Much like his idol Willie Nelson, whom he covered so eloquently on last year's To Willie, Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck is that rare musician almost everyone can agree on, whether they're pretentious indie-rockers or stubbornly twangy Americana fans. The recently released Here's To Taking It Easy sees Houck settling into a comfortable, softly psychedelic groove with his road band, mixing SoCal country-rock rave-ups with Kristofferson-worthy weepers—"The Mermaid Parade" is easily one of the best break-up laments in recent memory—to create Houck's fourth straight masterpiece.
When a wayward soul harshed the band's mellow by stealing their van full of vintage gear just last week, fans everywhere rushed to Phosphorescent's aid—they even got a retweet from the official Willie Nelson Twitter page—donating money so the band could salvage its tour. A few days later, the van and all the instruments were miraculously recovered by the police (maybe Willie Nelson really is God after all?), allowing the band to hit the road to Big D, where they'll take the stage for the Kessler Theatre's biggest show to date this Friday.
Denton doom-folkers Shiny Around The Edges open, as they will for all four of the band's Texas dates. High five, y'all.
