tunes. He purchased his first guitar in his teens and started mixing in 90’s rock with his best Willie Nelson and Tom T. Hall impressions. During Creech’s college days in Kerrville, he participated in the folk-rock evolution of the area, and did a short stint with a Kerrville-based psychedelic folk band The Stacks. In 2013, shortly after moving to New Braunfels, Creech started learning new styles of guitar playing including fingerpicking Piedmont, Travis style and slide guitar in various types of tunings. Today, he still enjoys resurrecting endangered tunes that were given up long ago and reinterpreting them to 21st century audiences, singing in a voice that’s warm and expressive.
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Mason resident John Gammill is a fixture of the Hill Country music scene. Playing bass guitar for over 35 years, he has performed countless shows with groups including The Cosmic Dust Devils, the Ben Beckendorf Band, Hundred Fold Seed, Crystal Lyons, Jimmy Davis and the Fritztown Revival, 29 East, and Dave Hanscheck and the Hail Mary Band. He’s also recorded with producers Stephen Doster, Corby Shaub, and Mark Addison. He’s shared the stage and studio with Will Owen Gage, JJ Johnson, Billy Masters, Dub Miller, and John Leon, and more. He has also played on TMA award-winning albums Find Your Shine and Ghosts of the American Road.
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With musical roots that run deep on River Road in New Braunfels, David Hanscheck has spent a lifetime developing a sound that combines the rhythm of southern rock with the story telling and poetry of folk. A little country, a little rock and roll, and a whole lotta heart, David has found a sound that pays homage to music of the past with a modern day crowd pleasing twist.
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Luke Johanson is a singer/ songwriter out of Menard, Texas, where he and his family operate a small farm (Johanson Farm) and own a restaurant/ music venue (Summerland Public House). Born and raised in Boston, Luke was introduced to music and storytelling at a young age. He attended the acting program at The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago and pursued his acting career in Los Angeles, where he met his wife Sarah. Luke and Sarah spent the next few years traveling the country, writing and performing together. Luke's writing reflects his experiences with travel, relationships, and love and loss.
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Mason resident Justin McFarland’s passion is writing lyrics that tell distilled stories, contemplate the good life, and at times ponder the mystery behind it all. The music that moves the lyric is grassroots with a little alternative edge when the mood fits. His musical experience is woven together from 15 years of song writing and 25 years of performing a variety of genres from blues and jazz to gospel and alternative. Straightforward Americana music with occasional overdrive. Music and lyric are gifts from God for good conversations, from the powerful and profound to the jesting and light-hearted. These musical conversations shape our lives, sometimes providing the backdrop and soundtrack, while at other times offering the very key to making sense of it all for a particular moment in the journey.
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Colleen Michelle Miller is a south Texas native with a real knack for performance and songwriting. In a state filled to the brim with country and folk talent, Colleen's powerful voice and thoughtful lyrics make her stand out among the fray. Colleen spent her youth inspired by country music legends like Loretta Lynn, LeeAnn Womack, Alison Krauss, and Dolly Parton. Over the course of several years singing and performing, she has branched out to other forms of American roots music and acquired a sound that blends Texas sensibilities with bluegrass energy and folksy originality.
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Daryl James Watson was born into a heritage of Texas Music. His father, Carl "Fats" Watson, at 17, loaded up his '57 Chevy with his Epiphone, and teen heartthrobs Ken Cook and Roy Orbison, and headed to Sun Studio in Memphis. Elvis was on tour but gave the West Texas boys carte blanche to hang out at Graceland while they recorded. Learning from his dad, Daryl, at 14, was already playing in bars, American Legion Halls and caliche pits. He took his dad's punchy fingerpicking style and took it to the next generation. "It was the only way I could whoop up on him," Daryl says. "If I didn't out pick him, he would have thought he failed." Daryl's unique style of thumping bass lines while picking has gotten the most frigid Texas honkytonks up and dancing.
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Matthew Zarder’s musical style weaves together the gentle threads of folk and bluegrass, adorned with subtle hints of Texana. His unique fingerpicking style, born of the fusion of classical right-hand guitar technique and the evocative sounds of bluegrass banjo translated through a six string guitar, lends his music a distinct and captivating quality. Drawing inspiration from the melancholic storytelling of the late nineties and early 2000s indie folk scene, Matthew's songwriting captures the essence of raw emotions and intimate narratives. In 2022, Matthew took a significant step forward in his musical career, releasing his first full studio Indie Rock EP titled “American Machine” with producer, drummer and keysmith Marshall O’neil under the pen name “Plaintiff.”
Tickets are $25 per person if purchased in advance and $30 at the door (cash only at the door). Tickets may be purchased below with a credit card or Paypal. Please note, tickets are NOT issued. Your receipt is your ticket. Please print and bring with you or be able show receipt on your phone. Your name will appear on the WILL CALL list at the door.
NEW: Students 18 and under $10 at the door, if seats are available
For additional concert information and questions regarding reservations, email concerts@TheOdeonTheater.com.
Wine will be available for purchase by the glass and bottle from 1900 Vineyards & Winery.
Doors open at 6:15 p.m.