MUMBAI: Aaron Watson Live at the World’s Biggest Rodeo Show, the “pioneering independent’s” 14 album and his first live album in nearly a decade, is set to release on 24 August, 2018, marking the one year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall on the south Texas coast (August 25, 2017). The Category four storm caused $125 billion in damage according to the National Hurricane Center and impacted 13 million people in 41 Texas counties. $1.41 from each album sold will benefit the Rebuild Texas Fund, in recognition of the widespread devastation across Watson’s beloved home state. Recorded live in front of 65,000 fans on opening night of the 2017 Rodeo Houston, the album is particularly poignant to the Texas born-and-bred singer/songwriter.
“We had planned on releasing this album in the second half of 2017, but after the storm it just didn’t feel right,” says Watson. “I’ve always wanted my music to do good in the world and it became clear that there was a real opportunity to hold onto this project and release it on the one year anniversary of the hurricane. So much of my home state of Texas was affected. Hopefully by bringing the recovery efforts back to the forefront, it will remind people that there is still so much work left to do. I’m also extremely proud to partner with the Rebuild Texas Fund, which makes sure every dollar goes back into the local communities, and help them raise money by donating a portion of the live album sales.”
The collection contains 13 songs from Aaron’s 18-year career, recorded live at the 2017 Rodeo Houston, and includes the emotional acoustic bonus track, “Higher Ground,” which Aaron wrote as Hurricane Harvey was devastating his home state of Texas.
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“I was out of state touring when Harvey hit. I felt helpless being so far away,” shares Watson. “This storm is personal to me. My grandparents lived in, and are buried in, an area that was devastated. Seeing that on the news and the people there struggling to escape, rescue each other and recover was the inspiration for writing the song Higher Ground.
