Robert Earl Keen News

Just last year, Texas singer Robert Earl Keen wrote an article about Vandiver's indelible mark on Texas's music scene.

Texas troubadour Robert Earl Keen has always had the knack for writing witty, sharply observed story-songs that showcase literary flair but don’t take themselves too seriously.

Texas troubadour Robert Earl Keen has always had the knack for writing witty, sharply observed story-songs that showcase literary flair but don't take themselves too seriously.

"THE FRONT PORCH SONG" "This old porch is a steamin' greasy plate of enchiladas/With lots of cheese and onions and a guacamole salad/You can get them at the LaSalle Hotel in old downtown/With iced tea and a waitress who will smile every time." Keen says "That is just an extended metaphor about how that porch made me feel.

I've got a Robert Earl Keen interview in today's Inquirer in which the Texas songwriter, who plays Union Transfer with his band on Wednesday, talks, among other things, about "The Road Goes On And On," his song dis directed at Toby Keith.

ON THE FACE of it, Austin, Texas-based talent Robert Earl Keen seems an unlikely booking for the hipster scene at Union Transfer.

Robert Earl Keen's 16 albums over the past three decades, including his just-released "Ready for Confetti," haven't made him a household name -- and that's a positive for those who search for honest music that doesn't bend to popular pressure.