Concert review and photos: Red River Blowout concert in the West End (October 1)

Out of hate sprang love. Music (and beer) will do that.

Red River Blowout concert in the West End (October 1)

Photos by Rania Khoury

DALLAS — The historic West End in Dallas was packed Friday night for the inaugural Red River Rivalry Blowout concert featuring Reckless Kelly. The atmosphere was anything but hostile as fans of the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas partied together and prepped for Saturday’s big game. There were food, beer, souvenirs, and plenty of music to go around.

Photo by Rania Khoury

Cosmo

Fans donned shirts mocking their opponents, like “Texas Sucks” and “O Who?” One guy even wore a longhorns helmet with the horns turned down. But despite the rivalry, there was never an intense moment. Longhorn fans were, however, greatly outnumbered by Sooner fans.

Local ZZ Top tribute band Trio Loco took the stage first to a small audience, with a gorgeous view of downtown as a backdrop. The Bank of America Plaza building and Reunion Tower were lit up and reminded fans that they were in Dallas, at the halfway meeting point between their rival schools.

Local spray paint artist Cosmo was quite the hit outside the concert gate. Cosmo uses spray paint and scratch pieces of paper to create images of planets, stars, and other outer space creations while blaring techno music. He works fast and is quite flawless. He attracted a big crowd of interested fans.

Photo by Rania Khoury

Reckless Kelly

Brandon Rhyder took the stage next as the crowd grew. More fans – some double-fisting beers – rocked out with the band. It was a fun concert as rivals joked and drank together.

When Reckless Kelly came out, the concert became packed. They have a great alt-country sound. As Reckless Kelly played their hits, many fans were singing along, dancing, and cheering – and out of hate sprang love.