Crossroads Music Company

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Review

Claudia Nygaard put a smile on everyone’s face!

Crossroads was very fortunate to catch Claudia Nygaard on her way through East Texas, as she headed towards Kerrville.  Claudia shared her wonderful spirit with the crowd, infusing her sharp wit in the songs she performed, and the stories she shared on how certain songs came to life.

She performed songs from her newest release, “Let The Storm Roll In,” along with tunes from her earlier CDs and even songs yet to be recorded.  The appreciative audience really didn’t want the night to end.  Claudia had to get a very early start the following morning, in order to get to Kerrville in time for an afternoon commitment.  Otherwise, I’m quite sure the music would have continued even longer!

For those of you that may have missed it, we’ve posted a couple tunes on our YouTube channel:  [Click below]

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Big Country

Jive Jumpers; Johnny & the Nightcrawlers

Saturday night at Crossroads Music Company & Listening Room on May 11, 2013, and we had a “roomful” of Blues!!  Not only was the listening room FULL of Blues, but it lasted for over THREE HOURS!  Pretty cool, I must say!

This was a co-billing between the Jive Jumpers [formerly known as Diddley Squat Blues Band] and Johnny & the Nightcrawlers.  By the end of the evening, BOTH bands were on the stage together for one HUGE joint encore!!!  Click on the band name for a taste of what you missed!

The dynamics & song presentation of the Jive Jumpers really stood out–very tasty!  Johnny Simmons & the Nightcrawlers were really enjoying themselves on the Crossroads stage, and it was quite apparent with all the cuttin-up between tunes.  Both bands have a great time while performing, and it shows–excellent chemistry!

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Kinky Friedman & Jesse Dayton warm up the crowd on a chilly night in Downtown Sulphur Springs!

 

 

 

 

Friday night, March 1st?  Some might say it’s kind of risky to plan an outside concert to be held on a downtown Courthouse Square in Sulphur Springs, Texas when it’s officially still WINTER!  Well, the way the weather patterns have been acting lately, the consensus was to take a chance, knowing it could have played out many different ways.  After all, it is Texas!  It was a little chilly, with highs around 50 and sunny for the afternoon. The winds died down at dusk, and the show went on as planned!  My estimates were numbers approaching 500, if you took into consideration those attending the VIP gathering at the soon to open Swamp Pots Restaurant, on the square across from the Hopkins County Veterans Memorial.  The entire downtown filled up nicely, with many folks patronizing the local restaurants before & after the performance by Kinky Friedman & Jesse Dayton.  They performed some great tunes, off their many CDs, including cuts from Kinky’s new release, Bi-Polar Tour!

 

Yes, a bit chilly, but well worth it to hear Kinky update everyone on what he’s been up to, both musically and politically.  When asked about autographs, Kinky responded by saying, “I’ll sign ANYTHING, except bad legislation!”  And, speaking of politics, rumors were leaked that Kinky may be running for the Texas Governor’s office once again.  We’ll keep you all posted as we learn more on this.  All in all, a wonderful event, so THANK YOU to all who showed their support by braving the colder temps!  There were even some strategically placed 55 gallon drums with fires of their own, as warming stations around Sulphur Springs newly renovated Downtown Courthouse Square, complete with their already famous see-through restroom facilities!  Kinky also brought plenty of his OWN brand of tequila to warm folks up—Man In Black.

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Janet Robin Rocks the House!!

How do you describe Janet Robin?  “Energized” is a word that comes to mind.  “Accomplished” is another good word, especially when describing her guitar playing!  Pure ENTERTAINMENT sums up the whole package, when you combine that energy with her room-illuminating smile & presence, singer/songwriting delivery, and awesome guitar-playing skills.  What a wonderful talent showed up in Winnsboro, Texas last night!!

Janet Robin hails from Los Angeles, California, and is very popular in Europe as well as the United States.  If you missed the show and would like to learn more, click the link and visit her website.  You may pre-order her next CD, to help bring it press, while checking out her impressive credentials and accomplishments!  In the meantime, check out a few pictures from last night’s Crossroads’ performance, compliments of Wildernest’s Jim Willis.

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Those in attendance were treated to an opening performance from Winnsboro’s own rising star–17 year old Tyler Lenius.  I, too, was invited to participate a few times during the evening, which was truly awesome!  Let’s find a way to bring Janet Robin back…I believe she enjoyed our down-home East Texas flavored hospitality!  Maybe a future Wildernest MusicFest?  Your comments are always welcome.  ~Gus Gustafson

SEVEN’s Breakout Performance was STRONG!

