Stoney LaRue returns to play Cain's Ballroom on Saturday
BY JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
Thursday, January 10, 2013
1/10/13 at 2:05 PM
Correction
This story originally contained incorrect information about buying tickets. The story has been corrected.
Red Dirt troubadour Stoney LaRue brings his brand of rebel country back to Cain's Ballroom for one night. The show is all-ages.
Tickets start at $18, plus fees, available at the box office, by calling 1-877-4-FLYTIX, at cainsballroom.com or at facebook.com/cainsballroom.
Showtime is 7 p.m. Saturday.
His big brother Bo Phillips will open the concert with his own band.
LaRue and Phillips come from the Stillwater-based music movement known as Red Dirt, home to the sounds of Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, the Red Dirt Rangers, Mike McClure and more.
LaRue comes from a tradition of storytellers, and he's probably better known for his live shows than his albums. In an interview before a Cain's stop in 2012, he said he often prefers things that way.
"I'd like to think I understand myself and the world I live in. I'm a father. I'm a husband. I'm a friend. I'm an a------ sometimes, even though I don't wanna be. I'm a seeker. I'm a player. Maybe, too, I'm trying to figure out how to share something with people that will draw them deeper into who they are, the way music does for me."
From Willie Nelson to Ray Charles, The Grateful Dead to Kris Kristofferson, LaRue blends elements of great American music in an amalgam of country, blues, soul and rock.
The musician is still touring on the success of his 2011 studio album, "Velvet." It includes rootsy Americana country, with help from producer Frank Liddell (who's also worked with Miranda Lambert and Spoon). He started the writing process for his next album last fall.
Born in Taft, Texas, LaRue was raised in southeastern Oklahoma before he moved to Stillwater and joined the Red Dirt music scene.
His peripatetic youth was spent with grandparents in Texas, then in Buffalo Valley, Okla., then with his father in Stillwater, then on a string of floors and couches before he graduated early from Stillwater High School and joined the Army.
These days, the Red Dirt favorite still loves to travel - he spends more than 260 days on the road each year - but his heart keeps bringing him back to Oklahoma.
He first played Cain's with the eclectic Red Dirt Rangers during their first Christmas show 17 years ago. His home is more than the back of a tour bus. Home is a state of mind, and it definitely includes the historic venue of Cain's Ballroom.
"I go back and I feel all of my roots, all my inspiration. There are so many legends there and so much inspiration," he said of the venue.
"I've recorded songs in the smallest back rooms. I've seen the original stage. Cain's Ballroom is more than a novelty. It's a gold mine of history," he said.
Original Print Headline: Heart in Oklahoma
Jennifer Chancellor 918-581-8346
jennifer.chancellor@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Stoney LaRue, who will play a 7 p.m. show Saturday at Cain's Ballroom, is probably better known for his live concerts than his albums. Tulsa World file
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