Free concert slated for tonight in Seguin
(Seguin) — A country music legend will be returning to the same stage he stood on when it opened in Seguin in 1986. Michael Martin Murphey,
Grammy-Nominated Artist and American Country Music Award Winner, has been invited to play tonight at Texas Lutheran University’s Jackson
Auditorium in commemoration of the opening of Jackson Auditorium 35 years ago.
Before that time and since that time, Murphey’s music career continues to grow strong with his latest album “Road Beyond the View” to be released this coming spring.
Among those celebrating his return to Seguin is local resident and area musician Howard Hudiburg. Hudiburg says it was his career with the Texas State Symphony Orchestra that first put him in the path of Murphey, his now lifelong friend. He says whether it was composing or performing with him, he has seen firsthand Murphey’s influence in the music industry.
“I always look forward to playing with Murph and he’s a tremendous entertainer and super great person. What a lot of people might not know about him is he was in Austin first and started that whole scene way back when. He was there before Willie, Waylon and the Boys and he was known as the Cosmic Cowboy and in a way, he is kind of an outlaw from the outlaws because he’s just lived a really clean life and his voice is an amazing instrument. He sounds like he’s in his 30s so it’s a pleasure to work with him and I’m definitely looking forward to it,” said Hudiburg.
Hudiburg, who will also have the honor of joining Murphey on stage Thursday night for the trio ensemble, says the musician has compiled a long list of hits.
“People know his greatest hit is “Wildfire.” He’s also very well known for “Geronimo’s Cadillac,” “Carolina In The Pines” and these are songs that were really popular and he’s done a whole issue of traditional cowboy songs. I mean, the man has close to 50 recordings. So, he has quite a library of work and he kind of continues to reinvent himself.
He’s the Cosmic Cowboy. He did these traditional cowboys songs in a time period. Then, he moved into a Bluegrass period where he did a lot of Bluegrass and the album, before the one that is going to come out this Spring of 2022 is called Austinology (Alleys of Austin) where he got people like Lyle Lovett, Willie and several other people to make guests appearances on that album and it was sort of the scene in Austin when it all started. But a lot of people don’t know, he was there first,” said Hudiburg.
It should be noted that many of Murphey’s original songs have also been recorded by The Monkees, Kenny Rogers, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Denver, Hoyt Axton, Johnny Cash, Tracy Byrd, Lyle Lovett, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dolly Parton, Johnny Rivers, Billy Ray Cyrus, and many others to list.
Again, his latest album “Road Beyond the View” features not only his son, Ryan Murphey with guitars and harmony vocals but also Hudiburg who joins in with acoustic and fretless electric basses along with John Hammon, drum set, percussion.
TLU officials says tickets are not required for this free event. They say entry is general admission and will be available on a first-come, first served basis.
As of August 2, 2021, TLU’s COVID-19 Policies and Protocols require all visitors, faculty, staff, and students to wear masks at indoor events, regardless of whether or not an individual has been vaccinated.
The concert gets underway at 7 p.m. Thursday at TLU’s Jackson Auditorium.