Texas Country Music Festival

Taking the stage at the El Paso County Coliseum for the first time, the Texas Country Music Fest will launch its inaugural festival on Saturday, Feb. 25.

The festival will feature headlining country band, Josh Abbott Band, and will feature performances from country music stars Wade Bowen and Tracy Lawrence.

Prior to the show, the music festival will host a Corona Extra Patio Pre-Party from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. outside the coliseum. The pre-party will offer live music from artists such as Hunter Hutchinson and Joe Barron, who is a local opener. Along with the music, food and drinks, other activities will commence prior to the show.

Kicking off the show will be the multi-platinum CMA and ACM-award winning Lawrence. Growing up in his humble home of Atlanta, Texas, Lawrence has been rocking in the country music scene for over two decades. He was a part of the mainstream rise of rock-tinged honky tonk in the early ‘90s.

Following Lawrence is another Texas native, Wade Bowen, who will share the stage. Born and bred in the small city of Waco, Texas, Bowen began his country music career in the band West 84 with Matt Miller. After a brief break going back to school in the early 2000s, Bowen returned to the country music scene in 2002 with his debut solo album, “Try Not to Listen,” and climbed the ranks of the Texas country music scene. He currently has five independently released albums and more than a decade of touring to back him up.

Then, headlining the show will be the Josh Abbott Band. This group has taken the style of contemporary country to a new level. The group out of Lubbock, Texas, utilizes a modern edge to their Lone Star sounds. In fact, when Abbott himself was a student at Texas Tech, he was inspired to be a Texas country star like Bowen.

After their two first albums, “Scapegoat” and “She’s Like Texas,” the band elevated their country music rankings with their two albums, “Small Town Family Dream” and “Front Row Seat.” Through the decade, the band has toured across the nation and truly established themselves as a high-ranking band. In fact, the Houston Press called the Josh Abbott band, “the top tier Texas country act of this decade.”

For more information about the music festival or tickets, contact the El Paso County Coliseum at 915-534-4229 or visit their website at www.TexasCMF.com.

Jimmy Eat World

The rock band famous for their hit “The Middle” is coming to El Paso on Feb. 25. They will be performing at Tricky Falls with opening act AJJ.

This tour comes after the release of their ninth album and the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of their album “Futures.” The band formed in 1993 in Mesa, Arizona, where their sound started off as punk rock, but over time they’ve transitioned to rock alternative.

This tour is for their newest album “Integrity Blues.” The lead single, “Sure and Certain,” peaked at no. 10 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. 

Tickets are still available for $25 at TicketFly.com.

Isaiah Rashad

He’s a 25-year-old Chattanooga rapper, singer-songwriter and hip-hop producer, who stormed through the hip-hop game in 2016. Isaiah Rashad McClain, the unapologetically raw rapper, will make a stop on his “Lil Sunny Tour” in El Paso on Sunday, Feb. 26, at the Lowbrow Palace.

Coming off his debuts freshman studio album, “The Sun’s Tirade,” Rashad has hit the highs of the hip-hop game from his humble beginnings. He earned his following after being signed to T.D.E., who also has signed the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and J Rock. Then Rashad dropped his debut solo mixtape, “Cilvia Demo,” which gained national recognition. The mixtape was so big that Rashad was recognize as a 2014 XXL Magazine Freshman of the Year, which honors up-and-coming rappers. To follow his mixtape, Rashad went on tour with Schoolboy Q for his “Oxymoron Tour” and showcased his raps throughout the country, including a stop in El Paso in March 2014.

Needless to say, Rashad has had quite the uproar in such a short time. Despite the rising success and his critically acclaimed newest album, it hasn’t always been positive happenings in Rashad’s life.

The “Oxymoron Tour” brought Rashad to frightening lows, which could have cost him his record label. In an interview prior to “The Sun’s Tirade,” he revealed that he was struggling with addiction to Xanax and alcohol. He also mentioned how he was going through depression, anxiety and isolation between “Cilvia Demo” and “The Sun’s Tirade.” According to him, it was so bad that T.D.E. threatened to drop him from the label on three separate occasions. While recording “The Sun’s Tirade,” he made a pact to go completely sober for the album. His intentions were to make an album that showed he was just like everyone else.

During his stop in El Paso, Schoolboy Q offered up a hip-hop heavy card to the sold-out Tricky Falls show. Not many will remember, but the show featured the likes of Vince Staples, Audio Push and Rashad, prior to Schoolboy Q’s set. After back-to-back impressive shows by Audio Push and Vince Staples, respectively, it looked like a nearly impossible task for Rashad to follow that show and hype the crowd up one last time before Schoolboy Q’s main event.

It was a task that he thrived on.

As soon as Rashad stepped onstage for his set in El Paso, the crowd instantly fell in love with the Southeastern rapper. He ventured through all of his mixtape and completely surpassed Audio Push and Vince Stapes. What made Rashad such a noteworthy performer was his energy. He never slowed down once during his set and kept the crowd completely entertained. And, by the end of the show, Rashad easily outperformed Schoolboy Q, not because Q didn’t have a good show, but simply because Rashad stole the show.

This time around in the Sun City will be a lot different for the “Lil Sunny Tour.” He will be performing in a more intimate location at the Lowbrow, which doesn’t hold nearly as many people as Tricky Falls. However, the location of the show will completely add to the closeness and vibrancy of the show. Rashad is more accustomed to performing at bigger concerts, so seeing him in a setting like the Lowbrow will be completely unique from his other stops on tour.