OUTLOOK - For country music fans, and we're talking what many people call REAL country music, a concert coming up in Outlook might be the ticket they're looking for next month.
On Friday night, July 11, the Outlook & District Regional Park is hosting a cabaret event featuring the group Restless Texas, who specialize in performing country music from the 1990's, including the greatest hits of artists such as Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, and many more.
A fundraising show being held in the camp kitchen area of the park, proceeds from the event will also benefit the park's project centered on the former swimming pool location, a vacant property with plans in place for creating a new multi-purpose recreation facility for the community.
The show promises to provide music lovers with a night to remember.
Alex Runions, lead singer of the group, says Restless Texas got its name by paying homage to two country groups that enjoyed success in the 90’s, Restless Heart and Little Texas.
Alex, a successful solo artist, says that the group came together as a way to pay tribute to the songs and the artists that he and his bandmates grew up listening to, and provide concertgoers with music that continues to have strong staying power decades later.
"I grew up on that 90's country music, and for me that's nostalgic," said Runions, speaking with Â鶹´«Ã½AV. "So I had this idea, because my solo career, I kind of took a different path to do something a little bit more folk, Americana. There was a bit of a disconnect of the music I was playing for my solo act, but then I wanted to still perform these great songs that have such lasting power, that have this nostalgic feel to them. So I decided to come up with this group, Restless Texas, a big band where we've got all those signature instruments; steel guitar, fiddle, piano, and things like that."
Runions has been playing music for around 25 years, while other members of the band have up to 30 years of experience under their belt, making for a group of veterans who grew up surrounded by that 90's era of country music.
The singer says that the current state of country music, which mostly splits fanbases down the middle, told him that turning back the clock and reverting back to an old school state of mind was the musical path that he should be on right now.
"When I look at, say, today's country music, it's not a bad thing. It's not necessarily a good thing, but it's just changed so much," said Alex. "And that's what music does to you; it just sort of adapts. But right now, I really don't listen to anything on the radio because to me, it doesn't really affect me the way that the older music does. When I think of a song, let's say, Florida Georgia Line had a massive hit called 'Cruise' maybe seven years ago. Nobody listens to that song anymore. But if you look at something like Alan Jackson's 'Chattahoochee', everybody still listens to that song, or 'Dust on the Bottle'."
It's songs like those that proved to have a lasting impact on music lovers, making them just as popular today as they were when they were first released decades ago, which can have an interesting effect on audiences of 2025.
"All these 90's songs, they had such an impact and they have such staying power that I think it kind of transcends generations," said Runions. "So somebody who might like a new country song still appreciates those old Joe Diffie songs or Sammy Kershaw or anything from the 90's."
Alex served as a songwriter for a time down in Nashville and he found himself having to operate within a certain template as the shift in modern country music was happening. This served as something of a wake-up call to him to get out of that proverbial box and forge his own path.
"I think for the most part, and it's not a bad thing, music changing and adapting to whatever's popular at the time isn't necessarily a bad thing," he said. "If I look at the state of country music right now, I was very involved in writing pop country hits for about 10 years. I was writing country music for other people out in Nashville, so I got an idea of sort of this template that they use. Very similar chord structure for every song, very similar content. In fact, it was a thing where you're sort of checking off the boxes of, 'Am I talking about tailgate, am I talking about drinking whiskey in a riverside?' It was kind of like writing in a box, I guess is what I would say. And that's kind of what they were looking for in Nashville and for radio hits, checking the boxes. So, it kind of loses its ability to be organic and be true music. But that's not to say it doesn't have its place. It speaks to a generation, and it's definitely a generational thing."
Runions says that everybody in the Outlook park on July 11 are in store for an unforgettable show, providing the music that people love to hear and taking them on that nostalgic trip that this kind of music provides them.
"It's a high energy show," said Alex. "What I like to do when we build the set lists for a show like this is, you know, everybody's going to expect those standard ones that you hear bands play at the bars through the years, like 'Dust on the Bottle', for example. But I like to surprise people and put songs in there that they probably haven't heard for 30 years, and it just really takes them back. So it's a high energy show. We've got a lot of songs that people are going to remember and sing along with, and we hope it really brings people back to that 90's era."
At the end of the day, Alex and the rest of Restless Texas hopes that music lovers come out in droves and get ready to have a great night. That's what the industry has become all about for him and his bandmates; watching people enjoy themselves and be in the moment when live music is being performed.
"Honestly, I think it's just getting to see people have a good time," said Alex. "That's really what it's all about, creating moments for people and for ourselves onstage. Again, like I keep saying, it's nostalgic. It really is. I grew up listening to these songs, pretending I was performing to crowds, singing these songs. So it's a pretty cool experience for me and I just enjoy it. I love these songs. I've been singing them for 30 years since I was a kid, singing to those old cassette tapes and whatnot. So, for me, it's really just seeing people enjoy themselves, remembering these songs, singing along with the songs. That's such a great thing."
Tickets for the park concert are available at the Bank of Montreal, the Riverbend Co-op Food Store, the Regional Park's entry booth, and online at . Minors must be accompanied by an adult. Doors open at 6:00 pm.
