Reckless Weekend The Finale: American Aquarium Turned Proud Larry’s Into a Pressure System
Proud Larry’s, Oxford, Mississippi - December 8, 2025
The straight shot to Oxford
This was the surprise show of the weekend for me. Carson kept asking me to go, so I gave in and went… lol. Our little show crew loaded up — with the edition of Lannah, Carson’s gf (we are growing) — and headed out for Oxford, MS for a show at Proud Larry’s.
The trip was our usual fanfare of laughs and jokes. We played a few tunes on the way to help familiarize me with the headliner. Not a bad drive — pretty much a straight shot from Tupelo, and with a 9 PM showtime there was no real rush.
We arrived about 15 minutes before the openers took the stage, which is the perfect kind of timing. It’s late enough to feel like you made it, early enough to feel like you didn’t miss the first heartbeat of the night.
Blue Cactus eased the room into listening mode
Blue Cactus came out first — a duo featuring Steph Stewart and Mario Arnez. They were very entertaining, and their short set had that calm confidence that doesn’t need to shout to be heard.
They opened with “Resolution,” a smooth number that introduced us to that Emmylou Harris-style feeling — lyric-first, warm, and honest. Steph kept showing off a pleasant voice and heartfelt writing as they moved through tracks like “Bite My Tongue” and “Worried Man,” which she framed as a song about her grandfather and how he worried she wouldn’t know the things she needed to survive the world.
They also gave the crowd a new unreleased track, “Caught in a Lie,” which always feels like being let into the kitchen while the meal is still cooking.
Near the end they played “This kind of rain,” a tale about the awful flooding that took place in NC due to the hurricane, then finished off with “Radioman.” All together, their set was a relaxing, entertaining collection of songs — personally I enjoyed it very much. They tuned the room up and left it ready.
Then American Aquarium hit, and the glass started shaking
Next up was American Aquarium, and man am I glad I went to see these guys. Amazing band with songs that will touch your heart and rock your soul.
They hit the stage running and didn’t stop until the last notes rang out. They opened with “Please, Don’t break my heart,” “A time a Place,” and then launched into one of my favorites, “Lonely ain’t easy.” That song has teeth. It’s about loneliness and how it affects people, and the way they played it made it feel like something you’ve lived, not just something you’ve heard.
Their songwriting is so on point — real things, real feelings, real situations. It was a fresh new musical road to travel down. They ripped through the night with staple tunes that had the crowd rocking, and the crowd itself was half the story. About half of them were in Tulsa the night prior for the show there. Talk about a traveling fan base. It reminded me of Blackberry Smoke’s Brothers and Sisters energy — people who don’t just attend, they belong.
The singalong that proved everybody came with history
One of the biggest crowd moments was “I hope he breaks your Heart.” It turned into a singalong. It’s a powerful song about how a guy feels after a girl dumps him, and it hits because it doesn’t pretend to be above the mess. It lives inside it, hands dirty, eyes open.
“Hurricane” was another standout — rowdy, loud, the kind of tune that stomps around the room like it owns the place. Storms and women and how both can wreak havoc on a man’s life. They kept the momentum moving through “Wolves,” “When the Dogwood Blooms,” and “Postcard from Wichita,” and the whole set felt like it had both muscle and meaning. That combo is rare. Most bands pick one and pretend the other doesn’t exist.
The moment that really moved me
Then came the moment that got me.
The band left BJ Barham alone on stage. He said this was the part where he tells a sad story — one we’ve all been affected by in some way — grief and loss of the hardest kind, and how it hit him and his family.
It was a beautiful story, and it reminded me of when my daughter was born prematurely and how scared we were about how it would turn out. That kind of fear doesn’t evaporate. It just goes quiet until something true wakes it back up.
BJ had me in tears on the side of the stage, and I am thankful for that. I told him after the show that I want to get to know him, that I found him to be a very amazing human being.
That story led into his solo performance of “Chicamacomico,” a touching, deep lyrical song that is absolutely beautiful. One voice, one guitar, and a whole room listening like it didn’t want to break the spell.
Afterglow
When the band came back out, they didn’t try to “shake off” the heavy moment like it was a mistake. They just kept going, like real life does. They ripped through a couple more tunes and ended with “Back in Town,” another rowdy one that left everyone feeling elated and tired from the huge adrenaline they brought out of us.
That’s what stuck with me walking out: this band can rock your soul and still make space for the soft parts you don’t usually bring into a bar on a weeknight. They made the room loud, then made it honest, then made it loud again. Like waves… Like weather…
In closing: if you do not know who American Aquarium is — go check them out. I promise you will be blown away.
American Aquarium (as seen this night): BJ Barham (guitar/vocals), Shane Boeker (guitars), Neal Jones (pedal steel), Rhett Huffman (keyboards), Ryan Van Fleet (drums), Alden Hughes (bass).
More info lives on American Aquarium’s official website.
