Singer Hayden McBride Performs at Sports Next Level Saturday Night

SAN ANGELO, TX — “If you get out there now, you’ll build your fanbase faster and have a leg up,” that’s how Texas Country Music artist Hayden McBride described what his promoter told him. It was the middle of the Covid-19 lockdowns and the music industry — and live music scene — had buckled. But Texas was opening back up offering a myriad of venues who needed working artists to perform. Most of those venues were small and tailor-made for artists wanting to get their foot in the door.

From Mount Pleasant, McBride seized the opportunity, recording his first EP to start a regional tour to slowly grow a fan base. He performs tonight at 8 p.m. in San Angelo at the inaugural Barbecue Cookoff at Sports Next Level, 2838 College Hills Blvd. The stage is outdoors and admission is free because the concert is underwritten by L&J Roofing.

McBride’s first single, “Drinking You Goodbye,” a breakup song that has a fast country beat. McBride calls it “Funktry.” It’s on the EP McBride released a few months ago. Also on the EP is a duet with Holly Beth, another newcomer on the scene. The Dalton Domino composition is a “pre-breakup” song. The words provide a narrative about both parties in a relationship know what the other’s reaction will be if the other decided to leave the other. Domino, who is a fixture on the northern routing of the Texas Country Music circuit from Lubbock through San Angelo and Stephenville to Fort Worth, is building quite a reputation as a songwriter who discovers very talented new artists for the scene. San Angelo’s own Kat Hasty is another Domino discovery.

San Angelo LIVE! is going to try to get McBride on a live stream Saturday afternoon, broadcasted on Facebook, Youtube and Twitter. Please watch for it. In the meantime, there are 26 barbecue cookout teams at the Sports Next Level complex all day Saturday.

You can sample Hayden McBride’s music on Spotify and follow him on Facebook.