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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AUSTIN, Texas — Some Austinites had never heard the word “microburst” until Wednesday night, but they definitely felt one. A sudden, violent storm system swept across Central Texas, uprooting trees, knocking down power lines, and causing deadly flash flooding.

Now, cleanup efforts are underway across East and Central Austin, and weather experts are explaining the rare force behind the damage.

According to the National Weather Service, a microburst is a sudden and powerful blast of wind that drops straight down from a thunderstorm and spreads out rapidly when it hits the ground. Though they may not have the name recognition of a tornado, microbursts can be just as damaging—and far less predictable.

“The winds can get rather strong, like we saw yesterday, and they can be rather significant,” said Mack Morris, meteorologist with NWS San Antonio.

“Damaging winds and microbursts can often be just as concerning for people and their homes as a tornado might be.”

In Wednesday’s case, a long-track microburst developed from a supercell thunderstorm, carving a path of destruction more than 10 miles long, stretching from Hyde Park, through Central Austin, and continuing east past the airport.

The National Weather Service estimated wind speeds exceeded 80 miles per hour in some spots, with a damage path up to 2.5 miles wide.

ALSO| Power lines and transformers taken out by toppling trees during supercell thunderstorm

Doorbell camera footage from East Austin captured the exact moment the wind wall rushed in, sounding like a freight train and ripping through yards, streets, and rooftops.

“We ended up getting water inside our house, our neighbors did, and several on our street lost power,” said East Austin resident Chris Layden.

The damage ranged from flash flooding and blown-out windows to flattened trees and collapsed structures. In one case, a gas station canopy crumpled onto two vehicles. Glass shattered inside the Texas Capitol, and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport recorded wind gusts of 77 miles per hour.

At Boggy Creek Farm in East Austin, co-owner Jackson Geyer said the storm hit so fast, he barely had time to react.

“I thought a tornado had blown through because I’ve never seen fallen trees like this here at the farm in Austin,” Geyer said.

“I’m just glad that none of our tractors were crushed, and especially that my grandmother wasn’t crushed.”

One of the farm’s oldest trees—more than 100 years old—was ripped out of the ground and landed on top of their hoop houses, also known as greenhouses. The structural damage, combined with flooding and wind, threatens the farm’s upcoming growing season.

Ring video shared by the farm shows the exact moment the windstorm hit their garden, with debris flying and the screen going white from wind and rain in just seconds.

Now, Geyer says they’re dealing with thousands of dollars in damage. And while the forecast threatens more rain, hail, and wind in the coming days, he’s staying hopeful.

“I think the weather will pass us, maybe. I’d like that.”

Thursday night, CBS Austin Chief Meteorologist Chikage Windler is tracking another round of storms expected to move through the area. Forecasters warn the incoming system could bring additional hail, heavy rain, and damaging wind gusts, particularly dangerous for neighborhoods still recovering and homes still without power.

Officials urge residents to:

• Avoid low-water crossings
• Keep phones and power banks charged
• Secure outdoor items that could blow away
• Stay weather aware, especially overnight

Austin Energy continues working around the clock to restore power, but has warned that outages could last several days in the hardest-hit areas.

AUSTIN, Texas – Severe storms on Wednesday night caused damage and flooding across Austin.

What we know:

Multiple places were damaged or flooded across Austin, including in North Austin, Central Austin and at the airport.

Gas station roof collapse

The Austin Fire Department reported it was responding to a rescue call in the 7500 block of the southbound service road of Mopac at Greystone Drive.

AFD says the caller reported that the “gas station pumps roof has collapsed and is on a car”.

AFD later said everyone was out of the vehicle with unknown injuries.

Damage at Austin-Bergstrom

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport reported broken doorway glass near TSA Checkpoint 1 due to high winds.

No one was hurt and teams responded to clean up the glass.

Shoal Creek flooding

Shoal Creek flooding

Shoal Creek flooded in Austin due to severe storms (Courtesy: Michael Hill-Mateo)

Video from Michael Hill-Mateo shows Shoal Creek flooding in Austin due to the storms.

ATXFloods showed that Shoal Creek at N Lamar Boulevard was closed briefly Wednesday night.

Broken glass at Texas State Capitol

Damage at Texas State Capitol

The storm broke some of the glass near the top of the Texas Capitol rounda. A big pane was left broken and hanging up there.

Video from Scott Braddock of the Quorum Report shows damage at the Texas State Capitol.

Some of the glass near the top of the rotunda was broken. A large pane was seen hanging over the railing.