JOE ELY In 1973, Lubbock, Texas, was a pretty great place and time to chase a life in music, even though hardly anyone realized it back then, least of all Joe Ely. Through decades of writing, recording, touring – both solo as well as with pals Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock as The Flatlanders, he’s come full circle a time or two. And now, some 26 albums down the line, bringing all back home to the start feels like the natural thing to do for Joe Ely. With his recent release of found material from his earliest years on a compiltion called “The Lubbock Tapes” - he can now reflect. “When you first get together that’s a real special time,” he says with the wisdom of one who has lived the life. “It’s all fresh, you’re not played out. And you’re so spot on, so on the money, hittin’ the note every which way, it’s easy for me to say that it’s been well-worth the forty year wait to hear these tracks, even though hardly anyone realized that until right about now.” The Lubbock Tapes cover two critical periods. The first batch of sessions are from 1974 and set the table for the Joe Ely Band’s debut on MCA Records, three later. The second batch of The Lubbock Tapes are demos recorded at Caldwell Studios sessions in 1978 in preparation for the third Joe Ely Band album, Down on the Drag. The band is complete now. Guitarist Jesse Taylor and accordionist Ponty Bone, who both joined the band in time for the first album, are front and center. “You can hear where Jesse came in,” Joe says. “The guitar sounds a little bit raunchier.” At the core of Joe Ely’s phenomenal career in music, his songwriting – tales from nearly five decades on the road – richly woven in song – are his hallmark. KIMMIE RHODES In her three-decade-plus career, Austin-based singer-songwriter Kimmie Rhodes has released 16 solo albums, written and produced three musical plays, published a novella/cookbook and written many multi-platinum songs, recorded by such stellar artists as Willie Nelson, Wynonna Judd, Trisha Yearwood, Amy Grant, CeCe Winans, Joe Ely, Waylon Jennings, Peter Frampton, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris and others. A native Texan, she was raised in Lubbock, where she cultivated the spirited mix of talent and determination that still fuels her success. After several years of sifting through archives and journals left behind by her late soul mate, beloved radio personality Joe Gracey, Rhodes has just put the finishing touches on her latest labor of love, "Radio Dreams: The Story of the Outlaw DJ and the Cosmic Cowgirl," a "duet memoir" that weaves her own poetic prose with wry and witty musings from Gracey, who died in 2011. Recently released spring 2018,"Radio Dreams" invites readers into their private world, returning Joe to the conversation to help tell the fascinating story of their lives. In her role as honorary ambassador for The Buddy Holly Educational Foundation, Rhodes visits Glastonbury, England annually to attend Squeeze co-founder Chris Difford’s songwriting retreat at Pennard House, where established singer-songwriters share knowledge and co-write with aspiring young talents. ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO Crossing borders, jumping barriers, taking risks, betting it all: that’s the path Alejandro Escovedo has been taking in his lifelong search for the heart of rock and roll. The epic 17 song suite comprising his latest record, The Crossing, is about that journey: searching, but not necessarily finding, eyes and ears open all the way. Ranging from sweeping orchestral numbers to classic rock to bursts of 70s punk, the collection finds Escovedo delving further into his lifelong musical journey across his most sonically diverse work yet. “This says more about me than any of my records without it being a record about me,” says Alejandro. The Crossing tells the tale of two boys, one from Mexico, one from Italy, who meet in Texas to chase their American rock and roll dreams. “Musically, Alejandro Escovedo is in his own genre.” – David Fricke, Rolling Stone “There are songwriters who sing their songs, and then there are songs who sing their writers.” – Lenny Kaye ( Patti Smith Band) In partnership with: Buddy Holly Educational Foundation https://www.facebook.com/thebuddyhollyeducationalfoundation/ Texas Heritage Songwriters’ Association https://www.facebook.com/txhsa/