Reflecting after the hourlong, 16-track set at his first Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo performance since 2004, country music pioneer Dwight Yoakam expressed a quote from his musical mentor Buck Owens, referring to the 66,155 folks in attendance that evening: “It takes people like y’all to make people like us.”
Although I’m grateful for Mr. Yoakam’s sentiment, it would be disingenuous to have called myself a fan before entering the NRG Stadium gates on Saturday. In fact, my cousin and I agreed that our only recollection of music is when “Guitars, Cadillacs” made an appearance in the bar scene of “Terminator 2.” The good news is that I left with a crisp understanding of the Bakersfield sound, how to properly cover a Queen song country-style, and why it is essential for a prominent honky tonk vocalist to have proper instrumental support.
Yoakam’s music is “Neo-Traditionalist,” fighting the Nashville pop-ification of country music that was especially prevalent during the “MTV Revolution” and the period of 70s pop artists shifting to country in order to save their professional careers. Yoakam, along with fellow artists like George Strait, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, and Vince Gill, preserved the sound of country forefathers like Hank Williams and the aforementioned Buck Owens, often with a twangy Fender Telecaster in their hands.
Keeping tradition in the limelight, Yoakam quietly took center stage and opened with “Keep on the Sunny Side,” a country music staple written in 1899 (!) and covered by everyone from The Carter Family to Brad Paisley. Throughout the night, Yoakam would blend covers with originals. He drew inspiration from Elvis on a number of levels, from guitarist Eugene Edwards’ fashion choices to his vocal cadences in his cover of “Little Sister,” to which I adjusted my ears to an “Elvis setting” to understand him properly. Later in the show, he broke out signature dance moves for his cover of Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” a combo that I did not expect nor know has been in existence for 25+ years – but I appreciated it nonetheless.
Yoakam’s band deserves a great deal of credit. Guitarist Eugene Edwards played a handful of electric solos, none more prominent than “Fast as You.” He also switched to a Spanish Mandolin for “Turn it On, Turn it Up, Turn Me Loose,” a very pleasant first sight for me. Multi-Instrumentalist Brian Whelan showed out with a little fiddle action on “Guitars, Cadillacs.”
Overall, Yoakam’s performance tugs at the soul of RODEOHOUSTON: a positive reminder that beneath the dystopian AI-slop stadium entertainment and the “Crown Royal Military Salute,” the heart of the rodeo still beats to the timeless rhythm of country music and dusty Texas tradition.
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