Hog Call, bonfire kicked off evening
Texas A&M University- Kingsville (TAMUK) Office of Student Activities hosted a concert for homecoming week which featured Josh Ward, a Texas country music artist, as well as Flat Broke out of Corpus Christi, Texas, for the opening act.
That evening started off with the Hog Call and bonfire, and the concert followed that event. The night lent itself for the occasion as a cool breeze set in just in time for the concert. The concert closed the week of homecoming events on Friday, Oct 29, at the Mesquite Grove Lawn prior to Saturday’s game.
“I’ve attended every homecoming concert and always had a good time. Even if I didn’t know the band, I still went out to listen and be with friends,” 2016 alumnus Sidney Cano said.
Ward was born and raised on the outskirts of Houston, Texas, and started preforming songs in his local church choir at the age of four.
During his childhood, Ward was raised on country music artists such as George Strait, Keith Whitley, Merle Haggard and George Jones.
These artists as well as his love for the country music genre led him to be where he is today. Ward enjoys preforming concerts that support education, a good cause and the sport of Rodeo.
Ward had never performed at TAMUK before and looked forward to the concert and the turnout.
Some students were able to attend the meet and greet.
“I did indeed attend the Josh Ward meet and greet. This was my first time meeting him and it was awesome to say the least. He seemed like such a down to earth kind of guy and even offered for me to be one of his openers at Brewster Street in Corpus. I am extremely blessed to have been given the opportunity to meet Josh Ward,” attendee Tyler Jasso said.
Ward began touring Texas in the early 2000s. His first big performance was at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s after show called The Hideout. Over the past two decades he has produced several hit singles and albums that have allowed him to grow a fan base of over 48.9 thousand followers on Instagram.
Some of his accomplishments include nine consecutive number one hit singles in Texas, two million views on YouTube and over three million streams globally on Spotify.
Ward travels not only across Texas but has ventured out of state also.
Of course, he could not do all of this alone. His band consists of Steve Cargill playing the bass, Justin Cogneato playing the drums, Glen Shankle playing the steel guitar and Woody Woodruff on the lead guitar.
“A piece of advice I would give to college students is don’t party too much, be sure to enjoy the experience, get a good education and make something of yourself,” Ward said. Ward implements the quote “All grit no quit” to keep him motivated to produce country music for his fan base and perform to the best of his ability at every concert. Ward will release several singles over the next few months, as well as an extended play record first then a full record by early to mid-spring of 2022.