Robert Ellis' Whiskey Wednesdays Returning... In Austin

Rocks Off thought we had written everything about Robert Ellis & the Boys' Whiskey Wednesday shows there was to say. After all, the weekly beer-soaked no-cover night of Texas-heavy vintage honky-tonk covers ended back in April.

So we were a little intrigued when someone forwarded us this link earlier this week. It seems Stubb's in Austin has decided to hop on the WW gravy train, albeit for a small cover charge. The first show is April 18.

Of course there is a long tradition of Austin stealing Houston musicians Houston musicians taking their talents to the state capitol. Hell, most of them stay there. But we're not mad. We're glad to see him doing well, and more than a little amused that someone in Austin has finally noticed. Ellis & the Boys will do just fine in the city that gave rise to the Broken Spoke.

We emailed Ellis after we heard the news, and a day or so he got back to us from Paris. He's on a European tour with latter-day Buffalo Springfield Dawes, and before that has actually been living on a farm "in the middle of the woods" between San Marcos and Wimberley with wife Destiny since getting off tour for his New West debut, last year's Photographs.

Ellis says his Whiskey Wednesdays run at Stubb's will only be two or three shows.

I was really hoping they could be free but in order to get all the guys out to Austin we had to charge a little cover," he says. "I'm super excited to get to play some country music again, though. When we have been touring all we play is my sappy bullshit!"

Ellis has a couple of important more dates coming up on his calendar. He told Rocks Off he's playing Free Press Summer Fest in June, which is - how shall we put this? - not a complete surprise. (Supposedly the lineup will be announced Monday morning... watch this space.)

And he's been added to the lineup of one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious music festivals, the Newport Folk Festival, in July alongside My Morning Jacket, Iron & Wine, Patty Griffin, Jackson Browne and Conor Oberst.

"Things have been getting really busy lately, and I have been trying to milk it for all its worth," Ellis says. "Tons of fun, but I would love to have some time to just hang out back in Texas."