Southbound is a band I believe you’ll hear a lot about over the next few years. Led by Kshaun Harris and Dylan Titus on rhythm guitar and vocals, and backed by Ryder McGillicuddy on drums, Gavin Bearden on bass, and Noah Moffit on lead guitar, these boys are a true Oklahoma Red Dirt band. They’re young, they’re fast, and they’re loud.
Now, it takes a lot for me to be impressed enough to go straight home and write about a band. The only other band I’ve ever done that for was Verdi Money after their first show. While this wasn’t Southbound’s first show, it was their biggest headlining show to date. And when I say that, I mean the venue was packed and nearly sold out with their friends and family, which is impressive considering they haven’t released any music yet.
Like I said, the band is young and new, and they made some mistakes that you’re going to see with newer bands. However, this isn’t a criticism. When bands are first starting out, there are things they’re going to do that those who have been in it for a minute won’t. But every artist has been there.
I was nervous for them to see how this show would go because of the pressure they were under. They were playing in front of family and friends, and the house was packed. But the moment they stepped out onto that stage, you could tell they were loose and ready.
They opened their set with a cover of Treaty Oak Revival’s “Boomtown,” and it sounded amazing. Throughout the set, you could see them getting more comfortable, and their stage presence was great. Normally, you see new bands standing there and not moving, but they were all over the place, jamming out together and having a great time.
About halfway through the set, Dylan and Kshaun kicked everyone else off stage to rip some great acoustic songs and bring the energy down after an hour of rocking out with various covers and an original called “I Hate The Rain,” which, in my opinion, was a great song.
After the acoustic part of the show, the band came back on. Noah Moffit gave the crowd an amazing electric guitar rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and all those who’ve served.
From there, Dylan and Kshaun covered the ever-famous duet “Love” by Koe Wetzel and Parker McCollum. But the song that followed is what truly pushed me over the edge and opened my eyes even more to how good this band is.
They captured the crowd with their original “Stillwater Again,” which I’m hoping will be their first single. If it is, I think it will earn them a spot in this scene and bring them lots of fans. At its core, it’s a true Red Dirt song, and I take it as a love letter to being young and running around with your friends in Stillwater.
I know how hard it is to choose a setlist as an artist with music out there, and I can only imagine how much harder it is when you don’t have music out yet. These boys had one that captured the crowd and kept them hanging on throughout the night. People were dancing and singing along, and you could feel the energy in the room.
Then they ended it in true Oklahoma fashion.
Second to last, they played the one song every Red Dirt band has to cover “Boys From Oklahoma.” I was standing side stage watching it all unfold, and when they walked off, they were hyped up, and they had every right to be. They had just murdered for two hours, and the crowd never died down once.
Then the “one more song” chant started, and Southbound gave their crowd what they wanted.
They walked back out there, and Kshaun stepped up to the mic and asked the crowd, “Are you guys ready to have an all night revival?” That led to maybe one of the best closing songs they could have played, Zach Bryan’s “Revival.”
Everyone gave it their all. Ryder was beating his kit, Gavin was playing a funky riff on the bass, Noah was shredding, and Kshaun and Dylan were standing on the bar, all of them jamming out. The crowd was clapping to the beat, and then the boys stopped playing and let the crowd sing out the last chorus.
They stepped off stage, walked out behind the venue, and had all of about 30 seconds before their friends were all out there congratulating them.
These boys are young and new, yet they have what it takes to make a name for themselves in this scene. It’s going to be tough for them. They might miss some opportunities because of their age, but if they stick with it and fight through the tough times, they’ll come out on top. And I truly believe they’ll be the next band everyone’s talking about.
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