Nacogdoches Readies Itself for Inaugural Big Nac Music Fest“The Oldest Town in Texas” is completing prep-arations for the first Big Nac Music Festival, hosted by Texas Music, to be held March 5-8.

Set among the rolling hills and towering pine trees of East Texas, Nacog-doches has a beautifully pre-served historic downtown area and a strong musical tradi-tion that’s long been a destina-tion for music fans from Texas and Louisiana.

And in just a few weeks, more than 40 bands, including Joe Ely, Reckless Kelly and Shinyribs — as well as noteworthy local artists like Kasey Lansdale, Steve Hartz, Maddison Livingston and the Mellows — will kick off the festival sea-son with a celebration of music and East Texas hospitality. The music, which will cover mul-tiple genres — country, rock, blues, Tejano, and bluegrass — will be hosted by four venues all within walking distance of each other, and all located within the city limits. In addition, at-tendees will be able to enjoy a number of activ-ities outside of music in the surrounding area, and there will be free day shows and children’s activities throughout the weekend. Additional performers include Jack Ingram, Shelley King, Soul Track Mind, Guy Forsyth, Matt the Elec-trician, Wood & Wire, BettySoo, Crooks and El Tule. “You know, I think Texas music really did start here,” says Texas representative Travis

Clardy. “Right here.” So enjoy this Big Nac-themed E-Zine, which includes an interview with Clardy. And consider coming out to the festival. We think you’ll like the music, and we know you’ll love the town.

A Grammy First for Miranda Miranda Lambert has been riding high since she won a Grammy for her 2014 album, Platinum — her first Grammy album win — at the 57th annual awards in Los Angeles Feb. 8. But that doesn’t mean the singer didn’t have a few reservations when she first heard about the nomination. Apparently the Longview native felt a little intimidated by her fellow nominees, as well as “sad” that

she was competing with such talented artists, including fellow Texan Lee Ann Womack. “I was pretty shocked,” Lambert says. “I was kinda sad when I saw the category, ‘cause I was like, ‘Mmm, it’s pretty tough.’ You know? There are some amazing albums in that category,

and I’m a fan of all of them.” Lambert was the only artist to be nominated in all five country categories this year, scoring just the one win. “I’m so thankful for this,” declared the singer during her acceptance speech. “I poured my heart and soul into this record.” Platinum earned Lambert her second Grammy, having won Best Female Country Performance for the The House That Built Me in 2011. Meanwhile the singer’s Certified Platinum Tour kicked off in January.

newsclick here to read

calendarclick here to read

releasesclick here to read

q&aclick here to read

Feb. ‘15extra

extra

P U B L I S H E R / S T E W A R T R A M S E R

E d I t o R - I n - c H I E f

E d I t o R T O M B U C K L E Y

c o n t R I B U t o R S A L L I E E I S S L E R

M I C H A E L M A R C H I O

M I K E M E S S I C K

W I L L I A M M I C H A E L S M I T H

w w w. t x m u s i c . c o m

m a I L I n g a d d R E S S p O B O x 5 0 2 7 3

A U S T I n , T x 7 8 76 3

S U B S c R I P t I o n S : 1 - 8 7 7 - 3 5 - T E x A S O F F I C E : 512 - 6 3 8 - 8 9 0 0

E - M A I L : I n F O @ T x M U S I C . C O MC O p Y R I g H T © 2 014 B Y T E x A S M U S I C , L . L . C .

A L L R I g H T S R E S E R v E d . R E p R O d U C T I O n I n W H O L E O R p A R T I S p R O H I B I T E d .

Joe Ely

Emily Bell

Reckless Kelly

Lambert with Blake Shelton

Lee Ann Womack

newsclick here to read

calendarclick here to read

releasesclick here to read

q&aclick here to read

Willie’s Lifelong Tale Willie Nelson’s memoir, It’s a Long Story: My Life, is due out May 5 via Little, Brown and

Company. The book finds Nel-son and col-laborator David Ritz telling the story of the musician’s six decades in the music indus-try, including 100 albums, 10 Grammys, the Kennedy Cen-ter Honors and the Country Music Hall of Fame induction. Also covered in

the book is Nelson’s high-profile activism for the legalization of marijuana and hemp, the founding of a groundbreaking philanthropic organization and stories from his personal life. Ritz has previously collaborated with the likes of Buddy Guy for a biography, which won ASCAP’s 2013 Timothy White award for out-standing musical biography.

newsclick here to read

calendarclick here to read

releasesclick here to read

q&aclick here to read

the 11-song al-bum showcased L a n s d a l e ’ s smoky Tanya Tucker-esque twang and dem-onstrated her writing chops in seven self-penned songs.

