It’s musical moments and memories by the dozen. The Canadian River Music Festival is marking its 12th anniversary in 2023 and continues to entertain with great musicians on hand. Set for Saturday, June 10, the line-up is impressive: Pecos & The Rooftops; Sawyer Brown; Kylie Frey; Pony Bradshaw; Austin Snell; Jake Bush; and Emily Alexander.

PECOS & THE ROOFTOPS

Pecos & the Rooftops are a close-knit group of friends from northeast Texas that came together while in college in Lubbock. The band members are Pecos Hurley (Vocals/Acoustic Guitar), Brandon Jones (Rhythm Guitar), Zack Foster (Lead Guitar), Kalen Davis (Bass), and Garrett Peltier (Drums). Their 2019 break-out recording was “This Damn Song.” Others are “Hurt No More,” “Last Night’s Lashes,” and “5 am.”

SAWYER BROWN is an American country music band founded in 1981 by Mark Miller.

Shayne Hill plays lead guitar. He  grew up on the road playing music. His family had a band and they toured all across the Western U.S.—with Shayne playing even more instruments than he does today. Once moving to Nashville, Shayne toured with Chely Wright, Avalon, and LeAnn Rimes, just to name a few. He is also an in-demand background singer and guitar player.

Joe Smyth plays drums. He never met a percussive instrument he didn’t like—and he can play them all. Joe is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music and earned a Master’s degree in music from the University of Miami. In addition to being a sought-after session drummer, Joe is accomplished symphonic musician, as well. He has played with the Nashville Symphony and is also a respected percussion.

Gregg “Hobie” Hubbard plays piano. There was never a time Hobie can remember that he wasn’t listening to music. He sang and played piano in church through his high school years and began writing songs when he was in college. He has co-written several of Sawyer Brown’s hits, In addition to Sawyer Brown, Hobie has sung background on recording sessions for a variety of artists.

Mark Miller is lead vocal. He was born in Ohio, but moved to Florida when he was in eighth grade. Growing up, he played basketball, went to the beach, worked at Walt Disney World, and went to school—pretty much in that order. He was on the basketball team at the University of Central Florida when he started writing songs, finally deciding to move to Nashville to focus on singing and songwriting. The move worked out okay. Mark has written many of Sawyer Brown’s hits.

KYLIE FREY

Born and raised as country as it gets, Kylie Frey is a third-generation rodeo girl and Louisiana state goat-tying champion – and a rising star as genuine as her blue jeans. After just five years, Frey has already notched Seven #1s on the Texas Regional Radio Report – “Rodeo Man,” “Too Bad” (with Randy Rogers), “One Night In Tulsa”, “I Do Thing”, “Spur of the Moment” and “Horses In Heaven” (Feat Randy Houser). Most recently she teamed with Bri Bagwell to top the charts with their Country take on the iconic, Cindy Lauper hit, “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Each one displays the true-to-yourself grit and determination that rodeo demands, and to Frey, those qualities can only be earned the hard way.

PONY BRADSHAW

Pony––born James Bradshaw––moved around a lot as a kid. A military brat born in Mississippi, he logged time around the country. Today, he’s settled in Georgia. It’s where his young children live, and more than anywhere else has ever been, it’s home. After the Air Force showed him the door at 21 years old, he drifted, until the music he found more than a decade later became his anchor. On his debut album Sudden Opera, 38-year-old Pony offers a convincing argument in favor of art made by adults who have had time to live, screw up, try again, and find their voice. These days, Pony reads novels and poetry more than he listens to songs, although heroes such as Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark still loom large. “I ask myself every day why I want to be good at this,” he says. “But I just know that writing, singing, and playing makes me happy, so I continue to do it.”

AUSTIN SNELL

After Austin Snell’s gritty “Excuse the Mess” gathered 1 million streams in its first week of independent release, Snell has gone on to drop a handful of hard-core country rockers, with momentum building behind the sound. A quarter of a million TikTok followers over 36 million total streams. Big time playlist placements on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and more. A rare SiriusXM Highway Find accolade – the same one bestowed on now-superstars like Maren Morris and Luke Combs. And distinction as just the second artist ever chosen for SiriusXM’s Artist Accelerator program. It all points to that rare sort of star who has found his mark early – and there’s more on the way. A native of small town Dudley, Georgia, Snell grew up with a modern rock-loving father and a mother drawn to country radio. He said “Excuse the Mess” opened up his world. “I think that's my main goal, to make my own sound and let everyone know I’m not trying to copy anybody else.”

JAKE BUSH

Born in Pasadena, Texas, singer/songwriter Jake Bush makes traditional, rug-cutting Country music. Bush has shared the stages with Big & Rich, Johnny Lee, William Clark Green, Rick Trevino, Jack Ingram, Clay Walker, Pat Green, Randy Rogers Band, Diamond Rio, Tracy Byrd, and countless others. Bush released his first 7-song album, named simply enough “7”, October ‘20, the year of the pandemic. After a rocket-fueled 21-week run on the Texas Regional Radio Report, Bush earned his very first #1 in Texas. On February 11th 2022, Jake received his 3rd #1 for “If You Ever Get Lonely” after a 32-week run on the Texas Radio Charts. February of 2022, Bush released his newest album “Where 90’s Meets Now.”

EMILY ALEXANDER

Hometown girl, Emily Alexander, was born and raised in Canadian. At 23, she says she is learning how to walk faithfully with the Lord while building her personal brand as a music artist. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is passionate about assisting in creating the desired atmosphere for her clients. She loves writing and singing her originals, as well as performing covers and entertaining. Her debut singles are live on all streaming services, her favorites are "Selfish Love" and "Lovin' You." Her band is composed of local musicians: Phillip Anthony Cervantes, Kyle Miller, Dale Jenkins, and Bobby Gregg.

Here is the performance schedule:

12:00 pm Emily Alexander; 1:30 Jake Bush; 3:00 Austin Snell; 4:30 Pony Bradshaw; 6:00 Kylie Frey; 7:30 Sawyer Brown; 9:30 Pecos & the Rooftops

Go to www.canadianrivermusicfestival.com for tickets and more information.