MUSIC

The Grand 1894 Opera House presents Jerry Jeff Walker, Saturday, January 1, 2011, at 8pm. "Mr. Bojangles" returns to The Grand for his annual New Year's concert.

Lone Star Legend Jerry Jeff Walker continues his long-standing tradition to kick off the New Year performing at Galveston’s Grand 1894 Opera House. Set for Saturday, January 1, at 8 pm, Walker returns for a night of heart-tugging ballads, toe-tapping melodies, and plenty of down-home fun. Whoop it up with Jerry Jeff and get your New Year off to a great start with such favorites as “L.A. Freeway,” “Mr. Bojangles,” and “Sangria Wine.”

Born in New York, Walker’s career began in the early ‘60s as he “gypsied” around from Key West to New Orleans, and finally settled in Texas. His first self-titled album for MCA Records in 1972 marked a watershed in his career. In Austin, Walker found the creative community that let him mix folk, rock, country, and “anything else that caught his ear.” By the time he went to the tiny Texas Hill Country town of Lukenbach in 1973 to record “Viva Terlingua,” Jerry Jeff Walker’s iconic status was firmly established.

Walker has played for several presidents, toured in Lear jets, and bought second homes in New Orleans and Belize. His band of musicians, known as the Lost Gonzo Band and the Gonzo Compadres, has been an indispensable part of this endless caravan. Yet even with all that, Walker still sees the world through troubadour’s eyes. His songs are the way he makes the world make sense. How he passes on stories of the people he meets and the way he feels on a given morning - has come full circle… back to his solitary singer-songwriter roots. You might say he was heading this way all along.

Come to The Grand and hear for yourself his “elastic, unqualifiedly, uniquely empathic music” as Jerry Jeff Walker “remains one of America’s musical landmarks.” This year’s show is “all Jerry Jeff… all evening long.