Blitzen Trapper Cover Townes Van Zandt While Busking at Off the Record

While we've talked plenty in recent months about how on-point Deep Ellum has been of late, there's one thing that we haven't necessarily seen that much of: Impromptu live music inside bars. Okay, there's plenty of live music in neighborhood bars, but the busking keeps mostly to the streets. Not...

By Jeff Gage

November 9, 2015

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While we've talked plenty in recent months about how on-point Deep Ellum has been of late, there's one thing we haven't necessarily seen that much of: Impromptu live music inside bars. Okay, there's plenty of live music in neighborhood bars, but the busking keeps mostly to the streets. Not when Blitzen Trapper were in town last month, though.

The Portland indie folkies were in town late last month (the Halloween decorations in the video are a dead giveaway) for a show at Club Dada, so Casey Carr and his team at Globe Trek Productions seized the opportunity to snag the guys for a quick busking session at the adjoining Off the Record. What they got was an extra stripped-down version of Blitzen Trapper, hot off releasing their new record All Across the Land, with frontman Eric Earley basically doing a solo set with backup harmonies.

The Bob Dylan vibe is particularly strong on these two songs, which kicks off with the lead single from the new album, "Lonesome Angel," but the real treat comes with the second cut, a lovely rendition of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You." Men of few words, Earley and the gang keep the banter to a minimum and let the songs do the talking — which is just fine with us this time. Check out the video below.

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