I am back home in Texas and living in the "Live Music Capital of the World". I've seen some amazingly good shows at many ot the legendary clubs around Austin -- Antone's, Stubb's, Cactus Cafe, Saxon Pub, Threadgill's, Gruene Hall and the Continental Club. The opportunities for music fans seem endless. I could literally go out every night of the week and have several excellent shows to choose from. The challenge is to pace yourself and not get worn out. Stay tuned folks.
This is a continuation of my Concerts 1 page which was getting way too big and out of control. As you will see, I enjoy a wide variety of styles. I always listen to my music without boundaries and hope you will try to do the same. Thanks for visiting.
Musicians: You're welcome to use any pictures that you like. I would appreciate a photo credit and an email if you do. All others please contact me for permission. See more details at the bottom of this page.
Questions or comments ?? Contact Ron Baker
A random and growing collection of photos from this legendary venue in Austin, TX.
A fantastic celebration of bluegrass and Americana in the Texas Hill Country, featuring some of the best musicians you'll ever hear anywhere.
I continued my 80's girl band flashback with The Go-Go's at Antone's. Yep, they still "got the beat". A sad but interesting twist to this show: Jane Wiedlin had to drop out due to a family illness. Local blues guitarist Eve Monsees filled in at the last minute and completed the rest of the tour.
The Bangles are still rockin' and looking great. They gave an exellent performance at La Zona Rosa in Austin.
KGSR is the best damn radio station in the country. They celebrated their 17th anniversary in style with a big party and concert at the Texas Union Ballroom. Musical guests included Big Head Todd & The Monsters, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Carolyn Wonderland, Jimmy LaFave, and Beau Soleil. Great music, great people, and great BBQ. Thank you KGSR !!!
It was another crazy year out at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Way more bands than any one person could see. I just took in what I could and enjoyed the acts that I saw. Some big names and some new discoveries.
A tribute and benefit concert for Uncle John Turner at Antone's. He had died earlier in the week, and the show was put on to raise money for his medical expenses. Also to raise awareness for liver disease, research and the SIMS Foundation.
Featured artists included Johnny Winter, Tommy Shannon, James Cotton, Carolyn Wonderland, Erin Jaimes, Eve Monsees, Mike Keller and Bruce Bowland. They were backed up by lots of great Austin musicians.
A fantastic celebration of bluegrass and Americana in the Texas Hill Country, featuring some of the best musicians you'll ever hear anywhere.
ZZ Top played a killer show at the Backyard in Austin. Sorry, no photos for this one (cameras weren't allowed). It had been about 25 years since the last time I saw that "little ol' band from Texas". The Backyard is a fairly small venue (capacity approx. 3,000 ), so it was pretty intimate compared with their huge stadium shows. When I saw them back in the early 80's, they were opening for the Rolling Stones at the Cotton Bowl. This was so much better. ZZ Top is one of those iconic bands that have an important place in rock-n-roll history. So it felt special to see them again, up close and personal.
Fred Eaglesmith hosted his annual bash down in Gruene, Texas. He had an excellent lineup of guests including: Tom Russell, Band of Heathens, Terri Hendrix & Lloyd Maines, Mother Truckers, Warren Hood & Erik Hokkanen, Jason Ringenberg, and Jason Eady. Lots of great music and fun times.
Bruce Robison performed at KGSR's "Live at Mercury Hall" series. Lisa Richards was the opener. It was the final show of the season, and both of these fine singer-songwriters played excellent sets.
Richard Thompson & Eliza Gilkyson played a fantastic show at the Texas Union Ballroom on the University of Texas campus. Each singer performed solo, but you hardly knew it because they both accompanied themselves so well on guitar. Richard is a great guitarist, and I must admit that I was hoping he would be "plugged in" with his band. But he was so good on that acoustic that it felt full and complete. And the sound quality was as good as it gets.
The 2007 AFTM Mid-Winter Festival once again featured lots of great Austin musicians and a variety of musical styles, workshops, food and fun. Despite flooding rains in Austin, there was still a good turnout. I was a volunteer worker for part of the day, so I didn't get photos of all the performers. However, you can see what I did shoot below.
