WE Fest

It all started when Thomas Rhett Atkins Jr. was old enough to go on stage with his father, Rhett Atkins, and play the drums for him. The band was put together in high school called The High Heeled Flip Flops. After high school, Rhett went to college at Lipscomb University in Nashville Tennessee and played as a member of Tau Phi for their cowboy show. It was from this experience that he grew used to big crowds and commanding the audience.

Rhett co-wrote the song “I Ain’t Ready to Quit” on Jason Aldeans’ 2010 album, “My Kinda Party” and then signed a contract with Big Machine Records, Valory Music Group division in 2011. He released his debut single “Something to Do with My Hands” which was released on February 21st 2012, with a music video too. The song reached number 15 on the US Hot Country Songs. His follow up single “Beer With Jesus” was released on September 4th 2012, and reached number 1 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. It wasn’t until his song “It Goes Like This” released on May 6th 2013, that Rhett got the success that he deserved, with the song going Platinum, and making it to number 1 on the US Country Airplay chart, it also became the title track of his debut album, which was released on October 29th 2013. The albums’ fourth single “Get Me Some of That” became Rhett’s second number 1 single.

Rhett has also co written the 2013 singles “1994” by Jason Aldean, “Parking Lot Party” by Lee Brice and “Round Here” by Florida Georgia Line.

Before Brooks and Dunn became the hit duo they are known as today, each musician got his start behind the scenes, writing songs for artists with the stature they dreamed of possessing and one day would eventually exceed. Brooks a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, got his start in the music industry playing varying venues in the state of Maine. He later moved to Nashville in 1979 and wrote several hit singles for big time acts such as John Conlee, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, The Oak Ridge Boys, Nicolette Larson, and Keith Palmer.

Ronnie Dunn was born and raised in Coleman, Texas, which does not come to much of a surprise as the influence of Texan country swing pioneer Bob Willis permeates through his style. Dunn’s original intentions were to become a Baptist preacher; however, he had a mutual passion for music. The latter of the two got the better of him as his stints playing in bars eventually got him kicked out of Hardin-Simmons University and resultantly put his pursuits as an evangelist on hold. Dunn later moved to Nashville and caught the attention of Tim DuBois, an executive of Arista Nashville. DuBois concocted the idea of pairing Dunn with Brooks and after hearing their collaborative demo he was convinced that they should act as a duo.

Brooks & Dunn were an instant success. A year after their formation they released their debut single “Brand New Man”, which hit no.1 on the Hot Country Songs in June 1991. This track was featured on their 1st studio album (also entitled “Brand New Man” ) alongside four other hit singles “My Next Broken Heart”, “Neon Moon”, “Lost and Found”, and “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”. The album went to no. 3 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums charts, no. 10 on the US Billboard 200 and has since gone on to sell over 6 million copies. Their sophomore release “Hard Workin’ Man” matched the success of their triumphant debut. It peaked at no. 9 on the US Billboard Charts and included 5 singles that entered in the top 5 of the US Country Singles Chart.

The 90s proved to be a prolifically creative time for the duo. They spewed out hit after hit, releasing 2 country chart topping albums “Waitin’ on Sundown” and “Borderline”, which housed no.1 singles such as “She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind”, “Little Miss Honky Tonk”, “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone”, “My Maria”, and “A Man This Lonely”. Though the team were only four albums into their career a greatest hits compilation was more than warranted. In fact the hits were so profuse a 2nd greatest hits compilation arrived in 2004.

Brooks & Dunn exemplified they still held their charm with their 5th studio album “If You See Her”. Like their previous releases the album was a commercial success reaching no.4 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums and sporting three no.1 singles: “If You See Him/If You See Her”, “How Long Gone”, and “Husbands and Wives”.

Their hot streak came to an end with their 6th studio album “Tight Rope”. While the album was in no way a commercial flop it failed to live up to the standard set by it’s predecessor; however, it did peak at no. 6 on the US Billboard Top Country Albums and featured the no.5 hit single “You’ll Always Be Loved By Me”.

The duo more than picked up the “slack” in the 2000s, releasing three consecutive albums to top the country charts “Steers & Stripes”, “Red Dirt Road”, and “Hillbilly Deluxe”. Five of their singles from this period claimed the no.1 spot on the Country singles chart and in the midst of all this they also released a widely popular Christmas album “It Won’t Be Christmas Without You”.

