Best Concerts in Lubbock History – Kool Listeners Top 5

Rod Stewart packed the near sold-out United Spirit Arena as he kicked off his fall tour in 2001. And by ‘kicked off’, I mean he kicked autographed soccer balls into the audience! That part was memorable, but the part of the show that most Kool listeners seem to remember was his BEAUTIFUL mandolin player and her exceptional work on the instrument during his rendition of ‘Maggie May’. Stewart powered through every big hit of his career in a show that was over 2-hours long.

The guys at Buffalo Springs Lake called us up one wintery afternoon in 2005 and asked us who we thought would draw a crowd to their new amphitheater. First we said, ‘You guys have an amphitheater?’ Then we said, ’You know it’s the middle of winter, right?’ They informed us that they were looking for an early summer show that would be exciting for our listeners to see at the new amphitheater that they were planning on building. I mentioned that I had just interviewed Pat Simmons of the Doobies and I told them that he was telling me about hitting the road with the band that spring and summer. The guy at Buffalo said, ‘OK!’ and hung up the phone.

About a week later, we got a call from the lake telling us that they had booked the Doobies for May 28th and that we had better bring a crowd because they were EXPENSIVE! Well, we announced the show on-air and our phones went CRAZY! Kool listeners were over the moon to get such a great band at such a neat venue. Everything turned out well, even though a rain storm threatened to delay or even stop the show. The skies over the lake cleared, the sun came out and over 2,000 Kool listeners rocked out to an unforgettable night of music.

Two of the greatest rock & roll bands in the world rolled into the Hub City last May and Kool listeners went WILD! People were offering up their first born children for the backstage passes we gave away and ticket sales were off the charts! Skynyrd took the stage first and blew the doors off the United Spirit Arena with rockin’ renditions of ‘What’s Your Name’, ‘Free Bird’ and the consummate fan favorite, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’. After a brief intermission, the Tres Hombres of ZZ Top took the stage and the crowd went absolutely NUTS! This concert edged out several other appearences by ZZ in Lubbock over the years. It’s hard to beat two bands of this caliber on one stage in one night!

This show was a dream come true for so many Kool listeners. We had a BLAST giving away tickets to see this music legend! You may remember the ‘Great Diamond Dig’ when we invited listeners to a local jewelry store to dig through a huge sand box looking for ring boxes. Each ring box contained some sort of prize, but only one contained the GRAND PRIZE: front-row seats to the show, a ride to the show in a limo and a HUGE diamond ring. Kool listeners packed the United Spirit Arena by the thousands for a great night of classic Neil Diamond hit, after hit, after hit…after hit. He even kissed one of our listeners’ kids!

The Eagles made their way to Lubbock for the second time in 10 years and it was this second show that listeners really remembered. You may recall that the show was actually postponed because of illness. Don Henley had a cold or something. Once he recovered, the date was set in stone and the legendary band made it we’ll worth the wait for a great night of classic rock & roll at the United Spirit Arena! Listeners seem to recall Joe Walsh stealing the show.