Read Southall Reminisces On The Days When Koe Wetzel Would Open For Him: “It’s Weird To Think About”

One weird thing that happens in the music industry? Sometimes the opener goes on to be bigger than who they are opening for.

Read Southall talked about that in the latest episode of the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast. The Southall frontman stopped by to talk about the band’s 10 years in the red dirt scene, why they changed their name, the making of their 2023 self-titled album, working with mainstream artists like Chase Rice,  growing up in Oklahoma and how that inspired his love for country music, when fans can expect new music and much more.

Another avenue that the conversation went down was bands and artists that have opened for Southall in the past. Because Southall has been on the road for so long, we asked if there are any openers they’ve had in the past that now, with hindsight, are a little crazy to think about. Read Southall was very much aware of bands like Treaty Oak Revival opening for them and then going to do great things, and when we asked if there are another others that stand out, the Southall frontman responded with this:

“As far as just blown up afterwards? Yeah there’s a lot.”

Read went on to say that most of that came from playing festivals, where Southall was the headliner and up-and-coming acts and artists played lower than them in the billing.

He also added that there’s one particular situation from 10 years ago that he remembers like it was yesterday, and it involved a name that’s now very recognizable in the country music landscape. Read Southall explained that it first started with a call that featured a very specific request for a gig:

“I got a call at the time from a gal, and she was like, ‘Hey, can you come to this bonfire?’ It was in Stillwater, and that was where we broke out. If I had a fan base, that was the only place that I had one, you know. I came to this bonfire, and there was this band playing, but everyone was just standing around the bonfire, no one was really paying attention to the band.”

As the story goes, Read Southall was supposed to play some acoustic songs to get people intrigued and draw in the crowd, only so then the band that was booked to play would get some attention. And who was leading that band that Read Southall was helping out? None other than Koe Wetzel.

The pair hit it off, and eventually got to talking about a home-and-home type tour schedule that would be mutually beneficial for the both of them:

“I go out there… and I meet this guy named Koe Wetzel. I was like, ‘Man, I’m trying to play in Texas. Nobody will let me play in Texas. And I’ve beaten doors down.’ This is pre-booking agent, pre-management, anything. And he was like, ‘Man, we’re just trying to play in Oklahoma. We play everywhere in Texas.’

I was like, ‘Well, you come up and open here for me, and I’ll come down and open for you.’ So we started doing that. They would come open for us at the Wormy Dog (Saloon) and The Tumbleweed in Stillwater, and we were probably putting 1,000 people in there or something.”

That agreement ended up working out for both Wetzel and Southall, and now looking back at that time of his career, Read Southall can’t get over how odd it is to think that he used to have the “High Road” singer as his opening act:

“It’s weird to think about. I was like, at some point on stage, being like, ‘Give it up for the opening band! Koe Wetzel.’ Like what? That’s weird.”

@whiskeyriff @Southall and @Koe Wetzel have come a long way. // The new Whiskey Riff Raff podcast is LIVE now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #southall #koewetzel #countrymusic ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff

Oddly enough, after Koe Wetzel put out Noise Complaint in 2016, which helped to make he and his band more mainstream, Southall was the opening band for Koe for a number of years. It really is odd how things can change and flip-flop around in a short amount of time, eh?

If you want to hear more about Southall’s relationship with Koe Wetzel, make sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or click here.

We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts.

Cheers, y’all.

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