The Dixie Chicks finished up their Accidents & Accusations tour at home in Texas. This show was stripped down from the previous tours, and they have evolved into a full-on rock band with lots of bass and drums. Musicianship was still the focus with great players backing them up. The vibe at the Austin gig was very warm, supportive with lots of humor thrown in. I think it was a really nice homecoming for the ladies. I had an added bonus of sitting in the section with several of the Chicks friends and family. It was rather surreal to be sitting next to Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison, and shaking Bruce's hand while the Chicks were playing his song "Traveling Soldier". A very cool moment.
KGSR is the best damn radio station in the country. They celebrated their 16th anniversary in style with a big party and concert at Austin Music Hall. Musical guests included Joan Osborne, Jimmie Vaughan, Lou Ann Barton, Cyril Neville & Tribe 13, Papa Mali, and James McMurtry & The Heartless Bastards. Good food, good people, and great music. Who could ask for more? Not me. Thank you KGSR !!!
Texas legend Johnny Winter is pretty frail these days, but he can still sing the blues and tear it up on guitar. He played a fairly short, but high-energy set at La Zona Rosa in Austin. Sorry, no photos for this one. I intentionally chose just to watch and listen to "Johnny Guitar" at this show.
Chrissie Hynde and The Pretenders gave an outstanding performance at the Austin Music Hall. I swear that Chrissie's voice hasn't changed in the 25 + years that I've been going to Pretenders concerts . . . she still sings as powerfully and clear as ever. I think this was about the 8th or 9th time that I have seen the band live over the years. Chrissie was in a fun and engaging mood. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed (unless you count the hundreds of cell phone cameras that were popping off all night). So, I wasn't able to capture any images. But you can go here and check out a Pretenders archive (the "official" website seems to be out of commission).
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts played an amazing, kick-ass, balls-to-the-walls rock-n-roll show at Stubb's BBQ in Austin. It was a surprisingly fun flashback to my slightly wilder past. All ages, classes and lifestyles were represented. And we all got along just fine in the mosh pit.
Lynn Miles and Diana Jones shared an excellent double bill together at the Cactus Cafe in Austin. These two road warriors from Ottawa and Nashville respectively gave the small, but mighty crowd quite a show. These ladies each write incredibly powerful and beautiful songs. And both can get pretty dark and heavy at times. But it feels so good. I wonder what that says about me ??
Click on these links to view photos and slideshows from the gig:
First Tee of Greater Austin had their annual celebrity gala with music by Joe Ely & Double Trouble. Also performing were Nathan Hamilton and Will Sexton.
Go here to see photos from the show, including a slideshow.
Shawn Colvin performed at Hogg Auditorium on the University of Texas campus. She was backed up by Buddy Miller on guitar and Debra Dobkin on drums. Brandi Carlile and her band played a great opening set.
You can see slideshows for both Shawn and Brandi by clicking on the links below. There is a separate Flikr set for each artist:
Kieran Kane, Kevin Welch & Fats Kaplin Played a fantastic show at Cactus Cafe. Extremely high-quality and powerful music. Great song-writing and expert musicianship.
Go here to see photos from the gig, including a slideshow.
Mindy Smith did an in-store concert at Waterloo Records in conjunction with the release of her new CD "Long Island Shores". She's got some great new songs on the record. It was nice to see Mindy again.
Click here to see photos of Mindy, including a slideshow.
It was a very busy year out at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Way more bands than one person could possibly see, but that didn't stop me from trying. I definitely got my fill of music. Some big names, some old friends and a few new discoveries.
Molly Venter played an amazing "farewell" show at Flipnotics. She's moving south of the border to Mexico. This was a nice opportunity for her friends and fans to say adios. Good luck Molly. I will miss you and look forward to your return visits. Take good care of yourself.
Click here to see lots of photos of Molly, including a slideshow at different gigs around Austin.
Goodbye Beautiful had a CD release party for their new EP at Troubadour Saloon in Austin. Click here to access lots of photos from the gig, including a slideshow.
Carrie Rodriguez has been putting out some really great music in the past few years. She's a beutiful singer, songwriter and musician. Carrie just released an excellent new solo CD called "Seven Angels on a Bicycle". She and her band did some fine shows in and around Austin to celebrate the new record, including Cactus Cafe, Waterloo Records, and on-air performances at local radio stations KGSR and KUT.
