Texas music legend Alejandro Escovedo performs with Italian group this Sunday in Houston

Jan 04, 2019 846

Sunday, January 6, 7:00 p.m., Heights Theater - 339 W. 19th St. - Houston TX 77008. Click here for ticket info. Texas music legend Alejandro Escovedo (above, third from left) is often hailed as one of the greatest singer-songwriters and performers associated with the Austin music scene. His most recent album, "The Crossing," was written and recorded with a band he met while touring in Italy — his first with an Italian group.

When touring to promote a new project, Escovedo generally works with local musicians in the country he visits. After working with Italian guitarist Antonio Gramentieri on a recent tour there, he decided to produce his next record in Italy, a collaboration with Gramentieri and his group. The critically acclaimed concept album was recorded and produced in Villafranca, a hamlet outside of Forlì where Gramentieri regularly works.

It tells the story of two young immigrants — Diego from Mexico, a character loosely based on Escovedo's life experiences, and Salvo from Italy, based on Gramentieri. They meet while working in an Italian restaurant in Galveston. The setting, says Escovedo, was inspired partly by the fact that Galveston was once home to the largest community of Italians living in Texas.

The new album and Italian-Texan artistic partnership have already been covered by The New Yorker and Rolling Stone. And this week, Houston-based writer (and IACC partner) Jeremy Parzen published an interview with the Texas music icon on his blog Do Bianchi.

Escovedo and Gramentieri will be performing the new album this Sunday, January 6 at the Heights Theater in Houston.

SOURCE: Italian Chamber of Commerce in Houston

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