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TICKETS TO MAJOR SHOWS ARE NOW AVAILABLE THRU Front Gate Tickets Or by phone at 888‑512‑SHOW.
Tickets are also available at CD World, GOOD RECORDS, and Bill’s Records & Tapes .

See videos from past shows at YouTube.com/AllGoodChannel

Friday, July 3 at 9PM

Thursday, July 9 at 8PM

A little background: The former punk-rocking guitarist for Austin’s Skunks first came to national attention when he rode shotgun for the brothers Escovedo in the True Believers. “One Moment To Another”, his signature song for that band, was subsequently recorded by both Kris McKay and Patty Smyth, while his guitar has graced the bands of John Doe, Kelly Willis and Calvin (big in France) Russell. Over the years, Graham has continued to wrestle with his own songwriting demons, trying to express the universal concerns of love, loss and renewal in a manner that rings truer and hits harder than typical troubadour fare. ―DON MCLEESE, No Depression

Singer, songwriter and guitarist John Dee Graham is a native Texan with a deep, eclectic musical history. The writer Don Henry Ford Jr. describes Jon Dee Graham as “unvarnished, raw and gritty.” He can sing soft introspective songs or he can blow you out of your seat with pounding rock and roll. April, 2006 marks Graham’s return to independence with the CD release of Full on Freedom Records, Graham’s 5th solo release. He was voted “Musician of the Year” at the Austin Music Awards during the 2006 South By Southwest Music Conference.

Critics have high praise for Graham: Richard Skanse of Rolling Stone describes Graham as being “ferocious with primal roar as human as he grapples everyman’s struggle.”

“A master songwriter and guitarist, Graham creates tales of truth and hope.” ―Austin Chronicle

“[Graham’s] gravelly voice continues to age like a fine wine, his songwriting reigns supreme, his music is a standard hoisted in the name of maturity without compromise.” ―High Bias

“[Jon Dee has] channels into John Updike territory and, in the process, delivered the most complete album of his solo career.” ―Houston Press

Jon Dee Graham is a combination of solid musicianship, salt-of-the-earth songwriting with a gravelly-voiced delivery.” ―Michael Corcoran, Austin American Statesman

Friday, July 10 at 9PM

Friday, July 17 at 7PM

I remember sitting in an airport waiting for a plane and my drummer Kenney running up and saying 'there's a girl here you gotta hear' and we walked up and there she was this beautiful girl with a fiddle standing by herself and smiling and playing and I said 'How about some Faded Love?'and she played so pretty that Kenney and I missed our plane. America needs pizzicato. ―Chris Isaak

Rod Picott and Amanda Shires A yankee singer-songwriter and a Texas fiddler might seem an unlikely pairing but the natural chemistry between Rod Picott and Amanda Shires is undeniable. Rising from the sun-driven plains of West Texas is fiddler and singer/songwriter Amanda Shires and from the northern mill towns of New England is Rod Picott. At 16 Amanda Shires was playing fiddle with The Texas Playboys, an auspicious start that testifies to her natural talent and soulful delivery. From there, Shires went on to be one of the founding members of Lubbock's Thrift Store Cowboys, releasing 4 albums independently and reaching top ten status on many CMJ charts around the country as well as becoming the number one selling act in 2007 for the respected internet retailer Miles Of Music. In 2008 one of Amanda Shires compositions was featured on NPR's All Songs Considered. As an in demand side player Amanda has worked with Texas legends Billy Joe Shaver, and Gary P Nunn as well as Folk/Bluegrass favorites The Rowen Brothers, Whit Smith’s Hot Jazz Caravan, and one of Indie rock's hottest acts Devotchka. Her first solo album release Being Brave from 2005 , mixes brilliant arrangements and performances of traditional fiddle music along with several of her own compositions. Now 25 Amanda Shires stands in front of an already impressive body of work and on the edge of a career in full bloom.

In 1994 Rod Picott moved to Nashville TN. where he established himself as one of the better new writers in town as well as opening shows for Alison Krauss and Union Station and Gillian Welch. His co-write Broke Down with Slaid Cleaves was the most played song on Americana radio in 2001. Rod Picott has released 5 albums since 2001 to stellar reviews both stateside and overseas. Picott's debut release, Tiger Tom Dixon's Blues received airplay from Bob Harris on the BBC, and Music Row magazine’s Robert Oermann called the debut, "the birth of a major, major artist". 2002's Straydogs featured guest appearances from Alison Krauss and frequent co-writer Slaid Cleaves and found it's way onto the Americana chart for 5 weeks. Released in November 2004, Girl From Arkansas brought Picott's eye for lyric detail and whiskey-voiced delivery together with a newfound intimacy. In 2005, a collection of live performances titled Travel Log was released. Recorded in front of a small crowd in Charlotte N.C. the cd documents a soulful performance with accompaniment from dobro and lapsteel player Matt Mauch. In 2006 Picott co-produced, [with David Henry] Slaid Cleaves' Rounder Records release Unsung to great reviews. In the summer of 2007 Rod assembled some of his favorite musicians and recorded another album Summerbirds. Maverick magazine called Summerbirds "as damn near perfect as you can get" and gave the album a full five star review.

