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.”