Congratulations, Hayes.
Although he won’t be playing our area until November, Houston singer/songwriter Hayes Carll deserves some Texas-sized kudos for recently winning the Americana Music Award for Song of the Year with his satirical “She Left Me For Jesus.”
Carll was also nominated for Artist of The Year at The 7th Annual Americana Music Association Honors & Awards, held September 18 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
“She Left Me For Jesus,” from Carll’s most recent effort, Trouble in Mind, is deserving of any and all adulation. Like most of Carll’s music, the tune is pure, hardcore honky tonk--the kind of stuff Buck Owens did back when mainstream country music was good. But it’s the lyrics that really make the award-winning song stand out. Lines like “If I ever find Jesus, I’m kicking his ass” are sure to turn the heads of most cultural conservatives, but in the context of Carll’s rough hewed Americana, no other words would do.
Catch Carll in Grand Prairie at the Uptown Theatre on November 9th, or in Fort Worth at The Horseman Club on November 28th. His next Dallas appearance won’t happen until late December at The Granada. --Darryl Smyers
