Robert Earl Keen brings his band and a beloved collection of songs to town for a show Saturday at Scottie's Grill.
Keen came to Texarkana late last year for a special concert with good friend Lyle Lovett at the Perot Theatre, but now returns for a solo gig at Scottie's. Doors open at 6 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. show time.
This time around, Keen and his touring band have many songs to choose from, of course, songs of more recent vintage and older material that's won Keen a dedicated following as a poet and sly storyteller among Texas singer-songwriters.
"We do a mixture of songs from back when everybody was singing along all the time and more current stuff that people don't know as well," Keen said this week. They mix it up each night, so he's never sure what they'll play. "We do hit the high spots."
But in Keen, Scottie's Grill will showcase a singer who's dedicated to music and reaching his audience, no matter the venue. Each show is sculpted to suit the place and the people, he said.
"The main thing is at the very bottom of my heart I am an entertainer," Keen admitted. Those who've seen this master storyteller at work have no doubt seen his love for entertaining shine through.
His most recent album, the double disc "Live Dinner Reunion," came out in late 2016, a release that honored the 20th anniversary of his first live album, "No. 2 Live Dinner." It was recorded at the John T. Floores Country Store in Helotes, Texas. It's a pretty good sampling of the music he performs.
Keen's working on new music but can't say much more. "This is kind of a hush-hush deal," Keen said. But he's also been working on another project, too, which he describes as short songs for a short attention span culture. "They're like 90 seconds," Keen said about what sounds like musical vignettes.
He's worked on that for about a year, and it's timely, he believes. He says in the world of the music business there's been this great shift and this is his way of doing something about it in his own quirky way. In these songs, he goes with a story and moves on.
"Tell a story and have one thought," Keen put it.
He appreciated his time with Lovett on the road. Life on the road isn't exactly a Rotarian convention, he said, so it's nice to be out with a friend.
"We played really wonderful places like the one we played in Texarkana," Keen said. They plan on doing it again this fall but aren't yet sure where they'll head out on the road.
Keen's been in the beer business, too, and he's about to announce a third beer, River Raft Beer, with his name attached. He'll discuss that soon on his Facebook page. He first got involved in the beer realm as sort of a novelty, he says, but it looks like he has a knack for it.
As well, Keen is working on a novel based on his ever-popular Christmas song. He's working with bestselling Texas author Jeff Guinn, who's published books about subjects as varied as Jim Jones, Charles Manson, the shootout at the O.K. Corral and Bonnie and Clyde.
(Tickets: advance general admission is $30 or $35 day of the show, $125 for VIP tickets. Buy tickets at Outhousetickets.com. More info: Scottiesgrill.net.)