4 SONGWRITERS PROVE YOU DON'T MESS WITH TEXAS
By Michael Parrish
Chicago Tribune
http://chicagotribune.com/
Although Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles are clearly bigger
commercial music centers, Austin, Texas, remains a magnet for
musicians of all types. However, Austin's strongest suit has long been
its songwriters.
On Friday night, the Old Town School of Folk Music hosted an eclectic
quartet of Texas singer-songwriters that reflected both the diversity
and unity of the greater Austin music community. None of these artists
are likely to be headlining the United Center any time soon, but they
are all successful, veteran artists who are in the process of taking
stock of their careers and their lives.
These four artists, who share management and have played on one
another's records, also epitomize the sense of acceptance and
cooperation that draws so many musicians to Austin.
Eliza Gilkyson opened the show with a brief set mostly drawn from her
dark, introspective new album, "Hard Times in Babylon." Gilkyson has a
fragile, slightly husky voice that can assume a hard edge when the
material demands it. Her most moving piece was "Easy Rider," a tune
about her late father, folk singer Terry Gilkyson, who rose to fame in
the 1950s and spent the rest of his career trying to recreate those
early successes.
Tom Russell has long had a reputation as a songwriter that other
writers listen to, and his short, hard-hitting set showed why. Opening
with "Angel of Lyon," a harrowing piece he penned with Steve Young
about a Pilgrim's descent into madness, Russell struck a rocker's pose
as he spat out the words in his resonant baritone. His accompanist,
acoustic guitarist Andrew Hardin, nearly stole the show when he let
loose with a volley of flamenco-inflected notes on the first
instrumental break. His trump card was "Where the Dream Begins," a
frank, unsentimental fictionalization of his own life that had
striking parallels to Gilkyson's piece about her father.
Tish Hinojosa has possibly had the greatest commercial success of the
four, with records released on both A&M and Warner Brothers. Her
diverse, crowd pleasing performance included "Siempre Abuelita," a
warm love letter to her late grandmother, and a driving version of "By
the Rio Grande."
Closing out the show was Jimmy LaFave, who has more in common
musically with Bob Seger than Bob Wills. LaFave and his two
accompanists sat down for a semi-unplugged, but passionate, set.
Back to Articles
