September 17, 2026
Ray Wylie Hubbard is one of those names in country music that I’ve heard off and on since the 1970’s, but I knew very little about the guy or his music. You might say that I knew him by name only. So when I learned that he was going to be the last concert of the 2026 Denison, Texas Music on Main concert series, I decided to go check him out on name recognition alone.
Since I knew that Ray Wylie Hubbard was playing a free concert just up the road in Denison, I familiarized myself with the singer’s setlist and discovered the he was born in the great state of Oklahoma. Although he was raised in Dallas, Texas I’ll call the guy a fellow Oklahoman, and as an added bonus the guy even spent a few years as a proud member of the Mean Green at North Texas University majoring in English. I guess all that didn’t matter though. I was just excited about seeing a free concert, and here’s the review I posted for the concert.
RAY WYLIE HUBBARD
DENISON, TEXAS MUSIC ON MAIN CONCERT SERIES July 31, 2026
“I’m an acquired taste,” Ray Wylie Hubbard told us from the stage Friday night to kick off this summer’s last Music on Main concert in Denison, Texas. What was certainly an acquired taste was sitting out in 103-degree heat for a concert. It’s Texas, so it’s supposed to be hot in July, and Hubbard was born up the road in Soper, Oklahoma and raised down the road in Dallas meaning that the 79-year-old outlaw country singer should be used to it by now. The concert was just full of local delights as a couple of local teenagers belted out a few country songs to get things started. I guess they were decent singers. The two girls sitting behind me were singing along with such vigor, that I heard them far more than anything coming from the stage. However, the girls behind carried a little talent.
I saw some internet page that described Ray Wylie Hubbard as “Whiskey soaked, leather-worn, and mythical.” If nothing else the guy just looks like someone you’d want to sit down, have a beer with, and listen to his stories, and Ray had a few fruits of his past to dish out for us between songs. Every song seemed to have a story settled into it, and every song seemed to need its own intro story. Mr. Hubbard gave us a little insight on how guys like him and Willie Nelson found a way to blend the hardcore country in with the hippies back in the day to create the country music I used to listen to back in the 1970’s.
There’s certainly no shiny bolo ties and rhinestone jackets for guys like Ray Wylie Hubbard. Not only does he have a sound of his own but a look as well. The grizzly country elder looked like he’d be at home in a biker bar or on the stage at Woodstock. However, for this night he was in Denison, playing for those who were willing to lose a little sweat for the evening, but before we could sweat our brains out, he invited us to join in with singing SNAKE FARM. You’ve got to love lyrics like “Snake farm, it just sounds nasty. Snake farm, pretty much is!” As he led us into another sing along, Ray told the story of how he ran across a few country fans who told him that he needed to modify his act a bit by learning some of the new, hip country songs of the day. Such advice inspired him to crank out the song, SCREW YOU, WE’RE FROM TEXAS, which some of the folks on hand were more than happy to join in with. I’m guessing that song tends to be a sing along in only one state.
Although Hubbard is known as a song writer, he gave a shout out to another song writer who he claimed was the coolest person he ever met, the late Oklahoma native J.J. Cale. He also mentioned Jerry Jeff Walker as everybody got to join in and belt out the word to UP AGAINST THE WALL, REDNECK MOTHER. Ray wrote the song, but Walker made it famous. I actually saw Jerry Jeff Walker play in Denison, Texas years ago. He might have even played that song…I don’t remember. As I recall, I was a bit up against the wall or down on the table that night myself. But I’m certainly going to remember this concert, especially all those folks who were walking around right in front of me. I swear, some people just come to these concerts to put steps on their Fitbit. Just for kicks I counted forty folks walking in my line of view during just ONE song, and that was pretty much EVERY SONG. However, it’s the song CHOCTAW BINGO that makes you hang onto every word, and for nearly ten minutes Hubbard goes through a whole family, including an uncle who plays Choctaw Bingo every Friday night and had to leave Texas, but he won’t say why. We’ve all got an uncle like that.
After the sun started drifting down the evening turned out to be pretty pleasant, and the outlaw country singer’s tunes seemed like a perfect show to close out the free concerts of Grayson County for another summer. I guess this means I have to go back to paying for my concerts! I’m sure there’s a song in that somewhere.
Leave a comment