Butch Hancock News

CAMDEN : Alt- Country-folk Music Supergroup the Flatlanders return to Midcoast Maine to promote their acclaimed new album, "Hills and Valleys". The Flatlanders are Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock.

Music was the only path for Colin Gilmore, even though he didn't totally commit to it until his mid-20s. Gilmore, the son of famed Americana singing artist Jimmie Dale Gilmore, grew up as his father did in Lubbock, Texas.

Today's Birthdays: Movie director Monte Hellman is 77. Pianist Van Cliburn is 75.

The trio's latest album, Hills & Valleys , fits perfectly in the Obama era, one begun with a serious push to deal with the plethora of problems facing us the people.

Even over the phone, it's hard to mistake the voice of Jimmie Dale Gilmore . A high, dusty warble perfectly suited to the Panhandle plains from which it came, it's instantly, unmistakably recognizable, worthy of inclusion in the choir of uniquely American voices like Bob Dylan , Otis Redding and George Jones .

Texas' original super group, the Flatlanders, unites acclaimed Lone Star singer-songwriters Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock.

Braced by the intellectual energy of a 40-year friendship, members of the Flatlanders set their impressive solo careers aside long enough to write and record their most moving and impressive album to date.

I f there was such a thing as a "supergroup" of west Texas singer-songwriters, the Flatlanders would have to be it.

The May 28 show with the Flatlanders - the trio featuring alt-country icons Butch Hancock, Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore - at the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz has been canceled, according to the presenter, Snazzy Productions.

Every genre of music has its Ur-band, those lesser-known dudes who create the sound that goes mainstream without them.

AUDIO: Listen to The Flatlanders perform "Homeland Refugee" The Texas band Flatlanders, playing Salt Lake City on Sunday, come by their name honestly.