Brothers Jason Meadows and Dean Stockton grew up going to rodeos in Oklahoma while the other kids played baseball and basketball.

“We grew up as country boys,” Stockton said. “We grew up as a couple of kids rodeoing — team roping and calf roping.”

When they weren’t at a rodeo, they were playing music and singing with their family.

Today, the brothers from Calera, a small community near Durant, are pursuing a career in the music business, both are writing songs. Meadows’ career has been building over the past five years since he came in as first runner-up on USA Network’s talent show “Nashville Star.” Stockton helps him with promotions while still writing songs.

Meadows’ title song from his new CD, “You Ain’t Never Been to Texas,” is ranked No. 26 on the charts this week. You’ll get a chance to hear him sing it live on the stage at 10:30 p.m. on Saturday at The Waterin’ Hole, a new entertainment venue in Muskogee. This album, expected out Sept. 23, follows his previous release, “100 Percent Cowboy.”

Stoney Elam, co-owner of The Waterin’ Hole, is excited about Meadow’s concert here. He wants to show people in Muskogee and the area that he has a nice, smoke-free place where people can come to have a nice dinner or appetizers and hear live music.

“It’s not a bar. It’s more of a club atmosphere,” Elam said.

Meadows will fit right in at the club. It’s 8,000 square feet of “all Western” antiques and decor except for a giant green replica of “The Hulk.” He stands on stage and has the house drink named after him.

“There are over 1,800 pieces of antiques in there,” Elam said. “It’s super nice. People will just be blown away.”

Richard Hathcoat of Bixby, booking manager for The Waterin’ Hole, has heard Meadows perform.

“I think this is a good thing for the bar to bring someone of Jason’s caliber,” Hathcoat said. “Jason Meadows is a man’s man. He sings from the heart. People can relate to him because he’s an Okie, originally. He’s not all about the lights and the bling.”

Meadows talked about his experience with the lights and bling while on the road Thursday afternoon while headed to Pasadena, Texas, for a Friday night show. Country superstar Reba McEntire, who is from Stringtown, right down the road from Calera, encouraged him to move to Nashville. He said he learned a lot about the music business while he was there but wanted to come back home to his Oklahoma farm where he lives with his wife.

“The record project I’m doing is my own,” he said. “I wanted to come to this market and push it where music was real, where it’s not about the money and politics.”

He has his own record label now, Rosalito Records, and expects to do more videos. His video, “18 Video Tapes,” has been popular on YouTube, he said. It’s about children of American soldiers. It has almost 300,000 views. His “100 Percent Cowboy” video has topped 1 million.

“It all started at age 6 with my first guitar,” he said. “I listened to Conway (Twitty), Buck (Owens) and Merle (Haggard). We watched ‘Hee Haw’ and I wanted to be like Buck and Roy (Clark). Grandpa played harmonica and fiddle, and a cousin played guitar. I was singing at about every fair and round-up club rodeo around.”

Meadows tried out for a band and started playing with the guys at 16. He’s always liked writing songs and has written four of the seven songs on this new record. He’s going to sing “My Red Dirt Oklahoma Home” when he performs in Muskogee, he said.

“It’s all me. I picked the players to who produced it. It tickled me to death.”

The new CD will be in stores in October and online Sept. 23 but you can hear his songs first Saturday at The Waterin’ Hole.

Reach Leilani Roberts Ott at 684-2908 or lott @muskogeephoenix.com.

If you go



WHAT: Jason Meadows live in concert.

WHEN: 10:30 p.m. Saturday, doors open at 7 p.m.

WHERE: The Waterin’ Hole, 219 S. 32nd St., adjacent to Okie’s Restaurant.

COST: $10 at the door.

ETC: Dining is available until 11 p.m. with appetizers available until 1 a.m.; non-smoking facility has a patio available for those wanting to smoke.

INFORMATION: jasonmeadows.com or 683-1056.