Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival

A A A Comments By Brett Koshkin Wednesday, Oct 10 2007

Stephanie Chernikowski

Roky Erickson: A lot to smile about these days.

Details

The Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival runs 6 p.m. to midnight Friday, October 11; 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday, October 12; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, October 13, on the square in downtown Conroe. Ages 12 and under are free. Visit conroecajuncatfishfestival.com for more information.

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Most Texans can appreciate a good fish fry. A typically family-oriented event, this weekend's Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival features arts and crafts, a petting zoo and even a wine-tasting. Oh yeah, one more thing, they also got Texas psych-rock godfather Roky Erickson to play. We're not sure how or why they pulled that off, but we do know this is going to be the best Cajun Catfish Festival ever. Recently emerging from hiding and performing regularly for the first time in a decade, this is a can't-miss opportunity. As frontman of the 13th Floor Elevators, Erickson (who performs at 10:30 p.m. Friday) recorded the psychedelic masterpiece "You're Gonna Miss Me" in 1966. It was the band's only charting song, reaching No. 55, and it clocked in at No. 10 on the Press's recent "H-Town 20."

Other performers playing this weekend had better luck in the charts. Soul-shouting, country-bred Humble resident Roy Head will undoubtedly perform his hit "Treat Her Right" Saturday, with Reckless Kelly and the Champagne Brothers enlivening the festivities later. Sunday brings the honky-tonk stylings of Johnny Bush and zydeco workings of Bon Ton Mickey. Tack on an entire slew of local musicians such as the Sideshow Tramps, Shake Russell and the Zydeco Dots, and this weekend seems more like Conroe's answer to the Austin City Limits festival than a small-town fish fry.

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