The Texas troubadour’s farewell lap was full of misadventures and unforgettable moments. Kind of like a classic REK song.

Robert Earl Keen was coming home. The Houston-born songwriter was unwinding in the back of his tour bus as it barreled west through Louisiana in the predawn dark of an early-August morning. He and his band had been traveling at a relentless pace since March, crisscrossing the country to perform at arenas, theaters, festivals, and clubs from Santa Cruz, California, to Portland, Maine. Keen was exhausted but feeling good. They’d played well that night, and now they were entering the tour’s last leg—a final run through their home state. For months, they had been plagued by a string of lousy luck, but as Keen started to drift off to sleep, he thought maybe the curse had finally been lifted. That’s when the bus caught fire. 

Full Article Link HERE

The Texas troubadour makes a sentimental and satisfying stop on what he says will be his final tour

Review by Dave McKennaJuly 24, 2022 at 1:14 p.m. EDT - The Washington Post

For Robert Earl Keen, the road now goes on until September, when the Texas cult legend will conclude four decades of touring with a final run of shows at Floore’s Country Store in Helotes, Texas. His last show will be Sept. 4 — fittingly, the day before Labor Day.

Before then, the wry troubadour will play a feverish final summer tour that’s already proving to be the most in-demand Robert Earl Keen ticket in decades. “I’m experiencing something I haven’t experienced in years,” he says, “which is what to do with all the friends and family I didn’t know I had.”

As Keen winds down his touring operation, he still plans to ramp up activity in just about every other facet of his creative life. 

 Rolling Stone By JONATHAN BERNSTEIN

FULL ARTICLE

Robert Earl Keen to fill Foo Fighters taping date for 'Austin City Limits' TV show

By: Peter Blackstock Published by: Austin 360

Willie Nelson turns 89 on April 29, but the celebration will last for days. In addition to previously announced concerts April 29-30 at the University of Texas' new Moody Center with George Strait, there's now a May 1 event at Willie's Luck TX ranch just west of Austin that will feature host Bruce Robison plus guests including Robert Earl Keen and Ray Wylie Hubbard paying tribute to the Texas legend.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday via luckpresents.com. Ticket prices have not yet been announced. Joining Robison, Keen and Hubbard on the bill is Vincent Neil Emerson, with more additions to the lineup expected. There's no official word on whether Nelson himself will appear or perform, but he currently has no other concert commitments on May 1.

Nelson previously announced three upcoming performances at Luck, on March 20, March 26 and April 2. Those are in addition to his March 17 Luck Reunion mini-festival, which also will include performances by dozens of artists in town next week for South by Southwest.

More:On the ranch again? Willie Nelson adds three shows at his Luck TX property near Austin

Nelson's new album, "A Beautiful Time," comes out April 29 on Sony Legacy. It features a mix of new original material plus covers including the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends" and Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song."

February 17, 2022by Lydia Farthing Publish on Musicrow.com

Texas Heritage Songwriters HoF Returns to Honor Lefty, Lightnin’, Griffith, and James ...while Gibbons, Keen, and Dunn provide musical highlights BY DOUG FREEMAN, 1:00PM, MON. FEB. 14, 2022. Photo by Greg Miller

Austin Chronicle Full Article

TIME FLIES

You’ve heard people say “Time flies”. It’s a cliché. Funny thing about clichés and what makes them ubiquitous, is they ring true. Jackson Browne has a line in a song that encapsulates a lifetime in the blink of an eye. It’s difficult for me to absorb the concept but, I understand it as a feeling because I feel it more and more with each passing day. BUT, it is easier to say, “time flies”. We all know what that means.

Robert Earl Keen with Waylon Payne at the Lincoln Theatre on 12/6

After all, this is the man who wrote “Merry Christmas from the Family,” the trailer park classic that manages to incorporate drunk parents, celery, tampons, intolerant in-laws, homemade egg-nog, chain smoking, bean dip and fake snow. The 1994 song is so popular that Keen — always the entrepreneur in addition to being one of the most highly regarded Texas songwriters — has built a mini-industry around it, including an annual holiday tour.

Fans of this irreverent holiday tradition know that Keen selects a unique theme each year celebrating music around subjects which have ranged from the Apollo Moon landing to 70s Outlaw Country. This year the theme is The Road To Christmas.

Due to unforeseen personal wellness circumstances, the Robert Earl Keen, Arizona/California tour (Oct. 14-24th) has been canceled. These shows will not be rescheduled. REK’s Mid-Atlantic Tour (Nov. 3-14th) has been postponed and will be rescheduled. An announcement regarding the new dates to follow. 

The Top 20 Global Concert Tours ranks artists by average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows Worldwide. The list is based on data provided to the trade publication Pollstar by concert promoters and venue managers.

Robert Earl Keen will spend most of the summer headlining his Feelin’ Good Again Tour 2021. The Texas singer-songwriter announced dates for the trek, which was named for a song from his 1998 album Walking Distance.

Published By: RollingStone Witten By: Jon Freeman

How an off-road adventure inspired the classic Texas song

By ROBERT EARL KEEN 

Published by GARDEN & GUN

The Crowdmakers

Fascinating conversations with the "insiders" of the live event business! Hosted by award-winning sports sales expert Bill Guertin, "The Crowdmakers" features leading sports and entertainment

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, the music industry immediately saw its effects. By the last week of March 2020, musicians had tour dates canceled and were unable to predict when they would return to the stage. Country singer Robert Earl Keen knew he had to do something to protect his 10 employees.

Forbes.com By: Annie Reuter

As expected, Casey Wasserman has raised the curtain on Wasserman Music, a new powerhouse player in music built on the back of Paradigm’s former music division.

Wasserman on Wednesday completed the complicated transaction that saw Paradigm sever off its music operation for sale as the company faced a spiraling financial crisis last year amid the hardships imposed by the pandemic.

Wasserman Music will be headed by music business veterans Marty Diamond, Jonathan Levine, Jackie Nalpant, Sam Hunt, Corrie Martin, Lee Anderson and Matt Rodriguez, who will oversee day-to-day operations. Tom Windish, Joe Rosenberg, and Lori Feldman will round out the team to provide business development, operational, and marketing support, as well as working to operate and integrate all branded entertainment. The company has about 130 employees overall.

PUBLISHED BY   VARIETY     Written by   Cynthia Littleton and Jem  Aswad

Live music isn't as out-of-reach this spring as you might think. 

Nashville music fans can travel roughly 90 miles south to The Caverns in rural Grundy County, Tennessee, for a night of real-life live music. No livestream feeds, no Zoom screens — just artists playing songs for in-person crowds likely hungry for a slice of "normal" entertainment. 

In our latest episode of ‘One by Willie,’ Keen tells a whole host of entertaining stories while explaining his connection to Nelson’s “Mr. Record Man.”

Published by Texas Monthly; Written by John Spong

Fresh off his GRAMMY win for Best Bluegrass Album, Billy Strings joins Robert Earl Keen in the new episode of Americana Podcast out today in the American Songwriter Podcast Network. The Michigan-born, Nashville-based, Strings discusses growing-up playing Bluegrass, learning how to wail on guitar in his metal band days, and the inspiration behind the songs on HOME, his critically acclaimed album. 

Article by American Songwriter