Robert Earl Keen kicks off Community Concert Hall Winter/Spring season, Jan. 10, 2010

 

          DURANGO, Colo. – After the unfortunate weather-related cancellation of his January 2009 show, alternative country singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen makes good on his vow to return to Durango, set to take the stage at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College Sunday, Jan. 10, 2010.

To perform with his full band, Keen is coming off of his 20^th Anniversary “Road Goes On Forever” Tour, and is now promoting his new studio release for Lost Highway Records, “The Rose Hotel,” produced by noted producer, Lloyd Maines. With “The Rose Hotel,” (which reached No. 1 on the AMA Americana chart in November 2009) Keen is said to re-confirm his place among Texas’ great storytellers, capable of painting rich, poignant landscapes and spinning satirical yarns. Songs in this genre include long-standing REK fan favorites, “Five Pound Bass,” “Gringo Honeymoon,” “No Kinda Dancer,” “The Road Goes On Forever” and “Merry Christmas From the Family.”

Keen writes about the West from his soul, blending the fugitive spirit with a taqueria reality. He has forged a line between wry literary delicacy and fiery roadhouse fervor, the latter which has earned him the reputation as a “yee-haw party boy.” To illustrate the point, he got his start playing country music on his front porch with Lyle Lovett – wearing nothing but underwear, much to the astonishment of churchgoers across the street from Keen’s house. The pastime yielded the co-written “This Old Porch,” recorded by both Keen and Lovett.

Born in Houston to a Texas oilman and an attorney who introduced him to authors and poets, Keen began writing his own poems at age five. He didn’t consider his rhymes as song lyrics until he started playing guitar at age 18 while majoring in English at Texas A&M.  Though he finished his education, he found his true passion in the clubs, bringing his unique characters to life and gaining a sense of community with the audience through music.

Once called “the most successful artist many Americans have never heard,” Keen has had his songs recorded by George Strait, Lyle Lovett, Shawn Colvin, the Dixie Chicks and the Highwaymen (Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash & Kris Kristofferson), and has played to sold out concert audiences, sometimes numbering as many as 25,000, for more than 20 years.

Wrote “The Oregonian,” “Country music can keep Kenny Chesney, but Robert Earl Keen is for all of us.”  View one of Keen’s many performances on “Austin City Limits” at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RArZGbD9k-M.

Tickets for Robert Earl Keen – $27 for Balcony and Orchestra and $35 for Plaza – are available on the web at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657. Or visit the Ticketing Services Office in Downtown Durango at 7^th and Main Ave.

Showtime is 7 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6 p.m.

The Community Concert Hall is located in the growing arts complex of Fort Lewis College.  It operates through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, as well as the city of Durango, and with financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.