The Rusty Mule (http://rustymule.wix.com/the-rusty-mule) is located on Hwy 290 just passed the 'Y' in Oak Hill, Texas. Basically on the edge of Austin going west on 290. It is strictly an outdoor venue. Seating under the trees, a nice little stage for musical entertainment. It is kid and pet friendly until about 9 out 10, which is fine and makes sense to me (having an 8 yr old at home). Overall the place is gorgeous and serene.
Unfortunately the parking is hideous so be prepared, don't drive your 'nice' car. In fact. ..drive the truck. It is basically a dirt road with lots of wash outs. The beer service was terrible AND they were running out. I would hope and like to blame that on the crowd that turned out for the performance this particular evening. The future will tell.
Brett Hendrix (http://www.bretthendrixband.com/) was up solo. Just the young man and his guitar. Although his set seemed to be filler for the majority of the crowd, I listened. As far as performance wise there is not a whole lot a man can do to entertain when it is just him and the guitar.
What Brett did, he did well. His mix of originals and covers was as it should have been. What did catch my attention was the covers. He did own them. There were some that he did to which I did not recognize as a cover until the chorus. Have to compliment him for making his time on stage his!
Headliner and boys of the hour was the Cody Bryan Band (http://codybryanmusic.com/main.php). Doing this little shindig to celebrate the release of the band's new EP CD. The performance value of this band had just gone up and up. With very little change to their line up, it's not a surprise the charismatic lead singer has learned how to play to the crowd over the last few years.
The music on the new CD - Small Town Noise (http://codybryanband.tumblr.com/post/122973816201/are-you-ready-our-ep-small-town-noise) is fun. The band performs it well and the whole performance comes off polished. It's nice to see how the hard work is paying off for these guys based on the rowdy sing along crowd.