Past 2019 Texas Tunes Concerts

An Evening with Ruthie Foster
Saturday, Jan. 12

In the tightknit musical community of Austin, Texas, it’s tough to get away with posturing. You either bring it, or you don’t. If you do, word gets around. And one day, you find yourself duetting with Bonnie Raitt, or standing onstage with the Allman Brothers at New York’s Beacon Theater and trading verses with Susan Tedeschi. You might even wind up getting nominated for a Best Blues Album Grammy – three times in a row. And those nominations would be in addition to your seven Blues Music Awards, three Austin Music Awards, the Grand Prix du Disque award from the Académie Charles-Cros in France, a Living Blues Critics’ Award for Female Blues Artist of the Year, and the title of an “inspiring American Artist” as a United States Artists 2018 Fellow. There’s only one Austinite with that résumé: Ruthie Foster. 

This concert is sponsored in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Ray Wylie Hubbard
Saturday, Feb. 9

Whether or not you subscribe to the adage that the devil always has the best music, you can take it on faith that anytime he pops up for a cameo in a Ray Wylie Hubbard song, the results are gonna be pretty entertaining. And as any fan of the Hubbard cannon knows, Old Scratch pops up in his songs a lot – nearly as often as all of Hubbard’s wise-cracking black birds, lyrical and musical nods to Lightnin’ Hopkins, badass women (usually Hubbard’s own wife, Judy), and myriad other grifters, ruffians, and scrappy cats of the gnarly and general lowdown variety. Somewhere or other on just about every Ray Wylie Hubbard album, the devil always gets his due – and he’s now even worked his way up to top billing on the acclaimed songwriter’s latest, Tell the Devil I’m Getting There as Fast as I Can.

Lisa Loeb
Saturday, March 23
children's concert and night concert

Dallas-native Lisa Loeb is a singer/songwriter, producer, touring artist, actor, author and philanthropist who started her career with the platinum-selling No. 1 hit song, “Stay (I Missed You)” from the film Reality Bites, as well as two back-to-back albums that were certified Gold—Tails and the Grammy-nominated Firecracker. A trailblazing independent artist, Loeb was the first musician to have a number (or No.) 1 single while not signed to a recording contract. She followed that remarkable feat with the hit singles, "Do You Sleep," "I Do" and "Let's Forget about It” and the albums Cake and Pie, The Way It Really Is, and No Fairy Tale, among others.

Bruce Robison
Saturday, April 13

In regard to the Lone Star State’s finest tunesmiths, Bruce Robison lands at the top of the heap. His songwriting turned the heads of some of the industry’s biggest artists and took them to the top of the charts (Dixie Chicks’ No. 1 version of “Travelin’ Soldier,” George Strait’s recording of “Wrapped” and the beautiful Tim McGraw/Faith Hill rendition of “Angry All The Time,” to name a few). While those achievements might be considered the pinnacle of a song writing career to some, Robison has never been one to rest on his laurels. He and his wife Kelly Willis, who joined him in his Texas Tunes debut in 2014, have released several albums together, including Cheaters Game and Our Year, and most recently, Robison released 2017’s Bruce Robison & The Back Porch Band. 

Dallas singer-songwriter Joshua Ray Walker will perform an opening set.

This performance is funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Texicana Mamas: Tish Hinojosa, Patricia Vonne, and Stephanie Urbina Jones
Saturday, May 18

Three phenomenal singer-songwriters share the stage, singing with and supporting each other in music that uniquely blends their Hispanic heritages with American country, folk, and rock.

Tish Hinojosa is a singer-songwriter from Austin. Her blend of folk, country, Latino, and pop has an undeniable far-reaching appeal, garnering her accolades such as a White House concert at the invitation of President and Mrs. Clinton and teaming up with artists such as Joan Baez, Booker T. Jones, Flaco Jimenez, Pete Seeger, and Dwight Yoakam. She has recorded as an independent artist as well as for A&M, Warner Bros, and Rounder Records and has been a featured artist on Austin City Limits, A Prairie Home Companion, and other NPR programs. With 17s CDs to her name, Hinojosa’s distinct sound has gained her much critical acclaim. She has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe and returns to the MCL Grand after her January 2014 Texas Tunes debut.

Patricia Vonne has proven herself a truly ascendant and transcendent musical artist. The San Antonio native singer, songwriter, actress, activist, and award-winning filmmaker has released her seventh studio album, Top of the Mountain. The album is hot on the heels of her recent win at the Madrid International Film Festival for Best Animation awards for “Huerta de San Vicente,” the music video and homage to Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. The song was featured on her critically acclaimed all-Spanish album Viva Bandolera that made Top 8 in The Huffington Post. Vonne continues her trailblazing ride along the borderland where Castillian & Mexican infusions of flamenco and fiery gypsy guitar meets all-American rock 'n' roll. Her song "Traeme Paz" was featured in her brother Robert Rodriguez’s film Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and she was voted Best Female Vocalist 2014 & 2015 at the Austin Music Awards.

Stephanie Urbina Jones was born in a bi-cultural home in San Antonio, where she grew up hearing sounds from both sides of the border. She learned early about the power of storytelling through song and created a Latin country rock style all her own. Drawing from her passion to honor her heritage through music, she became the first independent female to reach No. 1 on the Texas Music chart. Her latest album, 2018’s Tularosa, is an inspired marriage of country classics with mariachi rhythms, honoring both her personal musical icons — Loretta, Dolly, Patsy, Willie, Merle, Hank, Kris, Johnny, and June — and the Mexican heritage that feeds her sound. But these long-overdue arrangements also reveal something else: the connections between traditional country music and the Hispanic influences that pervade it. She is not only a proven songwriter and vocalist; she is a passionate performer with a presence and spirit that is infectious.

The opening set of this concert will feature finalists from the City of Lewisville’s “Be The Next” contest. More details to be released.

Asleep at the Wheel
Saturday, June 15 

Ray Benson founded Asleep at the Wheel in Paw Paw, West Virginia 48 years ago. Now based in Austin, the band holds 10 Grammy awards, 20 studio albums and 20 singles on the Billboard country charts. The Grammy Award-winning Still The King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys is the band’s most recent release (2015) and marks their third full-length Bob Wills tribute album. Featuring 22 acclaimed collaborations, the all-star lineup includes legends such as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and George Strait and newcomers like The Avett Brothers, Amos Lee, Old Crow Medicine Show, and many other fine talents.

This performance is funded in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts.