Pam Tillis

From the moment that Pam Tillis walked out on stage, it was evident that she was totally at home in front of the huge crowd, and her guitar was simply an extension of herself through which she was expressing her music. Although she’s been performing since the 80s, she hasn’t lost her magic at all, and her incredible talent both on the guitar and vocally, really shone through and reminded everyone in the crowd why she’s achieved so much success. Her country music set journeyed through up beat tracks, as well as the slower ballads, to which she had everyone singing along.

Throughout the show, I think Tillis succeeded in having the crowd on their feet pretty much from start to finish, swaying and dancing along when appropriate. The way that she has so much control over her vocals is amazing, and the trills and improvisations that don’t appear on her recordings were simply magical to hear live. She played a great set, and played all of her hits from over the years, and even let the audience shout out requests for her. Towards the end of the show, she focused on Dos Divas, her newest album, and even revealed that she’s working on new material, which was met with huge applause from the crowd. She’s incredibly talented, and hopefully she’ll keep writing and performing for many years to come.

You would think that after 19 years of playing as a collective, Little Texas may be growing quite bored of each other and struggling for new inspiration... but you would be very mistaken indeed. Consistency is the key for a band to be successful in an extended time frame, and Little Texas certainly have the right ingredients to be legendary in the country music scene. Despite having a seven year hiatus, the band bounced back stronger than ever in 2004, something that gave their fans massive smiles across their faces. I had the chance to watch Little Texas live at the Boathouse on Myrtle Beach in South California. The thing that strikes you instantly about the quartet is that even though they have the hairstyles and menacing guitars of punk rockers, they usually have a simplistic yet catchy vibe to most of their tunes. The song 'Amy's Back In Austin' certainly seemed to be a crowd favourite for mainly this reason as everyone tapped their foot along as to the lyrics of Porter Howell. The band also played the hit 'Kick A Little', a tune with a lot more rock influence that give bassist Duane Props and drummer Del Gray a chance to shine more with their musical talents.
My favourite song of the night was 'Some Guys Have All The Love', a number that particularly got my head nodding due to its intricate guitar riffs underneath the chord sequence and also more of a peculiar rhythm. The chorus is also great and very easy to sing along to. It's impressive to hear a band like Little Texas cover a range of country styles, and with such versatility on show, their tour is one not to miss!