Pat Murphy
An Evening with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen brought the heart of Texas to North County on Feb. 13th. The evening consisted of two longtime school friends who were exchanging humorous stories and singing some of their well-known songs. Lovett and Keen sat on the stage surrounded by multiple instruments in front of a packed house at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido. The humor was comfortable and rib tickling. The audience was immediately at home with the casual country atmosphere that emanated from the stage.
The crowd would occasionally break into applause as the first notes of a song floated out into the large multi-layered auditorium. The spectators watched the show for over 2 hours without an intermission. When the last song ended everyone immediately stood on their feet at once and with resounding clapping and cheering they asked for more. Lovett and Keen graciously complied and warmly thanked their fans for coming out to the show and for many years of support.
Lyle Lovett is an American country singer-songwriter and actor. He was born November 1, 1957 in Houston, Texas. Since 1980, Lovett has recorded thirteen albums and released 25 singles. Lovett has won four Grammy Awards, including Best Male Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Album. While typically associated with the country genre, Lovett’s songs often incorporate folk, swing, blues, jazz and gospel music as well as more traditional country & Western tunes.
Lyle Lovett’s music is some of the most beloved in Americana history. His sound has mixed everything from swing to jazz to country with classic Texas charm. Lovett is a cornerstone of American music and his live shows pack all the passion, inspiration, and delicate musicianship found throughout his 30-year career.
Lovett attended Texas A&M University, where he received Bachelor of Arts degrees in both German and Journalism in 1980. In the early 1980s, Lovett often played solo acoustic sets at the small bars just off the A&M campus. In 2015, Lovett received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Texas A&M University. It was here that Lovett met his lifelong friend, Robert Keen.
Lovett – Keen T-Shirt
Joining Lyle Lovett on the stage this evening was his good friend and Texas legend Robert Earl Keen. Keen’s music has been dubbed Americana, but it covers a landscape filled with sing-a-longs and open field melodies that warm the soul and make the heart dance. Robert Earl Keen was born January 11, 1956. His eighteen studio and live albums have found success across the country and inducted him into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Houston native has recorded 18 full-length albums for both independent and major record labels, while his songs have had cover versions recorded by several country folk and Texas country music musicians, including George Strait, Joe Ely, Lyle Lovett, The Highwaymen, Nanci Griffith and the Dixie Chicks.
Both artists use rich, expressive lyrics in their song writing that describe a genre known as Americana. Keen’s Corpus Crispi Bay, Feeling Good Again, The Front Porch Song, and Merry Christmas from the Family, were fan favorites. Here is a sample of the lyrics from Merry Christmas from the Family;
Carve the turkey, turn the ballgame on
Mix margaritas when the eggnog’s gone
Send somebody to the Quik Pak store
We need some icing and extension cords
A can of bean dip and some Diet Rite
A box of tampons and some more Burl Ives
Hallelujah, everybody say cheese
Merry Christmas from the family
I wore my cowboy boots for the occasion but I only observed about 10 other men and women in boots. Two cowboy hats were offset by two baseball caps and only a handful of fans were wearing western garb. Throughout the show Lovett called out the names of many people that had come to support him. He is a big fan of motorcycle racing and apparently the feeling is mutual because there was a large response to his mentioning it. Even though the show was over 2 hours long, no one appeared to get tired including yours truly. It was a very entertaining evening.
The venue at the California Center for the Arts is beautiful and the acoustics are fabulous. The building design is early California and the parking is easy. This coming Sunday is International Guitar Night! Four incredible acoustic guitarists in one incredible evening will delight music lovers. Hosting the evening will be Germany’s Gypsy Jazz Legend Lulo Reinhardt. Joining Reinhardt is Canadian contemporary sensation and YouTube star, Calum Graham. International Guitar Night will also welcome Poland’s innovative composer/guitarist, Marek Pasieczny and rounding out the evening will be the only guitarist to ever win First Prize at the world’s top Classical and Fingerstyle competitions, American, Michael Chapdelaine.
http://artcenter.org/
http://www.robertearlkeen.com/
https://www.facebook.com/robertearlkeen/
