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FRIDAY, AUG 18TH

Movie in the Park
Family Activities

 

SATURDAY, AUG 19

$15/person for the day

 Live Bands

Food Trucks

Sand Volleyball

 Cornhole

Bring the family and enjoy the weekend at HorseThief Reservoir & The Festival

As much fun as the law will allow at HorseThief- The Festival.  A day full of fun on Satuday with food trucks, sand volleyball, cornhole tournaments, fishing, and Red Dirt Country artists, James Lann and Cynthia Rausch wrap up the day live on stage!  Some events may require extra registration.  Entry into HorseThief Reservoir for Saturday, August 19th, is $15 per person (6 years of age and under are free) plus a $5 fee per vehicle paid at the park upon entry.  Bring your family, chairs, a cooler, your dancing shoes and your fishing poles and a day full of fun at HorseThief- The Festival! (Camping fees are seperate)

AS MUCH FUN AS THE LAW WILL ALLOW!

Meet the Bands

James Lann

James Lann caught the music bug at an early age. “My uncle had a band,” the singer/songwriter remembers, “and I was in his truck one time. He heard me singing with the radio and thought that I should sing a couple songs with his band. Man, I was scared as can be, but it actually went over pretty well. Everybody loved it, and I got the buzz right there.” Raised two hours from the nearest telephone on the cattle ranches of New Mexico and Arizona, Lann didn’t get the chance to grow up seeing the singers and musicians he looks up to today. “I went to a one room schoolhouse with no electricity and eight kids in it,” he says. “We pumped all of our water out of a creek, and that’s what we’d use in the house. We didn’t do a lot of TV watching and all that. It was a lot of classic country music that I’d listen to; 1970s and ‘80s country like Conway Twitty, Eddie Rabbit, Alabama, George Jones and Dan Seals.” A drummer in school bands, Lann spent the better part of his teenage years focused solely on singing. “I was living on my own in an apartment in downtown Williams, Arizona,” Lann says. “I was a junior in high school, sixteen or seventeen, and I used to sneak into the bar to do karaoke every Friday and Saturday night. It was just the one thing I loved doing, so I tried to sing as often as I could.” Lann knew singing could only take a songwriter so far, so he grabbed a guitar at the age of 18 and never looked back. A few years later he packed up his pickup truck and moved to San Antonio, Texas, before heading to Houston to start his first band, James Lann and Branded. Brandishing a sweet country croon and the natural ability to write catchy dancehall anthems, Lann made his first break opening for such acts as Chris Cagle, Clay Walker, Clint Black, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Pat Green and many more. It wasn’t until the release of his first album "Ford " that Lann began to get noticed for his original material. Shortly thereafter, Lann released “You’re From The Country Too,” which shot to the top of the Texas Music Charts, peaking at #5, and “Honky Tonk Two Step Queen,” his first #1 hit on the Texas chart. The latter finished as one of the ten most spun songs on Texas radio stations in 2009. James has since released 3 successful studio albums and hit the charts with his songs. 10 of his compositions have hit The Billboard Texas Regional Charts at number one. According to James, music is important because it can pull a person through life's hardships and create a sense of belonging and joy as well. With a firm belief in the fact that anything is possible with faith in God and music, James is a positive role model for his audience. His philosophy is simple: we only live once, so we might as well shoot for the stars. James loves to give back to the community. He has been involved with raising money for Hurricane Harvey Victims, as well as rescuing people during that natural disaster by boat. He is a recipient of many awards, including 2016 Texas CMA Artist of the Year. His biggest desire is to live a simple life with music and family, where God can always be found. James has played all across the United States and all over the world including France, Spain, Germany, Russia, Lithuania, Denmark, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Austria and many more... He has performed shows with Texas Legends such as Larry Joe Taylor, Tommy Alverson, Cooder Graw, Cody Johnson, Reckless Kelly, Randy Rogers Band, Wade Bowen, Pat Green, Robert Earl Keen, Kevin Fowler, Casey Donahue, Aaron Watson, Jason Boland, The Eli Young Band, and many more. Along with national acts as well including, Merle Haggard, Chris Ledoux, Clay Walker, Ronnie Dunn, Joe Nichols, Montgomery-Gentry, Buddy Jewell, Junior Brown, David Allen Coe, The Bellamy Brothers, Rick Trevino, Darryl Worley, Mark Wills, Ty Herndon, Josh Gracin, Gene Watson, Emerson Drive, Chris Cagle and so many more...

Cynthia Rausch

Cynthia definitely comes from a strong musical heritage. Her parents met in a band in her dad’s home state of Texas. They fell in love and got married then continued to travel and perform together for several years after, before settling down in Dallas Texas and starting a family. Cynthia's dad ended up joining the Navy right before Cynthia was born and served faithfully while his family moved from location to location in true military family style. Cynthia still remembers many trips to Wichita Falls to visit her MawMaw during that time. After her dad left the military, her parents picked up their instruments again and started using their gifts in the local church where their family attended. Cynthia's parents continued adding to the family and eventually there were 8 children in all, with Cynthia being 3rd oldest. At age 14 Cynthia went through a very dark time with her mental health and general overall health. She began struggling with addiction and suicidal tendencies and overdosed at the age of 15, but by the grace of God, she survived. Cynthia is unafraid to share her story of what God did that September night, in hopes of encouraging anyone else with depression and thoughts of suicide. "It is never the answer. You are just ridding the world of the joy of knowing the unique person God made you to be." Says Cynthia. "Please reach out to someone, getting help isn't weakness, it is the strongest and bravest thing you could ever do. And please don't fall for the lie that you aren't loved and valuable. You are. God loves you and so do I." After that night, she found a sudden desire to start learning guitar and singing. Almost immediately after she started playing and singing, she started writing music and pretty soon she was writing the music for her developing family band. Cynthia realized that playing music helped with her mental health and started advocating through her music for others struggling in the same way. Helping others struggling with depression and anxiety had become a focal point of her music. And she continues to focus on that to this day. Around that same time, her siblings started learning to play instruments too, and pretty soon the whole family began to travel and play music for churches, city events and fairs. They traveled from Missouri to Texas and everywhere in between. During this time Cynthia’s gospel roots took on a more country flare and she embraced it. After meeting her husband in 2010 and starting a family of her own, her family band disbanded, but Cynthia fondly recalls the many memories and joys of traveling with her family band. And she cherishes the lessons and values instilled in her life because of them. With 20 years of writing and performing currently under her belt, her recently released 4 track EP is a clear representation of her heart for people and joy of music. This makes 30 songs she has recorded, with more on the way. All original music written by Cynthia. With 4 singles under her belt, the last one, "What the Whiskey Gave You" sitting at number 14 for 3 weeks, Cynthia is taking on the Texas music scene with joyful gusto. Her love of people and the power of music gives her a drive to bring hope to every listener and show them how much God loves them. Cynthia was nominated as "New Female Vocalist of the Year" in 2022 with the T3R awards, and even though she wasn't a finalist, she was honored to even be considered at all by her fans. She also had the honor of performing at the Sunday night "Future Faces Show" at Texas LIVE in Arlington, Tx prior to the Texas Regional Radio Awards show 2022. As a mother and a wife, the choice to take her music farther hasn't been easy, but she enjoys the full support and love of her family, which includes her husband and sound guy, Wes and her son, Ethan. Ethan is also a budding musician and gets to join his mama onstage sometimes. Cynthia looks forward to the future of music with her family, wherever the good Lord leads.

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Cornhole Tournament 2023 Horsethief the Festival

Thank You 2023 Festival Sponsors!

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