Rich O’Toole, a staple of Texas Country music for nearly two decades, is returning to the Fort Worth Stockyards on Friday, May 8, for a headlining show at Tannahill’s Music Hall & Lounge in Mule Alley.
Hunter Hicks, whose songs “Cheers to Disagree” and “Snakes In Tall Grass” were featured prominently in season two of the locally produced Taylor Sheridan series “Landman,” will support O’Toole as the opening act.
O’Toole was one of the first Texas artists to hold a concert fundraiser for victims of last year’s devastating Texas floods and first responders. That concert event, which The Dallas Express partnered to help promote and support, along with others O’Toole held around the state, raised nearly half a million dollars for Texas flood relief.
DX caught up with the Texas Hill Country-based O’Toole, who is touring behind his album “God Is a Gentleman.”
“It’s so great to be back on tour, and the absolute highlight of this one for me is playing Tannahill’s in the Fort Worth Stockyards,” O’Toole told DX. “Anytime I’m blessed to play the iconic Stockyards is special — there’s so much history of legendary artists there — but I’m a huge fan of the venue and what Tim Love has done there in Mule Alley. I’ve been to several shows there myself, but it will be my first gig there, so I couldn’t be more excited for this one.”
Asked about “God Is a Gentleman,” O’Toole said the human toll of the floods shaped the project.
“The human loss of the flood really hit me hard. I had close friends who lost children in the flood, and I basically spent the second half of last year reflecting on the impact of that tragedy, which also directly affected some prominent artists I know,” O’Toole said. “‘God Is a Gentleman’ is a product of my personal self-reflection and resetting my own personal priorities after all the loss and pain I saw.
“There’s some raw, stripped-down songs as a result, but the show is also a celebration of life, and we’ll have plenty of fun befitting a Stockyards Friday night playing a lot of old and new favorites.”
Doors at Tannahill’s open at 7 p.m. on May 8, with the show listed for 9 p.m. Tickets for the Fort Worth show and other Rich O’Toole tour dates are available through Ticketmaster.
