By Larry Tucker
Chris Bevill learned at a young age that a solid work ethic does pay off in the long run. Bevill and his wife Brandie are the forces behind what has become a successful venture in the music industry, Bevill Music. The old adage “hard work pays off” is a fitting tribute to the dynamic couple.
The first job Chris had was when he was eight years old and bussing tables at the popular family-owned Oak Valley Catfish Restaurant at Lake Fork, and he has never stopped working. Today, Bevill Music continues to grow, adding more bands and entertainers to its booking roster. Not only booking entertainment, Bevill Music handles event management, social media management, ticketing, production, and tour management. Chris left the road just recently as tour manager for Whitey Morgan, traversing the country from coast to coast on an extensive tour. “Together, Brandie and I run Bevill Music. She is definitely the brains. She does the business marketing side of what we do, and I handle the music logistics side.” And now, for the rest of the story!
Influences Make a Difference
Chris started with a guitar and love for country and gospel music. He turned to music with his band Spur On. The band played worship music at the Spur On Cowboy Church located just south of Quitman. His musical influences come from traditional country artists Merle Haggard, George Strait, and Jamey Johnson. “I guess today you could include Whitey Morgan, Stoney LaRue, and blues genres are my biggest influences. Also, I love the music of ZZ Top for their blues and rock innovations,” says Chris.
You can’t talk to Chris about his early influences in life without him talking about his grandfather, the late Glenn Bevill, who was a minister and Wood County Commissioner. “I am proud that I am named after him, Christopher Glenn Bevill. He definitely influenced me growing up. He taught me about God and baptized me early on and absolutely planted the seed of salvation. He showed me how to work, be reliable, and serve your family, friends, and community.”
Chris continued to talk about his grandfather. “He is the reason I have tried to uphold the family name. All during my days at Peoples (Telephone), folks were always asking me if I was kin to him. I think of him often. He was the glue that held our family together. I always wanted to make him proud. One time, I remember getting in a little trouble. It was something like shooting the house with my BB gun. He asked me about it and got on me about it. It struck me harder than my parents getting on me. At an early age, I knew he reinforced that he was grandad, and his word was to be heeded. Although he passed before I really did anything musical, I have always known he is watching over me.”
Another big influence has been his wife, Brandie, of almost a decade. Chris said, “I would not be what I am today without the support of my wife. She has been through it all with me and has never wavered. Her belief in me and what we are trying to accomplish together keeps me going strong.”
Making Decisions
Chris graduated from Yantis High School in 2004. He started getting serious about his music, so serious that hardly a day went by without him taking his guitar to school. He worked while still in high school, kept his grades up, and found time to play centerfield for the Yantis Owls baseball team.
His music career took off while singing and playing in the Spur On Band and leading the worship band at the Spur On Cowboy Church. The band started playing gigs outside of the church. The group later became the Chris Bevill Band, and that is how they are booked these days.
Chris was conflicted for a while about playing in church and at area honky tonks. “I knew I had responsibilities, and I thought about it a lot. My pastor, Mike Fletcher, encouraged me in many ways. He told me something I have always remembered, and that was that church is like a hospital where you go when you are sick, and when you get well you get out of the hospital. It is a hospital for sinners, not a country club for saints,” Chris explained. “Even at clubs we always finished our gig with three gospel songs. There were times you could look out at the crowd, and it seemed like the whole church showed up.” Brandie added, “We are serious about our beliefs. We believe you have to go where people are in life and try your best to serve them according to your convictions.”
Chris attended Tyler Junior College after graduation, but he took an opportunity to start a career for Peoples Telephone in Yantis. He worked there until he and Brandie bought what used to be East Fork Club, changing the name to Neon Moon and making the facility one of East Texas’ premier entertainment venues.
“Believe me, if we saw a penny on the floor, we picked it up and saved it. We were really blessed to have Kathy Frazier there for us. She’s been at this business for more than 30 years. She was the first one to give us, the band, a chance. We knew the reputation of the club was pretty rough when we bought it.”
The Neon Moon Years
Just a year into their marriage, the Bevills made a decision which changed the course of their lives: the decision to buy East Fork Club. They renamed the facility Neon Moon and set sail on making the restaurant and club one of the premier Texas and country music venues in the state.
“Chris called me from his job to ask me if I wanted to buy East Fork, and I at first I told him no,” Brandie said. “People were always asking us about investing or who our investors were. Well, it was just us.” Brandie continued, “I always wondered if people just don’t understand that it is hard work that pays off. People were always saying stuff like ‘it must be nice,’ but believe me, for six and a half years, we did nothing but eat, nap, and work. We saw the potential and possibilities of what we wanted to accomplish.
