Crossroads Music Company & Listening Room

Ultimate FingerPick and Gus Gustafson Music

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Gus Gustafson

Update!

In its TENTH year, Crossroads shifted the focus of its existence from concerts to developing the Ultimate Finger Pick invention.  With Gus getting hired back in Winnsboro, and departing from his duties in Sulphur Springs, it was logical to continue supporting what the Winnsboro Center for the Arts [WCA] had going on the Bowery Stage [formerly the Crossroads Music Company & Listening Room Stage].

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As of October 1, 2015, Gus’ full time responsibility as Winnsboro’s Main Street Manager also included overseeing all the wonderful things happening in the Cultural Arts District, which is the same overlay downtown, and boasts the WCA as its ANCHOR for everything happening in the Cultural Arts District!  The Winnsboro Center for the Arts, with Jim Willis handling all the bookings for the Bowery Stage, is selling out performances right and left, and just hosted Judy Collins [Sweet (Suite) Judy Blue Eyes] on June 14th in little ol’ Winnsboro, Texas.  That’s right, you heard right!  Stay tuned for the next chapter as it unfolds, and help us keep live music ALIVE here in East Texas!

Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Bluegrass Band!

This is concert #2 for Crossroads Music Company & Listening Room, inside the Sulphur Springs Historic City Hall Council Chambers, and it will certainly be a good test for the room’s sound.  I’m really looking forward to this performance, which will help us determine what the room can handle, and therefore what acts we can book for the balance of 2014 and into 2015.  Please join us for what promises to be a brilliant night of classic tunes!

Saturday, August 23, 2014.  7 PM Doors/~7:30 Start time [approximately]

Click here for tickets.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Bluegrass Band

Dave Walser, &
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Bluegrass Band.

Dave Walser- guitar/vocals
Bach Norwood- bass/vocals
Reggie Rueffer- fiddle/vocals
Gerald Jones- banjo/mandolin/vocals

SPLBB Let It Be

Slaid Cleaves Concert SOLD OUT!!

slaid-cleavesSOLD OUT!!!  THANK YOU FOR THE WARM WELCOME INTO SULPHUR SPRINGS!!
Slaid Cleaves lives with his wife of 19 years, Karen Cleaves, in the Hill Country outside Austin, Texas. While Karen books the shows, the flights, the hotels, and the rental cars, designs, orders and sells the CDs and T-shirts, pays the band, updates the web site, answers fan questions, does the taxes and makes dinner, Slaid writes his little songs (and fixes things around the house). They travel around the world together while Slaid plays for fans far and wide and gets all the glory. If it wasn’t for Karen, Slaid would be carrying all he owned in a shoe box, scrounging around for a happy hour gig.
tickets will go on sale at the Crossroads “store” on Wednesday, June 18th.

Crossroads 8th Anniversary Concert was Magical!!

Eight years of global entertainment in the small town of Winnsboro, Texas, boasting a population of less than 5,000 people.  CRAZY!  The original founders of Crossroads were our entertainers, and a few more joined in the fun!  This was the final Crossroads show of the year, and there are no other performances scheduled until the Winnsboro Center for the Arts works out their renovations during the Winter months, as well as what weekends THEY will be needing the stage.  I’ll post another blog addressing what lies ahead for 2014, once we know more.  For now, enjoy the pictures in the Facebook album, and don’t forget to click on the Crossroads YouTube icon on the homepage to catch of few of the songs that were performed on Saturday night!  Two songs from Saturday night!!

Below: Everyone was there!  Lynn Adler & Lindy Hearne [original founders]; Denice Barton, who climbed on board, joining owner Stephen Marshall, who took the reins from Adler & Hearne to keep things rolling along while Adler & Hearne took their show on the road!…Then came Gus Gustafson in 2010, which is when “& Listening Room” was added to the Crossroads Music Company name 🙂  Global talent, sharing their original music & connecting with their audience in a fantastic intimate listening room setting!  That is how the MAGIC happens!!

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THANK YOU to all who have shown such wonderful support over the last 8 years.  Allow us to keep you in the loop for what waits around the next corner.  Good things on the horizon!  ~~Gus Gustafson

Heather McCready, with Milo Deering!

