Courtesy 2b Entertainment
Audio By Carbonatix
Sam Canty admits there isn’t much going on in Odessa, Texas, especially when he was growing up and attending Permian High School (yes, the one from “Friday Night Lights”).
“Where we come from, there’s not a whole lot to do except go to work, go to the bar and go to bed,” says the vocalist-guitarist of rebel rockers Treaty Oak Revival.
So in 2018, Canty started a cover band to fill his free time.
“You got to get good at finding ways to keep yourself busy,” he says. “When I found the guys and became a part of that band, that became my favorite thing to do — go play music with my friends after work and possibly go play a show during the weekend.”
Little did he and his running mates know that Treaty Oak Revival would become their career after the first original single, “No Vacancy,” went certified platinum in 2020. The 2021 debut album of the same name is certified gold. All of a sudden Treaty Oak found itself out the forefront of the swelling country-rock wave, as its 2023 sophomore LP, “Have a Nice Day,” also reached gold status. Last year, the band’s third record, “West Texas Degenerate,” claimed the top spots on both of Billboard’s rock and Americana/folk charts. Not bad for a little ol’ band from Texas, but Canty and his bandmates don’t think about all of that star-studded stuff too much.
“We did this for the right reasons. We did it because we love country and rock music. We love writing songs. We love Texas and the scene that it’s part of,” Canty says. “We’re trying as hard as we can to be ourselves.”
Now, the crew is headlining Red Rocks on Wed., July 1, less than two years after opening for Koe Wetzel there. William Clark Green and Gannon Fremin & CCREV are also on the bill.
“We’re really excited to be going back and making this our headline debut and getting that full hour and 30 in,” Canty says. “A rowdy good time is what we’re hoping it’s going to be.”
Canty, vocalist-guitarist Lance Vanley, guitarist Jeremiah Vanley, drummer Cody Holloway and bassist Dakota Hernandez are proud they preceded the current country boom, a recent pop-culture trend that’s seen many mega artists, including Beyoncé, don cowboy hats and boots.
“It was just people making music,” Canty says of Treaty Oak Revival’s roots. “It wasn’t people trying to get their 15 seconds or get a check. It was people wanted to make music because they wanted to.”
To put it this way: When Treaty Oak first got together, Post Malone was still a SoundCloud rapper. Now, Posty is wearing Canadian tuxedos and collabing with Morgan Wallen. So that blue-collar ethos and staying true to it makes what Treaty Oak does feel more authentic. Plus, they’re not playing that cry-in-your-beer country, but a beer drinkers and hellraisers brand of Red Dirt rock. Just listen to “Bad State of Mind” and “Withdrawals” — both with millions of streams. “Naders” even features a sneaky little metalcore breakdown.
“I feel ourselves striving more away from the country scene, getting more into that Southern rock, Red Dirt country, grunge, alternative, whatever you want to call it,” Canty explains. “We like rocking. That’s always been our thing. We love to get rowdy, have a good time, it’s a lot more fun than just sitting there strumming on a guitar.
“We’ve always been more rock than country,” he concludes. “We come from a real deserted blue-collar, working-class town where a lot of it is country music or rock and roll, and we weren’t the best at hip-hop.”
Treaty Oak Revival, with William Clark Green and Gannon Fremin & CCREV, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 1, Red Rocks, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, Morrison. Tickets are $249.
