Casper Rawls

Casper Rawls plays The Continental Club on Thursday, August 20, with doors opening at 6 PM and the show starting at 6:30 PM. It's a familiar room for him; he's a regular on the Continental stage and has been a part of the Austin roots music community since the 1970s, when he left his hometown of Helotes to find his place here.

For most of those years, Rawls has been known as one of the city's most respected sidemen. He's played on more than 75 albums, working alongside names like Toni Price, Doyle Bramhall, The Derailers, The LeRoi Brothers, Miss Lavelle White, and John Juke Logan. His signature sound comes from the B-Bender Telecaster, that distinct, sliding twang that sits right at the heart of the Texas country and roots tradition. It took a long time for him to step out from the side of the stage, but his first solo album, Brave World, finally put his own songwriting and vocals front and center.

He's also left his mark on the local scene as an organizer. In 1992, he founded the annual Buck Owens Birthday Party at the Continental Club, a benefit concert that ran as a beloved local institution for more than two decades. His own sets draw from that same well: classic country, Bakersfield twang, blues, and rockabilly, mixed with stories from a lifetime spent playing with some of Texas' finest musicians. If you've spent any time listening to the roots side of the city over the last few decades, you've likely heard his guitar work on someone else's record; this is a chance to hear him leading the room himself.

Tickets are $20 cash at the door, according to capacity. Doors open at 6 PM, and the music starts at 6:30 PM at The Continental Club, 1315 South Congress Avenue.