Lubbock Native Terry Allen Returns For Two Nights Of Music, Stories, And Art

There are musicians who come to Lubbock because we're another stop on the tour.

Then there's Terry Allen.

For Allen, coming to Lubbock is actually coming home.

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The acclaimed songwriter, musician and visual artist grew up here, has spent much of his career turning West Texas into art and even named one of his most celebrated albums Lubbock (on everything).

Now, Texas Tech University is bringing Allen back for two very different nights on October 22nd and 23rd as part of the university's Presidential Lecture & Performance Series.

Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

Terry Allen Returns to Lubbock

The first evening, “Truckload of Art,” happens Thursday, October 22nd, at the Maedgen Theatre.

This won't be your standard sit-down-and-play-the-hits concert.

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Instead, Allen and his wife and longtime creative collaborator, Jo Harvey Allen, will combine music, stories, spoken word and conversation.

They'll be joined by musicians Bukka Allen and Richard Bowden, while author Brendan Greaves will read from Truckload of Art, his biography of Terry Allen. Lubbock musician and writer Andy Wilkinson will moderate the evening.

Then Friday night, they bring out the band.

The Panhandle Mystery Band Takes the Stage

On Friday, October 23rd, Allen presents “Memwars” at the Allen Theatre.

This time Terry and Jo Harvey Allen will be joined by the full Panhandle Mystery Band, featuring an impressive lineup of Charlie Sexton, Richard Bowden, Bale Allen, Bukka Allen, Lloyd Maines and Davis McLarty.

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The performance combines songs and stories from Allen's long career with the people who have been part of that musical journey.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the performance beginning at 7 p.m.

If You Don't Know Terry Allen, You Probably Should

Allen was born in Wichita, Kansas, but grew up in Lubbock, and it's difficult to separate his work from the landscape and characters of West Texas.

His recording career stretches back more than 50 years. His 1975 album Juarez was followed in 1979 by Lubbock (on everything), a double album that helped establish Allen as one of the most distinctive voices in Texas songwriting.

It also gave us “Amarillo Highway,” probably the song most people associate with Allen.

His music has subsequently been recorded by artists including Guy Clark, Doug Sahm, Bobby Bare, Lucinda Williams and Sturgill Simpson.

He's Much More Than a Musician

Here's the part of Terry Allen's career that casual fans sometimes miss.

He's also a highly accomplished visual artist.

Allen has worked in painting, drawing, sculpture, theater, video and large-scale installations, with his artwork represented in major collections including New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

His connection with Texas Tech has become especially significant in recent years.

The university houses more than 50 years of material from Terry and Jo Harvey Allen, including journals, correspondence, scripts, workbooks and audio and video recordings. Texas Tech has also established the Terry and Jo Harvey Allen Center for Creative Studies around that archive.

This Isn't Just Another Lubbock Concert

That's what makes these two nights particularly interesting.

We're not simply getting Terry Allen performing in Lubbock.

We're getting Terry Allen performing about a lifetime of people, places and experiences that include Lubbock...in Lubbock.

Thursday night gives us the stories behind the art.

Friday night brings out the Panhandle Mystery Band and lets the music do some of the talking.

Tickets and additional information are available through Texas Tech's Presidential Lecture & Performance Series.

For a guy who put the words Lubbock (on everything) on an album cover nearly half a century ago, two nights back home seems pretty appropriate.