(This is someone who, at age 8, wrote her first short story, which was published by Random House.) Her music has also been featured in films, including Cold in July (starring Michael C. Hall from Showtime’s Dexter) and Christmas with the Dead, where she made her big-screen debut, portraying the protagonist’s wife. Since playing her first gig at Banita Creek Hall in Nacog-doches at age 18, Lansdale has gone on to perform at events and festivals such as SXSW and the Halogaland Music Festival in Norway. Since 1977, Steve Hartz has been building, repairing and playing stringed instruments at the General Mercantile and Old-time String Shop on the square in downtown Nacogdoches. Hartz has always loved and collected musical styles, ideas and stories reflecting earlier times. As a re-sult, in 1998 he started his own recording company and received a Crossroads music award for his first CD, Crooked Steep and Rocky. This was followed by two East Texas-inspired book and CD projects, By the Muddy Ange-lina and Settlers of the Western Woods. His songs have been fea-tured as title cuts on four differ-ent projects, including Dave Pe-

Big Nac’s Local FlavorWhile plenty of Texas acts are traveling to Nacogdoches for the festival, several local acts complement the varied lineup. Here are four to keep in mind. Kasey Lansdale, a Nacogdoches native, released her debut album, Rest-less, in 2013. Produced by Grammy winner John Carter Cash — son of Johnny Cash —

terson’s Howling Blue Winds and Southern Rail’s Glory Train, which was nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Associa-tion’s gospel album of the year in 1996. In

addition to performing his old-timey original mu-sic, Hartz and his wife, Sheryl, have also put on medicine shows and his-torical re-enactment pro-grams from East Texas to far West Texas.

The Mellows are an up-and-coming jazz-rock group with mild blues overtones. Drawing influence from contemporary art-ists like John Mayer, Dave Matthews and Eric Johnson, the band’s first all-original EP, The Devil On My Shoulder, is now available digitally at Bandcamp online. And from an area known more for Red Dirt country, Hail to the Thief is a pow-

er rock trio. Formed in 2013, the members have become known throughout East Texas for their high-energy live shows, dominant stage presence and distinctive songwriting. Drawing from their hard rock, psychedelic, funk and blues roots, this ensemble com-bines elements of heavy guitar work, thick bass lines and pounding drums laid over warm melodies and lyrics that touch upon the essence of human consciousness.

newsclick here to read

calendarclick here to read

releasesclick here to read

q&aclick here to read

Big Nac: The VenuesFour distinctive Main Street venues will host the Big Nac Music Festival. Because of the compact nature of the festival, all four venues are withing walking distance of each other, allowing visitors to enjoy any number of artists while taking in the sights and sounds of East Texas.

Banita Creek Hall (401 West Main Street)has featured countless Tex-as artists over the years. For Big Nac, the venue will host

an impressive array of perform-ers, from headliner Joe Ely to native Kasey Lansdale. Also performing at the Main Street venue will be Joe Ingram, Reck-less Kelly, Crooks, Micky and the Motorcars, Tyler & the Tribe, and Mike and the Moonpies.

Adjacent to Banita Creek is The Mill Room (also at 401 West Main Street), which will host Guy Forsyth Blues, El Tule, the Chubby Knuckle Choir, and Henry + the Invisibles. The Liberty Bell (422 East Main Street) has been described as downtown’s living room — a gathering place, a grab-a-quick-bite or hang-out-with-friends all-night venue. One critic seemed to get it right when he wrote, “The wine selection and specialty menu are matched by the welcoming atmosphere; we half-expected someone to shout out ‘Norm!’ when we entered off the paved brick street.” Live mu-sic is provided every weekend and some weeknights, and the

Brick Wall Gallery features artwork from local artists. Big Nac artists performing here include Shelley King, BettySoo, Whiskey Shivers, Milkdrive, the An-thony Da Costa Trio, Matt the Electrician, Sheila Marshall and High Plains Jamboree. Boasting cinna-mon rolls as big as Texas, a bloody Mary bar, and pitcher mimosas,

brunch at The Liberty Bell is a must.

