Side by side, The Highway 6 Band — lead singer Aaron Cruse, lead guitarist Justin Faldyn ‘24, bassist Erwin Olexa ‘24 and drummer Brennan Collier — sat cool, calm and collected, digesting what taking the electric Chilifest stage this Friday meant to them.
The 2024 Best of Aggieland winners have reached a new point in their careers: festivals. Not just any festival, but an Aggie-centered one, where legends like Willie Nelson and Lynyrd Skynyrd have played before them — Chilifest. For over 25 years, the annual two-day music festival’s main purpose has been to give back to local charities throughout the Brazos Valley and surrounding areas.
As they ran down Friday’s setlist in the garage of a home occupied by two of the members, they remained focused, yet at ease. The walls are adorned with posters of shows they’ve opened, rally towels, road signs and a Texas A&M flag.
Although taking the stage means something to every member, attending the festival is something not all of them have done yet — this will be Olexa’s first year in attendance. For Collier, this has been a desired goal since the first time he laid his eyes on the singular stage.
“I remember going to Chilifest, and I was like, ‘Man, I really want to play on that stage. That is awesome,’” Collier said. “ … You could feel the kick and the bass throughout your whole body. It’s just amazing. And I always wanted to play on that stage. So it’s just really surreal and awesome.”
The band has the opportunity not only to play on the same stage, but also to open for some of the bands that inspire them, like Treaty Oak Revival. As they get to meet their role models, Highway 6 leans on advice and guidance from recording and writing tips to Whiskey Myers’ Cody Cannon telling them to “keep a level head” and to always keep going.
“I just love picking their brains, man,” agricultural leadership and development senior Aaron Cruse said. “They’ve had so much more experience than we have. And some of the best tips we’ve ever gotten have been after a show with the other band that we opened up for or vice versa. And it’s helped us out a lot, like I said, within our short time period-starting out.”
Collier said they reached a big goal of theirs to play at Chilifest. Reaching what they wanted to achieve during their time in College Station, Cruse said it’s a poetic way to end their time in Aggieland.
“It’s definitely like, ‘Hey, we can do it,’” Olexa said. “We’re able to be able to be a part of these sort of festivals, and we can go to the next step, hopefully, if that’s what’s in our future. … This means a whole lot to us. And it’s been a short but long time coming because it’s been crazy what we’ve been able to do as a band in such a short amount of time, but it still took effort and took time to get there.”
Although they have hopes of being able to make a living off of doing what they love, The Highway 6 Band hasn’t reached the point yet of fully jumping off to chase the dream, Cruse said. Not knowing what the optimistic future for sure holds, the band at least holds a 30-minute time slot on Friday this year.
Performing released singles and preparing a few covers, the band is excited to play their version of a surprise cover in particular. To hear them live and loud, Chilifest doors open Friday at 3 p.m., and The Highway 6 Band are the first to take the stage at 5 p.m.