Normally, I’ll blog about a great show within 48 hours or so, but this particular show needed a week to really reveal itself for what it was—UNBELUCKINFIEVABLE!  It has been the talk of East Texas, and all that TALK is quite positive!!

 We knew going in that we were going to be entertained by a group of seasoned professionals on the Crossroads Stage, and the hype & anticipation created an even higher level of excitement.  SEVEN brought all-original concert-level performance material, some of which was hard to contain within the four walls of the Winnsboro Center for the Arts building, but–for the most part–the sound was well balanced & the song presentation was very STRONG!  This whole experience was like having a full house of close friends, all gathered in support of their musical family, eager to be a part of the latest chapter in the lives of a handful of musicians whose bios read like a ‘who’s who’ in a Music’s Hall of Fame entry!  In fact, I’ve included the bios sheet, for those who have yet to read about the members of SEVEN.

SEVEN’s Bio sheet…IMPRESSIVE!

The band SEVEN–Opening Night [including a glimpse of Crossroads’ host, Gus]

 Common with ALL large performance productions, a few glitches are ironed out along the way, and—as the evening unfolds—MAGICAL MOMENTS show up!  This was true for SEVEN’s  historic launch as well.  The band broke the show into three pieces, transitioning  from the first to the second set with an “unplugged” acoustic grouping.  If you were paying attention, you could ‘feel’ the band gel with one another, and BAM! came the MAGIC!  The playful bantering between Ovid Stevens & Bubba Keith was unrehearsed, entertaining, and just right for the night…it was like having a group of celebrities performing a private concert in your own living room!  By the time they performed their future hit song, “Don’t Give Up,” the roof was about to LIFT OFF!  Stay tuned for some video clips, as I post to the Crossroads’ YouTube library [still transitioning all the components from one website to this new one].  Also, check back from time to time for SEVEN updates…we’ll be monitoring new developments and sharing them here!  If you’re not already signed up for email updates, please take time to register.  I do NOT share my list with ANYONE ELSE, and try to limit my email blasts to one a week. ~Gus

 

7th Anniversary Concert Hit the Spot!

Kate, Lynn, Lindy and Warren

Adler & Hearne, with Special guests Kate & Warren

Two very significant shows for December!  One has come and gone, but will NOT be forgotten–The 7th Anniversary of Crossroads Music Company & Listening Room!  Suffice it to say that they ALL continue to evolve & grow as musicians/singers/songwriters, and East Texas is fortunate to have access to this extremely talented family and their entertaining skills!  However, we get them less and less as the National touring dates increase in number.  This includes Warren Jackson Hearne & The Le Leek Electrique Band, and their touring, and NOW Kate Hearne increasing her appearances…rumor has it that during the Wildernest MusicFest in October, Kate & Vanessa Peters worked out some tour dates for EUROPE in the Spring!!!  Just plain KEWL, that’s all I can say about that!

I’ll have more to say about where Crossroads is heading, after I blog about the Historic SEVEN concert on December 29, 2012.  This is a show you do NOT want to miss.

Also, keep an eye aimed at the new Crossroads Music Company website.  January marks the opening of the Crossroads store, which will include available music from the performers that have taken the Crossroads’ stage over the last seven years.  There will also be merchandise for sale, and more concert ticket sales will be made available online as well.  2013 will hopefully see the remodeling of 204 Market Street, and maybe some extra cool Wildernest events!  ~Gus

 

Ray Wylie Hubbard was FANTASTIC!

Winnsboro was hopping on a Saturday night, thanks to a visit from Texas legend Ray Wylie Hubbard.  Ray told stories and mixed in some of the old classic tunes with his newer compositions, performing to a very attentive crowd!  Dustin Welch warmed up the crowd, and is really evolving into his own style, with plenty of thought-provoking lyrics & solid guitar/banjo pickin…put it all together, and you end up with a full night of awesomeness!

Ray Wylie certainly put on a show!

Ray mentioned that in January, he’ll be performing on Late Night with David Letterman—stay tuned for the date, but I believe January 9th was mentioned.  Anyway, it certainly seemed like Winnsboro was the perfect place for Ray to be this evening, and we were Blessed with another wonderful performance!  Wife Judy was along on this trip, and she took some good pictures to document the night.  When she shares ’em with me, I’ll share them with YOU!  ~Gus