From Currentland.com.... Grape Ranch hosts annual Red Dirt music festival

Grape Ranch hosts annual Red Dirt music festival

By Professor Cletus

Summer is wholly upon us and drawing to an end as August rolls around once again. School will be starting soon. The hot breeze will be replaced by cooler winds. The excitement the young ones feel in the wide open summer months will fade as they have to return to school. The leisure of the hot season will be replaced with the urgency of late summer, a dawn to the days of autumn. Currentlandians will try and grasp one last glimpse of summer fun. It will all culminate on Labor Day Weekend, the last glorious chance to retreat into summer fun. - one last excuse to pull out the lawn chairs, coolers, tents, sleeping bags, bug spray, sunscreen and all of the other accessories to help you enjoy said summer fun. And what could be more fun than a festival celebrating Oklahoma’s Red Dirt music and Oklahoma’s own grape-born libation, the wine of Grape Ranch in Okemah?

The Red Dirt Harvest festival will take place on Sept. 1 - 2 this year. It will be held at the Grape Ranch which is six miles south of Okemah. Attendees will have the opportunity to fill their last summer weekend with the sounds of many regional musicians and bask in the sunshine (hopefully) one more time. Accompanying the music this year will be wine tasting, bocce ball, great food, communal camping amongst a grove of pecan trees and all your friends new and old. That aside, let’s talk about some of the musicians that will be there this year.

The complete line-up includes Stoney LaRue, the Red Dirt Rangers, No Justice, The Mike McClure Band, Brandon Jenkins, Tom Skinner, Travis Linville, Dustin Pittsley, Jared Tyler, Hosty Duo, Travis Kidd and John Fullbright. Let’s focus on a few that maybe you need more information about, shall we?

Tom Skinner has been writing and playing music in Oklahoma for a few decades now, and if you haven’t heard of him, then you must not like music very much. He and his brothers, Mike and Craig, are basically Red Dirt legends. Tom’s songs have been recorded by the Great Divide, the Red Dirt Rangers, and Medicine Show. He is an integral part of the whole Red Dirt phenomenon. Some would say he helped start it. His Louisiana based friendship with Mike West led to CD releases on West’s Binky Records label, thus giving Skinner some more well-deserved exposure. Along with his solo performances, he is currently playing bass for the Mike McClure Band, so you’ll have ample opportunities to see him play this Labor Day weekend. For more info, Google his name or visit his Myspace page.

Mike McClure is an accomplished producer as well as a performer in the Texas and Red Dirt music scenes. His production credits include projects with bands like Jason Boland and the Stragglers, Cross Canadian Ragweed, The Great Divide, and many, many others. His band’s line-up is as follows: McClure on guitar and vocals, the aforementioned Tom Skinner on bass, John Paul Jones on piano, and Eric Hansen on drums. You can visit www.mikemcclureband.com for more information or become friends with them on Myspace.

Brandon Jenkins, from Austin, Tex., will be another notable artist amongst a list of notable artists at the festival. He has just released his seventh CD, appropriately entitled VII. The band consists of Jenkins on guitar and vocals, Jesse Frost on drums, and Tony Valdez on bass. This Texas singer/songwriter/Rocker will be a welcome addition to this year’s line-up for sure. Check it all out at www.brandonjenkins.com or at his Myspace page as well.

John Fullbright, according to his Myspace page (www.myspace.com/johnrussellfullbright), hails from Highway 48 in Oklahoma. He will be bringing his unique style of Folk to the stage at 5:15 p.m. on Sunday.

Travis Linville. The man, the myth, the legend will grace the festy stage on Sunday as well. Linville makes his home in Norman, Okla., and came to fame playing numerous gigs with his former band, the Burtschi Brothers. Striking out on his own, he is making quite a name for himself with his brand of Country-Swing-Rock-Folk-Linvillish-Stuff. Delve deeper into the Linville enigma at www.travislinvillemusic.com or visit him on Myspace as well.