Robert Earl Keen bringing Confetti States Tour to Track 29

IF YOU GOWhat: Robert Earl Keen with The Deep Dark Woods.When: 9 p.m. Wednesday.Where: Track 29, Chattanooga Choo Choo, 1400 Market St.Admission: $22.50 in advance, $25 day of show.Phone: 521-2929.Website: www.track29.co.

Robert Earl Keen's music is rooted in old-school country, but his sound is new and fresh and his lyrics are full of wit and wisdom.

Over his nearly 30-year career, he has toured with everybody from Reckless Kelly to the Dave Matthews Band, and his songs have been covered by Willie Nelson, The Dixie Chicks, Lyle Lovett and Johnny Cash.

His 11th studio album, "Ready for Confetti," is filled with the kind of storytelling that fans have come to expect. His music has been compared to the literary prose of Cormac McCarthy but with a melody you can dance to.

"For our generation of songwriters, he is the Townes Van Zandt, the songwriter's songwriter," said Randy Rogers, lead singer of the Randy Rogers Band, in Keen's online biography. "I believe his place in the Hall of Fame is in stone."

Keen, who stops at Track 29 on Wednesday, said he wrote much of "Ready for Confetti" while touring, which was something new for him. The result is a collection of songs that are shorter than previous works.

"I always said that I never write on the road because it's too sterile and I'm too tired," says Keen, who wrote nine of the album's 12 songs and co-wrote another. "Well, last year I just decided that we were going to throw that rule away and write on the road.

"I threw certain formulas totally out the window because I just don't always believe in convention as the best way to serve your purpose as far as singing songs that people enjoy," he says. "However, on this one I stuck to more concise ideas, more universal themes and more singable melodies. Consequently, it has somewhat more of a conventional sound than any of my records."

It's a formula that worked out OK, and he is happy with the result.

"I'm an OK singer and an OK player and I'm an OK melody guy when it comes to making up a song," he said. "But I feel like my gift is my lyrics. They always have come easily for me, and I've enjoyed it. When I was doing this record, I thought, 'I've done all that. I don't need to keep on provoking thought or making people want to sit up and listen to this. I really would like to write the best songs I can in the best way I can and let the songs speak for themselves.' So I sat down and really dropped my guard about how it needs to be different. I stuck to strumming my guitar and working in my mind toward lyrics that came easily and sang well and made sense."

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