The Post that Almost Didn't Make It: Ft. The Ponderosa Aces

After losing drafts, notes and being busy with work, this post almost didn’t make it in 2016. Yet, here I am squeezing time to share with you all about a last minute concert back in August. As yall may remember, my friend and I took a trip to Austin for an amazing concert where we were able to enjoy Sam Riggs and Josh Abbott Band. That concert was amazing, and I enjoyed every minutes of it, but the show the following shouldn’t go unnoticed. Now let me introduce you to 2016 “Ameripolitan Music Awards” nominated artist, The Poderosa Aces from Long Beach, California. I know, the California thing caught me off guard to, but let me explain.

I came across The Poderosa Aces thanks to my friend David Ryan from Southbound I-35. David has a podcast in which he discusses Red Dirt/Americana/Texas Country, through interviews and reviews, and had scheduled to interview the Aces, during their Austin show for his “Texas Wants You Anyway” segment. He asked if my friends and I would like to join him for the show, we all agreed. As yall can assume, I did what I always do, checked them out on social media/spotify and anything else, prior to the show. I was able to find a couple of songs that I did enjoy, and was really excited for the show.

We arrived at the Rattle Inn (Austin,Tx) a little after the show had started (dinner ran longer than expected), but what we were able to hear from outside we know we were in for a good time. To our surprise, there were only a handful of people in attendance, yet the band was in full force entertaining. They played a series of original songs, and with their upbeat tunes, featuring on some killer guitar skills, heavy pedal steel, plus their energetic performance they had those present, dancing all around. The lyrics in their songs would vary from humorous such as in “Landlords coming” to a more dark, and reflective tune such as “Judgment Day”. I had both of my friends compliment the sound of the band, and share how much they were enjoying the performance, they even both questioned “why there wasn’t more people?” Unfortunately this isn’t something I had an answer to, The Ponderosa Aces may not be well known, and the fact that they are California may be a “red flag”, and makes us hesitant for us Texans to give them a listen, (it happens sometimes) but once it comes to their music, they have a true traditional country sound, that us Red Dirt/Texas Country Music fans can appreciate. They seem like genuine group of guys with a great sense of humor, they gave a taste of it during their set, giving us some jokes throughout their performance. To catch more of that sense of humor you can check out their actual full length with David R from Southbound I-35 here ----Southbound I-35 Episode 35-------

I hope that this upcoming 2016, you give new bands chance, regardless of whether you've heard of them or not, regardless of whether or not they fill up a venue, regardless of where they are from. there are so many bands/artists that I have yet  to discover, but I look forward to more shows like these where I get  to enjoy new bands, in their element, and have that personal bond with them

Band Members:
Mike Maddux - Guitar & Voice
Art Rodriguez - Drums
Bigshed - Bass & Voice
Alex Griggs - Guitar
To follow The Ponderosa Aces on their musical journey follow them on social media:
Facebook: The Ponderosa Aces
Instagram: @ThePonderosaAces
Website: http://www.theponderosaaces.com/