Aaron Hale took first place at the SUAB Cowboy Showcase for his song ”Folk Songs.” The event was held at the Student Union Theater.
‘Cowboy Showcase’ only had music acts this year
To be able to hear more than half a dozen extremely talented local musicians free of charge, one needed to go no farther than the Student Union on Thursday night for the Sixth Annual Cowboy Showcase.
About 100 attended the event in the Little Theater.
“I really enjoy presenting an opportunity for students on campus to show off their talents and for them to get more well known on campus, especially for people who want to go on and be famous musicians one day,” said Jessica Reid, Cowboy Showcase executive director.
This was the third year for Reid, a hotel and restaurant management senior, to be involved with the Student Union Activities Board-sponsored event. However, Reid said the show is student-produced and that student volunteers take care of sound, lighting, video, marketing and show setup.
This year’s show consisted of all musical acts in contrast to the variety that have auditioned in the past, Reid said.
“In the past we’ve had dancers and comedians and actual dramatic performances,” she said.
She said that there has even been a tap dancing act before, but that her favorite thus far was probably two girls singing the theme from “Rent.”
“I mean they belted it out, they had acting, they had props,” she said. “That was probably my favorite, and I think they actually won first place.”
However, there was no shortage of musical variety this year. Musical styles ranged from acoustic country, folk and red dirt to electronic pop-punk to piano-driven rock.
In between acts, emcee J.C. Crum entertained the crowd with hilarious comedic anecdotes on topics including working out at the Colvin Center, bus rides, Oklahoma weather, women’s bathrooms and the Hungry Hungry Hippos game, which he called “Triple H.”
“Whenever I get that game out, I always pick the orange hippo,” said Crum, a university studies sophomore. “Because here’s the thing about the orange hippo. The orange hippo, its neck doesn’t get stuck. All the other hippos, you have to force their head down.”
This was the last live show for a while for English senior and local music celebrity Jillian Holzbauer. She said she is taking a hiatus for reasons she said are somewhat hard to explain; however, her goal is to reconnect with her music.
“Performing used to be a really intimate spiritual experience for me, and it was all about crafting the experience between myself and the audience and opening up and sharing,” she said. “Somewhere along the line I allowed that to slip away and really just started focusing on, I guess, trying to impress people and I think that’s a really selfish motivation and I don’t like it.
“So I’m taking some time off just to rediscover why I play and to explore musically and to regain the integrity of the music.”
However, she said she “absolutely” plans to keep writing and even performing — but in her own living room.
“I mean that’s a part of me, that’s something I’ll never lose, that’s just part of who I am,” she said.
Three judges — alumnus Shane Lansdown, Non-traditional Student Services Coordinator Marie Basler and hotel and restaurant administration sophomore Blake Parks — assessed the seven acts. The audience also voted on a “Viewers’ Choice Award.”
The judges awarded Holzbauer third place in the showcase for her song “Wagons to the West,” a song she said she wrote last summer while she was in Palestine for three months.
“It’s basically just a song about missing someone that you care about and wishing that you could be close,” she said.
Solo acoustic artist Aaron Hale was awarded first place for “Folk Songs,” and The James Price Band second for “Love Is Gonna Find You.” Local power-punk group Simpleton received this year’s Viewers’ Choice Award for “It’s Only Stars.”
This was the first year for child and family services senior Elizabeth Stovall and biological sciences senior Stephanie Nix to attend the Cowboy Showcase.
“We didn’t have anything to do tonight and we had heard about it just through the grapevine, so we thought, ‘Why not?’” Stovall said.
“I like concerts in general, so that was fun. It’s fun to watch people that write their own music come out and perform,” she said.
Nix said she enjoyed it, as well.
“I just thought it was a laid-back and relaxing atmosphere, and it was neat to see the talent we have at OSU,” she said.
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