Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Butch Hancock with opening act: Colin Gilmore and Rory Hancock (sons)
Jimmie Dale Gilmore has been writing and playing songs for more than 50 years. His music eludes categorization, blending elements of folk, rock, country, blues and bluegrass. His recordings have earned three Grammy nominations in both Contemporary Folk and Traditional Folk categories and he was named Country Artist of the Year three years running by Rolling Stone Magazine. His high and lonesome vocal style, coupled with sometimes mystical and poetic lyrics has led to musical brandings such as Sagebrush Soul, Zen Country and Western Beat. Along with Joe Ely and Butch Hancock, Gilmore's legendary band The Flatlanders has been credited as fathers of the Alt-Country movement.
Born in Amarillo, Gilmore's musical roots began in Tulia, a small West Texas town where his father played lead guitar in a country band. When Gilmore was in grade school the family moved to Lubbock known for being the starting point for a surprising number of musicians, including Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, and Gilmore's long-time friends Butch Hancock, Terry Allen, and Joe Ely. Gilmore met Hancock when they were both 12 and they have been friends and frequent musical collaborators ever since. Gilmore later met Allen who he says inspired him to write his own songs. His friend Joe Ely introduced him to the music of Townes Van Zandt and a few years later, Gilmore, Ely and Hancock formed The Flatlanders. The group recorded its first album in Nashville in 1972. Defying categorization turns out not to be the way to start out in Nashville, so the album was released only on 8-track and not promoted. The band went their different ways by the end of that year.
Gilmore joined an Ashram in New Orleans then moved to Denver, worked as a janitor in a synagogue, and did not record another album for 16 years. In 1980 Glimore returned to Austin where he began playing regular gigs in local clubs. Finally, in 1988, Gilmore released his debut solo album, Fair and Square produced by Lloyd Maines.
These days Jimmie is still touring, singing and playing music, oftentimes with one or more of the big beautiful musical community he feels fortunate to be part of. In 2018, he played with Dave Alvin, Colin Gilmore, Butch Hancock and Joe Ely, Carrie Rodriguez, Ruthie Foster, Bill Kirchen, Marty Muse, Christine Albert, Chris Gage, and others. He also enjoys leading songwriting workshops, writing songs and occasionally, and randomly, appearing in movies such as the Big Lebowski, Parkland, and The Thing Called Love.
Butch Hancock is a country/folk music recording artist and song writer. He was born July 12, 1945 in Lubbock, Texas. As Hancock is a member of the Flatlanders along with Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore but he has principally performed a solo career.Hancock thrives as a modern-day renaissance person. "I was always advised not to spread myself too thin," Hancock told Steve Pond in the Los Angeles Times. "So naturally, that's what I've done." Hancock wore many artistic hats, but he wore none prouder than his gift as a musician, singer, and songwriter. With a dry, world-weary voice similar to Bob Dylan's and a songwriting style filled with puns and humorous word play, his songs are wry and tender, wistful and wise. Through a series of album releases and live performances, Hancock's music reverberated throughout the Austin music scene in the 1970's leaving its mark on the burgeoning progressive country movement. "Here in the Republic of Texas," wrote Christopher Hess in the Austin Chronicle, "ex-Flatlander, Terlingua resident, and Lubbock Mafioso, Butch Hancock is a bona fide national treasure."
Colin Gilmore grew up in Lubbock, Texas, spending many nights as a child in nightclubs like Stubbs, where he witnessed songwriters like Joe Ely, Terry Allen, and his own father, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, bring the stage to life. He later developed a taste for Buddy Holly, Townes Van Zandt, and bands like The Clash and The Pogues. Since his teenage years, Colin has been a front man for punk rock bands, released 3 critically acclaimed albums, wrote and selected songs for the 2017 feature film Barracuda and garnered his own fan base touring worldwide. He is currently collaborating with percussionist - songwriter extraordinaire Mike Meadows, as well as West Texas Exiles (a band from Lubbock, Amarillo and El Paso).
His musical style blends storytelling, gritty guitar licks, harmony-rich arrangements, and a dedication to keeping a vibrant local music community alive. He is forging his own musical path, while carrying on the tradition of Texas singer/songwriters, forged by his father Butch.
