The Friday night portion of Falls Fest 2012 turned out to be a great kickoff to the annual event.
There were plenty of activities located in and around Lucy Park for attendees to do, including a rock wall climb, a mini carnival, various food vendors from the area such as Fuzzy’s Tacos, Golden Chick and Ghengis Grill and plenty of beer and alcoholic beverages for the over-21 crowd at the beer tent.
The majority of the night was dedicated to music, with headliner Kevin Fowler set to cap off the evening.
Local favorites Shantell kicked the night off at 7 p.m. with their mix of country and classic rock ‘n’ roll.
The band played through their crowd-favorite covers of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues,” Def Leopard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and Trick Pony’s “Pour Me,” as well as their original songs “The Legacy You Left Behind,” a song about a friend who died too young, and “The Hate Song.”
The crowd reacted well to Shantell’s stage presence and the band put on a great opening set.
Unfortunately, some technical difficulties disrupted the band’s last song, but they continued to play through it.
Once Shantell’s set was over, another local favorite took the stage.
The Tyler Rushing Band came out at 8 p.m. and played through a strong set of their brand of Texas Country.
Rushing’s band has grown quite a following in the last few years due to his constant touring around the area and radio play on 94.9 The Outlaw.
Their set consisted mostly of songs off their debut album, Highway 82, but Rushing did throw in a few covers from Old Crowe Medicine Show and Waylon Jennings as well.
Rushing did his best to get the crowd warmed up for the final act, but the highlight of the set wasn’t any particular song he and his band played, but rather the impromptu proposal to his longtime girlfriend in the middle of the stage.
Around 9:30 p.m., Kevin Fowler finally took the stage to bring the night to a close after his roadies safely secured his musical equipment from getting damaged by the rain that was starting to come down at this point. Fowler kicked his set off welcoming everyone to “The Church of Hank Williams” and ripped through a rousing rendition of his hit “The Lord Loves a Drinkin’ Man.”
High energy and nostalgic song choices such as “Don’t Touch My Willie,” “The Best Mistake I Ever Made,” “Long Line of Losers” and “Hard Man to Love” filled Fowler’s set with much approval from the audience.
By the end of Fowler’s set, the rain began to pour with full force, but that didn’t stop his diehard fans from sticking around and having a good time.
Fowler and his band definitely made staying out in the storm worth every bit of it.
While Friday-goers braved through the storm of Falls Fest 2012, Saturday wasn’t so lucky, as more rain and weather problems forced the event to call it quits earlier than expected, around 6 p.m.
Nonetheless, this year’s Falls Fest delivered on the promise of good times with good friends and good music.