Dyer Highway

I know it's been awhile since I've written.
I've been meaning to share my new find, Dyer Highway.
I've been so excited to write about them, but every time I try to I have no words.
So I will stutter and stumble through this and hope it conveys what I feel.
Sometimes things are felt with the heart and nearly impossible to say with words.

On December 19, 2011 my family and I went to Wheeler Farm to see a Charley Jenkins concert.
The excitement in the air was tangible and I knew something great was about to take place.
The concert was in the barn, it was comfy cozy, and since it was a Christmas concert I couldn't help but think about the birth of Christ.
He was born in a stable and I thought the setting of the concert was perfect.
The lights dimmed and the first band was announced.
Dyer Highway, a young family band from Delta Utah.
I sat back in  my chair ready to take it all in.
Tel Dyer (lead singer and guitarist) and his sister's Tiann Dyer (bass)  and Mady Dyer (fiddle) started singing acapella.
Their voices mixed perfectly. I was instantly intrigued.
I was no longer relaxing in my chair, I was sitting on the edge of my seat and smiling.
I couldn't stop.

Good sound and good lyrics make a band good.
What takes a band beyond being good is if they can create emotion in their listeners.
If you can make the people in the crowd feel something you're golden and you've done your job as an artist.
This band did just that.
They are better than good; they are what Country music is all about.
I was blown away with their performance.

Tiann Dyer shredded the fiddle.
She was truly amazing; there is no other way to say it.
She has a beautiful voice that is captivating; I could have listened to them play for hours.
At the young age of 16 she has the opportunity to play with Charley Jenkins band.

Mady Dyer is 14 and played the bass.
She was a ton of fun to watch.
She had a spunky personality that seeped through onto the stage with her performance.

Tel Dyer is 19 and is a phenomenal entertainer.
Being an entertainer is more than singing a few songs to some people and calling it good.
It is making the audience feel like they are a part of something more.
Making them feel included, which he did with his witty comments and fun presence.
I had the chance to meet him and shake his hand after the show; he was a real gentleman and very kind.

The Dyer's are all very talented and I believe they're going places with their music.
Join me and jump on the fan wagon.

Again my words do no justice...
You need to discover them for yourself.
Click here to visit their web site.
Click here to watch their music video "Very Last First Time"
They wrote this song while they were waiting outside the recording studio in Nashville this summer.
Click here to like them on Facebook.
You can see them live New Years Eve. They will be performing with the Nashville Tribute Band, click here for more info :)

The band

The ticket

The barn

A tribute to Charley Jenkins coming up next so keep checking in to find great new bands :)

Katy McAllister

isn't country but I heard about her last night and I can't stop listening to her. This girl has a very unique and beautiful voice. Click here to hear Jupiter {no pun intended}. She has an array of original songs that will knock your sockies right off, so when you have a minute give them a listen. You can go to her Facebook page here.

In Fall of 2009 Katy made the decision to pursue her musical dream. She recently got together with musician/producer Tyler Ward to record her debut single, "Here's To The Heartbreakers" 

"This girl is going to be the next Colbie Caillat or Taylor Swift," says Tyler. "Her song writing is unreal and her voice is incredibly unique". (McAllister Facebook).

Support her cause Two Hands For Kenya.


Works Cited:

McAllister, Katy. "Katy McAllister." Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec 2011. <http://www.facebook.com/KatyMcAllisterMusic?v=info

Falling for Country

I grew up listening to 90's Country music. I loved Mark Wills, Blackhawk, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina, Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, and my idols were the Dixie Chicks. I would set up a stage made of bars stools and coffee tables in my living room and sing for my mom. I thought I was the fourth member of the Dixie Chicks. When I was five I knew all the words to "When You Were Mine". I remember I would sing it to my neighbors, bless their good hearts. I loved them so much that when everyone started boycotting them, I hid my tapes and CD's and claimed that I didn't know where they were. I was scared someone was going to take them from me and throw them in the waste bin. My 9 years old self wasn’t going to let that happen.

But when I hit the 6th grade I became the ruler of the school. With that new title I had a reputation to uphold. I wanted to be independent and listen to my own style of music. It was Pop Rock for me. I didn't really pay much attention to Country again until my junior year of High School when I met a boy named Trent Ingram. To this day he is the world's BIGGEST country fanatic, in a good way of course. He would try to get me to listen to Garth Brooks and I would laugh and change the song. One time he reset all the channels in my car to Country stations, I was too stubborn to learn how to fix it {it was a 21 year old car and the process was much different than the newer cars. Don't judge} so I tolerated the music and listened to it on my drives to and from dance lessons. I caught myself singing along to old familiar songs and tapping my foot with the beet. My inner child came alive and I couldn't stop listening to it. I got home from lessons one day and put all my old Country CD's on my iPod.

A few weeks later Trent had convinced me to give good ol' Garth Brooks {basically the king of 90's Country, I have no idea how that fan train passed me up} a listen to. I distinctly remember where I was when I listen to "Every Now and Then". I was driving alone in my car, it was dark outside and the music flowed from the speakers and into my heart. Tears welled up in my eyes and I was horrified that a song could make me feel so sad. It was the best awful song I'd ever heard. I was feeling raw emotion in its purest form. I pulled over, stopped the car, and gave Trent a ring. I was gonna give that boy a piece of my mind. When he answered I'm sure I sounded upset and I demanded why he would let me to listen to that terrible song. I told him I hated it, it was so heartbreaking. I asked him endless questions about why those two people couldn't be together. They clearly were perfect for each other. His reply was simple and kind he chuckled a little at how upset I was and said, "Tami, it's just a song. Plus, that's why I love Garth Brooks and Country music so much. It makes you feel something real." After that I listened to Garth Brooks almost daily. I fell in love with the emotions his songs created in me. Music had never made me feel that way before. It turned into a passion, a wild fire burning out of control. I started going to concerts as much as I could and I would hang on to every word that artists would say. My favorite things is when they talk to the crowd and share something personal, like what inspired a specific song.

I wasn't really a big dreamer until all this happened, and I can't put my finger on the exact moment it triggered. In fact I don't think it was one moment. I think it was a cluster of moments. It was being a Dixie Chick in my living room as a child, getting my first Blackhawk CD, going to my first concert, meeting Trent, getting my heart broken by Garth Brooks, and it was the first time I picked up a pen to write my emotions down on paper. Those moments changed me. They shaped me. It truly is the small and simple things in life that make all the difference. Thank you mamma for bringing Country music into our home, thank you Aunt Reeda for giving me your Blackhawk CD just because I loved it, thank you big sister for taking me to my first concert. Thank you Garth Brooks for following your dreams, but most of all thank you Trent Ingram for coming into my life and sharing your passion with me.

Summer of '09

Didn't change my life, but it made a difference.

My sister and I wanted to spice up our summer but we didn't know how.

We got online and looked up fun ideas.

The decision was made; we would go to a concert.

Secondhand Serenade was coming to town and we could afford them.

I knew a couple of their popular songs but I wasn't a die-hard fan or anything.

It was an outdoor concert {little did I know outdoor concerts would soon become my favorite}.

The band Parachute opened for them, I didn't know them at the time but I am currently a die-hard fan for them, check them out!!

This concert was the first of many for me and would lead me to my passion:

Concerts.

More than that:

Country music.

Thus began my love affair.

This picture was taken at a Secondhand Serenade concert Summer of 2010 with a band member from Runner Runner