Celebration Seabrook 60 Years

Celebration Seabrook:

By Patty Andrew

In the bright October sun and blue skies, the City of Seabrook hosted Celebration Seabrook in honor of the 60th Anniversary of its incorporation. Nestled on the shore of Galveston

Bay, Seabrook created a community in the 1800’s.

However, as the City of Houston was annexing land around Harris County in the early 1960’s,

Seabrook chose to incorporate in 1961 to maintain its uniqueness as a city and to honor its heritage.

So, the city-by-the-sea rightly threw a fabulous music and art fest on October 9th to mark this important moment in history and the vibrant place it has become.

Celebration Seabrook featured food, live music, and fun for all at the lush grassy acreage of the

Rex L. Meador Park. The famous painted pelicans of Seabrook welcomed visitors at the entrance.

Food Trucks lined up on the North side of the area next to convenient picnic tables that dotted the field. Colorful vendor booths offered art, jewelry, and more to eager shoppers. The City itself even sold commemorative t-shirts and hats for this big day.

Art of all descriptions enhanced the festival grounds including beautiful chalk drawings in the vendor pavilion. The city sponsored a historical display of Seabrook photographs from the past with descriptions of what was. Visitors crowded around the posters to learn about the past and marvel of what has occurred over the decades in their beloved city.

Families flocked to The Kid Zone where fearless children scurried up the rock-climbing tower that loomed over the area. More adventure awaited at the bounce houses and slide as kids clamored over and over to experience the excitement. Because this is Texas by the water, a mechanical shark beckoned young and old alike to take a chance on this bumpy adventure. The innovative Kid’s Beach invited youngsters to enjoy the yards of sand for hours of active play.

The Kid Zone’s Art Area offered plenty of opportunities for the children to creatively express themselves. Kids sported colorful designs from face painting next to their smiles as they colored a t-shirt and decorated pumpkins. The Evelyn Meador Library offered additional arts and crafts as well as information on their wonderful facility that adds so much to this community.

Celebration Seabrook is the current rendition of the annual festivals that the city routinely sponsors. As in previous years, live music is the glorious highlight of the event, and this year was no exception. Celebration Seabrook hosted three popular country artists to provide musical entertainment to event attendees: Hayden McBride, Jake Worthington, and Sam Riggs.

The guitars pound out rock rhythms among the country lyrics. Some of the musicians sported hair of the 2020’s with man buns, dreadlocks, and shoulder length waves under various gimme caps. Most impressively, all of the day’s performers gave kudos to the others.

As the sun set over the last tunes of the day, a couple of jets from the nearby airshow paid their respects before heading back to base. It was a nice send off for a successful day of Celebration Seabrook.

60 Years of Excellence

Photography by GH Andrew

HAYDEN MCBRIDE- Hayden McBride offered up many original tunes during his set at Celebration Seabrook. This young singer and songwriter from Mt. Pleasant, Texas made the four- and half-hour journey to his first visit to Seabrook and engaged the crowd with songs of heartache and beer-drinking. He released a new album just two months ago called "Worth the Wait"; sample singles on YouTube and other social media platforms. I especially liked the dynamic, “Drinking You Goodbye.” The personable Hayden is very engaging with his strong vocals and his band’s excellent musical prowess. Pay attention to the greatness of his lead guitarist – a true rock influence helps him generate such great sound as in “The Flames.” Find Hayden McBride Music on Facebook and get ready to enjoy some lively Texas Country music.

JAKE WORTHINGTON - You might recognize Jake Worthington from The Voice where he was a runner up during the sixth season. Or you may simply recognize him because he is a local from La Porte, Texas. Even if he does not look familiar, you will remember his music and his voice once you see him perform. It is easy to see and hear why Jake has had three Top 20 Singles as well as a record deal since last January. “That [record contract] was the bright spot of COVID,” the shy Jake stated in a quick pre-set chat.

Jake is a solid country musician with a full strong voice that he easily commands during the spirited anthems like “How Do You Honky Tonk?” and “Hell of a Highway.” He effortlessly adds flourishes (called “ornaments” in vocal singing) which embellish his sound and add character to his performance. Jake accompanies himself on his trusty acoustic guitar and does some fancy picking. His band includes a lead guitar, a bass guitar, steel guitar, and drums – a talented group who manage both their ensemble and solo playing with ease and skill. Learn more about Jake at www.thejakeworthington. com and Facebook, plus listen to his music on YouTube and Spotify. SAM RIGGS- Headlining the Celebration Seabrook musical entertainment was the powerful Sam Riggs, exploding on to the stage surrounded by rotating lights, giant speakers with animated LEDs, and tsunamis of sound. Sam bills himself as a country music singer and songwriter but the rock and roll influences scream from him and his band’s performances. Sam has a very successful social media presence with millions of streams and views across several platforms. His musical prowess pushed his song, “Collide” from the album, "Outrun the Sun", to be included on the television show, "Nashville".

Sam Riggs and company play music with a big sound. The bass reverberates through your chest. The drums bounce through you to your chair. Sam’s voice cuts through it all, expanding through space until everyone is captured and enthralled. He coyly declared, “Thanks for letting us make noise in your city.”

While many of his songs have more of a rock vibe, Sam has a way of bringing out the country, especially when he plays his violin or banjo. The sultry “Until the Stars Burn Out” pulls toward that Nashville sound while his violin on “Hold One and Let Go” reminds you of the music from the Texas Hill Country. Sam continues to surprise and delight with a Cajun fiddle solo in “Callin’ Baton Rouge” and his banjo lilts in “Ain’t No Way You Mend a Broken Heart.”

Whether on his acoustic or electric guitar, Sam thoroughly entertained the crowd who enthusiastically sang along with his songs, clapping and waving all afternoon long. Become a fan yourself by following his tour schedule at https:// www.samriggsmusic.com/ and link to his music via the platforms listed on the website.

HAYDEN MCBRIDE SAM RIGGS

Celebration Seabrook