The Midland County Horseshoe Arena may not be the most famous music venue in the world, but for Sam Canty, it could be the start of his musical revolution.
He saw one of the first concerts in the building — Papa Roach — and everything from the showmanship of the band to the energy of the crowd stuck with him.
When Canty decided to pursue music full-time, he didn’t pack his guitar and run off to Austin, Nashville or other music-centered cities; instead, he found a group of like-minded musicians around Midland and Odessa.
And when they’re on tour, they’re not afraid to let people know where they’re from.
“I think it’s a beautiful thing what we’ve done,” Canty said in a phone interview about the formation of Odessa-based Treaty Oak Revival. “We’re trying to put our city on the map, and I think we’ve done a good job of doing that.”
On June 28, Canty will return to the Midland County Horseshoe Amphitheater, but this time, Canty and his bandmates will be the ones on stage.
As the acoustic guitar player and singer, he’ll perform alongside rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist Lance Vanley, lead guitarist Jeremiah Vanley, drummer Cody Holloway and bassist Andrew Carey.
Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased on the venue’s website. Doors are scheduled to open at 8 p.m.
Known by fans as a country band, members of Treaty Oak Revival try not to put themselves into one musical category, as each member brings different musical inspirations to the band (for example, Canty said, Holloway was a heavy metal drummer before joining the group).
That doesn’t mean the band ignores country (they are Texas boys), and they recently had a chance to perform at the Grand Ole Opry.
“When you look at our music and who we are, we’re pretty far from country,” Canty said. “We’re more of a rock band with a country accent.”
Originally starting as a cover band that practiced weekly in the back of a vacuum shop in Odessa, Canty said he started offering his own original songs into the mix — such as their hit song “Boomtown” — and they started adding those into their playlist.
With two albums of their own material out, Canty said each concert the band plays grows a bit larger and a little bit more intense, using a festival of about 40,000 people in College Station where musician Zach Bryan also performed as an example.
Canty said he hopes West Texans come to support their show in June. As band members continue to grow in their own experiences, Canty said they never forget where they’re from.
“We’re hoping that this homecoming is one of those shows where … we just want the city to show out if they can because we do claim where we’re from, and we love where we’re from, so we’d love for our fans to come to that show and show us some love back,” he said.
If you go
- What: Treaty Oak Revival.
- When: 8 p.m. June 28.
- Where: Midland County Horseshoe Amphitheater, 2514 Arena Trail, Midland.
- Tickets can be purchased online at tinyurl.com/ypxjrukw
