All tagged Summer Dean
My memory does not serve me when trying to determine how many artists I saw at last year’s festival, but this year definitely felt like more. My roster for this year checked in at nearly 60 sets. Not all sets were witnessed from start to finish and many were short sets at industry parties. Nonetheless, with a lineup of this magnitude, there were a massive number of artists I made a point to see.
It’s no secret that one of the best festivals to feature Americana and country music happens every September in the great state of Oklahoma. If you thought last year’s inaugural Born & Raised was good, then year two has set the bar even higher. This year’s lineup featured an even wider range of amazing artists, with the perfect blend of well-established artists and those that are still considered up and coming. A main wish of mine last year was more females to be added to the bill, so one of the best parts of the lineup announcement was seeing so many talented females included for the second year. Equal representation on the bill is always the goal, but compared to other festivals in the region that feature artists in the same genres, Born and Raised definitely did a better job with adding more female representation on this year’s lineup.
Western Swing and Texas Waltzes have inspired Summer Dean her whole life. Growing up on her family’s ranch, those were the style of songs that embodied the soundtrack of her formative years. Summer draws imagery and experiences from the western spirit to formulate her full-length album, Bad Romantic. One must have grit to survive the rancher’s way of life, but there is a vulnerability that is also inescapable when tending to something that can easily succumb to elements out of your control. Those characteristics are the foundation this album was created on.