Located on the brick streets, Mast Hall (317 East Main Street) was built in 1908 as Cason Monk, Monk & Company Store. During Big Nac, the newly renovated venue will host Emily Bell, Soul Track Mind, Wood & Wire, Bellfuries, Somebody’s Darling, Sour Bridges, and the Brett Hendrix Band.

newsclick here to read

calendarclick here to read

releasesclick here to read

q&aclick here to read

20–22Texas Yoga Conference & Music FestivalISKCOn HoustonHoustonwww.texasyogaconference.com

22–3/1Charro Days Fiestadowntown Brownsvillewww.charrodaysfiesta.com

27–28Texas Cowboy Poetry GatheringSul Ross State UniversityAlpinewww.texascowboypoetry.com

3–22Houston Livestock Show & RodeoReliant parkHoustonwww.hlsr.com

5–8Big Nac Music Festivalvarious venuesnacogdoches, Txwww.bignac.com

20Texas Music Reader Appreciation PartyScholz gartenAustinwww.txmusic.com

26–28Head for the HillsQuiet valley RanchKerrville, Txwww.headforthehillsfest.com

fEBRUaRY

calendar

35 DentonMarch 13-15 • Downtown Dentonwww.35denton.com

The fifth-annual 35 Denton Festival returns after taking a year off. The walkable three-day music fest takes place in the burgeoning arts corridor of Denton the week before SXSW in Austin, and this year features native Texan Jimmie Dale Gilmore, who’ll not only perform but will be honored with a cover version of his “Another Colorado” — as part of the return of the 35 Denton Cover Series — by Brent Best, Hillary “Hank” Early, Petra Kelly and Scott Danbom. Other Texas acts performing at the festival include Slobberbone, Telegraph Canyon, Carl Finch, Ten Hands, Danny Diamonds, Curvette, voltREvolt, Brutal Juice, Troller, Sol Kitchen, Unmarked Graves, Dim Locator, Ssleeperhold, the Days, AV the Great, Black James Franco, Clint Niosi, Cozy Hawks, Doug Burr, Holler Time, Isaac Hoskins, Jazz Mills, Kody Jackson, Little Jack Melody, Mind Spiders, Mike Coats, Monk Parker, Radioactivity, Sabra Laval, and Warren Jackson Hearne & Le Leek Electrique. The festival’s headliner this year is the Zombies, the British ‘60s pop band.

new releases

maRcH

The original Flatlander, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, brings his unique brand of Americana to Denton.

Jan 13 Cody Canada & the Departed HippieLovePunk Underground

Jan 20 Ryan Bingham Fear and Saturday Night Thirty Tigers

Jan 20 Haley Cole Illusions S/R

Jan 22 Tessy Lou and the Shotgun Stars Somewhere in Texas S/R

Jan 27 Lonesome Heroes Can’t Stand Still S/R

Feb 3 Gurf Morlix Eatin’ At Me Rootball

Feb 3 Smokin’ Joe Kubek& Bnois King Fat Man’s Shine Parlor Blind Pig

Feb 10 Bob Schneider King Kong EP Shockorama

Feb 10 Robert Earl Keen Happy Prisoner: TheBluegrass Sessions Dualtone

Feb 10 The March Divide +1 S/R

Feb 17 Aaron Watson The Underdog Big Label

Feb 17 Steve Earle & the Dukes Terraplane New West

Feb 17 Blue Water Highway Band Things We Carry S/R

Feb 17 Glen Campbell I’ll Be Me Soundtrack Big Machine

Feb 24 Parker McCollum The Limestone Kind S/R

Feb 24 Hill Country Gentlemen Don’t Belong Here S/R

Feb 24 Mayeux & Broussard High Times & Good Rhymes S/R

Feb 24 Quiet Company Transgressor Modern Outsider

Feb 24 The American SpiritSeason of Violence or Mourning, Protest, and theBirth of Bishop Kilborne

S/R

Feb 25 James McMurtry Complicated Game Complicated Game

Mar 3 Kelly Clarkson Piece By Piece RCA

Mar 3 Ryan Culwell Flatlands Lightning Rod

Mar 10 Joe Pug Windfall Lightning Rod

Mar 17 Cyrus James Dreamers of the Day Wandering

Mar 31 Glen Campbell Rhinestone Cowboy: 40thAnniversary Edition UMe

Apr 7 Folk Family Revival Water Walker S/R

newsclick here to read

calendarclick here to read

releasesclick here to read

q&aclick here to read

ShinyribsGulf Coast MuseumNine Mile

Big Nac Artist: One of Austin’s true musical juju men after two decades with the Gourds, when Kevin Russell steps outside his regular gig into his Shinyribs p e r s o n a ,

moonlight magic happens. On his second Shinyribs recording the mercurial Russell drops nine tracks that zigzag from funky roots rock to soulful, quiet folk plaint with a no-big-deal aplomb. Opener “Sweeter Than The Scars” starts with a jaunty Levon Helm-ish lope before transitioning into manic music for some ancient rite of passage. Bluesy anthems like “Take Me Lake Charles” and quiet lyrical masterpieces like “Limpia Hotel (Chihuahua Desert),” a meandering love song to West Texas, are all part of the Shinyribs landscape. His heart-bursting late-night reflection “Somebody Else” and a minimalist cover of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” both put a catch in the throat, a tear in the eye. His Texas-as-a-mesquite-tree rock is cat-burglar sneaky and slightly out-of-body while roaming forays into soul find an inner Sam Cooke jolting through Russell and coming out like an East Texas hillbilly holy roller who talks in tongues. And with its slow-burn crescendo, the closing measures of crowd pleaser “Sweet Potato” sound like a Muscle Shoals session an hour after the acid kicks in. — WILLIAM MICHAEL SMITH

