Becky Warren Y'all!

Let’s not bury the lead: I am proud to know Becky Warren, crazy proud to call her my friend, and obnoxiously proud to share several shows with her here in North Carolina next weekend. 

My first impression of Becky Warren is indelible. 

I missed Becky’s Kerrville competition performance (I’m pretty sure that she was off the ranch by the time I got there).  So by the following Sunday I was raring to hear her songs. I’d heard she was great, but I had no idea what to expect. 

The following Sunday, Becky took the stage and slammed through an amazing set, including one song she hadn’t planned to play, “San Antonio” in honor of the gentleman who helped her get to Kerrville that day (she had car trouble on the way to the Ranch). My brain said, Um, wow? 

After our showcases, we all headed back to the Rouse House (an amazing place to hang, hosted by Lindsay Lee and Deb Rouse). We pulled our guitars up on our knees and shook off the showcase nerves with some cover tunes. As I tried to remember the changes to Marvin Gaye’s “That’s the Way Love Is” Becky came right in and nailed the refrain, “That’s the way love is, sho nuff how it is”. I looked over and she matched my grin. 

A minute or two later the mighty David Moss came by and ran down his arrangement of Paul Simon’s “Papa Hobo.” Becky knew that one cold as well, and I may have said out loud, “I think we’re going to be good friends.” 

But I didn’t see Becky again until the following November, when the six Kerrville Winners played a series of shows in Texas, and I got to hear more of Becky’s brilliant songs. Her tunes hit you right up front, but they stand up to repeats, too. Sometimes they repeat in your head. In person, Becky has a lot in common with her songs. She's funny, kind, and wise.

Now it’s your turn. Becky is just now coming off a tour opening for The Indigo Girls, and NPR’s All Things Considered interviewed her about her ambitious new album, War Surplus. And she’ll be here in North Carolina March 3 – 5. 

Here’s the itinerary: 

March 3    Nash Street Tavern, Hillsborough                8:30PM 
March 4    Doodad Farm Indoor Concert, Greensboro 6:30PM 
March 5    The Rooster’s Wife, Aberdeen                     6:36PM

 

  


(photo by Kyle Dean Reinford)

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