Amanda Shires and Rod Picott met at the Folk Alliance Conference in Austin Tx. in 2006. Over the following 2 years they toured throughout the States and Europe playing more than 150 shows together. In the winter of 2008 they began co-writing and recording their debut duo project. Rod Picott and Amanda Shires toured The U.K. and Europe in support of their debut duo release, titled "Sew Your Heart with Wires" . The album is a completely acoustic recording featuring only their two voices, Picott's guitar and Shires' fiddle and Ukulele. The songs range from a murder ballad [Little Darlin'] to a gospel rave up [When You Get Your Story Told] to an outlaw narrative [Ruby]. All ten tracks were co-written by Rod Picott and Amanda Shires. The album's sound is rich, full of texture and drenched with soul and reverb. The album, distributed by Proper Distribution, reached 7 on the Euro/Americana chart and was voted 4 best debut album of 2008 by the FAR Chart reporters.

Saturday, August 1 at 9PM

Kinda sorta remember Sorta? Its songwriter and leader goes it alone in his debut with Mount Pelée, and the surprises are plentiful

Although you may own all the Sorta back catalogs, might have attended their gigs with religious zeal, memorized the words to every song, and be the virtual president of the gone-but-not-forgotten band’s fan club, you’re still in for 44- plus minutes of surprise when you drop your laser on Trey Johnson’s debut CD, Mount Pelée. “To me it all sounds like songs that basically came from the same well,” Johnson says with characteristic self-eff acement, “but according to Don [producer Don Cento] it sounds dramatically different. He was wonderful about taking these songs and presenting them in different ways.” The 40-year-old Johnson, who’s best known to fans as Sorta’s songwriter, voice and musical compass, isn’t one to recycle ideas or fluff up the pillows in his comfort zone. With Mount Pelée, he comes of age as a mature songsmith on a creative high-wire and establishes himself as an artist who can stand on his own two feet without a band, drawing instead, on empathetic session players and an imaginative production team to realize his vision.

For Johnson, a Dallas native who’s married and the father of two, songwriting has always been key: His influences range from Dylan to Cobain to “all the Hanks” and beyond. “Stumbling on melodies that seem fresh and alive is the most exciting thing for me,” he enthuses. “And one thing that’s really influenced this record is children’s books: I’ve been swimming in nursery rhymes for the last five years, and a few of these songs started as children’s songs, bouncy and really repetitive.” In producer/arranger Cento and co-producer/engineer Stuart Sikes he’s found a dream team of kindred spirits, and the collaborative gestalt imbues Mount Pelée with the élan of arrival. “Stuart likes pure sound, and I do, too,” Johnson says. “Sonically, he doesn’t want to just fill up empty space, or put butter all over the sound of a particular instrument. Don was willing to take chances and put weird faces on things. I’d bring in songs that wound up being something totally different than I’d initially thought. It was great, and very exciting.”

Unlike Johnson’s earlier, guitar-driven material, most of the songs on Mount Pelée were written at the piano: The songwriter credits that departure as a significant change in direction. Cento’s astute arrangements, which involve everything from horn section to string section, Hammond to Wurlitzer, mandolin to female voices, recall at times the pioneering work of Jack Nitzsche with Neil Young, Jon Brion with Aimee Mann and T Bone Burnett with Sam Phillips. As a first-time producer, his contributions to Mount Pelée are auspicious. Immediate standout tracks include the wryly humorous Unfavorable Way, the artful chamber-pop of Old Reactions, and the quietly dramatic confessional that is Struggle to Find. “I’m as happy right now as I’ve ever been in my whole life, and certainly my family is a huge part of that,” Johnson acknowledges. “And I’m so pleased to be able to be a songwriter, and thankful I made that decision.” -Steve Carter, The Radar

Ladies and Gentleman, on January 14, 1994, with no idea what would become of this effort, we produced a show at the Sons of Hermann Hall featuring MaryAnn Price - once a member of Dan Hicks & his Hot Licks, then a month or two later - The Bad Livers with a rather new local act, The Old 97s opening the show. Well, a lot has happened in the meantime!

Many wonderful nights of Music & Dancing have ensued, with nary a scrap or scrape (well, that is if you don't count EVERY TIME Junior Brown came to town!). We swang 'em thru the Swing Era, we introduced Wilco, Son Volt, Whiskeytown with Ryan Adams, and many more acts that have long since out-grown our modest little Dance Hall on the "Country Side" of Deep Ellum. This past year saw visits from Ian McLagen (Small Faces), Tom Russell, Nick Lowe (one of our proudest moments, ever), and many Texas Legends or soon to be Legends like, Joe Ely, Billy Joe Shaver, Ray Wylie Hubbard, The Derailers, Dale Watson, Hayes Carll, Max Stalling, the Tejas Brothers and more. and also, the mortar that held the bricks together, great local, State and National indie rock acts such as The Apples in Stereo, Shellac, Salim Nourallah, Doug Burr ...

