Hey Folks!

So the new year is already off to a great start with the news of Wednesday nights at Gruene Hall during January and February.  Not only will Zack Walther and the Cronkites be playing, but their buddies Texas Renegade will also be joining in!  So make your wednesday nights twice as nice for the next few months and head on down to Gruene Hall for a free show, with some great music and cold beer! Don't forget to stop by the store in Gruene just down the road and say hi! Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous new year!

-LSM Tiff

Some terrific shows on the docket this year. Let's get right to 'em:

New Braunfels:
Robert Earl Keen with Toni Price opening at Gruene Hall

Dallas:
Cross Canadian Ragweed, Wade Bowen, and Micky & the Motorcars at House of Blues
Reckless Kelly at Gilley's

Fort Worth:
Kyle Bennett Band at the Horseman Club

Austin:
Carolyn Wonderland and Paula Nelson at the Saxon Pub
Bob Scneider at Antones
Brandon Rhyder and Texas Renegade at Midnight Rodeo
Jimmy LaFave at Threadgills
James McMurtry and Jon Dee Graham at the Continental Club
the Gourds at the Waterford House

Houston:
Rich O'Toole and Josh Abbott Band at the Firehouse Saloon
Eli Young Band and Bleu Edmondson at House of Blues
Aaron Watson at Big Texas Saloon (Spring)

San Antonio:
Roger Creager at Cowboys
Two Tons of Steel at Floore's

Brazoria:
Randy Rogers Band at Armadillo Ballroom

Gainesville:
Stoney LaRue and the Bois D'Arcs at Shooters

Stillwater, OK:
Jason Boland & the Stragglers at Tumbleweeds

This Thursday at Gruene Hall you can see The Tejas Brothers, The Band of Heathens, and Guy Forsyth FOR FREE! The show starts at 1pm and the bands will be playing all night. Also, just a reminder, LoneStar Music will be closed. Check out these 3 great bands on LoneStarMusic.com or live in person on Thursday afternoon!

It seems that my opinion of the Sirius/XM merger in terms of the programming they chose to keep and dump is matched by the market's opinion of the company as a whole. For a little less than $12 you could get a couple of combo meals for yourself and your honey at McDonalds or you could buy 100 shares of Sirius/XM stock. The ROI will be equivalent in the end.

Another big shake-up compared to the last few days. Our top 5 selling titles from yesterday:

1.    2.    3.    4.    5.

Rodney Hayden will be recording a live album this Saturday night at the Wildcat Saloon in McCoy (just outside of San Antonio; 2205 FM 541 in McCoy). The show will start at 9pm and be sure to get there early as our very own HalleyAnna will be opening up for Rodney and the Most Wanted Band. 

Rodney tells us the CD should be out early in 2009 and as soon as it is ready, we'll have pre-orders up and running here on LoneStarMusic.com.

A bit of a change from the last few days. Our top 5 selling titles from yesterday:

1.    2.    3.    4.    5.

Our top 5 selling titles from yesterday:

1.    2.    3.    4.    5.

Attention panhandle folk - this is the final weekend of the annual Jason Boland & the Stragglers toy drive. Bring an unwrapped toy along with you to Boland's show in Amarillo on Friday night or Lubbock on Saturday night and receive a free Jason Boland & the Stragglers ornament. The band has been doing the toy drive for years and need your help to make it a success. After this weekend all of the toys will be delivered to a Children's Hospital.

I liked the way the Americana Top 10 looked, so I decided to make this daily thing a top 5. Here are our top 5 sellers from yesterday:

1.    2.    3.    4.    5.

The Americana Music Association announced their Top 10 most played records for 2008 today (don't you just love all of the end of the year lists?) and it is decidely Texas-heavy. Take a gander:

1.     2.    3.    4.    5.

6.    7.    8.    9.    10.

Congrats to all of these great artists on a fantastic 2008.

Someone asked me to do this once and I thought it might be fun to do as the holidays approached, so here goes:

Our top 3 selling CDs from December 15th:

1. Brandon Jenkins - Faster Than A Stone
2. Music Fest - Undone: Music Fest Tribute to REK
3. Wade Bowen - If We Ever Make It Home