I remember when San Angelo was the oasis of west Texas. The blues festival was thriving every year & your favorite country band was playing on any given night for $15 at Midnight Rodeo. I may have a tendency for nostalgia but the images that flash through my mind from years ago were electric. The streets were busy, the people were laughing, & local business was thriving. Somewhere in the last 10 years, the vibrance of this town has been lost. This is happening all over the United States. Music shops are closing due to the accessibility of online retailers. Local venues are shutting down or cutting their amount of shows in half. Artists are taking the route from social media to Nashville and we're losing the culture that made these small towns special.I've been trying to high tail it out of here for years. All my friends from Austin & Fort Worth officially think I'm full of s#it for how many times I've promised I'm moving but never follow through. The truth is— I don't really want to leave. My family is here, my lifelong friends are irreplaceable, & all l've ever really wanted was to put down roots. I have everything I need here- besides a community of artists. I got my kicks in Fort Worth. The players I've had over the years taught me everything | know. They taught me what it takes to be a band, they taught me how to perform, they taught me how to half ass play in time and through them I met so many friends that changed my life forever. This isn't just an open mic, this is the biggest party in west texas every other Thursday night. This is where all you sneaky songwriters can come out of the wood works & showcase your talents, meet the other local wallflowers and have a platform to get your a$$ out of here and tour. There will be special guests from Austin to LA, local art vendors, and $2 beer specials. Me & my band will be hanging out and playing till daybreak. For everyone who never gets to step foot in this far west town of ours— I hope you spend your money locally, play your music locally, & buy your food from local farmers-because you can't change the world, but you can gather all your delusional friends with too much free time and change your community!