The Clay Gibson Band will be the band for Spur’s Big Dog Barbecue Barn Dance Saturday, June 25 starting at 7:30 p.m. in the Show Barn in Swenson Park.
If that name sounds familiar to you, the band has been the opening act for some pretty famous folks at The Coyote Store in Gail, including the Bellamy Brothers and Moe Bandy.
The Texas Spur caught up with Clay Gibson via phone to learn more about the band.
According to Gibson, band members are: John Hibbard, bass player from Peno, N.M.; Sam White, drummer from Lubbock; Landon Watkins, rhythm guitar from Levelland; and Gibson, also from Levelland and lead guitar.
Many of the band members met in the commercial music program at South Plains College in Levelland, a renowned music program which has helped launch singers such as LeeAnne Womack and the Dixie Chicks.
Gibson described his band’s set list in this way: “We really love the classic old country and the classic old rock and roll and we even like to throw in a dash of classic blues.”
The band has been performing together for three or four years, according to Gibson, and since 2019, they’ve been appearing at the venerable nearby music venue, the Coyote Store in Gail.
“You can dance the whole evening to our set,” he said. “I’ve grown up two-stepping and I love the dance crowd.”
Gibson said he counts among his influences George Strait, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Brad Paisley, along with the Eagles and the Little River Band. He got his first guitar when he was seven. Before then, he would sit in front of the record player and listen to music.
Currently the band has been recording its first studio album at Amusement Park Studios in Lubbock and plans to release its single in July.
Gibson noted that a key part of the band’s success has been the SPC commercial music program. “Anyone who wants to go into any aspect of the music business could benefit from participating in that program.”
The Spur Area Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the Big Dog Barn Dance on the evening of Saturday, June 25 at the Show Barn. Admission is by donation at the door, and concessions will be available to purchase.
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