Arts Alive San Antonio

By Phil Houseal

Is there a place where fans of classic country music can go to hear the old tunes, dance to their favorite memories, and maybe even meet their music heroes?

Yes. Here in Central Texas, they go to the Heart of Texas Country Music Festival, now in its 36th year.

The name is intentional, for not only does country music live in the hearts of its fans, the festival is held in Brady, Texas, designated as the geographic center and “heart” of the Lone Star State. The event’s empresario and originator is Tracy Pitcox, himself a legendary figure in the world of country music.

Pitcox started working at the radio station KNEL when he was only 15. He loved classic country music, so he soon opened a radio request line that he called Hillbilly Hits. The hook was that the songs had to be 20 years or older. It quickly became so popular that within a year they were producing their first celebration. That is what grew into the Heart of Texas Music Festival.

Pitcox now heads a successful enterprise based on his love of classic country. He still hosts “Hillbilly Hits” and runs his Heart of Texas Country Music Museum in Brady, which displays memorabilia from over 100 country music entertainers including Patsy Cline, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Hank Thompson, and Jim Reeves’ 1956 tour bus.

“The Heart of Texas Country Music Festival is a great time for fans of Traditional Country Music to gather and hear the music that they enjoy,” Pitcox said. “It is like a family reunion of sorts allowing the fans and the artists to gather and celebrate great music. It also helps out our local economy and allows many people to see our community that may never visit here for any other reason.”

Throughout the year, Pitcox produces live shows at historic venues in small Texas towns, from the the Odeon Theater in Mason to the Texas Theater in Seguin. His Heart of Texas Country Music Association now boasts a thousand members from around the world.

This year’s event attests to the growth. It is 11 days packed with 24 shows by 30 performers on 4 stages. Fans young and old pack the arenas to relive fond memories of hearing “their song,” filling the dance floor or standing at the edge of the stage to see their musical idols up close and in person.

Part of the appeal is that fans can actually meet and visit with the performers, getting signed shirts, caps, and CDs, or just sharing fond memories of listening to their songs in an earlier era. This is part of the fun, according to one of those country legends, Moe Bandy, who will perform with The Americana Band on March 15.

The singer had about a long run on the country music charts in the 1970s and 1980s, nailing 40 Top Ten hits and 10 Number Ones such as I Just Started Hatin’ Cheatin’ Songs Today, Bandy the Rodeo Clown, Here I Am Drunk Again, It’s a Cheating Situation, Rodeo Romeo, and a series of “Moe & Joe” duets with Joe Stampley like Where’s the Dress.

Bandy is a natural choice for the Heart of Texas festival, because he climbed the charts during a time when a lot of even country radio was featuring more “pop” styles.

“I was cutting straight-down-the-line country,” he said of his run at the top of the charts. He also had a reputation for being “authentic.” Before he switched to singing, Bandy worked the rodeo circuit, riding bulls and broncs. He is actually in the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. Bandy still tours with his bus and his band, and the Heart of Texas festival is one of his favorites.

“Tracy Pitcox has done so much for traditional country music and especially for the Texas acts,” Bandy said. “He has just revitalized all that good music; it’s been unbelievable. He’s been doing that for years. I had a theater in Branson for a long time, and he would bring all these people up to my shows. And he has just really been good for country music. I tell him that all the time.”

Bandy, along with all of his fellow performers, especially like to play at this festival because it is a chance to play with other musicians, mingle with fans, and return to the Texas Hill Country where many of them started their careers. Bandy is a San Antonio native and still has family there. He started his climb to stardom picking in the dance halls and bars that every small town seemed to have as a social hub.

“I love it in that part of the country, because that’s my stomping ground,” he said. “It’s really a great show because I’m with a lot of my friends and lot of great acts. This one’s special because it’s in the area where I used to play before I ever got a hit record.”

Meeting fans is something he does at every show.

“I do always sign autographs and meet people, take pictures with them, and all that,” Bandy said. “And that’s what I always have done from the beginning, because I want to know who’s out there listening to me. There are the older people that have grown up with us, and they’ve introduced our music to their kids and their grandkids. So we see a mixture of audience nowadays, and it’s really neat to see the younger kids out there singing every word. That’s what keeps us out there.”

If those aren’t reasons enough to check out the Heart of Texas Country Music Festival, Bandy adds one more. “You’ll have a really have a good time here because it’s such a variety of acts,” he said. “I think they’ll enjoy this show, because it’s always a really good show that I like to watch myself!”
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