Billy Joe Shaver at 3rd and Lindsley
Boy, 3rd and Lindsley has been booking some exceptional talent lately, not that they are ever light in that department–but one of my personal faves is playing Friday, September 14th–the great Billy Joe Shaver. He was here just a few weeks ago, playing the Buds’n'Suds benefit (which was a mighty fine evening of music, and raised a lot of money for a very worthy cause), but this is a chance to see him up close and real personal. Shaver is one of the few real country legends left, and although he may not be as well known to those outside of Texas and Tennessee as some of his compadres–folks like Kristofferson, Nelson, and those that have gone on to greater glory–Cash, Jennings, and Van Zandt, make no mistake–this is the real deal. Willie Nelson once called Billy Joe the country’s number 1 living songwriter–which carries a pretty good bit of weight coming from Willie. In 1973, Waylon’s Honky Tonk Heroes album kicked Nashville’s country establishment right in the ass, and almost the entire album was Billy Joe Shaver tunes. When you have writers like Kristofferson and Tom T. Hall cutting your stuff, you know it has to be way past good. His personal life is the stuff of legend as well, such as marrying wife Brenda 3 times, and surviving an onstage heart attack (after quadruple bypass). There are damn few of these larger than life, blood, bare knuckles, and Jesus men left, and maybe even fewer great songwriters–here’s your chance to see one!
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