SOUNDS NICE: Lovely Lubbock a note-worthy West Texas music town

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Amidst a sea of Red Raider apparel inside the Red Raider Outfitter store in Lubbock, Texas, a tiny rack of Kansas City Chiefs items stood out like a sore thumb.

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What’s up with the random Chiefs stuff, a curious visitor asked the man behind the counter, whose response made perfect sense once it clicked.

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“Mahomes.”

Ah, right, Patrick Mahomes. Two-time Super Bowl champ – and MVP. Arguably the greatest quarterback in the NFL today.

And a former Texas Tech Red Raider.

Mahomes clearly remains dear to Lubbock residents by virtue of the QB’s three illustrious seasons at the Big 12 school in this West Texas football town.

But at the end of the day, Lubbock can only have one best Bud — and that’s Buddy Holly.

“From humble beginnings, you can rise to great fame. Don’t give up on your dreams,” Buddy Holly Center director Jacqueline Bober said is the message she loves to share with children who visit.

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In Lubbock, you’ll find nods to native son Holly around every corner. There are sculptures of Holly and his famous oversized glasses at the centre dedicated to the life and music of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician who died in plane crash at the height of his relatively short-lived career. There’s also a shiny new award-winning performing arts centre in his name, opened in 2021 and, incredibly, built almost entirely thanks to private donations.

Lubbock is without a doubt a music town. Aside from Holly, it’s also home to such notables as Holly’s band The Crickets, singer-songwriter Mac Davis and Natalie Maines, lead singer of The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks).

It’s also a university town — some 40,000 students flood the city each year.

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But Lubbock, to steal a Holly song title, has much more to Rave On about.

With award-winning public art, a surprising wine scene, offerings off the beaten path – a museum in Lubbock is home to the largest collection of windmills in the U.S., and a “town” dedicated to Prairie Dogs (ground squirrels), this city of about 260,000 offers something new to do Everyday. And, yes, that’s the name of a Buddy Holly song. So, too, is It’s So Easy To Fall In Love, which is something that just might happen if you make the trek to Texas’ ‘Hub City.’

QUITE THE ‘SPECTACLE’

After taking pictures of the giant Buddy Holly glasses and sculpture situated outside the Buddy Holly Center (located inside the renovated historic Ft. Worth & Denver Depot at 1801 Crickets Ave.), head inside the main gallery and take note of the room’s shape and architecture. It’s made to appear as though you’re inside a guitar – a neat addition to an already impressive space. The centre is home to the most extensive collection of Buddy Holly artifacts in the world, including his horn-rimmed Faosa glasses (recovered from the site of the plane crash in Iowa), his Fender Stratocaster, and his personal record collection.

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After scrapping the “e” and switching to his childhood nickname, Charles Holley became Buddy Holly and went on to pioneer the traditional rock ‘n’ roll lineup of two guitars, bass and drums.

Before popularizing the thick eyewear synonymous with his name, Holly wore contact lenses. As the story goes, one fell out during a performance and he decided right then and there he was going to worry less about his image and more about his eyesight.

The West Texas Walk of Fame is located next to the centre and includes Holly, his good buddy Waylon Jennings, Mac Davis, Roy Orbison and many others.

Round out your homage to Holly with a visit to the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences, where you can catch a touring music act or musical and be inspired by the incredible architecture of the 220,000-square-foot building. A spiral staircase inside the hall’s main lobby is an architectural marvel designed as a tribute to Lubbock’s catastrophic tornado of 1970.

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The hall features a main theatre, studio theatre, Ballet Lubbock and an on-site restaurant named Rave On.

ART FROM THE CART!

Texas Tech University is among the largest university in the U.S, both from an enrollment standpoint and in terms of physical space. With that in mind, we didn’t mind the steps-saving Art Cart tour one bit. The Art Cart is used for tours of the university’s incredible Public Art Collection, where visitors can explore an expansive series of art installations located throughout the campus grounds.

“I like to look at it as an outdoor museum,” said Emily Wilkinson, public art director for the Texas Tech University System. “The public art that we have is for everyone. It’s not just for people tied to Texas Tech.”

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More than 100 creations have been put on display since 1998 and the collection has been named among the top 10 of its kind in the U.S. The pieces are made with intention and usually relate closely to the schools they’re situated in. The best-known landmark on campus is likely the statue of Will Rogers and his horse, Soapsuds, which, as dictated by superstition, is decorated in Raider Red before each football game.

Art Cart tours are free with a minimum of five people and a maximum of 12.

