Robert Earl Keen

We are all so happy that Robert Earl Keen and the Robert Earl Keen Band put on four shows for us over here in South Florida.
We were able to make two of the four shows.

The first one was the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall south of Jacksonville near the beach.
The venue was incredible, a renovated church.
We drove up from West Palm Beach a very scary drive on I-295 about gave us a heart attack!
Robert even mentioned that the roads were trying his nerves. But we all made it safe.
The crowd at the show was such a fun crowd. All die hard REK fans. Very lively ans excited for the show. They never stopped clapping, dancing and singing.

One of the things we were very impressed with was the opening act was a local artist that was given the opportunity to play three songs before the main act. The act of offering opportunity to fellow local musicians says a lot about Robert Earl Keen and his management.

The Pre-Show song that was played was also a hats off to South Floridians. John Andersons song "Seminole Wind" was a nice surprise for us and shows empathy and understanding of the people and places the band visits.

We saw the Christmas show "Merry Christmas to the Fam-o-Lee" in December in Nashville at the Ryman so we had no expectations of this show at all. We knew it was going to be a completely different type of concert.

When the band took the stage opened with "Shades of Gray" the crowd was on their feet immediately. The set included many of the fan favorites as well as a few surprises. My favorite was "Hot Corn Cold Corn" featured on the new release Flores Country Store double CD.

Robert also did a solo three song mini set of quick songs somewhat like John Prine would do.

As usual the band played to perfection. Robert was able to control the crowd with ease as they were a bit rowdy and having fun. We never left our seats and it was such a blast. The Mandolin, Violin (Fiddle), Tom Brotherton on guitar always blows us away. All I could envision was the mandolin played dressed up as Johnny Paycheck at the Ryman! I think he dressed up as a lot of artists at that show. Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Billy Bird, I think? I digress.

Next was the show at The Parker Playhouse in Ft. Lauderdale three days later. This venue was also small and very intimate. We nailed front row seats so it was a completely different experience. Again there was a duo that opened from the Hollywood, West Palm Beach area. they were fabulous. Again, the John Anderson song.

This concert was COMPLETELY different. It was so refreshing. The show had the same core elements but Tom Brotherton threw in a Grateful Dead song that he nailed and Robert sang Tangled up in Blue by Bob Dylan that just was pure perfection. The band added some different songs to the set we had seen a few days before, mixed it up. That is rarely seen these days.I don't know how Robert remembers all of those words to those songs! We danced a lot obnoxiously right there up front! the crowd was more subdued than the crowd in Jacksonville. But, REK has a huge fan base here in Florida and I hope he comes back again!

Hope to go to the Songwriters Festival in Key West if possible.

We will be tracking the band and will be at another concert if they come through Ithaca, New York, Nashville or Florida. We just can't make the Franklin, Tenn. shows. Next year!

Gotta Go!
Nancy Branstrom

The night was perfect, the stage was set for two guys in two chairs, two guitars. The great friends came out & talked & sang to us like we were in their living room. They played off each perfectly. We scored front row at a perfect event venue. Both artists were funny, professional & entertaining. We LOVED the show. We loved it so much that we went to Ft Myers & caught them at The Edison Theater the next night. It was a completely different show aside from the perfectly delivered story of Robert Earl Keen & his landlord & how he made time for a man many did not see all that he had to share. It was incredibly honorable of Mr. Keen. This rented home at College Station was where the Front Porch Song was created. Lyle Lovett was very humble in that REK put verses he wrote into the song. Great verses they are!
We try never to miss Robert Earl Keen & the Robert Earl Keen Band when he comes over to Florida. Our first time seeing Lyle & he was awesome. Wish we could have been able to speak with them.
Nancy & JB Branstrom

Texas born Robert Earl Keen Jr is an all American country singer from everything to his name to his style. He is a quintessential country crooner with a great set of country vocals and some pretty hefty guitar skills. He is great at blending country and folk with interesting, poetic and very honest, American lyrics. There is a real sense of nostalgia about this guy, no doubt because he achieved the majority of his success during the 80s and 90s, and thus his songs sound quite out dated. However, they are also incredibly easy to listen to and have an old world feeling to them that can really be appreciated. Tracks such as ‘The Road Goes on Forever’ and ‘Corpus Christi Bay’ have a melancholy feeling to them that adds another dimension to his music and makes them quite emotive. The lyrics are moving if you pay attention to them and it is the brutal honesty of his music that makes it so appealing and that had allowed him to achieve such wonderful success over the years.

How about Robert Earl Keen Jr.? This guy can sing! He can write too. He has eighteen albums under his belt. I can’t even begin to imagine how one would go about constructing a set list from that amount of material.
IT was because of the influence of his older brother, that he got introduced to country artists such as Willie Nelson.
He built his career up playing in pubs and clubs around Austin Texas, building up a following over the years. He wound up moving to Nashville, as all country artists seem to do so, signing with Arista Records. “That Buckin’ Song” showcases his fantastic guitar ability alongside his band who he has such a good back and forth with. “Hello New Orleans” is the next song that has a little bit more depth, bringing a little bit more of a deep-south vibe to the table. The audience are ecstatic about the genius that they are witnessing. “The Great Hank” is a fantastic set closer, leaving the audience applauding for a good five minutes.

Great show. Enjoyed the conversations he had before a few of the songs, story about Lyle Lovett esp. He didn't use the playlist i would have chosen--it didn't include a lot of my favorites like No Kinda Dancer, Ride, I Gotta Go. But then, it is his show. And he has so many songs, he cant include the favorites of everyone in the crowd. I was surprised that the encore did not include Merry Christmas. I have been to 3 shows now, and I thought that was "mandatory" to include it. But, as I observed, it is his show. I will see him again.

Acoustic show with Robert Earl Keen & Lyle Lovett was aweseme - as expected. The natural "banter" between these two long-time friends is authentic and makes for a unique experience. It's highly unusual for artists in this day & age to simply play songs requested by the audience 'on the fly' in the middle of their sets. These two do not disappoint and highly recommend if you haven't seen them together that you make a point of doing so!

Damn! What a great show these two put on! Ive seen Robert Earl Keen probably 8-10 times but I've never seen Lyle Lovette before
I love REK and liked Lyle a lot but after this show I love 'em both! Never realized how funny Lyle is and you can tell these two really get along well. Can't wait to see them again together or on their own!!!

Truly awesome show. To have Robert Earl and Lyle Lovett on the same stage for the whole performance was a night to remember. They complimented each other so we'll. To hear both sing and then they would take turns doing my favorite songs. I truly loved every minute. thanks

Great show, great music great place to listen to music. Robert Earl Keen was awesome. Such a variety of instruments on stage! Roberts voice was as good as it was twenty years ago!

Robert Earl loves his fans and we love him. I enjoy every show.I'm a fan for life. I laughed, cried, and smiled. His shows touch my heart. I gotta go.
Mike Jones, Aiken SC