Fiesta Red
Well-Known Member
Since 1977 after the song by Waylon Jennings blew up, Luckenbach has been a symbol of slowing down, leaving the rat race and getting “back to the basics of love”…
My parents took me there right after the song became a hit, sometime in ’77 or ‘78.
At the time, there wasn’t much besides the old post office and general store. Over the years, I’ve visited a few times and every time there’s a suitably rustic building added to the complex that can be used for live music or other activities. It’s still a tiny spot a few miles outside of Fredricksburg.
Anyway, I have a few venues or locations I’ve always wanted to play; Gruene Hall, Antone’s in Austin, and one of the stages at Luckenbach.
We are taking the man who is courting my daughter around the state, trying to get to know him and introduce him to our culture to ready him for the insanity of Texas (he’s half-Finnish/half-Chilean, raised in Finland and Sweden, living half the year in Denmark and half the year in Namibia and South Africa, doing missionary work…it gets even more confusing, but he’s a good guy and I think I like him).
So we took him to Fort Worth, Austin and Fredricksburg (we’re climbing Enchanted Rock tomorrow), and tonight we took him to Luckenbach.
They had a rotating cast of acoustic players at the little outdoor stage—they ranged from good to freakin’ awesome. One of them mentioned there was a “house guitar” and said anyone could join. I asked to play, and used the cheap little Rogue acoustic (set up surprisingly well, and surprisingly stable in tuning) to play a song I wrote.
They were politely reserved when I first sat down, but enthusiastically joined in and really seemed to enjoy my performance…which was a melancholy song I wrote the day my grandmother died.
So I got to play on stage in Luckenbach, and play a song I wrote!!
One more thing off the bucket list!
At the end of my song, they were much more welcoming and friendly; they complimented my song (and seemed very sincere).
I told them my daughter and a family friend (who joined us on the Fredricksburg trip) were even better singers, and they joined us onstage to sing “Jackson” by Johnny and June Cash. They (the musicians) loved it and complimented our voices and performance again.
Thrilling day.
So now I gotta go for Gruene Hall and Antone’s…
My parents took me there right after the song became a hit, sometime in ’77 or ‘78.
At the time, there wasn’t much besides the old post office and general store. Over the years, I’ve visited a few times and every time there’s a suitably rustic building added to the complex that can be used for live music or other activities. It’s still a tiny spot a few miles outside of Fredricksburg.
Anyway, I have a few venues or locations I’ve always wanted to play; Gruene Hall, Antone’s in Austin, and one of the stages at Luckenbach.
We are taking the man who is courting my daughter around the state, trying to get to know him and introduce him to our culture to ready him for the insanity of Texas (he’s half-Finnish/half-Chilean, raised in Finland and Sweden, living half the year in Denmark and half the year in Namibia and South Africa, doing missionary work…it gets even more confusing, but he’s a good guy and I think I like him).
So we took him to Fort Worth, Austin and Fredricksburg (we’re climbing Enchanted Rock tomorrow), and tonight we took him to Luckenbach.
They had a rotating cast of acoustic players at the little outdoor stage—they ranged from good to freakin’ awesome. One of them mentioned there was a “house guitar” and said anyone could join. I asked to play, and used the cheap little Rogue acoustic (set up surprisingly well, and surprisingly stable in tuning) to play a song I wrote.
They were politely reserved when I first sat down, but enthusiastically joined in and really seemed to enjoy my performance…which was a melancholy song I wrote the day my grandmother died.
So I got to play on stage in Luckenbach, and play a song I wrote!!
One more thing off the bucket list!
At the end of my song, they were much more welcoming and friendly; they complimented my song (and seemed very sincere).
I told them my daughter and a family friend (who joined us on the Fredricksburg trip) were even better singers, and they joined us onstage to sing “Jackson” by Johnny and June Cash. They (the musicians) loved it and complimented our voices and performance again.
Thrilling day.
So now I gotta go for Gruene Hall and Antone’s…
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