The party finally ends

The road goes on to Dallas' Deep Ellum for Robert Earl Keen's final tour

Robert Earl Keen is at the end of the road.

Photo by Melanie Maganias Nashan

The road, it seems, does not go on forever, and the party — at least the live one — is wrapping up for legendary Texas songwriter Robert Earl Keen. In January 2022, he announced his decision to retire at the top of his game, and the acclaimed musician is now making the most of his final touring year with a romping, rowdy set of shows across his home state of Texas — including in Dallas' Deep Ellum.

He'll bring his "World Tour of Texas" to The Factory in Deep Ellum for one night only, Wednesday, August 24. The next night he'll take the stage at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth. (It'll be a return "final tour" engagement in Fort Worth, as he just played there as part of the PBR World Finals Concert Series at Will Rogers Auditorium on May 21.)

“I’ve been blessed with a lifetime of brilliant, talented, colorful, electrical, magical folks throughout my life,” Keen shared in a video on his social media channels. “This chorus of joy, this parade of passion, this bull rush of creativity, this colony of kindness and generosity are foremost in my thoughts today. It’s with a mysterious concoction of joy and sadness that I want to tell you that as of September 4, 2022, I will no longer tour or perform publicly.”

The final leg of his final tour will kick off in Corpus Christi on August 4 and run through September 4, making stops at several Texas institutions, including two nights at the legendary Gruene Hall in New Braunfels (August 17-18), one show at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion near Houston (August 20), and two nights at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin (August 28-29).

With a catalog of 21 albums, his band of stellar musicians, and many thousands of shows under his belt, Keen has earned living-legend status in the Americana music world. A Houston native, he grew up on classic rock and Willie Nelson records, teaching himself the guitar by the time he entered Texas A&M University. Keen co-wrote “The Front Porch Song” with fellow Texas legend and friend Lyle Lovett, which both artists recorded on their debut albums.

Keen followed in the footsteps of some of the Lone Star State’s most revered singer-songwriters, producing and financing his first album No Kinda Dancer before moving to Nashville. By the time he moved back to Texas, he had a publishing deal, a new label, and a national booking agent. He released The Live Album and West Textures, the seminal album which debuted what remains his all-time fan favorite, "The Road Goes on Forever."

Since then, two more albums, A Bigger Piece of Sky and Gringo Honeymoon, produced instant classics like "Corpus Christi Bay," "Gringo Honeymoon," "Dreadful Selfish Crime," and "Merry Christmas from the Family.” Keen’s acclaim as a writer has earned him membership in the Texas Heritage Songwriter Hall of Fame, The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Texas Institute of Letters.

While Keen will continue to write music, host his popular podcast, support young artists, and follow his artistic muse wherever it takes him, his already-sold-out final public concert will be September 4 at John T. Floores Country Store in Helotes, Texas, followed by a fan appreciation party at the same venue on September 5.

Below is the complete list of dates and venues for his World Tour of Texas. Local presale tickets will go on sale on Thursday, May 26, from 10 am-10 pm. All tickets will be on sale Friday, May 27, at 10 am, through his tour site.

August 4 — Concrete Street Amphitheater, Corpus Christi
August 5 — Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, San Antonio
August 6 — KOKE Fest, Hutto
August 12 — Starlight Ranch, Amarillo
August 17-18 — Gruene Hall, New Braunfels
August 19 — The Grand 1894 Opera House, Galveston
August 20 — Texas Uprising, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, Houston
August 21 — Julie Rogers Theater, Beaumont
August 24 — The Factory Deep Ellum, Dallas
August 25 — Billy Bob’s Texas, Fort Worth
August 26 — Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center, Midland
August 28-29 — ACL Live at the Moody Theater, Austin
September 1 — Floore’s Country Store, Helotes (sold out)
September 2 — TBA, College Station
September 3-4 — Floore’s Country Store, Helotes (sold out)

texas music tours

Movie Review

Horrific filmmaking makes DC villain Clayface less appealing

Photo by Parisa Taghizadeh

Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie in Clayface.

The history of DC Comics in movies has been hit-and-miss, especially when it comes to anything not directly involving Batman or Superman. Over the years, films have been headlined by heroes like Catwoman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Shazam, the Flash, and more, and while some succeeded, none left a lasting mark on moviegoers’ imaginations.

Much like they did with Joker, the powers-that-be behind DC Studios productions are trying to entice viewers with a no-holds-barred story in Clayface. Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is an A-list movie actor with both critical and commercial appeal. Unfortunately, a night of celebration for his recent Oscar nomination leads to him sleeping with Theresa (Ruby Sear), the girlfriend of Markos Szabo (David Dencik), a prominent mobster in Gotham City. Markos then enacts revenge by taking a razor to Matt’s face.

Desperate to find a way to look like his old self again, Matt seeks out Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Naomi Ackie), who’s conducting cutting-edge nanotechnology research that can heal any kind of damage. While the solution works on Matt, it also has the side effect of his body doing unintended things, even morphing into those with whom he comes into contact. After initially struggling with his new body, Matt decides to use his powers to enact revenge on those who’ve done him wrong.

Directed by James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and written by Mike Flanagan (The Life of Chuck) and Hossein Amini, the film is only intermittently entertaining as it tries to sell its ridiculous premise. Right from the start, it seems like the filmmakers have been given a limited budget, as everything from the sets to the CGI to the stilted dialogue feels cheap. For a film coming from a major studio, the whole thing comes off as schlocky and undercooked.

Watkins and his team try to make up for that shoddiness by delivering R-rated thrills like nudity and body horror, but those elements can only distract for so long. Much of the film is spent dealing with Matt’s trauma, and the downbeat nature of his body issues combined with very little action makes the movie not very fun to watch. The film also tries to make hay with more than a doctor-patient bond between Caitlyn — who has a boyfriend on the police force — and Matt, but like the most of the film, it never connects.

It’s not until the final third of the movie that the filmmakers land on the tone they should have been using the whole time. Matt’s ability to transform himself, while illogical and confounding, provides multiple over-the-top, funny moments and some legitimately creative kills. Instead of taking forever to set up Matt/Clayface’s origin story, Watkins and his team should have just cut to the chase and let him loose to see what the character could truly do.

This is the first big role for Welsh actor Harries, and while he’s not exactly magnetic, he proves himself worthy of the lead role. Ackie is also fine, but after several years of trying to advance up the Hollywood ladder, she may be running out of time to show she’s a star. The supporting cast has a couple of familiar faces, but it’s mostly lesser-known actors who do nothing to indicate they deserve bigger showcases.

It’s difficult to imagine any non-DC Comics fans having a strong attachment to the character of Clayface, and the film fails to make the case that he should be a continuing character. The poor quality of almost everything that appears on screen is indicative of the kind of effort and money that was put into the film, and sometimes you really do get what you pay for.

---

Clayface opens in theaters on October 23.

movies film clayface

The party finally ends

The road goes on to Dallas' Deep Ellum for Robert Earl Keen's final tour

Movie Review

Horrific filmmaking makes DC villain Clayface less appealing

Dessert and wine pair up at new Bordeaux & Creme lounge coming to Plano

Remembering the 'Godfather of Dallas Tex-Mex' and more top stories

Family-owned whiskey distillery opening in the Texas Hill Country