Joe Ely joined up with Double Trouble (Tommy Shannon and Chris Layton) for a fantastic show to close out the "Blues on the Green" series for this year. They were joined by David Holt on guitar and Riley Osborne on keyboards. There was a huge crowd and the guys gave an excellent performance.
You can view the photos individually below (partial listing) or click here to access a slideshow.
Abigail Washburn is a tremendous singer, songwriter and musician. In addition to her solo work, she's also a member of Uncle Earl. Abby played a great show at Cactus Cafe with special guest Bela Fleck. Also joining Abigail were Ben Sollee (cello) and Sarah Jarosz (mandolin).
You can view a partial selection of photos below, or you can click here to access a slideshow with the full set of pics.
Sarah is an amazingly talented young musician from Wimberley, Texas.
The Ginn Sisters had their CD Release party for "Blood Oranges" at the Cactus Cafe. They have been getting lots of buzz around Central Texas lately. It was a really fun night and a pleasure to meet the ladies and their band. The "sistahs" had some special guests joining them on stage, including their mother Kari.
You can view the photos individually below or click here to access a slideshow of the CD release concert. And click here for an encore performance at Cactus Cafe.
Sara Hickman and her band played a late night gig at Ruta Maya. She was joined by Lorrie Singer on vocals.
Junior Brown also participated in the Antone's anniversary celebration. Jimmie Vaughan and Redd Volkaert were surprise guests near the end. Fun times.
The Antone's nightclub celebrated it's 31st anniversary with a month-long series of excellent shows. There was also a Blues on the Green concert dedicated to Clifford Antone.
It was really good to see and hear my friends in the Mundi ensemble again. This time around, the band performed as part of the "Music Under the Star" series at the Texas State History Museum.
Edge City had their CD release party at Saxon Pub. Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus were backed up by a solid band, including guests Bradley Kopp (guitar) and Lorrie Singer (vocals). It was a fun night of music.
Terri Hendrix, Lloyd Maines, Glenn Fukunaga and Paul Pearcy played another great show and gave a high-energy performance at Threadgill's. It was a hot summer night in Austin, but that didn't slow them down.
It was great to see Brandi Carlile and her band back in town. She just keeps getting more popular, and they are performing for bigger and bigger crowds. Brandi, "The Twins" and "Coach" played a rock-solid show to a full house at The Parish in Austin.
You can view the photos individually below or click here to access a slideshow.
Me with Brandi at the Cactus Cafe:
Gran Bel Fisher:
Gran Bel Fisher was the opening act. Good singer and a nice guy.
You can see lots more photos of Carrie and Chip on my Merlefest, Folk Alliance and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass website pages.
A big party to celebrate the life of Clifford Antone (1949 - 2006). An absolutely amazing lineup of blues and country musicians. This FREE event was held at the Palmer Events Center in Austin, Texas.
Goodbye Beautiful is a solid young Austin rock band. We recently met up at an acoustic gig, and I shot some promo photos for them. I really enjoyed their music.
Performing at Austin Java:
Promo photos and a Goodbye Beautiful flier using one of the pics:
And here's some shots of Goodbye Beautiful at a full-on, plugged-in, pedal-to-the-metal, rock-n-roll show at Redrum:
It was a sad week in Austin, Texas. Clifford Antone died suddenly of a heart attack. But the music that he loved and supported continues on. On this particular night, it was the women singing the blues at Antone's. Sue Foley, Carolyn Wonderland, and Little Steph & The Chromatics provided some much needed relief. They all played great sets. And I'm betting that Clifford was looking down and smiling the whole time.
SUE FOLEY ( www.suefoley.com ):
*** You will find more shots of C.W. further down this page ***
LITTLE STEPH & THE CHROMATICS:
*** See more photos of Little Steph & The Chromatics below ***
Flowers, pictures and candles from Clifford's friends and fans.
LITTLE STEPH & THE CHROMATICS:
I shot these photos of Little Steph and her band at Sugardaddy's out by Bee Caves and the lake. That's Stephanie Bradley (vocals and guitar), Rafael Ibarra II (lead guitar), Mike Patric (bass) and special guest Uncle John Turner on drums. It was a beautiful night to be outdoors and hear some rock-solid blues.
