Music students in the Texas A&M College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts will join well-known Texas artists at this weekend’s Bryan TX Songwriter Festival.
The lineup for the two-day event, organized by singer-songwriter and former Texas A&M student Kyle Hutton, includes Roger Creager, Cory Morrow, Max and Heather Stalling, Jamie Lin Wilson, The Band of Heathens and The Tejas Brothers. The event is spread over three Downtown Bryan venues: Grand Stafford Theater, Palace Theater and a main stage at the corner of William J. Bryan Parkway and North Bryan Avenue.
Student performers with ties to the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts include Nico Ruiz Barnes, an alternative-rock artist whose stage name is Nico Rey, who plays Saturday at 1 p.m. on the main stage. Rey, who was featured in the 2024 Performance Series by the Performance and Visual Studies program, took music elective courses taught by Matthew Campbell, Ph.D., and Will Connor, Ph.D., and is now pursuing a master’s degree in Economics.
Several students will take the stage on Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Palace Theater. Yuna Lo, a Performance and Visual Studies major and Music minor, will be accompanied on piano by Gavin Orris and on guitar by John Myers, both students in the Music Performance program. Lo will sing her original song and first single “For You,” along with covers including Taylor Swift’s “Back to December” and a Chinese song titled “Rainie Love.”
Melanie Guerra, an Engineering major and Music Technology minor, will perform several original songs with guitar.
“I’m looking forward to sharing songs that put a twist on everyday moments, some humorous and others more serious, to start off the second day of the festival,” Guerra said.
Macy Boswell, who is earning a minor in Music and majoring in Economics, will sing and play guitar on three original folk/country pop songs and three covers. She will be accompanied on cajon by Ivan Potato, a Computer Science major and Music minor.
“I couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity,” Boswell said. “There are so many great artists I can’t wait to hear and share a stage with!”
By including student performers, the festival is providing a “wonderful opportunity to perform and gain real-world experience,” said Toby Pipes, music industry relations coordinator for the college.
“We are very proud of our talented Aggies and extremely grateful to have a platform to showcase their abilities to the B-CS community,” he said.
Details: The Bryan TX Songwriter Festival begins Friday at 6 p.m. and continues Saturday from noon to 11 p.m. in Downtown Bryan. See the complete schedule at bryantxsongwriterfestival.com. The event benefits the Real Life Real Music Foundation.
