For fans of Robert Earl Keen, what could possibly be more fun than being one of the lucky ones in attendance for the Texas legend’s annual Fan Appreciation Day show at Floore’s Country Store? Well, the man himself simply figures that two days might tip the scales. This Labor Day weekend, September 1st and 2nd, Keen and friends will roll his Fan Appreciation Day model into the first ever Robert Earl Keen’s Annual Homecoming Weekend, hosted and emceed by Storme Warren.
This year’s expansion includes an intimate, ticketed show inside of the legendary Floore’s Country Store in Helotes, Texas, on September 1st. Keen has invited some very special guests to join him for a guitar pull, or what some may call a song swap. Those set to be swapping songs alongside Keen? That would be Grammy-winning songwriter Liz Rose, ACM Song of the Year winner Chuck Cannon, and a surprise guest. Tickets are limited and on-sale now at this link.
September 2nd, Labor Day proper, keeps the running tradition of Keen’s outdoor Floore’s events from the last few years, with an entire day of Lloyd Maines’ All-Star Classic Country Karaoke featuring an ace house band of Texas’ finest players including Lloyd Manes, David Grissom, Chris Gage, Glenn Fukunaga, and Dave Sanger. The house band will play host as TBA artists shimmy on and off stage for short sets. And as always with REK and Floore’s, expect the unexpected as there will be many surprise guests popping by to join the party. Robert Earl Keen Band will close out the night with a full-band set not often seen in this day and age.
Like Keen’s previous Fan Appreciation Day shows, September 2’s event is free and lottery-based. The only way to gain entry to this is by entering the lottery here. (A note for fans wanting to travel from out of state: if you purchase tickets to the guitar-pull on Sept. 1, you automatically will be given access to the free show on Sept. 2.)
Additionally, every purchase of the Western Chill box set at the REK webstore in July counts as an entry to win a signed Western Chill-themed guitar and a pair of tickets to REK Fan Appreciation Day.
“Celebrating my fans is a cornerstone of my career,” says Robert Earl Keen. “For the past 2 years, we’ve hosted folks from across the country, the globe even, for a free show that has a singular goal: showering my fans in appreciation, giving them back the love they’ve given me since the 1980s.” To the past lucky lottery winners, the concept is similar to last year, with a few upgrades and expansions. For the uninitiated, firstly: welcome to the party! Secondly: the basics are listed below.
"There has always been a very special connection between Robert Earl Keen, his vast fanbase and Floore's Country Store,” says owner Mark McKinney. “Homecoming Weekend will annually cement the tradition and legacy of REK celebrating with and giving back to those loyal fans. The team at Floore's Country Store could not be more honored and excited to host the continuation of this great tradition."
What: Robert Earl Keen’s Annual Homecoming Weekend which includes Fan Appreciation Day, an event where fans enter a lottery to win tickets and if selected, are treated to a free all-day outdoor party on Labor Day hosted by REK, and featuring a house band with many surprise guests and sit-ins. New this year, on Sept. 1, REK and high caliber, handpicked by REK songwriting friends Liz Rose, Chuck Cannon, and a surprise guest will swap stories and songs in an intimate setting inside at Floore’s. The song swap is limited in capacity and ticketed. Both nights will be hosted and emceed by Storme Warren.
Where: Floore’s Country Store in Helotes, TX. World famous for 82 years and counting.
When: September 1 and 2.
How: Purchase tickets for REK & his high-rolling songwriting friends’ song swap on Sept. 1 AND the lottery for Sept. 2’s all-day, free party.
Why: Because the party never ends and because REK loves his fans.
Earlier this summer, Keen and his band digitally released a brand new LP, Western Chill, of which The Wall Street Journal wrote, “The sounds and sights Mr. Keen and band have concocted and assembled in this box work as road maps toward getting happily de-stressed and deliberately lost.” Copies of Western Chill will be available at the party and rumor has it that Keen might even sit down and sign a few. Copies of the ambitious box set—including a double sleeve album (14 songs total), a graphic illustrated novel that tells the tale of how Western Chill was written, a full music video DVD of all the songs that are on the LPs, and a songbook with lyrics, notes, and chords so the purchaser can play along—are available at robertearlkeen.com/westernchill.
More about Robert Earl Keen’s latest album, Western Chill: As befits the occasion, the Western Chill vibe is soulfully laid-back—especially compared to the crowd-amped rush of 2016’s Live Dinner Reunion or the spry, virtuosic kick of Keen’s 2015’s Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions. This new album is packed with enough surprises to keep even the most seasoned fan guessing what’s coming next. The opening title track—an instant Keen classic in the easy-loping vein of “The Front Porch Song,” “Gringo Honeymoon,” and “Feelin’ Good Again”—sets the mood for the whole album, followed by back-to-back original stunners sung and written by fiddle/guitar player Brian Beken (“Waves”) and bassist Bill Whitbeck (“Bluelight”). If variety is the spice of life, Western Chill is the Silk Road to chill with more contributions are heard from Beken and Whitbeck, as well as compositions by the rest of the band. This has all been documented on the accompanying video because true to the “featuring” tag on the album cover, this really is a REK Band affair.
