State Lines

On Thursday, I saw Jason Castro, Matt Hires, and Caitlin Crosby at Stubb's in Austin. We got there about an hour and a half early to wait in line. Doors opened at 9pm. Surprisingly, some of the girls we met on the Bobby Bones Show last fall were in line ahead of us. We enjoyed hanging out with them again and met some new people as well. This was my first show at Stubb's, and I love the indoor portion of the venue. It was a small room, which made for a very personal show. We were literally right in front of the stage looking up at the artists.

Caitlin Crosby opened. She's got a great sound and is truly an inspiring person. She created a LoveYourFlawz.com, inspired by her album, "Flawz." Caitin's music is very heartfelt and personal. You can watch her video for "Flawz" here.

Jason Castro performed next. Though he wasn't the real headliner, everyone was there for him. Jason performed his new music from his EP and upcoming album (due to release sometime this spring). You can read my review of his EP here. My favorite songs are "Love Uncompromised" and "You Can Always Come Home." He also performed a couple favorites from his Idol days, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "Hallelujah," as well as his first single "Let's Just Fall in Love Again." You can watch my videos from the show here. To close the set, Jason played a tribute to Texas (his home state) with a Tom Petty cover, "Southern Accents."

Unfortunately, we were unable to see Jason after the show because of some drama with the venue. While Matt Hires was performing Jason tweeted, "I have never been treated so poorly by a venue. At least the crowd was with me! Love you Austin!" and left the venue. All I know is that before the show, Stubb's made Jason's family go to the end of the line. I heard that during Caitlin's set, Jason was outside waiting in line with his family.

Matt Hires headlined. I love Matt's album, "Take Us to the Start." He performed most of the songs off of his album as well as some covers. You can watch my videos from the show here. Fun fact for you: Matt is an insanely legit whistler. Just listen to "Out of the Dark" and imagine it live and twice as good. Matt's got a very chill sound, and you can tell that he really loves music. You can read my review of Matt's album here. Matt opened with his most popular song, "Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song" and closed, appropriately, with "State Lines," the title of the tour. We got to meet Matt after the show. He's a cutie.