Name: Confederate Railroad
Start: 2024-10-05T18:00:00-05:00
Location: 13767 W County Road B, Hayward, WI, United States, Wisconsin 54843

Reserved Seating: $37 Advance/$47 Day of Show
General Admission: $27 Advance/$37 Day of Show
Doors open: 6 PM | Showtime: 7 PM
Get $7 XL (free play) by showing your concert wristband at Quest on the day of the show!
Overnight sensation - One of the most over-used and misapplied coronations ever. It’s been used to describe CONFEDERATE RAILROAD in that very manner.
In the case of Railroad, it most often refers to the frenzy that surrounded the mega- hit “Trashy Women”. From lead singer, DANNY SHIRLEY’s perspective, “We weren’t an overnight sensation; ‘Trashy Women’ was.”
The facts are simple. The debut self-titled album had three singles before “Trashy Women” and was selling well. On the strength of “She Took It Like A Man”, “Jesus and Mama” and “Queen of Memphis” the album sold more than 500,000 copies in its first 72 weeks. However it sold more than 500,000 copies in the first seven weeks “Trashy Women” was the designated single. It was a song that had every chance of never being recorded which is the stuff of ironic legends. Here is the Cliff’s Notes version of its ascension.
As the last session for the Barry Beckett-produced album drew near, Danny and his manager met with Rick Blackburn, President of Atlantic Records Nashville. Danny really wanted to include the track on the album but he had been repeatedly rebuffed up to that point. The idea of the album’s construction was to have the radio-friendly singles alongside darker, meatier tracks fans would discover when they came to the show. That would use radio and live performances to organically build the career and sell records. He knew this song did that night-in and night out.
There was a legitimate concern in 1994 from mainstream country radio about glorifying ladies who were “less than elegant” and how that would play in the broader context. But Danny had the advantage of knowing his audience first-hand and the chord the quirky tune struck with them. So when Mr. Blackburn said he “couldn’t hear Danny singing this,” the solution became obvious. Danny went from Mr. Blackburn’s office to a studio and did a one-take guitar/vocal demonstration recording.
Anticipating Mr. Blackburn’s next question, he then went directly to producer Beckett’s office and played it for him, receiving an enthusiastic approval. Returning within hours to Mr. Blackburn’s office with questions answered, Mr. Blackburn agreed to let it be recorded. He did so as a reward to Danny who had given great performances on other songs Mr. Blackburn knew Danny didn’t love. However, it came with conditions. Most importantly that neither Danny nor his manager would ever ask for it to be a single. The stated reason: “Mark my words. This single would K*ll the band.”