By Liz Ocasio-Russe

Country music is not what is usually heard drifting through the streets of New York. On February 27, though, that is exactly what crowds were jamming out to at the Terminal 5 venue on 610 W 56th St.

The sold out Texas Independence Day Concert featured country greats Eli Young Band and Pat Green. Both did their state proud by keeping the crowd of mostly Texas Longhorns on their feet and singing up until midnight. Eli Young Band was the second to last to come out, singing favorites such as “That’s the Way,” “Crazy Girl” and “Jet Black & Jealous.” But none brought out the Texas spirit quite like “Small Town Kid.” The crowd swayed back and forth, hands on their hearts and eyes shut, all while mouthing the words of what seemed to be an unofficial anthem of the state where everything is bigger. Front man Mike Eli sang beautifully and never let down except for a minor microphone dropping incident that came off more as endearing than clumsy. He laughed it off while the crowd filled in the words muted by the drop. There is no doubt that the Denton, Texas based band succeeded in connecting with the crowd, but what happened when Pat Green stepped out on stage was incomparable.

“Pat fucking Green! Pat fucking Green! Pat fucking Green!” was all that could be heard as he made his way to center stage with his guitar slung around his neck. The chanting turned to a combination of shrieking, clapping and cheering. While every song performed was a crowd pleaser, “Way Back Texas” and “Feels Like It Should” were definitely the favorites, drawing the most excitement from fans. Green often looked up at the balcony where his wife Kori was watching. He gave her a shout and pointed her out to the fans below who greeted her with more screaming and clapping. At midnight the concert came to a close with one of Green’s most popular songs, “Wave on Wave.” At this point no one in the crowd was silent and it seemed everyone knew the lyrics to this Green classic. Girls were hoisted up on their fellows’ backs, friends stood with arms linked and couples held each other close, enjoying the last bit of the performance.

Then it was all over and all that was left in the venue was a long bathroom line and a sea of empty, plastic beer cups. As most people stumbled out onto the streets they sang their favorite songs of the South, keeping the country spirit alive until the wee hours of the morning. Texas certainly had its night in New York City.