Kolby Cooper at Cargo TX in Longview

Kolby Cooper has two dates in the region within a month: the intimate roadhouse show at Buffalo Joe's Pub in Paris on October 23, and this bigger outdoor show at Cargo TX in Longview on November 21. Together they are a good picture of how a rising Texas country act tours, playing rooms that run from a few hundred people to an open lawn, and staying close enough that the property's position in the middle makes both nights easy drives.

The artist

Cooper was born in Palestine and raised in Bradford, a small farming community in Anderson County where he grew up on outlaw country and grunge. He signed to Wheelhouse Records and broke through with songs like "Excuses," "It Ain't Me," "Under My Skin," and the album "Boy From Anderson County," making his Grand Ole Opry debut in 2022. His live show mixes the loud, guitar-driven side of Texas country with the kind of small-town stories that play well on a lawn under the stars.

The venue

Cargo TX at 3171 Nealy Way in Longview books a steady run of touring Texas and national acts on an outdoor stage set over a pond, with the lawn stretching out in front of the stage and a full restaurant and bar on site. It has become the closest thing to a large outdoor amphitheater for this corner of the state, and a November Saturday night show is a comfortable, easy-plan night out.

Getting there from the property

Longview is about 50 minutes from 1786 County Road 1070 via US-271 and I-30. With Cooper playing Paris in October and Longview in November, anyone evaluating the property gets two chances to catch one of the leading voices of the new Texas country scene without a long haul home.