Walter Tunis: Delbert and Dwight playing sold out shows

Delbert McClinton

Dwight Yoakam

First, the good news — two vanguard Americana artists, Delbert McClinton and Dwight Yoakam, have concerts slated for our region in the week ahead. But here’s the kicker. Unless you already have tickets, you’re essentially out of luck. Both performances are sold out — sort of.

McClinton, who performs tonight at the Grand Theatre in Frankfort, is the veteran Lone Star roadhouse rocker who long ago relocated to Nashville. But his ties to Texas-bred blues, rock and soul are unwavering.

You sense that vitality throughout the singer’s extensive catalog, from his classic 1970s releases on ABC Records to his Muscle Shoals-inspired Capitol recordings of the ‘80s to the remarkable string of seven albums he has released between 2001 and 2013 on the indie Americana label New West. On stage, McClinton remains a natural as he continues to parade out the brassy grind of B Movie Box Car Blues, covers of soul staples like I’ve Got Dreams to Remember, original chestnuts that include I Wanna Thank You Baby and the Southern fried strut of his most popular single, 1980’s Giving It Up for Your Love.

Showtime at the Grand tonight is 7:30. No tickets are currently available for the concert.

Yoakam, of course, is a home state hero. Though he performs regularly throughout the region, his Lexington appearances have become rarities. That helps explain why a ticket to his March 3 show at the Opera House is such a hot item. The website for the Troubadour Concert Series, which is presenting the performance, listed the concert as being sold out. As of this writing, however, a handful of single seats remain in the upper balcony. But make sure you have a ticket before you go.

A Pikeville native, Yoakam began creating a new variant of the Buck Owens-bred Bakersfield Sound in the ‘80s after relocating to Los Angeles. In fact, 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the singer’s debut album, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. His glory years on the country charts may be behind him, but Yoakam’s rootsy ingenuity still abounds on his most recent recording, 2015’s Second Hand Heart.

WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour featuring Paul Burch and Rayland Baxter

Paul Burch took notice some time ago that Jimmie Rodgers, the famed “Singing Brakeman” and one of the forefathers of roots-driven country music, never had an autobiography written about him. Burch, a versed Americana, rock and pop stylist, was not up for penning a book, but he did fancy designing a recorded reflection — in his words, “an imagined musical autobiography.”

That brings us to Meridian Rising, Burch’s 10th album. A work that is as much a travelogue as it is a conventional set of songs, the recording enlists such veteran journeymen as bluegrass giant Tim O’Brien, Mekons/Waco Brothers co-chieftain Jon Langford, E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent (on tuba, no less) and folk renegade Billy Bragg, among others. Together they bring such elemental, freewheeling tunes as the swing savvy Cadillacin’ and the more darkly whimsical The Girl I Sawed in Half to wondrous life.

A veteran of many Lexington appearances — primarily at the Christ the King Oktoberfest and Willie’s Locally Known — Burch is back on local soil on Monday to promote Meridian Rising as a guest of the WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Nashville alt-country stylist Rayland Baxter will complete the bill with songs from his second ATO album Imaginary Man.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Walter Tunis: Delbert and Dwight playing sold out shows."