LINDEN, Texas-While this Saturday night's Asleep at the Wheel show is sold out, plenty of tickets remain for the Marty Stuart concert Friday, May 10, at Music City Texas Theater.
MCT Executive Director David Hulme is also plenty excited to have an artist of Stuart's caliber returning to Music City, where he's performed before.
"Marty Stuart is a Grammy Award-winning country music singer and musician," Hulme said. "He got a very early start in life. He received a guitar right after he started walking. He was actually 12 years old when he first joined the first legendary country music performer. He joined a band with The Sullivan Family."
Joining a seasoned bluegrass gospel group thus gave him a start at this young age. He played with them a while, said Hulme, noting that eventually Stuart performed with Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Emmylou Harris, the Eagles and Bob Dylan. He also played with Johnny Cash's backup band as guitarist.
It's quite an illustrious list of performers with whom he's played. Then, through the 1980s, he started releasing his own albums. He's been able to mix a traditional country sound with bluegrass, rockabilly and honky-tonk.
"The fact he started out when he was 12 years old was quite remarkable in itself, and also the type of music he played lends itself to be very popular here," Hulme said. "He's not only bluegrass. He's a very accomplished artist as far as country also. He plays mandolin and guitar, and he sings lead and harmony."
Hulme has always enjoyed Stuart's music, as have area audiences.
"And the last time we had him they were just fantastic," he said. Stuart's band now is called the Fabulous Superlatives.
"He's been a country star. He's been up and down over the years, but he's stayed popular. He always does good around here. We've had a lot of people requesting that we get him back. We had him several years ago for a Sunday matinee," Hulme said.
And about a Marty Stuart show at MCT, where the likes of Asleep at the Wheel and Gene Watson perform, Hulme says, "It fits right in with them." They are, after all, a country venue.
"We're also a listening venue. People come here, they sit down and they listen. That's one thing that the artists really like," Hulme said. They know people come to MCT to listen to the music, to enjoy country music close to home.
"He's a prime example of being country," Hulme said, referring to Stuart performing at places like the Grand Ole Opry's Ryman Auditorium. "He's a wonderful entertainer and a really great guy, so we decided we'd bring him back."
(Tickets: $50; $200 for VIP. Show time 8 p.m. VIP package includes front row seats, private pre-show performance, photo ops and more. Ticket purchase: MusicCityTexas.org or 903-756-9934.)