Texas Tech Rocks Waco with Chords and Conversations Event

By Trevor Hendricks, eLearning Student Assistant

On Feb. 3, Texas Tech University at Waco took center stage as they hosted their first Chords and Conversations event. Located at The Palladium and The Hippodrome Theatre, in Waco, Texas, the Chords and Conversations event showcased legendary country songwriters Aaron Barker, Allen Shamblin and J.T. Harding as well as the Masked Rider and Fearless Champion. The three-part event included: a pre-show reception where attendees heard how the songwriters came up with some of country's most popular songs; a concert/performance starring the three artists; and a post-show reception where attendees and donors got to talk with the artists in a smaller setting. The Chords and Conversations event was not only created to raise awareness about Texas Tech and invite local Red Raiders for an evening of entertainment, but also to raise funds for student scholarshps. 

Dr. Lewis Snell, director of Texas Tech at Waco, was privileged to meet with the songwriters while managing the event. Snell stated, "The artists were cordial, worked well together and enjoyed playing their songs to a smaller audience because it gave them the chance to perform front and center, in a low pressure setting." In addition to Dr. Snell meeting the artists, he added that a local high school guitarist got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The student was playing background music during the event when Dr. Snell approached the student and told him that he could stick around and meet the songwriters. Aaron Barker ended up giving his personal contact information to the student's father and told him that his son was welcome to visit him for a meal anytime, inviting him to join Barker on one of his song writing sessions at the Bluebird Café (in the heart of the country music industry: Nashville, Tennessee.)

Prior to performing, the songwriters told stories about how their songs were written and then performed by some of country music's most popular artists. J.T. Harding spoke about randomly running into Keith Urban in the men's room in a local restaurant where he quickly delivered a pitch that caught Urban's interest. Allen Shamblin gave insight on one of his songwriting adventures about frogs where he declared that "frogs don't get enough respect, and that there should be a song about frogs," and began writing from there. Aaron Barker became partners with a famous singer when he wrote a song in hopes that it would cover a truck repair. A friend of Barker's referred him to a pal named "George." Barker sent George the song and in return, received a check large enough to cover the repair and Barker's house payment. The check was signed by none other than George Strait.

Beyond everyone having a great time, the Chords and Conversations event surpassed Dr. Snell's hopes. "Going into the Chords and Conversations event, there were a lot of unknowns, but we met our goal to raise awareness and convey that Texas Tech University at Waco is serious about leaving their mark on the community and giving people the opportunity to earn a degree," Dr. Snell said. 

There were about 150 attendees at this year's Chords and Conversations. Dr. Snell, already thinking about hosting the event again next year, is shooting for around 300 people to attend. He is also looking for next year's event to raise around $30,000 so that a portion of that can go towards funding student scholarships. He said he was happy to connect with many McLennan Community College faculty and Texas Tech alumni such as KXXV's General Manager/Vice President Eric Duncan who helped promote the event by sponsoring it on their network. Duncan and others who helped have been asked to help promote next year's event.

For more information on the Chords and Conversations event, the songwriters, and Texas Tech University at Waco and our degree programs, watch KXXV's video broadcast. In the interview, Dustin McDunn, a media and communications instructor at Texas Tech University at Waco, discusses the Chords and Conversations event and how it can positively impact the city of Waco.

The Masked Rider and a Tech student on Austin Street

 

 

 

J.T. Herring (left), Aaron Barker (middle) and Allen Shamblin (right) perform together on-stage