These past 15 Years has been an embarrassment of riches.. a true blessing, and "a long strange Trip", indeed. My deepest thanks and appreciation go out to all those who have contributed to the FUN and SUCCESS of "Saturday Nites at the Sons" and all the fine evenings we've enjoyed. To name but a few: Jo Nicodemus (the Rock on which the Sons stands), Family Man Sam & Family Ma'am Michelle, Barbara Norris (Mundy), Ruth Aaronson (RIP), Carrie Gunther, Helen, Frank & Kim and our dear, dear Jennifer Wycoff, the Sons of Hermann Hall is operated entirely by VOLUNTEERS, and this historic place - circa 1911 - is one of Dallas' Greatest Treasures.

PLEASE JOIN US this Month and all 2009 long, in Celebrating FIFTEEN YEARS of Great Texas Music ... and Much More !!!

Thursday, June 4 at 9PM

Friday, June 5 at 9PM

It's a little hard to put one's finger on just why I thought they were so so good: They hold back, hinting at a blow-out that only occasionally comes made all the more satisfying by its infrequency, riling up the crowd by rolling through their terse tunes with only a little added live muscle, and letting Webb do his thing all over them. When they go for it, it's astonishing: "Nighttime Anytime (It's Alright)" is one of the more well-crafted songs of the decade, and live, they really peal out the back end with those prickly guitars and that still-remarkable hook.

The rest of the set found them playing with this loud-soft dynamic to tremendous effect, and by the time it was over, I was simultaneously all riled up and all smiles. I overheard Dave and Bryan talking a little later in the evening, and Webb called it the worst set they'd played in Austin, too jazzy, full of blue notes. But it's those occasional rough patches that give the otherwise musically straightforward Constantines their palpable grit, and if this is, as Dave wrote the other day, "grown man" music, well sir, these guys make being a grown man sound like a pretty rocky thing. ―Paul Thompson pitchfork.com at SXSW

Saturday, June 6 at 9PM

One of the principal architects of the Southern California country-rock sound, Souther famously played a key role in the formation of the Eagles and co-wrote their hits “Heartache Tonight,” “Victim of Love,” “New Kid In Town,” and “Best of My Love,” as well as writing Linda Ronstadt’s classics “Faithless Love,” “Simple Man, Simple Dream,” and “Prisoner in Disguise.”

A highly sought-after songwriter and session man, Souther also released four critically acclaimed solo albums -- “John David Souther,” (1972) “Black Rose,” (1976), “You’re Only Lonely” (1979) and “Home By Dawn” (1984) -- and two albums as a member of The Souther Hillman Furay Band, the super group which united Souther with Poco’s Richie Furay and the Byrds’ Chris Hillman.

But in 1985, after countless hit records, Grammy nominations, American Music Awards, and gold and platinum albums, JD Souther decided to walk away from his solo career. According to Souther, “I wanted to be a better musician and songwriter. I wanted to just stay home, practice, read, and write.”

Relocating to Nashville (after Northern California, New York, Japan, and Ireland for half a year), Souther wrote for and with artists as diverse as India.Arie, Brooks & Dunn, Jimmy Buffet, Glen Campbell, Joe Cocker, Crosby Stills & Nash, Diamond Rio, Dixie Chicks, Don Henley, Raul Malo, One Flew South, Roy Orbison, Bernadette Peters, Bonnie Raitt, George Strait, Brian Wilson, Trisha Yearwood, Warren Zevon, and most recently the newly re-formed Eagles, who chose Souther’s protest song “How Long” as the debut single from their first studio album in twenty-eight years. And now Souther returns with his first studio album in twenty-five: IF THE WORLD WAS YOU.

IF THE WORLD WAS YOU is both a bold step forward and a return to Souther’s Amarillo, Texas roots, where the young multi-instrumentalist grew up listening closely to Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, and steeped in the improvisational sensibilities of John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk and Miles Davis as well as in the music of country and rock pioneers Hank Williams, Buddy Holly, and Roy Orbison, all of whose influences are evident. Recorded live in the studio fronting a five-piece ensemble, two horns, piano, bass, and drums, Souther has crafted an inventive new musical setting for his characteristically playful and literate musings on life, love, and politics. The work of a musician at the height of his considerable powers, IF THE WORLD WAS YOU is whip-smart, adventurous, seductive, and shot through with the sublime longing that characterizes Souther’s finest work. And his voice -- one of the most plaintive and soulful in rock ‘n roll -- has never sounded so immediate and so powerful.

Saturday, July 11 at 9PM

MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS EXPECTED VERY SOON.
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