Local band to kickoff festival

By ANTHONY COOK
The Wellington News
Following in his father's footsteps is all Jason Boyd ever wanted to do.
He will get his chance this year at the Wheat Festival.
On Thursday, Jason Boyd and South 81 will play at the Kickoff Concert to the 109th Wheat Fest. The concert will begin at 8 p.m. It will be held on the main stage set up at Seventh and Washington.
Boyd's father has been a musician for as long as he can remember. He played the Wheat Fest several times when Boyd was younger.
"I'd say the biggest musical influence has always been my dad," said Boyd. "This specific gig is gonna be special to me. I'm going to enjoy carrying the baton that my dad carried for years and hopefully involve my dad in the show."
The show will also be somewhat of a hometown show for Boyd and the rest of the band who grew up in the area.
"All my life I have played in this area. I'm from Wellington, the rest of the members are from the Andover and Wichita area,” he said. “They are all very experienced and very seasoned. Most of them have been playing for 20 or 30 years."
South 81 has been the name of the band for about a year. They previously toured as Line Change and even recorded an album under that name. Their set list includes some of the music from the album.
Boyd says the band plays a mix of class country and "red dirt" music.
Rooted In Stillwater, Ok, red dirt music is a blend of country, blues and rock n' roll, although red dirt musicians rarely like to give a definition to the music. Popular acts include Jason Boland and the Stragglers, Robert Earl Keen and Aaron Watson.
Boyd says of his musical influences, "Definitely Merle Haggard and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Recent groups that I'm influenced by are Cross Canadian Ragweed and Stoney Larue."
After playing all over the south central part of Kansas, Boyd and South 81 will welcome the outside show which will offer different elements than shows in bars and clubs.
"These fairs and festivals are the things we look forward to when you can react with more people and in a more family friendly environment. You can play in the bars and clubs all winter long. These are the ones we look forward to. I hope the weather holds on," said Boyd. "It's definitely more meaningful to do something like this than the normal stuff we do, but we enjoy it no matter where we are at."