August 15, 2021 — My original reason to do this story series went away, but after this series of videos in this story, I still plan to do the story anyway. I’m not sure if you all will listen to these songs, and honestly, I haven’t fully listened, but here is a sampling of some country (or mostly country) artists from the region of East Texas I’m from. The last two on here are famous, Miranda Lambert and Casey Musgraves. All of these artists (as did the artist from last week) have something in common, which, like I said, time permitting, I’ll write about next week.

This guy’s name is Jeff Allen. This song (from 2015) seems to be his most recent. The comments on YouTube are from people who seem to know him. Perhaps he got a day job. Perhaps he moved away. Perhaps he plays locally. I’m not sure. I do like this song. I like it that it has a dog and a horse in it too.

The next person is named Ryan Beaver. He has a few videos too, and a few versions of the next song called Dark. I think the video was shot in Austin; I think so because I think that’s the Texas capitol building the in the background. I guess he chased his dreams to Austin. I don’t see anything newer than this 2015 song though.

This next artist has new music out. His name is Jon Wolfe. The release date is August 3, 2021; his oldest songs are about 10 years old. It’s definitely more country. He sings about Texas small towns. One of the commenters on YouTube said he wished Nashville played this song, not what Nashville is actually playing. That’s a nice compliment. And it’s good that he’s still going.

The next one is Casey Rivers. YouTube has an entire album from 2015. I didn’t listen to many, but the songs I did listen to had long introductions. This one, called Bring it On, has a long intro and is a bit more produced than some. It’s definitely country, and a bit different because I didn’t hear too much Texas-based lyrics. He’s “Texas” though, definitely, because he has songs about Mama.

Next are the girls. I’ve heard of the next one, not sure why I’ve heard of her, but I have. Her name is Michelle Shocked. I can’t find videos of hers, except within other people’s videos. I see a video of her explaining that she isn’t anti-gay, not sure why. And it seems she is on a campaign against streaming. From what I can see, she’s a folk artist, with a twist of gospel. Here’s a cover of someone doing her song about East Texas. I’d like to hear the original.

And then there are the main girls: Miranda and Casey. Miranda is from a town called Lindale. Casey is from a town called Golden. They are a few miles in different directions from Mineola, which is the biggest town in Wood County. And that will be my next subject.