Jerry Jeff Walker's Birthday Bash

We've been sort of focused on working on projects around the place lately so haven't been out to enjoy any of the local music events since last year - quite a drought!

Steve discovered the perfect event to change that - the Texas Bash, Jerry Jeff Walker's annual birthday celebration event at the Paramount up in Austin.

The Paramount is a beautiful old theater and it's a treat just to mingle with the other folks, sip a drink and admire the architecture while waiting for the performance to begin. The Paramount was built in 1915, and was then known as the Majestic.
It's aged a bit since then, but has seen thousands of performances. Major restoration work was done in the 1980's, and more is needed. It's a constant battle to maintain the elegant murals, light fixtures and furnishings.

Fresco on the acoustical shell above the stage

Jerry certainly knows how to celebrate a birthday! He always starts out at the Paramount, and then a few days later takes a party bus gathering down to Gruene Hall. This year he celebrated his 70 years in the usual grand style.

Though Jerry's an original member of the "outlaw country" genre, along with Waylon and Willie (he's immortalized in the Brooks and Dunn song, Ballad of Jerry Jeff Walker ) he's probably best known to the general audience as the author of "Mr. Bojangles" (Jerry's 2008 performance).

The evening's program included that title, as well as "Navajo Blanket" , well known by fans of Ian Tyson who included it on one of his albums (JJWalker, 2008 version). He also wrote "Trashy Women" (Confederate Railroad does the version currently on the radio). The show included a variety of Jerry's titles as well as a few by other country song writers. 

The college students in the crowd chimed in full force when he sang their favorites, including "Red Neck Mother" .  There's more to Jerry and the band than honky-tonk numbers. We thoroughly enjoyed the instrumentation, and watched in amazement as one of the band, Chris Gage, switched repeatedly  between guitar, accordion, and mandolin. The softer side of their music can be heard in the song "Down in Belize", posted on Chris Gage's web site. Though Austin is Jerry's official home, he has a second home in Belize and does an annual trip down there with fans.

Jerry is 70 this year, which may explain why he and his band did the whole show sitting down - not that he sat still. He can boogie better seated in a chair than most people can standing up! One of our favorite numbers of the evening was Jerry's rendition of Guy Clark's "Always Trust Your Cape" - good advice for life!