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<\/p>\nBOWMAN, N.D. \u2014 A little over two dozen people filled the seats of Lucky Goose Grill & Bar Thursday night as country singer Beni Paulson tuned his guitar in front of them, just moments before his 8 p.m. performance.<\/p>\n
Lucky Goose, a new bar in Bowman that opened up at the end of December, hosted its first ever concert with Paulson as the headliner. The show was a last-minute event, only announced on their Facebook page a day before on Wednesday afternoon. Even though Lucky Goose owner Jeff Gooss only had one day to prepare, he said the event turned out great.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was amazing,\u201d he said. \u201c[Paulson] is a genuine, good guy. He\u2019s from this area, so there\u2019s no better person to have at our first concert.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gooss intended Paulson to be the headliner with singer Patrick Lee as a special guest appearance. But on the night of the performance, Paulson told the patrons of Lucky Goose that Lee wasn\u2019t going to perform since he woke up sick that morning. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not going to make it, so you\u2019re stuck with us for a while,\u201d he said to the audience.<\/p>\n
Despite not having another performer to come after him, Paulson managed to keep the night going and the crowd engaged for over an hour as he played his songs and told the backstory behind each one.<\/p>\n
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Lucky Goose Grill & Bar patron taking a photo of Beni Paulson and Breaking Eight.<\/p>\n
Dorvall Bedford \/ The Dickinson Press<\/p>\n
Paulson is many things: a rancher, <\/p>\n
former bull rider<\/a><\/p>\n and a North Dakota native. Although he has been writing music with his band Breaking Eight for the past eight years and released a <\/p>\n new album<\/a><\/p>\n on March 4, he doesn\u2019t describe himself as a musician. To him, the music is another extension of his role as a rancher, seeing it as a duty of his. Paulson wants his music to not only get people to dance but also show the role he sees ranchers play in taking care of the land and feeding the world.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stand out in the scene of country music because I’m an actual rancher\u2014I\u2019m an actual cowboy,\u201d Paulson said. \u201cWe don\u2019t just play country music, we live country music.\u201d<\/p>\n Gooss said he wanted Paulson to perform at Lucky Goose because Paulson\u2019s background as a North Dakotan rancher helps bring a sense of community. <\/p>\n \u201cHis ranch is out here and he knows many of the people in this bar\u2014they grew up with him,\u201d he said. \u201cThat really embodies the essence of what we are. What\u2019s most important is trying to find North Dakota talent at a North Dakota bar.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the audience were a handful of Paulson\u2019s old friends. Joe Blankenship, Paulson\u2019s old roommate at Dickinson State University, sat at the table closest to the singer. He was the one who suggested to contact Gooss when Paulson was looking for a place to perform in Bowman. Blankenship said it\u2019s the authenticity of the songs that makes them special.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ranching, the rodeo, it\u2019s real,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has an impact on the people that are in that lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n Blankenship said listening to the performance that night brought him back to the days when Paulson would practice the guitar in their apartment and they would ride bulls together. His favorite song that night was \u201cI Been a Cowboy,\u201d a song Paulson\u2019s father wrote. It was also Gooss\u2019s favorite song that night as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you listen to him sing it, you notice it has a significantly different tone,\u201d Gooss added. \u201cIt\u2019s very obvious it\u2019s a very special song to him.\u201d<\/p>\n The show attracted more than just locals from North Dakota. Tyler Hett, who sat on the other end of the same table as Blankenship, drove close to 50 miles from Buffalo, South Dakota, just to see Paulson perform.<\/p>\n \u201cI needed to get out of the house for a little bit,\u201d he said. \u201cI heard Beni was playing so I drove all the way up here.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Gooss and Paulson expressed that they were happy with how the night went. For Gooss, the performance was just the start of many more community events he hopes to host, including comedy nights and more concerts. Paulson saw it as good practice for his even bigger goal.<\/p>\n \u201cMy goal is to do it for real,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to play big stages for thousands of people and tell our story to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Beni Paulson and Breaking Eight performing at Lucky Goose Grill Bar.<\/p>\n Dorvall Bedford \/ The Dickinson Press<\/p>\n![\"Breaking](\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/a7f957c\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4176x2784+0+0\/resize\/840x560!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F48%2Fe4%2Ff75f2a1048faa11a6ac09cac6296%2Fdsc-8923.JPG\")
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