Austin, TX
Dierks Bentley at Moody Center in Austin, TX – Loud Hailer Magazine
Country star Dierks Bentley lit up Austin’s Moody Center with high-energy charm and heartfelt hits on his Broken Branches North American Tour stop.
Dierks Bentley is an American country music singer and songwriter from Phoenix, Arizona. Since the early 2000s, Bentley has been releasing music. Both of his first studio albums released are certified Platinum in the U.S. and 27 of his singles have been on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts; 18 of which have reached #1. Bentley’s last album was released in 2023, Gravel & Gold. He is set to release a new album, Broken Branches, on June 13. The album will feature country artists such as Miranda Lambert and John Anderson.
The first of two artists opening for Dierks Bentley was The Band Loula. The Band Loula is a duo from Georgia. Their style is described as “swampgrass,” combining bluegrass and modern country. The duo is made up of Malachi Mills and Logan Simmons, who have been lifelong friends. The two have toured with major stars, including Brothers Osborne, Ashley McBryde, and Elle King. In May, they released their latest single, “Can’t Please ‘Em All.” During their set, they performed haunting songs such as “Running Off The Angels” and an unreleased song speculated to be titled “Karma Is The Devil.”
After The Band Loula, growing country musician Zach Top took to the stage. Zach Top has flown up the charts with hits such as “I Never Lie” and “Sounds Like the Radio.” Originally from Washington, Top moved to Nashville to begin building a career in music, especially being interested in country and bluegrass genres. His first self-titled debut EP, released in 2022, contained more bluegrass-style tracks compared to his latest album. In April 2024, he released his album Cold Beer & Country Music.
He opened his set with “Sounds Like the Radio” and “The Kinda Woman I Like.” Early in the show, while Top was introducing himself, he told the crowd that he would play a few songs he wrote and a few he didn’t. Mid-set, Top and his band performed an amazing cover of George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning.” He closed his set with the title track from Cold Beer & Country Music.
At around 9 PM, Dierks Bentley and his band came onto the stage to open up the first show on The Broken Branches Tour. He opened his set with “Gold,” a 2022 single, also featured on his album Gravel & Gold (2023). During the opening, Bentley and his band walked to the edge of the short catwalk in the center of the stage to perform together. It was obvious the group was close-knit from the way they interacted and hyped each other up on stage. Afterward, they performed other hits such as “I Hold On” from Riser (2014) and “Burning Man” from The Mountain (2018) that originally featured Brothers Osborne.
As the set came to a close, he played a fan favorite, one of his first chart-topping songs, “What Was I Thinkin’” from his 2003 debut self-titled album. For his encore, he performed “Drunk on a Plane” and a few other songs to bring his set to an end. Dierks Bentley’s The Broken Branches Tour will continue through the end of August.
DIERKS BENTLEY
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ZACH TOP
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THE BAND LOULA
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MOODY CENTER
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William “Bill” B. Moriarty, of Austin, Texas, passed away on April 26, 2026, at the age of 73, following an extended battle with cancer. A devoted partner, father, brother, uncle, an…
WIMBERLY, Texas – The names of all five people killed in the Central Texas plane crash late Thursday night have been released.
Plane crash victim names
The latest:
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the names of the five victims in the Wimberly, Texas crash are as follows:
- Justin Appling (pilot)
- Hayden Dillard
- Seren Wilson
- Brooke Skypala
- Stacy Hedrick
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigators are on scene and serving as the lead investigative agencies, DPS said in their Saturday release.
What we don’t know:
The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.
Fatal Texas plane crash
The backstory:
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra says first responders received the call just after 11 p.m. April 30 about an aircraft down in the Wimberley area.
The crash happened in a wooded area in the 200 block of Round Rock Road, near the area of Ledgerock Road and FM 2325, northwest of Wimberley. The NTSB says the crash happened at around 11:03 p.m.
A post-impact fire destroyed the plane, says the NTSB.
According to FlightAware, the plane was on its way to New Braunfels from Amarillo.
The aircraft has been identified as a Cessna 421C that had five people on board. All five are confirmed dead.
A preliminary investigation shows the plane was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the crash, but there is no indication of a mid-air crash. A second plane traveling in the same area landed safely in New Braunfels.
Flight tracking data shows the plane had a normal takeoff, climbing to 17,400 feet, but just before 11 p.m., something went wrong. The data showed the plane suddenly started dropped, plunging more than 5,000 feet per minute. Within minutes, radar contact was lost.
The Source: Information in this update comes from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Five people were killed when a small private plane crashed and caught fire near Austin, Texas, according to state and local officials. A pickleball club identified the victims as members who were traveling to a tournament.
The crash happened at about 11:05 p.m. on Thursday in the Wimberley area, about 40 miles southwest of Austin, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety and Hays County officials. The FAA said the aircraft was a Cessna 421C.
Sgt. Billy Ray with the Texas Department of Public Safety said all five people on board were killed, including one pilot and four passengers. He also confirmed that the plane caught fire after the crash.
The Amarillo Pickleball Club identified the victims as Seren Wilson, Brooke Skypala, Stacy Hedrick, Glen Appling and Hayden Dillard. The club said they were members of its “Amarillo pickleball family” and were traveling to a pickleball tournament when the crash happened.
“Today, the Club has received terrible news that we all must mourn in the loss of five members of our Amarillo pickleball family,” the club said in a statement. “Please keep their precious families in your thoughts and prayers.”
Fire and EMS personnel remained at the crash site through the early morning hours, according to Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra. Preliminary information indicated the aircraft was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of impact.
Becerra said there was no indication of a mid-air collision. A second aircraft that was flying nearby landed safely in New Braunfels, a city northeast of San Antonio.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
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