Red Dirt musicians pay tribute to Robert Earl Keen

Robert Earl Keen  

From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

Americana music icon is honored in CD set
Robert Earl Keen’s influence celebrated 

Often called “the father of Americana music,” Texas songwriter Robert Earl Keen is celebrated on the live album “Undone: A MusicFest Tribute to Robert Earl Keen.”

The two-CD set, released last month, features popular Texas/Red Dirt talents such as Reckless Kelly, Cody Canada, Jason Boland, Randy Rogers, Bonnie Bishop, Wade Bowen and more performing a range of Keen’s classic songs.

“It was really cool to see just how many people have been influenced by him and just kind of a reminder of how many great songs he’s written,” singer-songwriter Willy Braun of Austin, Texas-based band Reckless Kelly said in a recent phone interview.

“Most of the people came up with really original, cool arrangements and different approaches to the tunes. It ended up being a really, really cool record.”

The album was recorded at the 2008 MusicFest Americana festival in Steamboat, Colo. As part of the festival’s annual “Tribute to a Legend,” organizers partnered with The Center for Texas Music History at Texas State University to put on and record the tribute show.