My friend Michael Bliss played a show at Flipnoics the week after his wife Cheryl (see below). Mike is a funky soul singer with an amazingly good voice. He's also a killer on the keys. I had only heard him with a full band in the past, so it was cool to hear him solo this time around. My camera was giving me a hard time, so I only got a handful of shots. Sorry Michael . . . maybe next time.
Cheryl Bliss and her husband Michael Bliss are old friends from San Diego. They are now based in Austin. It was really great to meet up with them again and hear the evolution of their music. These photos are from two of Cheryl's gigs at Flipnotics.
Flipnotics 1:
Cheryl was backed up by Charlie Richards on guitar and lap steel. It was a lovely 100 degrees without much A/C. We were all sweaty, but everyone survived and enjoyed a good night of music.
Flipnotics 2:
Cheryl played solo at this show.
My buddies the Truckee Brothers rolled in from San Diego for a show at the Continental Club. Here are some pics from the show:
*** You can see lots more Truckee Brother photos on my SXSW page ***
My friend Leo Barnes (keyboards, guitar and vocals) plays with these guys. A very respectable classic rock cover band, with an emphasis on Beatles, Stones, Tom Petty, The Who, Neil Young, etc. Fun and extremely danceable (check out the last 2 pics). They banged out 28 songs in about two hours at this gig @ Room 710.
The Boxcar Preachers, Sarah Jarosz and Erik Hokkanen all gave fantastic performances at this concert. The show was held at the Cactus Cafe and was sponsored by the Austin Friends of Traditional Music (AFTM). As per usual, the David Lynch "Twin Peaks" lighting at the Cactus resulted in lots of red-toned pictures. I did take some flash shots near the end for each group.
Note: You can see lots more photos of these artists further down this page and on the Old Settler's Festival and SXSW pages (links below).
Sarah Jarosz & Erik Hokkanen:
I have been a fan of Kelly Willis for several years, but up until now had never had the pleasure of seeing her live. She was playing a benefit for the Mother's Milk Bank of Austin. Andrew Nafziger backed Kelly up on guitar.
And while Kelly was on stage, her singer-songwriter husband Bruce Robison was out in the audience corralling three of their four kids (the baby stayed at home). I really respect and enjoy Bruce's music as well. He's a heavy hitter in the songwriting department. It was great to meet them both. Keep an eye out for Bruce and Kelly in a nationally televised commercial for Claritin. Pretty cool.
You can see lots more photos of Kelly on this Flickr page.
Austin City Limits is currently in it's 31st season. After watching this wonderful show on TV for nearly 30 years, I finally had the opportunity to attend one of the tapings. The KLRU studio is located on the 6th floor of the University of Texas communications building. They line up everyone and escort small groups up the elevators. The studio is pretty sparse, and I was surprised at how small the room actually is. They do a lot with that artificial cityscape, fake trees and cameral angles. It looks a whole lot bigger on TV. There were five cameras going at once, and it was interesting to watch the operators do their thing. Especially fun and scary was the boom camera. There were several occasions where I thought the musicians or audience members might lose their heads !!!
KT Tunstall was the featured artist. She's an up-and-comer from Scotland by way of London. KT has become very popular in the UK over the past few years, and just recently made a big impact in the US with the release of her new record, "EYE TO THE TELESCOPE". She's quite talented and has a very interesting style of rock and R & B.
This is a huge music festival in the hills of North Carolina.
A fantastic celebration of bluegrass and Americana in the Texas Hill Country, featuring some of the best musicians you'll ever hear anywhere. Here are some of the performers that I was fortunate to see at the festival: Del McCoury Band, The Waybacks, Uncle Earl, Rowan & Rice Quartet, Mike Marshall, Sharon Gilchrist, Bryn Davies Bright, Abigail Washburn, Ben Sollee, Sarah Jarosz, Mary Jarosz, Erik Hokkanen, Lloyd Maines, Terri Hendrix, Chris Stuart, Janet Beazley, Susan Gibson, the Grassy Knoll Boys and many more great musicians.
