CUR APR May 13 A - CCA Texas

Above, from left: Dwight Yoakam, early in his performance and late in the event, stopped the concertfor a brief explanation of CCA goals. Hayes Carll brought the house down with his stories andsongwriting skills. Ray Wylie Hubbard opened, and drew applause throughout his set. Below: RobertEarl Keen stunned the audience when he brought Lyle Lovett to the stage for a duet (with audienceparticipation) of Keen's classic "That Buckin' Song." Photos, Sam CaldwellA musical welcome tonew members of CCA2013 CCAConcert forConservation—May 18, Sam Houston Park: Great musicby the country's finest singers,songwriters and performers was enjoyedby an appreciative audience,many of them brand new members ofCCA.This year, CCA Texas partneredwith Sam Houston Race Park to put togethera superstar lineup that offeredfans a wide variety of country musicfrom featured artists Dwight Yoakam,Robert Earl Keen, Hayes Carll and RayWylie Hubbard.“We were extremely excited aboutthe turn out for our second concert. Itwas an awesome sight to see CCA beingpromoted in such a different and newlight. I think this event really elevatesthe organization to another level. Also,with this concert being a membershipdrive for CCA, we are excited about allthe new members that will now be part of theorganization. Hopefully these new memberswill help us to continue to make a difference inconserving our coastal fisheries,” said CCA'sExecutive Director, Robby Byers.The 2013 Concert For Conservation mayhave been the largest group everconvened for a GCCA or CCA event.Some 3,000-plus music fans and CCA membersapplauded with abandon at sundown,when Ray Wylie Hubbard began the concert.Hayes Carll maintained the electricity of theevent as the evening lights went on. As RobertEarl Keen took the stage, every person inthe audience rose with deafening applause. Ina surprise move, Keenbrought onstage Houston'sfavorite son, singer/songwriter/musician LyleLovett for two pieces. Thecrowd, and Lovett, joined infor Keen's "That Buckin'Song."After Robert Earl Keenturned the stage over toDwight Yoakam, the crowdnever stopped responding,until Yoakam halted the showfor an impromptu discussionof the reason for the concert—CCA'simpact on theresource and environment.Byers said, “This event was agreat opportunity for us to seea lot of our old friends and introducemany others to the CoastalConservation Association."As Currents goes to press, the resultsare still being assessed, but thiswriter has never enjoyed a CCAevent more. For new CCA members,this issue of the Texas Currents newsletterand the upcoming issue of thenational TIDE Magazine will be theirintroduction to many elements of theTexas outdoors. Welcome aboard!—Sam CaldwellFor more photos, see pages 15, 16 and 17.~3~