Townes Van Zandt Tribute

Townes Van Zandt, Texas country laureate and sad Hank song personified, died on New Year’s Day 1997, from complications associated with never skipping out on a chance to adore oblivion. His deep, poetic and often unbearably dark lyrics, like the somber songs he fashioned to deliver them, have, over the years, become gospel among his diverse fan base. As they have for the last five years, on that grim anniversary, local husband-and-wife duo The Whipples will once again gather local musicians of all stripes for a Townes tribute show on Sunday. Hosted for the first time at Alamo Beer, this year’s tribute will feature, along with The Whipples, Geronimo Trevino III, Will Owen Gage, Jordan Minor, Los Djangoleros and 20 other acts. While Van Zandt himself may have preferred a whiskey distillery, a brewery seems a fitting place to remember the singularly gifted and troubled songwriter.