First Friday Concerts
Mark your calendars:
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Concert
Thursday April 19th, 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM
At the Henderson County Fair Grounds
3356 State Highway 31 East
Athens, TX 75752-415
Sponsored by the East Texas Arboretum
1601 Patterson Rd, Athens Texas 75751
903.675.5630 - fax 903.675.1618
Chairs are setup in front of the Wofford House or bring your own folding chair or blanket if you prefer.
First Friday Night Front Porch Concert Series
Where: The Front Porch of the Historic Wofford House at ETABSWhy: Because East Texans love good music.
Contact an Arboretum Board Member if you want to support the return of the
Friday Night Front Porch Concert Series.
For additional info call or visit the Arboretum: 903-675-5630
For more information about Dan Dyer click on photo below
Dan Dyer's concert October 1st, 2010
Dyer’s voice and live performance intensity are raw and hot, yet soulful and sensitive, drawing from a wealth of classic soul, blues, folk, and R&B legends. The audience is treated to a special brand of commotion as Dyer switches from piano to guitar, sometimes performing with a boyish grin, and other times with a perspiring concentration.
Discovering his musical voice in his late teens, Dan Dyer rose to prominence in Austin, TX during the late 90s as frontman of the much heralded rock outfit, Breedlove.
For his debut solo album, Of What Lies Beneath, (2004) Dyer collaborated with veteran rock legend Lenny Kravitz, who produced and released the record on Kravitz’s own Reprise imprint label, Roxie Records.
Dyer recorded his 2008 self–titled album, a soul-revivalist ecording produced by David Boyle in an old snake-charmer church turned tudio on the east side of Austin, and released by Austin, Texas label Fat Caddy Records. Dan Dyer was named one of the top 10 local albums of 2008 by both the Austin American Statesman and The Austin Chronicle, and climbed to the #3 R&B spot on iTunes within a week of its digital release. The Austin Chronicle called it "a blue-ribbon disc. At once joyous, creative and satisfying, Dyer channels 1970s era Hathaway and Wonder with modern panache and without a hint of mimicry."
Dustin Welch and Sam Hill Nov 5th, 2010
Dustin Welch's music has been described as Americana with a bruised black eye.
According to Dustin's bio he was born on a cold Winter Solstice in a haunted plantation house on the grounds of a Tennessee horse farm, the first born son of a first born son. His mother the daughter of an Indian Princess, and the grand-daughter of one of the last living original members of the Osage Tribe. When he was five, thanks to a gift from legendary songwriter Harlan Howard, Dustin's father was able to buy him his first musical instrument, a mandolin.
Dustin grew up among the sons and daughters of songwriters, fiddle players, guitarists, banjo dobro piano players, publishers, song pluggers and painters. It offered a richly creative well from which he drank deep.
One kid band led to another, with second generation kids like Justin Earle, son of Steve, Travis Nicholson, son of Gary, and Cary Ann Hearst. Inspired by early exposure to Bela Fleck's evolutionary approach to the banjo, Dustin began devising a unique style of his own. Bare-fingered, open tuning, Appalachian flavored grooves and melodies coupled with literate lyrics, strange and beautiful, and the songs kept coming. He wrote them by himself, he wrote them with friends, relatives, the friends of relatives....
In 2006, while playing at a Townes Van Zandt tribute at the old Belcourt Theater in Nashville, Ken Coomer from Wilco, told him a band in San Diego was looking for a guy like him. He flew out for an audition and didn't go home for 6 months, touring with the Scotch Greens all over the US and Europe, opening for acts like Reverend Horton Heat and Flogging Molly, playing disciplined slamming shows night after night. Then they embarked on the dreaded Warped Tour, a grueling deep summer, black-top circus of all out days and all night drives.
He has since relocated moved to Austin, where he continues to write and perform. He assembled a new band, Sam Hill, that oozes more chemistry than the Periodic Tab. Dante Dominick, Austin Music + Entertainment Magazine called it Americana with a bruised black eye.
The diverse delivery of this young artist keeps the audiences hanging on every word. Dustin's debut CD, Whisky Priest, offers a mix of roots rock, progressive songwriting, and complete artistry.
