Robert Earl Keen returns to the Community Concert Hall Aug. 17
Sultry singer/songwriter Shannon McNally opens the show
DURANGO, Colo. – Known for music that blends folk, jazz, country, blues, rock and Texas swing with wit and satire, Robert Earl Keen returns to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011, with his Confetti Western Tour presented by “Ready for Confetti.” Special Guest Shannon McNally will open the show at 7:30 p.m.
“Ready for Confetti” (Lost Highway Records), Keen’s 16th studio album, is set for release on Aug. 30. The work is said to further showcase his talent as a songwriter as he paints vivid pictures of the characters he’s met during his travels. The first single, “I Gotta Go” is now available on iTunes.
As Keen notes on his Facebook page, “I would love to have been one of the greatest singers in the world – like Vince Gill or someone like that – even if it was just for one hour. But I really feel like my gift is writing songs. That’s just there and it’s always been there. I don’t know why, but I always have stories – don’t have to be true, just good. If I could put a subtitle on my best songs, it would be ‘based on a good story.'”
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 with Lyle Lovett on his front porch – 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 25 years.
As part of the “Ready for Confetti” celebration, Keen is giving away an autographed guitar. To enter the drawing, visit Keen’s Fan Page on Facebook.
Wrote The Oregonian, “Country music can keep Kenny Chesney, but Robert Earl Keen is for all of us.” View a new video of Keen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDreD3dutqs.
Keen’s special guest, singer/songwriter/guitarist Shannon McNally, is also cut from the troubadour cloth, fusing poetry and common sense in her music. Said to have a voice that is bruised, smoky and ornery – right at home where country and soul meet – McNally is touring to promote her latest release, “Western Ballad” recorded in New Orleans.
Of McNally, Alex Rawls, OffBeat Magazine, wrote last February, “When a friend heard the album low in the background while we were driving, he asked, ‘Patti Smith?’ The mis-hearing was appropriate. Both are mannered vocalists whose songs are at once carriers of ideas and gestures themselves – prayers, chants and/or trances that are influenced but not limited by the words. And both are reaching toward something larger than themselves and spiritual, finding the key in the commonplace.”
McNally is featured on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/shannonmcnallymusic.
Tickets for Robert Earl Keen, with special guest Shannon McNally, ($27/$35) are available on-line at www.durangoconcerts.com or by calling 970.247.7657, or at the Ticket Office in Downtown Durango at 7th St. and Main Ave. All sales final.
Showtime is 7:30 p.m., with doors to the Concert Hall and concessions, serving beer, wine and non-alcoholic beverages and snacks, opening at 6:30 p.m.
The Community Concert Hall is a not-for-profit, multi-use performance venue located on the campus of Fort Lewis College. Its ability to bring a diverse spectrum of shows to Southwest Colorado is made possible through a partnership with the college, a state-supported, independent institution of higher education, and the city of Durango, as well as through financial and in-kind contributions from generous members of the community.
