Jillian B. 

Girl Reporter

Last weekend I had the amazing opportunity to attend Stagecoach, a country music festival hosted in Indio, California, and interview some stars! Now, I did not go alone, I got to go with my fellow Girl Reporter Hailey M. and we had the best time! The area we were set to was the Half Pint Hootenanny – there we got to do super fun crafts and listen to all the young performers.

One of the groups that performed was an awesome California native band known as Temecula Road. They were all extremely sweet and so humble. One of the questions I asked them was, how did they get inspiration for the songs  write? They said, “It depends on the day,” and the songs “come from life experiences.” When asked why they chose the name Temecula Road, it was because, “they wanted roots in their name.” Which I find amazing – that they want to stay close to home.

While at Stagecoach if you enjoy live performances, then you can definitely expect to love the Square Dancers. Along with amazing singers and bands, there was also live square dancing! I got a chance to interview two Square Dancers, Beckie and Jerry, who have been dancing at Stagecoach for the past 4 years. They come every year to show people the fun of Square Dancing.  Beckie had on the coolest outfit – and I had to ask where she had got it from, or if it was custom made. Unfortunately she didn’t specifically state where she got it from, but she said you can do both.  Jerry said that his favorite part about being a square dancer is, “the fun and the friendship!” Anyone can become a square dancer, all you have to do is take a class! Don’t worry if you think that there isn’t one near you, there are 17 square dance associations across California!

The last people we got to interview were, Cozi Zuehlsdorff and Kaitlyn Bausch from the new movie ‘Pure Country, Pure Heart’.  Both the girls were down to earth and we very nice to talk to.  Hailey and I were extremely nervous to interview them but they made us feel very welcome and comfortable. I asked them what made them want to become singers – they both said that singing was always something they loved doing. Cozi got “[her] real start as a published songwriter when [her] song Brave Heart was put into the soundtrack of Dolphin Tale and when [she] was also featured in both movies,” and Kaitlyn, “would sing so much [her] little sister made a rule that [she] wasn’t allowed to sing at the dinner table.” Which I can relate to, since I love to sing and my Mom thinks I sing way too much! Their advice for wanting to pursue a career in the industry would be to trust yourself and to be respectful, and listen to what other people tell you –try and find the balance between what is purley you, but also, to not be afraid to be open to other things. I also asked them to elaborate on the power of family, Cozi stated “Our film is predominantly a female cast, and their movie shows how strong a family can be as women– women can do anything, and we are so strong and powerful, and were all strong in our way!” I loved this response, as women and G.I.R.L.S(go-getter, innovator, risk taker, leader), are so powerful and when we come together we can overcome anything. My last question was a fun one – that (thanks to my cousin), I was able to come up with. My question was, if they could have a gold card to any fast food place (which means free food, all day, everyday), where it would it be? Kaitlyn would pick a frozen yoghurt place because she loves all the toppings (cheesecake bites for the win!) and Cozi, being from Southern California picked Chipotle (mmmmm, that sounds very tempting all of a sudden).

Overall, I had so much fun at Stagecoach and thoroughly enjoyed the Half Pint Hootenanny! I am also definitely going to do three things; 1) Buy all of Temecula Roads music 2) Join a Square Dancing class 3) Go watch ‘Pure Country, Pure Heart’ when it comes out!!