Crossroads Music Company & Listening Room
Ultimate FingerPick and Gus Gustafson Music
These are the shows that are on the books, as of March 7, 2015, for the balance of 2015. Join our email list, to stay connected for any changes that may come along, and for a heads-up when tickets go on sale for the different performances!
Saturday, September 13, 2014, at the latest intimate listening room inside the newly renovated 100 year old Post Office, then library, and NOW City Hall! Doors will open at 7pm, and you can get your TICKETS HERE! SAVE $5.00 by purchasing your reserved seats in advance! This could be Rhett’s best show EVER!
A Special THANK YOU goes out to our stage sponsor, Grocery Supply Company, for helping Crossroads keep LIVE music aLIVE, here in East Texas, and–more specifically–Sulphur Springs!
This concert promises to deliver a top-notch quality listening experience! Click HERE for a music sampling!! George Anderson will be filling in on Bass for this show, along with a special guest appearance by our own local singer/songwriter, Hannah Kirby! Click here for tickets.
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]
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
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!!
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
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
[photo by: Lindy Hearne]
Jimmy LaFave’s hometown of Wills Point, Texas, is actually less than sixty miles from the Crossroads Stage here in Winnsboro, Texas. That is certainly close enough to say that Jimmy was “Home” on Friday night, playing to “His people.” [pictures] These are terms Jimmy himself used to describe some of the feelings dancing around inside this great singer/songwriter/musician/entertainer, as he shared some thoughts & some stories of the past with his band and those lucky enough to be in the audience that evening! There was a great vibe & energy bouncing around the Crossroads Performance Hall that night! Jimmy & his band tapped into that source, and truly delivered an inspired performance! The only set list present was between Jimmy’s ears, and I believe he allowed that to change throughout the night, playing tunes inspired by the tune/story before, and trying to satisfy the requests coming from the appreciative crowd. At times it felt like Woody Guthrie’s spirit was up on that stage with Jimmy & the band. There will never be another performance quite like the one delivered last Friday night! That’s an easy statement to make, since Jimmy is one of those musicians that prefers NOT to play a song the same way twice, which allows for creative MAGIC to show up during his shows–magic you can’t get listening to a CD! In honor of where they were performing, they even did a rendition of Robert Johnson’s “Cross Road Blues,” totally unrehearsed! It was AWESOME, and guitarist Phil Hurley totally SHREDDED IT!!
Crossroads Music Company was honored to have Jimmy back for a return visit! ~Gus Gustafson
“Never a Moment” performed by Jimmy LaFave a couple nights ago!
WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW! Yup, it was another night of MAGIC you missed, if you chose another activity besides coming to Crossroads to witness these three wonderful singer/songwriters. Lined up across the stage, they took turns presenting their original pieces of musical art, along with the life-experiences, moments, visions, etc, that sparked the creation of those songs. Rather than bringing a structured song list to the table, they all allowed the songs that were played ahead of their next turn to inspire which one from their own repertoire ought to be performed next. The magic emerged, NATURALLY! 🙂
Helene has some tunes available on itunes, including “Lucky Me,” a song about her encounter with a United States soldier in an airport. The song has received global attention, and drew a standing ovation from the crowd–great presentation by Helene!! She’ll be talking to folks in Nashville this upcoming week about recording her next CD–one that will reflect what she’s creating today.
Out of the three, Lisa Markley was the most “jazzy.” Clever & witty, in both content and delivery! Both Lisa & Helene helped us all realize how spoiled we are to have Lynn Adler in our own backyard! Winnsboro was Blessed when Lynn Adler chose to call these Piney Woods her home, over 10 years ago they tell me…She spoke of those things in her life that inspired much of her writing–Winnsboro historical events included.
[Top photo by Jim Willis/photo above compliments of Dave Sanders]
As “THEY” say: “You had to BE there” to truly appreciate what transpired on the Crossroads Stage last night! Magic like that doesn’t happen while you’re listening to an artist’s CD, plain and simple…A HUGE thank you to Helene, Lisa & Lynn…CHEERS! ~Gus
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 🙂
A big thank you is in order for the Wood County Electric Cooperative [WCEC]! Their generous contribution to the Winnsboro Center for the Arts [WCA] will go a long way to help keep the doors open, which will keep the Arts alive in Wood County–for the kids and the community as a whole. This includes the performing arts, like kids Summer Drama Camp, which always ends with an entertaining community theater performance–great opportunities for the youth of our area! As many of you know, Crossroads Music Company & Listening Room shares the WCA stage, fitting in performances by Global talent in-between the community theater events. Thank you WCEC, for helping keep all the Arts ALIVE in Wood County!
Click on the logo above, and visit the WCEC website.
Hope to have all tickets for all the shows available in the Crossroads Store by the middle of August, so keep checking back! ~Gus
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]
![WinnsNewsProgress2013[1]](http://crossroadsmusiccompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/WinnsNewsProgress20131.jpg)
![WinnsNewsProgress2013[2]](http://crossroadsmusiccompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/WinnsNewsProgress20132.jpg)
So, Nicholas Altobelli contacted me right after I posted the return of Emily, and locked in the spot of opening act. This was the perfect fit for what proved to be an awesome night of music in East Texas!
What can I say that hasn’t already been said?? Emily Elbert just keeps getting better, as she continues to spread the LOVE all around the world, including Winnsboro, Texas!! You say you’d like some clever, percussive, acoustic guitar work?? Maybe some Jimi Hendrix, or Allman Brothers, or Stevie Wonder, or Willie Nelson, or Bill Withers, or even Michael Jackson? Not a problem, and Emily puts her own signature stamp on ALL of them! Then there’s her cleverly crafted originals, with plenty of depth and weight for even the deepest thinkers of our time! What else do you want? Well, Saturday night you got it all; Emily shared songs from her third CD, “Alive, in Love,” which followed her second release, “Proof.” Roland Elbert [Dad] accompanied Emily on keyboards, which was the perfect fit for the tunes they performed together–there was MAGIC in the listening room on this Saturday night in April!
What is that you say??!! You MISSED this INCREDIBLE show, in this wonderful, intimate listening room know as Crossroads Music Company, inside the Winnsboro Center for the Arts?? I no longer know how to respond to these missed opportunities.
Emily Elbert’s interview aired last week on KETR’s Notably Texan radio program, hosted by Matt Meinke! It’s worth the listen [click on Emily’s interview] Nicholas Altobelli came into Winnsboro from Dallas, to open for Emily, and the music of BOTH these fine artists aired during the Notably Texan broadcast.
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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