Gig Alert: Tonight's Americana Dilemma

Quite the packed night-before-New Year's Eve we have tonight, huh? You may have already read my interview with Kevin from The Gourds as they play (along with the great Two Tons of Steel) this evening at The Granada, but the bill at the House of Blues is also quite mighty:...

By Pete Freedman

December 30, 2008

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Quite the packed night-before-New Year's Eve we have tonight, huh? You may have already read my interview with Kevin from The Gourds as they play (along with the great Two Tons of Steel) this evening at The Granada, but the bill at the House of Blues is also quite mighty: Old 97's, The Drams and The O's.

If that wasn't enough of a choice, country hunk Kevin Fowler is at Hank's Texas Grill in McKinney and his fellow Austinite Brandon Jenkins brings his brand of hardcore honky-tonk to Billy Bob's in Fort Worth.

With The Gourds, Old 97's, Fowler and Jenkins, we're covered with about as much of the Americana spectrum as any hillbilly, hayseed or hick is likely to hope for.

For what it's worth, I'm sticking with The Gourds because the soon-to-be-released Haymaker could well be the best album of the band's storied career. And that's saying something. Any one of these four shows, however, could be well worth the while of anyone searching for a great last memory of 2008. --Darryl Smyers

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