Huntingdon, Tenn.–Originally scheduled to kick off the 2021-2022 Performance Series season in September, troubadour Robert Earl Keen will take the stage Saturday, January 28 at The Dixie Carter Performing Arts & Academic Enrichment Center in Huntingdon.
Showtime is 7:30 p.m., and tickets are currently sold out. To be placed on The Dixie’s waiting list, please call the Box Office Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at 731-986-2100. The popular music series is presented by FirstBank and media sponsors Froggy 104 and 92.3 The Hog.
Three decades on from the release of his debut album — with 19 records to his name, thousands of shows under his belt and still no end in sight to the road ahead — Keen has blazed a peer, critic, and fan-lauded trail that’s earned him living-legend (not to mention pioneer) status in the Americana music world. And though the Houston native has never worn his Texas heart on his sleeve, he’s long been regarded as one of the Lone Star State’s finest (not to mention top-drawing) true singer-songwriters. Keen is a member of the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also a Texas A&M Distinguished Alumni award winner.
Keen self-financed and produced his debut album in 1984, touring heavily in Texas before branching out of his home state. The ’90s were a boom period for Keen, but his momentum hasn’t ebbed a bit since then — nor has his pursuit of continued growth as a writer and artist. If anything, his output from the last decade has been marked by some of the most adventurous music of his career. In 2015, he scored the No. 2 album on the Bluegrass charts with Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions.
In 2015, Robert Earl Keen was also distinguished as the first recipient of BMI’s official Troubadour Award. The Troubadour Award celebrates songwriters who have made a lasting impact on the songwriting community. The award honors writers who craft for the sake of the song and set the pace for generations of songwriters who will follow.