WINE, DINE, FEEL FINE

The flat terrain that covers much of the Panhandle along with the long, hot, dry summers with cool nights is what helps make the Texas High Plains an ideal place to make wine.

And because the region has never been tied to a distinct style — think Cabernet Sauvignon in France or Chardonnay in California — there’s a certain experimental spirit at play.

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Consider West Texas the new frontier of winemaking.

“There’s so much freedom to the growers and the wineries themselves,” Llano Estacado Winery sommelier Matt Bostick said, adding his award-winning winery aims to “over-deliver on the value of the bottle.”

There are at least six wineries located within the Texas Plains American Viticultural Area, including McPherson Cellars, which, along with Llano Estacado, is among the area’s winemaking pioneers.

McPherson Cellars is also award-winning. The urban winery is located inside a restored Coca-Cola bottling plant.

It specializes in old-world styles and artisan production, explained Kim McPherson, whose father, Dr. Clinton McPherson, co-founded Llano Estacado alongside a fellow chemistry professor at Texas Tech.

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It’s not all wine all the time in Lubbock. Good Line Beer Co. (specializing in traditional lagers and pilsners) and The Brewery LBK (named the best brewpub in the U.S. by USA Today in a 2021 Readers’ Choice contest) are two of seven breweries in the city.

“We’re trying to make the best beer, the most exciting beer and the best atmosphere in this town,” said Shawn Phillips, who co-founded Good Line with longtime friend Chris Troutman.

Imagine you’ve worked up a considerable appetite, choose your own adventure when it comes to food in Lubbock. We thoroughly enjoyed the blue-collar offerings, including the fried chicken at Dirk’s, whose chef Cameron West is the grandson of legendary artist Dirk West, and the chicken-fried steak breakfast at the Cast Iron Grill, which specializes in homemade pies. Evie Mae’s is classic Texas barbecue while La Diosa Cellars is known for its Spanish and Mediterranean tapas.

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The West Table Kitchen & Bar’s grilled double bone-in pork chop was an especially memorable entrée, while dining in the greenhouse at The Nicolett was pure romance. The Nicolett is a newcomer to the city’s food scene and the dishes here are hyper-local and come with a bit of a twist. Chef Finn Walter is a James Beard nominee for best chef.

BE BLOWN AWAY

The Sunflower. The Little Giant. The Southern Cross. The Flying Dutchman.

If you thought these were Marvel comic characters or MMA fighters, you’d be wrong.

They’re the names of some of the 200 windmills under one roof at the American Windmill Museum. The largest public collection of windmills in the world is in Lubbock.

“When the steam engines came in this direction, they had to have water,” explained the museum’s director, Sandra Harris. “We didn’t have rivers and lakes.”

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Development came with the introduction of windmills that tapped into underground aquifers in the early 1900s.

“Without water, we wouldn’t have been developed. The windmill is really what allowed us to survive,” Harris said. “It’s why we’re here.”

According to Harris, at one time there were more than 700 windmill patents. Today, one windmill-maker remains in the U.S.: Aermotor Windmill Co.

Aside from the incredible display of windmills – including one 1898 model manufactured by the Goold, Shapley and Muir Co. in Brantford, Ont. – the museum has a large model railroad, miniature houses and a 6,000-square-foot hand-painted mural illustrating the use of windmills from 1621 to current day.

Find equally fascinating history at the National Ranching Heritage Center. The 19-acre outdoor historical park is home to dozens of preserved ranching-related structures and homes dating from 1780 to 1920.

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The Four Sixes barn from 1917 is one of the centre’s most significant structures, while exhibits such as 1883: A Ranching Origin Story will be familiar to viewers of the popular Yellowstone TV series.

The heritage centre is preparing to open the Cash Family Life Learning Center, an immersive version of the ranch from the “Hank the Cowdog” book series.

For more information on Lubbock, go to visitlubbock.org.

For more information on Texas, visit traveltexas.com.

WHERE WE STAYED: The Overton Hotel & Conference Center

HOW WE GOT THERE: Drove from Amarillo, a straight shot south on the I-27, about an hour a half. Flew home. Lubbock-Houston-Toronto (aircanada.com)

ALL ABOUT LUBBOCK

– Population of 266.750.
– Home to Prairie Dog Town, the first protected prairie dog colony of its kind.
– One of the country’s leading cotton growers.
– Nicknamed the ‘Hub City’ as the economic, educational and health-care hub of the South Plains.
– Among the windiest cities in the U.S. along with its neighbour to the north, Amarillo.
– In 2013, was named the “toughest weather city” in America by the Weather Channel.

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