On Friday, Sept. 20, the Red Dirt Concert Series will feature opening act Austin B. Sweeney and headliner Charlie McNeal at the Posse Grounds Pavilion starting at 5 p.m.

“An interesting twist on the country show is that both of those performers made a point in their applications to note that their influences are wide-ranging across all of the genres,” Parks and Recreation Special Events Coordinator Jason Vargo said. “Which I thought was a pretty cool way to compliment that show.” 

Charlie McNeal 

“Get there early and get up front,” the singer and songwriter said. “It’s going to be high-energy country music and pedal steel guitar. Expect pedal steel. You’re going to hear a lot of it.” 

McNeal, who is originally from Arroyo Grande, Calif., began playing music at the age of 15 by teaching himself to play guitar and sing. He gravitated toward the classic country style, drawing inspiration from Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, one of his favorites. 

“I try to play as many original songs as I can,” McNeal said. “That’s really important for me, to get my message, my songs out there. I can play an eight hour show of covers. That was my bread and butter for a long time. I got good at playing at all the bars and taking all the requests. But it’s time for me to do my own music, and I’ve been writing for almost 10 years now.” 

McNeal will throw in an occasional cover of songs that have influenced him, such as “Seven Spanish Angels” by Willie Nelson and Ray Charles, or George Jones’ “The Race is On.” 

“When I first moved out to Nashville [Tenn.], I was 20 years old, and I wanted everything to sound old school,” McNeal said. “Obviously the national guys of old, like Alan Jackson, a lot of that ’90 stuff, obviously, Mark Chestnut out of Texas, a lot of Texas country. So my influences have kind of evolved, but the root of it still stays the same.” 

“I have a van that I go up and down the country with and travel all the time,” McNeal said. “I met some good guys who are like minded. And we’ve been, practicing and gigging and sleeping in the van and roughing it sometimes. But we have a lot of fun, and at the core, we all love country music, and that’s what keeps us going.” 

Given his long hours, McNeal said that his relationship with his wife Madison McNeal makes his lifestyle easier

“I make it about as hard as I can, living the life that I do, but she is full of grace, and she allows me to do it,” McNeal laughed. “If you pay attention to the [lyrics] you’ll get something out of it,” McNeal said. “If you don’t pay attention to any of the words, the music is good enough if you just want to dance … However you want to enjoy the show, you’re free to do so, and you’re going to enjoy it no matter what.” 

Austin B. Sweeney 

Opening act Austin B. Sweeney will start the evening off with a solo acoustic set. 

“They’re going to have fun, but I would like to think that … they’re going to get a good sense of not only where I’m from, but who I am,” Sweeney said. “When you meet people, often, you put on a kind of a politician facade where it’s shaking hands and you don’t see behind the veil. But all of that changes when I get on stage, because you’ll never get a better sense of who I am and how I am than through my songs.” 

Sweeney cited singer songwriters like Sturgill Simpson, and Jason Isbell as some of his inspirations, along with the late Jimmy Buffett and Oasis. 

“Everybody thought of [Buffett] as ‘The Cheeseburger in Paradise’ and ‘Margaritaville’ guy,” Sweeney said. “But as [you] dig into his deep cuts, he was brilliant and just had a way with [words] … Bob Dylan named him one of his favorite songwriters.” 

Sweeney said his live performances are intended to be similarly rich in storytelling. 

“Every song has a specific story tied to it,” he said. “I can tell you exactly where I was when I wrote each lyric, and I hope to bring people into that world through the music and the stories I share.” 

He added that he has tried several times to write a song that he calls “Pacific Northwest Country” based on his upbringing on a family farm in Dayton, Ore. 

“I had moved to Nashville when I was 22 and moved back to the family farm for about four years,” Sweeney said. “I figured I would make music and farm, but my buddies came to me one night when were recording a podcast, and they said, ‘We’re moving to Arizona. Do you want to go?’ … I called them about five minutes later and said, ‘I’m in.’” 

Sweeney described the choice as the best career move he has so far made for his brand of not “exactly country” music with touches of blues, folk and psychedelic rock. 

“I write to kind of deal with whatever problems I’ve run into in my life, whether it’s anxiety or mistakes I’ve made, things that I need to apologize for, as well as the fun adventures and like my new song ‘Leaving Reno’ that just came out. [It’s] about a trip my buddies and I took to Reno to see our favorite team play, and we lost all our money, and we had to get the hell out of town. So I’ve got some very serious songs I really dredged up out of my own insecurities. And at the same time I like to balance it out with songs that are fun and you’re able to rock out to.” 

The Red Dirt Concert Series will close its eighth year on Friday, Sept. 27, with a ska-themed evening with opening act Rick Cucuzza and headliner The Originals, a Reel Big Fish tribute band.