The Mother Truckers are really growing on me. High-energy, kick-ass, country-rock. Teal's got the whole package . . . good musician, great singer and she's beautiful. Josh is a bad-ass guitar player with lots of muttha truckin' attitude. And they back themselves with a solid-as-a-rock band: Pete "The Beat" Langhans on drums, Leslie McCurdy on bass, and Kim Deschamps on pedal steel. These photos are from the Continental Club (it was Teal's birthday gig). You can see more shots of the Truckers a little further down the page; also on the SXSW page.
"By the Hand of the Father" is an outstanding musical production featuring the music of Alejandro Escovedo. It tells the story of the Mexican-American immigrant experience through music, stories and video. The musical was followed by an all-star concert.
Austin really shines during this amazing annual event. I heard as much music as I could possibly cram in, and it was still only a drop in the bucket. A few thousand performers, 70+ official concert venues, countless unofficial showcases, all going constantly for a week straight. If you don't dig live music and lots of hip people dressed in black, then you'll probably want to stay away from Austin in the middle of March.
Redd Volkaert and Cindy Cashdollar are two of the best examples of the amazing music scene in Austin. You can catch them regularly around town when they're not on the road. They are both veterans who have played with many greats including Merle Haggard and Asleep at the Wheel respectively. Cindy had just finished touring with Van Morrison a few days before this show at the Continental Club. You can see more photos of Redd and Cindy on my Folk Alliance 2006 page.
This was my first time catching the Mother Truckers, but it definitely won't be the last. They're a really fun country-rock band. Hell, they even did a cover of "Paradise City" by Guns 'N Roses to a rockabilly beat !!! That takes some f***ing balls.
Molly Venter is a great young singer-songwriter. She gave another fine performance at Flipnotics on this beautiful Saturday night in Austin, Texas. She was backed by Richard Bowden on fiddle and Lance Harris on percussion. You can see lots more Molly pics further down this page and on my Folk Alliance 2006 page.
An outstanding gathering of musicians and dancers from all over the world. This year's conference was held in Austin. It was my second time attending; I was living in San Diego for the 2004 edition.
The ARC Angels: Tommy Shannon, Chris Layton, Doyle Bramhall II and Charlie Sexton got together for two nights at Antone's in Austin. In addition to playing two great shows, they were also filming for a live DVD to be released at some future date. Charlie was the MC for the night, Doyle II played some bad-ass guitar, and it was fantastic to see Tommy and Chris together again on the stage at Antone's. The former SRV & Double Trouble bandmates are still the best rhythm section around. The photos below are from the first night's show. Clifford Antone was in the house to introduce the band (see the last two pics).
You can view the photos individually below or click here to access a slideshow.
A student audio-visual presentation showing historical examples of peaceful resolution. The event was sponsored by the Union Events Committee - University of Texas and the UT Conflict Resolution Center. The presentation was followed by a concert featuring five of Austin's finest musician singers: Roky Erickson, Gary Clark Jr., Sara Hickman, Tony Scalzo, and Carolyn Wonderland. The photos below are listed in performance order:
Tony Scalzon:
Carolyn Wonderland:
Gary Clark Jr: Roky Erickson: Sara Hickman: Note: You can see more photos of Sara and Carolyn further down the page.
It was great to see Terri Hendrix, Lloyd Maines, Glenn Fukunaga and Paul Pearcy again. This time they played to a full house at Cactus Cafe.
I caught up with my favorite Canadian band once again; this time at the One World Theatre in Austin, TX. A fine show and an excellent venue. Small and intimate.
Virtuoso isn't a word that should be used lightly. But I have no reservation applying the term to these guys. Mike Marshall and Chris Thile are truly masters of their instruments. They play those mandolins so freakishly well that it doesn't seem possible. And playing together, they totally blow the crowd away. Mike and Chris sold out two shows at the Cactus Cafe and left a lot of jaws hanging, including mine.
Near the end of the concert, the guys brought up an amazing Austin sensation to play with them for a handful of tunes. Sarah Jarosz is only a teenager, and she's already a veteran on the bluegrass circuit. She sings and plays mandolin way beyond her years. The crowd was really excited to see her up there jamming with the "old" pros. It's interesting to watch the musical torch being passed from generation to generation. It was only about 10 years ago that Chris was in the same shoes as Sarah. I used to see him when he was a kid in California. I lived in Carlsbad for several years, and that's basically where Nickel Creek got their start. I'm sure that Mike was an influence on Chris. And now Chris is influencing Sarah. Pretty cool to watch the student become the teacher.
