at Free Shane Center Summer Outdoor Concert Series
The Shane Center’s free and family-friendly Summer Outdoor Concert Series (SOCS) continues the season with TESSY LOU and the SHOTGUN STARS on Thursday, June 20th. Concessions are available for purchase beginning at 4 pm; the event runs from 5-8 pm.
Making their Shane Center debut, Tessy Lou and the Shotgun Stars play Straight Up Country Music. Tessy Lou Williams was born to sing. Her parents, Kenny and Claudia Williams, started the band Montana Rose and nurtured a love of making and performing music into a family business of sorts for their three children. “I continue to play music because there’s literally nothing else in the entire world I’d rather do,” Tessy Lou says. “It’s tough, it’s trying, it has its loneliness and isolation from the rest of the world, but it’s also incredible. This world is the only one I know and the only way I know how to exist.” Tessy Lou’s love of traditional country music spans decades—her whole life. She grew up in Montana, the daughter of two musicians who relocated to the small town of Willow Creek (population: 210) from Nashville. Their three kids traveled with them often, experiencing life on the road surrounded by talented musicians and top-notch songwriting. After overcoming a paralyzing case of stage fright, Tessy Lou began performing at the historic Pony Bar. Soon after, Tessy Lou and the Shotgun Stars were born, and the trio, including Bryan Paugh (fiddle) and her dad, Kenny Williams (bass), built a following around her home state. The band moved to Austin, Texas, and were discovered by Warehouse Records at Poodie’s Roadhouse, a fitting place for the stars to align for someone whose love of honky-tonks runs deep. The trio released two albums together. With a lifetime of experience, almost a decade under her belt in the Austin music scene and a new project as a solo artist, one thing is unmistakably clear—lovers of country music should keep their eyes on Tessy Lou Williams. It’s in her blood, after all.
Next week, SOCS will present John Roberts y Pan Blanco bringing a mix of Funk, West African beats, Salsa, Jazz and Soul music for your listening pleasure.
Bring along a chair and find a spot close to the stage while enjoying a selection of beer, wine, and other refreshments by the Shane Center and grab a delicious meal from Bad Burger and Hot Dog Champion. Please no outside food or drink. Bike parking is available at the Shane Center with additional parking available at the Lincoln School.
The Summer Outdoor Concert Series is sponsored by Donald B. Gimbel, Livingston Healthcare and Marcia McCrum – in Memory of Bliss McCrum. The Shane Center thanks Mighty Fine Time Live Events for their partnership in procuring talent for this concert series.
For more information on the Shane Lalani Center for the Arts, please go to www.theshanecenter.org.