Saddle up country music fans because The Houston Rodeo (RODEOHOUSTON) is gearing up for a wicked few weeks full of finger-lickin’ barbecue, wild rides, and showstopping performances from radio-worthy artists.
Festival-goers could expect to see A-listers like Cody Johnson, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Jon Pardi, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Sam Hunt, Dierks Bentley, Chris Stapleton, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Gwen Stefani, Kane Brown, and more to dominate the stage February 28 – March 20, 2022.
In honor of the star-studded lineup set in stone, Music Mayhem is taking a trip down memory lane and reminiscing on when the “One Mississippi” singer made history at the world-renewed affair.
In 2019, Kane Brown brought the heat for 75,126 roaring fans – breaking a record for the most significant country artist debut at the Houston Rodeo. The multi-platinum artist instantly captured the audience’s attention with his good-vibe anthems and his heartwarming messages.
With eyes and ears on him, Brown utilized the large platform and sang “Learning,” a moving ballad about his unconventional upbringing. Before sharing the track from his self-titled LP, the hitmaker declared that “Learning” was one of the “most important songs” he has ever penned. Throughout the beat-heavy melody, Brown talks about being raised by a single mother, growing up biracial, encountering racism in school, and the abusive relationship he had with his stepdad.
The hitmaker continued to spark difficult dialogues as he followed “Learning” with his chart-topping track “American Bad Dream,” which shines a light on the rapid increase of school shootings today. Fans were not surprised that Brown opened up, as he is known for using his voice to demand change within the honky-tonk space and encouraging inclusivity.
The year before he performed at The Houston Rodeo, Brown told Storme Warren on SiriusXM’s The Highway that he welcomes everyone from different backgrounds to come to his concerts.
“We have a lot of fans that come to the show – different races, people who like the same sex – all types of stuff. People come to my shows, and everybody feels like they fit in,” he said. “I guess everybody just sees, at my show, is what everybody wants the world to be, and they just feel comfortable.”
Kane Brown’s Houston Rodeo performance in 2019 made history as most significant country artist debut at the Houston Rodeo.
The same energy that he spoke so highly about was visible at his 2019 Rodeo in the NRG Stadium. The night was filled with more toe-tapping hits like – “Work,” “Live Forever,” “Saturday Nights,” and “Short Skirt Weather.” He took a second to speak to the audience between each track and even revealed that he was living in a pinch-me-like moment.
“Two years ago, I got asked if I would ever do the Houston rodeo, and I said I’d never make it that big,” he laughed while also revealing that he grew up in a rodeo family.
While living in the bucket-list moment, Rodeo Houston representatives took center stage to thank the artist for his contribution to country and to surprise him with a blinding plaque that marks his single “Heaven” as four-time platinum-certified. As the award-winning artists admired the accolade, the officials also mentioned that his show ranked 15th overall in ticket sales.
“Well Kane as you know ‘Heaven’ was the most played song of 2018, but what you don’t know is that it was recently certified 4x Platinum,” the representative told Brown on stage in front of the capacity Rodeo crowd. “And Kane, there are 75,126 Rodeo fans here tonight, that’s the fifteenth highest paid rodeo attendance ever.”
“Thank y’all so much,” Brown said as he got visibly choked up before admitting, “That’s crazy!”
Following the career-altering news, Brown sang the smash hit with tears in his eyes. Towards the end of his performances, Brown’s wife, Katelyn Jae, joined him on stage with a rustic cowboy hat. While hand-in-hand, Brown visibly got choked up and thanked his loyal community of fans.
“Thank you so much,” Brown said, later adding, “Y’all give it up for my beautiful wife one time” as Katelyn exited the stage.
Brown will return to the legendary stage on Wednesday, March 9. Tickets are currently available for purchase, HERE.
