Stories & Songs: An Evening with Radney Foster & Kelly Willis

Radney Foster and Kelly Willis are playing together at the Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater in the Tobin Center on Friday, December 11. It's a double bill of two Texas songwriters who've each spent decades in the country and Americana scenes, and the show is billed as Stories & Songs.

Foster first made a name for himself as half of the duo Foster & Lloyd, whose 'Crazy Over You' became the first duo debut single to top the Country charts. He went solo in the early 90s with the critically acclaimed Del Rio, Texas 1959, and since then he's earned a reputation as a songwriter's songwriter. His songs have been recorded by Keith Urban, the Chicks, Hootie & the Blowfish, and George Benson, and his own hits like 'Just Call Me Lonesome', 'Nobody Wins', and 'Texas In 1880' are still played worldwide. His most recent project, For You To See The Stars, is a two-part work that pairs a book of short fiction with a collection of songs.

Kelly Willis started singing professionally at 16, fronting the rockabilly band Kelly and the Fireballs in the DC area. From there she moved to Austin and was signed by MCA's Tony Brown after an introduction by Nanci Griffith. Like Foster, she's spent her career working within the Texas country and Americana traditions.

With the Stories & Songs title, the evening is set up around the songs and the stories behind them. You'll get the music, but you'll also get the context that usually stays in the studio or the writing room. It's a night for anyone who likes the songwriting side of country as much as the singing. The show is at the Carlos Alvarez Studio Theater, one of the smaller spaces inside the Tobin Center, on Friday, December 11.