Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown Tour Hits Eufaula Oklahoma For A Party At The Cove!
If anyone knows how to throw a party it is Willie Nelson and his friends! This summer that rowdy bunch was Willie, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Jack Ingram, Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert, Craig Campbell, Lukas Nelson (Willie’s son) & Promise of the Real, Drake White, Caitlyn Smith, Erin Enderlin, Adam Hood, Dani Flowers, Brent Cobb, Tyler Reeve, and Austin Lucas. The 2nd Annual Country Throwdown Tour was little over a month, starting May 28 in Philadelphia and ending tonight, July 4, in Fort Worth. I was lucky enough to get my country fix in Eufaula, Ok on July 2 after an awesome day at the lake!
I regret to say I missed a couple performers, I’m very sad about it and have made it my mission to catch them the next chance I get. My only excuse is I was trying to find Willie on the lake! I spent the 4th of July weekend with a lifelong friend and her family on the water. As we were leaving the marina around noon, we got word that Willie was just there, the same dock as us! I tried and I tried to see those braids catching some sun on a boat all afternoon but unfortunately was unsuccessful.
Once we made it to the amphitheater I realized we had missed Lee Brice, heartbroken I held my chin up in excitement for the artists I was soon to see. My group caught the tail end of Brantley Gilbert’s show on the side stage as we were walking in and was pleasantly surprised in the very small window of time (I’m talking minutes) until the next performer, Randy Houser, took the main stage. He started off with his hit “Boots On” and never dropped his energy until after his last song “Whistlin’ Dixie“!
In between “stage” performer was a group of songwriters from the “Bluebird Cafe Stage“. They were an awesome addition to the day, keeping live music flowing at all times. I really enjoyed Caitlyn Smith’s “Hank Drank” and the good-timing-party-having attitudes of Brent Cobb, Tyler Reeve, and Adam Hood!
Jack Ingram, who only toured June 30 through July 3, seemed to have a different look, but the same voice! He had the crowd going with songs like “Love You“, “Barbie Doll“, and “Barefoot And Crazy“. Jamey Johnson was the last performer before Willie and he put on one hell of a show! He was joined on stage a couple different times, once with Lucas Nelson, once with Dani Flowers, and once with three little girls to sing his song “In Color“. Another treat he had for the Oklahoma crowd was his cover of Don Williams’ “Tulsa Time“!
Once the legend took the stage all bets were off! Nelson had the cove roaring with excitement as he famously opened with his classic “Whiskey River“. It seemed like he never took a breath, flowing from one song to another, “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys“, “Beer For My Horses“, “On The Road Again“, “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground“, “Always On My Mind“, “Crazy“, and tons more! A couple of my favorites were the songs “Me And Paul“, a song he wrote about him and his longtime drummer and friend Paul English and “Flooding Down In Texas“, which he performed with his son Lucas. When singing a party favorite, “Move It On Over“, he threw off his hat and caused a bit of riot (all in good fun). The last song of the night was a gospel mix of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken” and “I’ll Fly Away” with everybody from the tour on stage!
In true country music style, there were some to the core fans! Some were young, some were old, some were happy, others were fighting, some were eating, some were drinking, but they were ALL having a great time! It really was an excellent experience worth every penny! Fireworks filled the sky while some of my favorite lyrics were sang and made it an American Birthday I’ll never forget!