Hometown musician returns to Tyler to achieve dream of performing at Stanley’s

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, August 4, 2021

A Tyler ISD alumnus and musician is returning to his hometown on Friday to play at the restaurant he had always wanted to perform at since he was 12 years old.

Ronnie Rowe, a 2015 Robert E. Lee High School graduate, and his band, Ronnie and the Redwoods, will be performing at Stanley’s Famous Pit Barbecue in Tyler to open for the Vandoliers at 8 p.m.

Since starting his band in Lubbock, where he attended Texas Tech University, Rowe hadn’t had the chance to return to Tyler for a performance. Members of the band mostly met in Lubbock.

Robbie Coleman, Casey Heckman, Jacob Nalle, Sam Choate and Rowe began to follow their musical passion through open mics in Lubbock. Rowe said together, they have found success by never giving up and just facing and overcoming each trial and adversity.

“I’ve always wanted to come back to Tyler; it just hasn’t worked out with (the COVID-19 pandemic). And the first year as you know, it takes a while to build up a band. When we were at the stage when we could travel to y’all, corona messed it up. We’ve kind of just had to stay out in West Texas,” Rowe said. “It’s still hard to get into bars that don’t really know you, even though it’s Tyler, not everyone from Tyler knows me, especially the venues.”

The opportunity to open for the Vandoliers was a chance Rowe created. In an act of faith, after watching them perform, Rowe reached out to the Americano rock and roll band out of Dallas. He asked if his band could open for them at a show in Lubbock. The band agreed and the rest was history.

When Rowe found the Vandoliers were set to perform in his hometown of Tyler, he once again pitched the opportunity, adding he’d always wanted to perform at Stanley’s.

“Stanley’s is a Tyler staple. They have famous barbecue there and when you go, there are great musicians. Especially being a kid who’s 12 and likes to play and gets to see people do it professionally, you get starry-eyed, and I definitely remember seeing that at Stanley’s,” Rowe said.

He also added the atmosphere at the restaurant is authentic.

“The low ceiling, the low stage, everyone is on the same level as the artist and it’s just a good feeling when you’re that close to the crowd and the crowd is that close to you. I just have a lot of good memories there, even in high school and out of high school, coming back to eat at Stanley’s,” he said, adding he has friends who work at Stanley’s now.

Friday will finally not only be the big day of Rowe achieving his childhood dream, but it will also be a big day for the band as a whole. The band will be unveiling their second EP that will be available on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, every streaming platform, Rowe said.

The EP will be available online to stream after the performance at midnight Saturday.

Listeners can expect two songs in the EP, called “Killer.” “Killer” is a rock and roll song, and the second song, “That’s The Dream,” is an Americano-style rock and roll song.

“There are two sides of us in the EP,” Rowe said.

The band has been working on the EP for about six months now, when they recorded the songs at the Blue Light in Lubbock. The band recorded live in the studio, using the venue like they would a studio.

Rowe added a local Tyler artist, Tyler Shelton, designed the band’s EP’s cover artwork.

Ronnie and the Redwoods have been preparing for Friday’s performance by getting plenty of sleep, rehearsing and taking the last two years into account to prepare them for Friday.