Eli Young Band's House Party was a Mixed Bag at Globe Life Park on Saturday

Heather Bohn

Organizers announced 15,000 attendees showed up the House Party on Saturday

Eli's woes were particularly unfortunate because everything up to that point had made for a good time. Green, Allan, Cody Johnson and Maddie and Tae all had great shows and no problems with the sound or power generator. Their sound was clear and balanced enough to understand what they were singing even if you weren't familiar with the songs. Green is and was the epitome of Texas country with his Rangers jersey and guitar that sported a Greg Abbott sticker. His between-song filler speeches centered a lot on drinking and Texas and drinking. The crowd ate it up.

The crowd was at its biggest and loudest during Allan's set when he played his hits "Watching Airplanes" and "Every Storm (Runs Out Of Rain)." Allan was born and raised in California, but the crowd wouldn't know the difference, especially with his twang. Cody Johnson began to play his set of red dirt tunes just as the sun was setting and more people were arriving. He sang, played the guitar and ran back and forth on stage.

Maddie and Tae, who hail from Texas and Oklahoma respectively, aren't quite Texas country, but they helped balance the otherwise all-male lineup. They're sort of Carrie Underwood-meets-Taylor Swift with their pretty blonde hair and high school-sense songwriting, which they echoed in their song about a mean girl called "Sierra."

In theory, Eli Young Band's House Party is a great idea. Globe Life Park isn't home to a lot of concerts, like the other sports stadiums in town (AT&T Stadium and American Airlines Center) but that could be because it's outside and Texas is either really hot or bitterly cold. People with field access -- a lot of high schoolers wearing letterman jackets -- could stand close to the stage, sit on blankets where third base usually is or hang near the back and two-step. The fans in the stands, typically older fans of Texas country who probably cringe at the idea of bro country or mixing country and rap, could sit comfortably and watch the acts on Globe Life's big screen.

Eli Young Band's House Party drew about 15,000 people out to Arlington to enjoy a six-hour concert of five different musical acts, all for a relatively cheap ticket price. It's a great idea even if the headlining act was a bit of a flop (but nothing Texans won't forget in a year's time. Example: the Texas Rangers).

As far as Eli Young Band's sound trouble, it could have been just a fluke and something they didn't catch during sound check. Or maybe they're more suited to play at fraternity charity events. But when so much of the appeal of country and Texas country music comes from seeing it live to drink, two-step and hold your girl tight to like the band sings about, the live performance has to be the band's best trick. Hopefully next year will wash away the troubles from Saturday night.

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