Slowing economy can't stop local music

By Dale Martin 
Contributor

Published January 13, 2009

You would never know it was the middle of winter and that we are in tough economic times by looking at the schedule of great live music in our area this weekend. 

Drew Kennedy will be playing Saturday night, Jan. 17, at Tavern in the Gruene and tickets are just $3 at the door. His 2007 CD, “Dollar Theatre Movie,” earned critical attention all across the Lone Star state and was one of my personal favorites for the year. Drew lives here in town and took time to call and talk about his upcoming shows and new CD. 

“The Tavern show will be a three piece band because it's a smaller room,” explained Drew, “which will give it a more intimate setting. In the middle of February I'll record my third album with Keith Gattis producing. We haven't decided if we will record in Nashville or Los Angeles. I have about 15 songs written right now but I'd like to write four or five more, just so I'll have a good selection to choose from. The title of the new CD will be 'An Audio Guide to Cross Country Travel.' My wife Holly and I were in an antique store downtown and I picked up one of those old pocket guide instructional books. I thought it would be cool to incorporate that into the title of my new album.” 

Drew hopes for a mid-summer release if everything goes as planned. Until then, catch one of his area shows and pick up a copy of his current CD. Tomorrow night he'll be at Billy D's in Universal City and in Fredericksburg on Friday night. 

Gruene Hall has the double-barreled blast of Texas Renegade and Zack Walther & the Cronkites on tap for tonight. They began their co-headlining shows last week and will continue tonight. 

“It was great,” said Walther, “we got nothing but good comments on both bands. We want the fans to know that the music starts at 6pm and goes to 10pm. Last week Texas Renegade opened the show, so this week we start the show. Each band plays about two hours. It's a free show and a lot of fun, so we want everyone to come out and have a good time.” 

If you enjoyed the house concert hosted by New Braunfels resident Elaine Hayden last November when she hosted the international group Big Wide Grin, then you're in luck. That show was a great success so she's scheduled another one for this Sunday afternoon featuring singer songwriter Chuck Brodsky. This is one of just three shows he will be performing in Texas. His last trip to the Lone Star State was last summer for the Kerrville Folk Festival. Though I've never caught one of Chuck's performances, the reviews I've read put his music in the same category as Bob Dylan and John Prine. Anyone in that group is alright by me. After Hayden's last house concert, I received numerous emails saying what a fantastic time everyone had. If you are in the mood for some great music in an intimate setting, give Elaine a call at 830-625-0859 or go to myspace.com/nbhouseconcerts.

Carlton Pride & Zion will return to town this Friday night to record a live album at Scores Sports Bar. Pride, son of legendary country artist Charlie Pride, has made his mark performing traditional reggae music all across the country. I spoke with Carlton's publicist, Trent Hanna, to get all the details. 

“This will be a very special performance since we will be recording it for a live album as well as a video release. There's no cover charge but come early to get a good spot. The music starts about 8:30pm and goes until 11:45pm. There's a chance some special guests might drop by. We want to invite all of Carlton's fans to come out and be a part of this experience.”