Soul Track MindSoul Track MindSelf-Released

Big Nac Artist: Austin seven-piece Soul Track Mind manages to capture the i r r e p r e s s i b l e energy of its much-be loved live shows on this satisfying throwback to

titans of soul Otis Redding, James Brown and Sam Cooke. Where Ghost of Soul was a more leisurely and experimental debut effort, Soul Track Mind packs a punch, with pristine production, intricate instrumentation and high-speed horn solos, all the while showcasing frontman Donovan Keith’s impressive vocal range. Keith croons in confident falsetto about everything from late-night pick-up lines (“Take You Home”) and ladies out of his league (“Long Shot Lady”) to patience (“Always Want (What You Can’t Have)”) and perseverance (“Comes and Goes Around”) in a style that sounds equally Motown and modern. “Got My Song” is an optimistic ode to the healing powers of music, while show-stopping closer “Goodnight” features the catchiest chorus on the record, accentuated by vocal and horn harmonies. But the stand-out track is the poignant ballad “Remember Me,” sure to convert even the most stubborn of souls as it builds from simple piano lines to a whirlwind of soaring saxophone, drums and trumpet, Keith belting earnestly, “Didn’t I, didn’t I, didn’t I make you proud of me? / Didn’t I, didn’t I, didn’t I make you believe?”— ALLIE EISSLER

BettySooWhen We’re GoneSelf-Released

Big Nac Artist: As the lonesome opening drum beats of “Listen” b l o s s o m into pulsing staccato strings and ghostly s y n c o p a t e d breaths, it becomes clear

that BettySoo’s crystalline soprano is a voice that demands to be heard. It’s hard not to trust her intuition as she plunges headfirst into heavy subject matter, both sweetly and mercilessly — sharing the intimate stories that hide in packed suitcases and beneath cluttered floorboards, from her own struggles with depression to witnessing friends’ addictions and crumbling marriages. “100 Different Ways of Being Alone” offers a grocery list of outcasts like “the brother who never writes anymore,” examining the myriad ways life inevitably disappoints us — atop deceptively upbeat oohs and layers of cello. The bouncy but oddly dissonant “Summertime” offers a different take on the carefree season, hinting at the “crimson mess” of a relationship disguised by crumpled clothing and “legs browned beneath the hem of a salt stiff cotton dress.” BettySoo has a fondness for cataloguing tiny details and imbuing them with new meaning, as in “Nothing Heals a Broken Heart,” which recalls heartbreaking memories of a lost child: red backpacks, crayons and glue, yellow-and-lime-colored bedroom walls. Her sound is pure and authentic, even amidst an album permeated by loneliness and loss. — ALLIE EISSLER

Joe ElyB484 Rack ‘Em

Big Nac Artist: Ely has long been an early cyber-adopter — one of the first musicians to make active use of a website and, as a visual artist, one who’s c o n s i s t e n t l y m e d i a t e d

between the machine and the human heart. But nowhere was he more ahead of his time than within this music of three decades ago, when the computer was considered anathema to “authenticity,” particularly in the realms of progressive country. Such context proves crucial to an appreciation of B484, which sounds so curious and yet so fresh, even daring, all these years later. It’s the album Ely had wanted to release instead of Hi-Res, a more conventional session that came to be seen as an unfortunate detour. Ely has long maintained that this computer-driven recording was better than the released album, and he’s right, even if “Ride a Motorcycle” sounds like the wide-open-spaces companion to Men Without Hats’ “Safety Dance,” and the drums and squiggles he coaxed from his early Apple II recall the glory days of the Human League. The difference is that Ely had real songs … and real heat. The biggest revelation here is “My Baby Thinks She’s French,” with cosmopolitan keyboard atmospherics that give the arrangement a totally different feel than it has as a staple in his band’s live performance. For Ely fans this release is essential listening — a long-missing piece of the puzzle. — DON MCLEESE

