Tue 5/13 @ 8PM
There was a time, believe it or not, when country music wasn’t a cesspool of shallow party songs about drinking beer with girls in short shorts down by the river in my pickup truck, sung by a good-looking hunk in a Stetson poured into tight jeans. (It’s no accident so many ex-hair metal musicians are now doing “country.”)
That was a time when musicians like Rodney Crowell were making hit records and writing hit songs, influenced by songwriters like Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt who wrote about life’s complications and vicissitudes, not just its parties.
Crowell spent some time in Emmylou Harris’ band before releasing his first album in 1980. But it wasn’t until the late ’80s when he enjoyed his greatest success with charting country hits like “I Couldn’t Leave You If I Tried,” “She’s Crazy for Leavin’,” “If Looks Could Kill,” and the Grammy-winning “After All This Time.”
He’s continued to release albums, produce albums for other artists, and write songs that have been hits for other artists like Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, and Lee Ann Womack. He’s got the kind of staying power it’s unlikely today’s “endless Southern spring break” artists will have.
He’ll be at the Kent Stage.
Tickets are $25.
thekentstage.com/rodney-crowell-kent/
Photo by David McClister