“I used a 401k I didn’t even know I had,” Chris added. “We went ahead and bought it, and when we went into the business, we set ourselves up. We would draw only what we needed and put everything on the books,” Brandie commented.
Chris and Brandie got an education in the music business dealing with agents, tour managers, and the artists themselves. The first major act Chris booked was the Bellamy Brothers, who have become good friends. Other names to grace the stage at Neon Moon were acts such as Ray Wyle Hubbard, Stoney LaRue, Randy Rogers, Jason Boland, Bart Crow, Casey Donahue, Junior Brown, Josh Abbott, John Paycheck (son of the late Johnny Paycheck), and even an acoustic show by two members of major heavy metal act, Saliva.
After selling Neon Moon, Chris hit the road as tour manager for country music outlaw Whitey Morgan. “Going on the road as tour manager, I got to see another side of the business. Believe me, the music business is tough, but I learned a lot being on the road, but I was ready to get home and continue to grow Bevill Music. Brandie had to do so much without me there.”
Bevill Music Today
The Bevills saw an opportunity to begin their adventure into the entertainment world with Bevill Music. Chris and Brandie had seen enough of corrupt managers, publicists, and others who were not always serving in the best interests of their clients. The Bevills saw the need to have an honest and caring business which put the people and/or events first.
“We saw artists and events that were getting ripped off by greedy people who were supposedly ‘taking care of business’ but were really ripping them off,” Chris explained. “When we first started doing events as Bevill Music, we worked with a women’s ministry, Hannah’s House Maternity Home in Longview, that we still help with to this day. They have a fundraising event, a pasture party, and even had names as big as George Strait,” Chris noted. “They were basically paying a middleman to book their event, but they never saw a contract. We believe in their mission, which is to provide a safe and nurturing home for pregnant women where they can establish and grow a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Through Chris’ connections with the Masons, Bevill Music is now involved with one of East Texas’ biggest events, the annual Gilmer Jamboree. Bevill Music currently books acts for the Neon Moon. “Back around 2017, we figured out how to bypass the middleman. We are fair and honest with all of our clients. So many of the bands, especially the younger ones, don’t always understand the business side of the music industry,” Brandie commented. “We will always treat our clients with respect, and we will not ever rip them off.”
The Old Settlers Reunion in Quitman is one of Bevill Music’s clients. They have booked Texas native Josh Abbott for a concert on the final night of the event. The concert will be in the field across from Carroll Green Civic Center.
Many people don’t have a clue when it comes to booking acts, costs of the acts, publicity, and contract riders. “We have to explain to them with their budget they are not going to get a Taylor Swift for their event. We are as honest as we can be with each of our artists and events,” Chris admitted. “We are as transparent as we can be, so they will know exactly what is going on.”
Bevill Music has taken on representing several new and upcoming talents as well as booking events. “We help bands with the business side of it. We try to save them some of the legwork. We try to get bands networking with each other about gigs and opportunities,” Chris said. “We have access to a great studio, too. We had five bands when we started and have eight now. They are like Meredith Crawford, Jason Walden, and One Horse Town. These are regional bands that we think are talented and have a future in this business. We are booking them and trying to get them out of East Texas.” Brandie added, “The twist was that we approached them to let us help. You book it, you take it. If we book it, just give us 10%.
“Always remember that music never sleeps, there is always something that needs to be done.” The going rate for booking is 15% and upward. “We groom them hoping they can leave us and go on to the next level. We are picking up more venues who want us to do their booking, and we are now doing ticketing too,” Chris stated. “We even do transportation—anything you need to put a concert on in your backyard or at a venue.” Chris has had offers from some major artists to do some tour managing, but he has other plans. “I want to be home more. I don’t want to be gone 60 days in a row. That’s just not me; I want to play and write music and help others in the business.”
Chris and Brandie are hard at work in the business every day. “I was used to a 9-to-5 job until I got into this business. Brandie is helping me to find some balance in this chaotic life. I get texts and calls sometimes at 1:00 or 2:00 am. As a tour manager, you have a lot to do. I have talked to guys about breaking up with their wives, I have led people to Christ, and I have even washed clothes. At the end of the day, you have to show up and make the show work.”
Chris said from his experience on the road, he has learned “multi-tasking at full speed, taking a deep breath in the presence of obstacles, and prioritizing daily the things I know will help me in this business.”