On 2 October 2007 Brooks & Dunn released their final studio album “Cowboy Town”. It was followed by two additional compilation albums: “Playlist: The Very Best of Brooks & Dunn” and “#1’s... and Then Some” as well as their farewell tour “The Last Rodeo”. After 20 years together the two musicians amicably parted ways to pursue solo careers; however, at the beginning of 2015 they reunited to perform a series of shows in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Shawn Randolph Houser was born 18 December 1975 in Lake, Mississippi and took after his father, who was a working musician. In high school, Houser fronted a band called 10lb Biscuit, but in 2002 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a songwriting career. His first successful song was a co-write with Jamey Johnson and Dallas Davidson for a Trace Adkins recorded song entitled “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.” The success of the song helped him shift his focus to doing his own performing in local venues around Nashville.

In 2008 Houser signed with Universal South Records and quickly released his first single, “Anything Goes,” in May that same year. The song achieved charting success, making it within the Top 40 of the Billboard Country Chart within the month of its release. The debut album of the same title, debuted the following November. At the 2009 CMA awards, he received two nominations: New Artist of the Year and Music Video of the Year for “Boots On.” He followed the success of “Anything Goes” with his sophomore album, “They Call Me Cadillac” released in 2009.

In 2011 Houser signed with Broken Bow Records’ Stoney Creek Division and released his third studio album, “How Country Feels” in 2012. The album was a big success, and the third single off the album, “Like A Cowboy” was released for 2014.

As a child Jamey Johnson was influenced by many country artists such as Alabama and Alan Jackson. Johnson attended the same university as Randy Owen from the band Alabama, but Johnson dropped out of college after two years and joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve where he served for eight years. While in the Marine Corps, Johnson wrote original music and would perform his songs for his fellow Marines. After exiting the Marine Corps he started to perform his music at bars across Montgomery and had the opportunity to open for renowned country acts like David Allan Coe. In the year 2000 he moved to Nashville, US in order to launch his career in country music. By 2002 Johnson self-released his debut album “They Call Me Country”. While in Nashville Johnson started to make connections with well-known artists in the industry, which would lead to the record producer Buddy Cannon helping him get signed to the record label, BNA Records.

In 2006 Johnson released his second studio album and first major label album “The Dollar”. The album reached the No. 20 spot on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart and its single “The Dollar” reached the No. 14 spot on the US Country charts. Although the album was a fairly successful album and conveyed Johnson’s talents as a songwriter, the other single from the album “Rebelicious” failed to place on the charts, which resulted in Johnson being dropped from BNA. After his departure from the label Johnson focused on his songwriting abilities and wrote many songs for different artists to perform. During that time he wrote the No. 1 hit “Give It Away”, which was performed by George Strait. In 2007 he also co-wrote the hit songs “Ladies Love Country Boys”, which was performed by Trace Adkins and “Another Side of You”, which was performed by Joe Nichols.

In 2008 Johnson released new material under his name by releasing the album “That Lonesome Song”, which was put out by Mercury Nashville Records. His hit singles “In Color” and “High Cost of Living” both made it on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. “In Color” was the more popular of the two singles and earned Johnson an Academy of Country Music award as well as a Grammy Award nomination. The album reached the No. 6 position on the US Top Country Albums chart and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The album has also been lauded by critics. Rhapsody listed the album as the fifth best country album of the 2000s and CMT listed the album under “A Dozen Favorite Country Albums of the Decade”.

Johnson released his fourth studio album “The Guitar Song” in 2010. The album was met with great commercial success as well as critical praise. The sound of the album contained a classic old school country sound that featured songs that were presented in an outlaw country style as well as songs that were presented in a ballad format. The album reached the No. 4 position on the US Billboard 200 chart and reached the No. 1 position on the US Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Many publications such as Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe all highly praised the album as well as placed it in high rankings on their top albums of the year list.

Jamey Johnson has proven himself as one of the most prominent singer/songwriters in modern country music. He has collaborated with many notable artists like Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, and Merle Haggard, as well as embarked on many high profile tours where he has shared the bill with people such as Kid Rock and Willie Nelson.