Published Thursday, September 02, 2010 12:00 AM

Music scene goes all out for back-to-school

By Kelly Minnis

Ah -- if only the music scene around here was as bountiful as it always is the first weekend after A&M begins classes. It's like everyone wants to show off to the incoming freshmen, "Hey look! College Station is awesome! Aren't you glad you came here instead of UT?" 6th and Red River what?

The first weekend B-CS puts on its best front and delivers big shows like Ziegfest out at Texas Motor Speedway south of College Station.

The lineup is, as usual, quite heavy on Texas country, but the big headliner for this year's show is Houston boys done good Blue October, who are pretty much the flip side to the festival. One of the best features of this year's Ziegfest is an interactive uplink between the concert and soldiers stationed in Iraq. Not only will those soldiers be able to watch the concert, but concertgoers will also be able to chat with the soldiers through the connection. That's a really nice touch; kudos to Ziegfest.

A&M always has its First Yell at the very beginning of the semester, and this year stand-up comedian and sitcom star Bill Engvall will be on hand to entertain the Aggie hordes. Also, Granger Smith, he of the big B-CS hit We Bleed Maroon, will be playing a free concert at Texas Hall of Fame in Bryan late Friday.

If you've been aching all summer to pull out your patchouli and tie-dye then you've got two options for letting your hair down and dancing barefoot. Jam band extraordinaire Strawberry Jam plays Schotzis Friday night and Rattletree Marimba takes the stage at Revolution Cafe & Bar in downtown Bryan the same night.

If you are looking for something a little edgier, Houston punk trio Hollywood Black will headline The Stafford in downtown Bryan on Saturday night with local punks Stay In Touch and new local scrappy garage pop outfit Bachelor Police open. Across Main Street at Revolution, Austin guitar heroes Megafauna celebrate the release of their new album, Larger Than Human. Aim For the Day headlines a four-band all-metal bill at The Stafford in downtown Bryan on Sunday night.

So you've got plenty to do this weekend. Brave the crowds and enjoy yourselves.

* Kelly Minnis plays in a bunch of bands, DJ's, co-owns a local record label and still somehow finds time with his wife and kids. E-mail him at kellyminnis@gmail.com.

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