newsclick here to read

calendarclick here to read

releasesclick here to read

q&aclick here to read

When Representative Travis Clardy speaks about the roots and history of Nacogdoches, he does so with an understandable passion. The second-term representative for District 11 — which covers Nacogdoches, Rusk and Cherokee counties — holds a certain reverence for “The Oldest Town in Texas” and the music scene that emanates from it. Clardy grew up in Lubbock, attended college in Abilene and opened a successful Dallas-area law firm — all before eventually moving to Nacogdoches in 1992. He fell in love with the area, because, as he puts it, he fell in love with his wife from nearby Tyler. He briefly lived in Center, Texas, before finally settling in Nacogdoches. “I’m like Goldilocks,” he laughs. “Dallas was too big and Center was too small, but Nacogdoches was just right.” Clardy quickly absorbed the rich history of the area, including its cultural heritage and musical background. He won the right to represent Nacogdoches and the rest of District 11 in 2012, eventually securing his second term in 2014 with 84 percent of the vote. In advance of the Big Nac Music Festival in March, he sat down with Texas Music to

discuss the festival, music education and the rich history the area has to offer festival-goers.

What makes Nacogdoches special?It’s as unique as it sounds. It’s a town of characters and a town of character. Really, there’s not a greater melting pot in the U.S. than this region of Texas. You go back hundreds of years and see the combinations of cultures, languages, races and civilizations — the Caddo Indians, the French traders, the Spanish missions, the African American slave population, the Anglo-Celtic settlers and now the growing Hispanic population. There’s a large influx of people from Burma as well. And they all come together in a small town in East Texas, and the experiment is working. We live peacefully and successfully and share the richness and diversity of each other’s ethnic tapestry.

Many people know it’s the oldest town in Texas — but you believe it may also be the birthplace of Texas music.We’ve always had a tremendous respect for music in Nacogdoches. People like Paul Buskirk and Bob Luman, who were members of the Grand Ole Opry, are from here. And Texas has always been diverse and productive — I happen to think it’s because Texans are more talented and creative than most other people on the planet. [Laughs] So with Nacogdoches being the origin of Texas, that seed has grown and manifested throughout the state, from jazz to Tejano to rap. There’s not a genre of music that isn’t well-represented.

So music has always been a part of Nacogdoches.We had Western civilization in Texas 100 years before the Mayflower landed. People forget that. But during the Western Migration, they didn’t load it up in a moving van or ship it UPS

— they carried what they could carry. They brought with them things that made them feel at home — their homemade instruments. It became part of their culture. Texas is also a melting pot of different creeds and religions, and music is an important part of religion. In many musical genres, there are roots in the religious music of the people of the time. And while they had the Sunday morning church service, there was also the Saturday evening dance. All of that fed together to provide that cultural thing we as humans need, that interaction through music.

Having Stephen F. Austin University helps.Certainly — it contributes to the vibrancy of music in the area. And I think the appreciation of music and musical talent goes hand in hand with education. It develops over time. Our forefathers always appreciated and valued higher education. The first university building in the state is the old university building in downtown Texas. When our founding fathers said they wanted a university, they were saying they didn’t just want to be a smokestack city. They wanted to be about education and other services. We’re a farming and agricultural community, but education is a big part of what Nacogdoches is about. And every year thousands of fresh faces and ideas come to the area. It keeps the town young; for the

oldest town in Texas, we stay pretty young. How would you rate Texas’ handling of music education?We’ve seen cuts in programs. Sometimes the arts suffer first as somehow being deemed as extracurricular or things that aren’t absolutely necessary. And that’s less than satisfactory.

But you see music as important to the fabric of Texas culture.Music is an important part of life. There’s a reason we have radios in our car. Life without music would be drab, and I can’t imagine life without it. And when it comes to education, there’s clearly a connection between things like math and music. Music classes also make the environment more fun for the student who can then focus on other school studies. And I can imagine that any Texas musician worth his or her salt was at some time a member of the orchestra or marching band or choir or some ensemble. The next Van Cliburn is on the ground. So is the next Madonna and the next 50 Cent, for that matter — and maybe even the next Buddy Holly. We’re in a competitive world of tax dollars, but it’s important that we provide that opportunity.

Did you play music going through school? [Laughs] I was always better at sports and politics. I can barely strum a chord, but my family is musical. My boys are good songwriters and singers. One of them plays guitar and the other keyboard, and my pony-tailed bohemian brother plays the cello in Lubbock. The other is an amazing harmonica player. I get a thrill just watching talented performers. It’s amazing to appreciate when a fellow member of the species does something remarkable in their field, whether it’s music or education or athletics. It’s important to recognize excellence and provide that outlet and opportunity. — JEREMY BURCHARD

Q&A Travis Clardy