The 2014 Sounds of Texas Music Series presents Rodney Crowell Saturday, June 14, 2014 at the historic Crighton Theatre. Featuring Steuart Smith & Friends.
"Along with peers such as Emmylou Harris and John Hiatt, who also launched their careers in the '70s, Crowell seems to have found the fuel to just keep getting better." — Los Angeles Times
Rodney Crowell is touring in support of his upcoming release Tarpaper Sky, which hit the streets on April 15th. Tarpaper Sky comes fast on the heels of Old Yellow Moon, Crowell’s critically lauded collaboration with Emmylou Harris, which is nominated
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The 2014 Sounds of Texas Music Series presents Rodney Crowell Saturday, June 14, 2014 at the historic Crighton Theatre. Featuring Steuart Smith & Friends.
"Along with peers such as Emmylou Harris and John Hiatt, who also launched their careers in the '70s, Crowell seems to have found the fuel to just keep getting better." — Los Angeles Times
Rodney Crowell is touring in support of his upcoming release Tarpaper Sky, which hit the streets on April 15th. Tarpaper Sky comes fast on the heels of Old Yellow Moon, Crowell’s critically lauded collaboration with Emmylou Harris, which is nominated for a 2014 Grammy Award and was named 2013 Album of the Year by the Americana Music Association.
For Tarpaper Sky, Crowell assembled most of the players who’d graced his breakthrough album Diamonds & Dirt for an old school recording session. Together in one room, the musicians recorded live-to-tape, sharing ideas and developing arrangements as a group.
A good portion of the songs were laid down in 2010 but Crowell was pulled in different directions; he released the critically praised KIN with poet Mary Karr in 2012 followed by Old Yellow Moon with longtime collaborator Emmylou Harris in 2013. But all along his unfinished project beckoned, and after the band regrouped and it was all pulled together, Crowell realized he had something special. He’s called it Tarpaper Sky, an allusion to the rickety house with a bad roof in which he spent much of his Houston childhood.
Crowell’s resume could serve as a manual on how to balance commercial success and lifelong artistry while also maintaining integrity. Not many artists can boast having their music recorded by such a diverse array of artists, from country legends (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings) to current country stars (Keith Urban, Tim McGraw), to rock legends (Bob Seger, Van Morrison) to blues icons (Etta James) and even electronic artists (Royksopp).
As an artist or songwriter, he has had songs in the top 10 in every decade since the 1970’s.
Crowell recently penned his own autobiography, “Chinaberry Sidewalks”, and collaborated with poet Mary Karr on a critically acclaimed memoir style album. A Grammy Award winner, member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and recipient of the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting from the Americana Music Association, Rodney Crowell is fully engaged in his musical past, present and future.
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