Country Cannonball: Pat Green headlines livestock show performance

Pat Green has had his name mentioned a lot lately in the entertainment world. After a decade of making music, releasing independent records and doggedly chasing the self-made artist label, the Texas-born country artist arrived in a big way with the September 2006 release of Cannonball. However the media portrays the success of his album, Green said it doesn’t matter.

“It’s my job to make a career, and it’s everyone else’s job to talk about it,” he said in a phone interview. “I don’t worry about it all that much. I feel like I’ve accomplished quite a bit in life. I don’t feel like I’ve ever let myself down. I’ve been looking forward and doing things in the same way because it works for me.”

An attitude of chilled-out acceptance has characterized Green since the mid-’90s, when Green began writing songs while attending Texas Tech. Since then, he has approached music with a do-it-yourself attitude, slowly building a fan base by playing any venue that would have him.

He’s performing at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Showgrounds in Mercedes.

“It’s been growth every year,” he said. “If I ever stopped growing or reaching fewer people, I guess that would have been a problem. I feel like I’ve been doing the right thing for a long time. As long as that continues to do it, I’ll go.”

Green’s game plan has paid off, said JoJo Cerda, program director for KTEX-FM 100.3. Green has visited the Rio Grande Valley annually the past several years and each performance has seen a larger crowd, Cerda said. It’s a reflection of the singer’s growing popularity.

“Overall, he’s come a long way, and he’s still not done yet, either,” Cerda said.” The more national exposure he gets, and the more people get to see him in concert, that’s gonna grow huge.”

On the charts, Cannonball has brought Green the most success he has had since 2003’s Wave on Wave, which earned Green three Grammy nominations. “Feels Just Like It Should,” the album’s first single, peaked at No. 13 on Billboard’s “Hot Country Tracks” chart and received major airplay on CMT. The follow-up single “Dixie Lullaby” has also moved up 14 spots on the chart in the past four weeks, Green said, currently holding at No. 33.

Green’s success could be attributed to the way he has promoted himself, but it also stems from his approachable nature, Cerda said.

“He’s a down-home guy with a next-door appeal to him,” he said. “There’s nothing extravagant about Pat Green at all. He gets out there and has fun with everything. He’s an overall fun guy to be around.”

Green and his energetic appeal have no shortage of available publicity this spring and summer. After wrapping up a headlining tour for Cannonball, Green will play more than 50 dates as Kenny Chesney’s opening act on the Flip Flop Summer Tour. Green said he hopes to engage more people with his music and connect with fans in the way he always has.

“You really have to like people to do this job,” he said. “That’s a truism I’ve always had. I never let myself get too big for my britches. I realize I’m just the same as everyone else.”

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Kate Lohnes covers features and music for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4427. For this and other local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.

WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday; doors open at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Rio Grande Valley Livestock Showgrounds, 1000 N. Texas, Mercedes

COST: $20 general admission

FOR MORE INFO: Call (956) 565-2456, or visit www.rgvlivestockshow.com.