{"id":260081,"date":"2026-04-21T21:11:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/260081\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T21:11:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T21:11:42","slug":"fresh-off-the-voice-blaire-elbert-gives-hometown-crowd-a-show-also-shares-stage-with-one-of-her-fellow-cactus-cuties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/260081\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresh off ‘The Voice,’ Blaire Elbert gives hometown crowd a show, also shares stage with one of her fellow Cactus Cuties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Almost 15 years have passed since Blaire Elbert and Makenzie Patton sang together as part of Lubbock\u2019s Cactus Cuties.<\/p>\n

A couple of weeks ago, they shared the stage at Lubbock\u2019s Silver Bullet Saloon \u2013 which bills itself as \u201cLubbock\u2019s Five-Star Dive Bar\u201d \u2013 performing a few songs wedged into Elbert\u2019s set on her short swing back home after her run on NBC\u2019s \u201cThe Voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related story: Former Cactus Cutie Blaire Elbert once sang at White House, but being on \u2018The Voice\u2019 stage was \u2018whole different beast\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Before the music started, Patton talked about watching her friend on the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started crying when she came out. Tears were streaming down my face. It was very sentimental, very special. When the chair turned, I was watching it with my dad. We lost it. We lost it. It\u2019s like we were watching a basketball game and they scored a buzzer beater,\u201d Patton said of the moment when judge Kelly Clarkson turned her chair, moving Elbert to the show\u2019s second round.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew once she started yodeling, I knew Kelly was gonna turn y\u2019all. I knew it. That\u2019s irresistible. Smart move on her part. Way to grab attention. I knew Kelly won\u2019t be able to resist that one,\u201d Patton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust starting so young as babies together and seeing where she got and knowing I got to experience that with her for a small part,\u201d said Patton, who lives in Lubbock and gigs around town and in the region, of her connection with Elbert.<\/p>\n

\"\"Blaire Elbert, left, and Makenzie Patton, former Cactus Cuties, sing at the Silver Bullet Saloon. Staff photo.<\/p>\n

Elbert opened her set singing Dolly Parton\u2019s \u201c9 to 5,\u201d recorded for the movie of the same name. She sprinkled in some of her own songs \u2013 \u201cHowdy,\u201d \u201cDating Down,\u201d \u201cWhiskey Proof\u201d along with yodeling number \u201cWide Rollin\u2019 Plains,\u201d which she sang on \u201cThe Voice\u2019s\u201d Blind Audition and \u201cNever Again, Again,\u201d which she sang with J.W. Griffin in the Battle Rounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWide Rollin\u2019 Plains,\u201d got a strong response from the crowd, with many taking videos on their phones during the song.<\/p>\n

Elbert described \u201cDating Down\u201d as a song about a friend dating someone who\u2019s friends know is not right for them.<\/p>\n

Some young women started laughing when Elbert described the song. Asked why they were laughing, all three said they had a friend the song fit perfectly.<\/p>\n

Then Patton came up for a spirited set of tunes, including a sing-along version of Journey\u2019s \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Believin.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But most of the evening\u2019s songs were country, luring two-steppers to the dance floor.<\/p>\n

\"\"Blaire Elbert and her mom, Leanna Mitchell, left, greet people at the Silver Bullet Saloon. Staff photo.<\/p>\n

During breaks at the Silver Bullet, Elbert\u2019s mom, Leanna Mitchell, introduced her daughter to people at the bar, where watch parties were held when Elbert appeared on \u201cThe Voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell and Elbert\u2019s sister Brooklyn were in Los Angeles for Elbert\u2019s Blind Audition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty awesome \u2026 nerve racking, to say the least. But she walked on there with confidence,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has performed on stage since she was five. But I had no doubt she could get a chair turn with her personality, the way she has been mentored to perform on stage and how to interact with the judges,\u201d Mitchell said.<\/p>\n

Before Clarkson turned her chair, Mitchell said Elbert hoped to work with Clarkson because of the Texas and country connections \u2013 plus she was the only female coach.<\/p>\n

And Elbert isn\u2019t Mitchell\u2019s only daughter to sing on a competitive TV show.<\/p>\n

Brooklyn Elbert was in a group called Avery and the Calico Hearts, performing on \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent\u201d as seen in this 2011 YouTube clip.<\/a> Brooklyn graduated from Tech, lives in Lubbock, works for Covenant Health and still does music, said her mom.<\/p>\n

\"\"Blaire Elbert with, from left: Kathy Rollo, Lubbock Independent School District superintendent, who was principal of Murfee Elementary when Elbert was there; Amy Stephens, then a Murfee teacher whose son was in Elbert\u2019s kindergarten class and is now LISD\u2019s executive principal; Robert Rollo, who coached Elbert\u2019s Destination Imagination team at Murfee. Staff photo.<\/p>\n

Also in the audience was Kathy Rollo, Lubbock Independent School District superintendent, who was Elbert\u2019s principal at Murfee Elementary School.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had followed Blaire throughout her career, after she graduated from college and throughout her musical career in Nashville. So \u2018The Voice\u2019 was just the next extension of what she had already been doing. But it was amazing to watch her and she still has an incredible future,\u201d said Rollo.<\/p>\n

Rollo praised Elbert\u2019s songwriting and musician skills.<\/p>\n

\"\"Elbert performing at the Silver Bullet Saloon. Staff photo.<\/p>\n

\"\"Blaire Elbert\u2019s Silver Bullet Saloon set list for March 28.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s always been a very talented person from the time she was in kindergarten. This musical talent she had as a very young child was very evident,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Rollo also used words like creativity, brilliance and intelligence describing Elbert.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s extremely smart and \u2026 was very gifted academically. She was on that Destination Imagination team my son was on and they were coached by my husband. They advanced to their district, state and even the national level,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Misty Michel, whose son James was close friends with Elbert at Evans Middle School and Monterey High School, was also in the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cried the whole entire time. I\u2019m proud of Blaire because she knew what she wanted. She left Lubbock, left everybody she knew, went to a town where she knew nobody and did her thing,\u201d Michel said of watching Elbert on \u201cThe Voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michel has gone to Nashville to watch Elbert play.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always had high hopes for her because she had such talent. But even more, she had more ambition,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Michel talked about Elbert\u2019s early years in the Cuties, singing on the Disney Channel show \u201cCory in the House\u201d and other appearances, like singing the \u201cNational Anthem\u201d in front of large audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they\u2019re little, they\u2019re so cute. These little girls in front of these big audiences, she was never scared or she didn\u2019t show it anyways,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

She left Lubbock, left everybody she knew, went to a town where she knew nobody and did her thing.<\/p>\n

misty michel<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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