One of the great fortunes of living in the Texas Hill Country is it's plethora of music venues. Stallion Springs Concerts is located very near my property on the north slope of Canyon Lake, just a short drive. Like many house concerts, it's a very intimate venue, and the artists that come there mingle with the crowd before during and after the concert.
Last night I was fortunate to see Verlon Thompson there. Verlon was Guy Clark's side man since the late 80's and as such has had a colorful and eventful career. He has some great stories to tell from all the years on the road with Guy, which adds a savory spice to his performances because he is a great songwriter as well.
One of my favorite songs of his, co-written with Guy Clark is the "The Guitar" a spine tingling story about an old guitar in a pawn shop that resonates with anyone that has ever owned and played a guitar. His story that he told about this song as a prelude to his performance was heartwarming and made it even more memorable. Unfortunately, I didn't get a video capturing it but I did capture his opening song (below) which is the title cut for his latest record.
One of the benefits of having your own record is that you can trade with other artists. I've been hoping over the last year since Guy passed that I would have the opportunity to share my tribute to Guy with Verlon. Stallion Springs brought me this favor last night.
https://robertlindsaynathan.bandcamp.com/track/mr-clark
Verlon's set was opened by a talented young lady from Fredericksburg who goes by the moniker of Karneigh Royal.
Verlon played two sets, and after the break he was joined by ten year old Jack Barksdale who covered a couple of Guy Clark songs and played one of his own. Imagine, a ten year old song writer. It does the heart good to see kids that have been nurtured to have these creative aspirations.
Please enjoy the following two videos from last night. With the full moon and full night air of music, stories and cover dish vittles it was an exceptional evening.