The 2006 AFTM Mid-Winter Festival featured a variety of musical styles, workshops and several great Austin musicians. Although there were many photo opportunities that day, I chose to limit myself to Mundi, Sarah Jarosz and Erik Hokkanen.
MUNDI:
My friends in the Mundi ensemble gave another fine performance. I was really glad they were in the lineup for this show.
Sarah is a sensational young talent. Erik is a fun and dynamic performer. They played an exciting set together.
Sarah gave a workshop earlier in the day. She played some tunes, sang some songs, talked about her background and experience with the mandolin. She also discussed general thoughts about practice, listening and style. Sarah jammed a little with Chris Peterson before his workshop started (see last two photos).
Brandi Carlile is a fantastic singer-songwriter from the Seattle area. She broke out nationally in 2005 with her self-titled debut CD. I became aware of her last year through an article in one of my favorite music publications, Paste Magazine and their sampler CD. The photos below are from two shows she did at Waterloo Records and Cactus Cafe in Austin. The Cactus was totally packed and sold out. In fact, several people were unable to get in. But they were treated to a few songs by Brandi out in the lobby while the opening act was performing. I think that says it all about the character of this woman. It was really nice meeting Brandi and her band.
Waterloo Records - Brandi and "The Twins", Tim (guitar) and Phil (bass) Hanseroth gave a fine in-store performance. Their drummer and tour manager were in-transit with the van and trailer from a previous gig in Tucson.
Cactus Cafe - These shots were taken without a flash, in that god-awful dim, red Cactus lighting. Otherwise, the photos are fantastic (kidding of course). I included them anyway. Brandi and "The Twins" were joined by "Coach" on drums.
Here are some better pics of Brandi at the end of the concert (with flash):
A few shots of me with Brandi after the show:
The opening act was an excellent singer named Rex Moroux:
This was my first time seeing local Austin hero Guy Forsyth. This particular show was at Ruta Maya and was a happy hour gig. And in typical South Austin fashion, there were some families in the house turning their kids on to live music. You can tell that Guy is basically an R-rated rockin' bluesman. But he also knows how to do a PG show. He brought up some friend's kids to sing backup on a few songs, and by god they sang on key and kept the right proximity to the mic. Way to go kids!! I really enjoyed Guy's style. And I like the way he travels all over the musical map, with both originals and covers. When I walked in, he was covering a Paul Simon song. As the night went on, he was doing bad-to-the-bone harmonica blues and sounding more like Slim Harpo or Sonny Boy Williamson. Definitely a cool cat.
It was great to see my buddies in the North Mississippi Allstars again. They played a kickass 2 1/2 hour show at La Zona Rosa. The club was packed and there was lots of shakin' going on. I've known the band for several years now, and it's been a real pleasure to watch them develop and grow in popularity.
I attended an exhibit at the Art on 5th gallery. The show featured the works of Janis Joplin from when she was a teenager and in her early 20's. Her sister Laura Joplin gave a presentation and answered questions from the audience. She's a nice woman with some interesting insights on Janis' life. Laura also wrote a great book called "Love Janis", which was later made into an excellent musical play. I was fortunate to see that production twice in San Diego and hang out with the cast and musicians. Here's a sample of the art on display:
It was great to see Terri Hendrix again. I met her and Lloyd Maines out in San Diego last year. This time Terri was backed by an all-star band including Lloyd on guitar and dobro, Glenn Fukunaga on bass, and Paul Pearcy on drums and percussion. These guys are all pros who have toured and recorded with the very best in Texas. Lloyd had his whole clan with him at the gig. His daughter Natalie (Dixie Chicks) was there in the front row with her two kids enjoying the show. It was a nice warm scene at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar (Austin Music Hall).
Terri Hendrix & Lloyd Maines:
Paul Pearcy (drums):
Natalie and the rest of the Maines clan:
Terri & Lloyd in San Diego (October 2004):
The photos below are from another excellent show by Terri Hendrix
