Song Swap Night with Sean Snyder
Sean welcomed Michael Kately, Clint Vines, and Bryson Lawrence to the stage for a night of acoustic music
Song Swap night at the Iron Horse Pub is always a good time for so many reasons. You get to see and hear your favorite Texoma artists performing originals, cover tunes, and unique arrangements and selections rarely heard in any other setting.
We attended Song Swap Night to see Sean Snyder in an acoustic setting, something I have not personally seen much since Sean is so frequently plugged-in and kicking ass with It Hurts to Be Dead, and wow, it was a treat.
Michael Kately and I were chatting during breaks in Sean’s set and we both agreed that Sean’s music, while grounded in punk, transcends the genre and becomes something larger. In an acoustic setting, the authentic themes in Sean’s lyrics can’t be ignored — universal truths about heartbreak and self-doubt — things every one of us struggle with from time to time.
I caught up with Sean after the show and he told me he didn’t really intend to host a Song Swap night, he just wanted to get on an acoustic show with the rest of the guys. In the end, Snyder said he was thrilled to host, and go up first, so he could spend the rest of the night enjoying and learning from Kately, Vines, and Lawrence.
This lover of music and songwriting is here to tell you Snyder holds his own with all of them. Not only is Sean’s music relatable, it has a subtle Americana tone that reminded me at points of Don McLean. Sean is an incredible musician and a class act.
Michael Kately took the stage second and just as he did at the last Song Swap night I attended, Michael blew the roof off with soulful and powerful vocals. He covered some Leon Bridges, played some original music, and pulled out his cover of Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle” which is always a hit with the crowd. When it was over, somebody in the crowd yelled “Better than Christina!” and Michael replied “Hashtag that!”
Now, if we could just get Michael and the rest of his unbelievably talented Downtown Royalty Band to play a gig, all would be right in the world.
Wichita Falls’ own Clint Vines was next up, and Clint did what he always does… got up and did acoustic versions of his crowd-pleasing numbers like Chickens, and Outlaw, and Above the Line, but my favorite performance of the night was his very first — an acoustic take on While the Gettin’ Was Good, an uncharacteristically catchy mainstream song Vines co-wrote with Ryan Hager. When I got up this morning, I was humming Well I cashed my check at the bank, and gaaaaassssed up the tank….
Bryson Lawrence closed the night and he killed it like he always does, even though he’d just done double-duty with a winery gig right before his Iron Horse show.
Bryson gets up there and belts it, and seems nonchalant about it. Like, yeah dude, I just jumped three and half octaves, so what? I fully intended to get video of Bryson absolutely nailing his numbers with the skill and polish of an artist like John Mayer or Gavin Degraw, but unfortunately the battery in my camera went dead. We’re gonna get Bryson next time, because he needs to be seen and heard to be appreciated.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… If you’re looking for live entertainment, the Open Mics and Song Swaps in Wichita Falls are some of the best times you can have. Everybody’s having fun, you can still talk, and you never know what you’re gonna see and hear.
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