“Refreshing” is a descriptive term that comes to mind as I attempt to describe a night filled with the vocal expressiveness of Heather McCready.  I believe this term has been used before, but it truly is fitting.  The full house was entertained from start to finish, with everything from Amazing Grace–blues style–by Love & Grace [opening act], to Milo Deering doing Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues while waiting for the train to pass!  Very well-crafted songs filled the night, and we even included a speaker on Market Street, spreadin’ the love in between the buildings downtown!  Heather was simply wonderful, performing her sweet originals like the whimsical “Give It A Day” by her & Milo, great covers like “Smile,” and injecting her personal story that revolves around her Bi-Polar disorder–a very complex brain disease, but one that can be managed by today’s mental health professionals.  Heather McCready is living proof!

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Pictured [l to r]: Gus Gustafson, Lindsey Gail, Heather McCready, & Milo Deering.  Photo compliments of Watson Photography.

Lindsey Gail shared her powerful vocals with the crowd, and it was great having her back on stage–this time, sharing the Word through new original Gospel tunes, and covering other popular tunes.  Love & Grace warmed up the audience for Heather & Milo.  There was “magic” in the air that night, from start to finish!  I hope you were one of the fortunate ones to be inside the Winnsboro Center for the Arts last Saturday night, but if not, click on some of the links above to get a taste of what you missed.  ~Gus

Remaining Crossroads shows for 2013!

Last three shows 2013 poster

 

If you’ve waited this long to experience what all the hype is about, within the four walls of a true “Listening Room” where musical artists really get to CONNECT with a crowd, you owe it to yourselves to catch one of these final three shows.  ~Gus

Kinky gave Winnsboro both barrels!

What can I say?  EVERYTHING just FIT together Saturday night with Kinky Friedman, logically speaking.  Singer/Songwriter music, comedy, politics, important issues brought to light–we had it ALL!

Winnsboro got a full spectrum of entertainment;  light-hearted humor, serious issues, stories from the past, comical lyrics mixed with fun melodies–it was all part of the show.  We even had Winnsboro’s new Mayor, Tom Howard, do the Kinky introduction, to properly set the stage.  Kinky plans to run for the Commissioner of Agriculture position, for the Texas Department of Agriculture, a position currently filled by Todd Staples.  We got a glimpse of his platform Saturday night, and Kinky will be a serious contender!

Kinky, performing “Rapid City South Dakota”

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Kinky Says

 

Winnsboro’s own Kate Hearne did the honors as the opening act, assisted on percussion by Ashlyn Shanafelt.  Kate’s career is just starting to gain momentum.  Fresh out of college, she’s working on her first CD, residing in Fort Worth, and carving a place in the world of the singer/songwriter/musician–Kate is the complete package, and she certainly showed the full house at Crossroads that she’s been making great use of her time!

Kate & Ashlyn

Kate and Ashlyn

Billy Joe Shaver brought the MAGIC!

Billy Joe Shaver, Texas’ very own Honky Tonk Hero AND Preacher, shared some of his MAGIC on the Crossroads Stage!  A comfortable crowd filled the Winnsboro Center for the Arts, and our special guest Pauline Reese returned to the stage to honor Billy Joe as his opening act!  Pauline had returned from a Crossroads performance, as headliner, just a few weeks beforehand, which worked out well for those that missed her great individual performance on August 3rd.  This time, additional guitar licks were provided by J.C., out of Waco, Texas, and Pauline even invited her daughter “Sky” to the stage to sing a number.

Billy Joe Shaver hit the stage with his band, and they gave the audience a couple hours of meaningful melodies, legendary lyrics, great stories of his life, and some bonus honky tonk preachin’ to balance things out.  I hope you were one of the guests there that night, because shows like that have to be experienced to be appreciated, and there’s no better way to experience a show than up close and personal in a listening room environment like Crossroads!  If you DID miss this show, Billy Joe Shaver has a book and CDs you may want to get your hands on!  The book is filled with a catalog of lyrics from the many songs of his legendary career in the music business.

PICTURES [Top to Bottom]: Gus, Karen L., Billy Joe, & Carol; Billy Joe with Lindy Hearne; Billy Joe Shaver & his Band; His great smile during a bit of Honky Tonk Preachin’; Billy Joe Shaver with Carol & Gus; Pauline Reese w/ guitarist J.C. in the background; Pauline backing up her daughter Sky’s vocals 🙂

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BJS with Lindy Hearne BJS and his band BJS honkytonkhero BJS Carol Gus Pauline and JC Pauline and Sky

Fall Concert Series 2013!

 

 

Fall Concert Series

 

Hope to have all tickets for all the shows available in the Crossroads Store by the middle of August, so keep checking back!  ~Gus

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]

A Little Bit of TexasStormcoverwithtitlesthumb

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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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