San Antonino-born Alejandro Escovedo performed last night at Off Broadway, and despite the fact that it was a Tuesday night, fans came out well into the night.

Ten years after trading in his gloves for a guitar, former Mid-South division middleweight champion, Tupelo, Miss. native Paul Thorn was offered a record contract and began his career as a touring musician. Specializing in raw and honest Southern rock and blues, Thorn has a penchant for translating his personal experiences into easily relatable tales that come from the heart.

After all these years, beers, miles and piles and piles of country songs and stories, the Waco Brothers and Paul Burch really shouldn't be having so much fun. That they are is reason enough to celebrate their new collaboration.

The wildness in the music of Great Lake Swimmers isn't what we've come to expect from indie bands, even of the folkier persuasion. It's a wildness of the heart, not of sound.

Digging into the bedrock of alt-country, from the O'Kanes to Drive-By Truckers, Sons of Fathers come up with some true songwriting gems.

Lucero
"Women & Work"
ATO

With their latest studio record, "Women & Work," the alt-country rockers known as Lucero have managed to harness fully the music of their hometown to make their most Memphis-sounding record yet.

The Vondrukes don't just revive the spirit of classic alt-country. They give it a good hard-rock kick in the pants.

The rigors of touring are not for the faint of heart. The time away from home and loved ones is difficult enough, and when added to bad food, cold dressing rooms and bandmate farts in the van, those endless miles can wreak havoc on one's soul.

Lucero and John Henry & the Engine drew a rowdy, flannel-clad crowd last night to Off Broadway with their black-label brand of alternative country drinking music.

Pat Wolfe hosts the Interstate every Friday, 10 a.m.-noon Central on 88.1 KDHX. His specialty is Americana music ranging from alt-country, traditional country, bluegrass, folk and rock 'n' roll.

A freight train barrels out of the drum kit. Spanning the distance between mandolin and bass guitar, this rhythmic drive sustains Ha Ha Tonka's delicate harmonies.

Stealing your heart -- and a few beers from the fridge -- Lydia Loveless is like the girlfriend who jacks your El Camino and leaves you in the dust. Then, for some reason you still love her for it.

During the Jayhawks' set at the Pageant last night, guitarist Gary Louris advised the St. Louis audience that there were "people here from the label tonight so we have to be on our best behavior."

When it comes down to it, the Jack Daniels-swigging, Southern rock-swaggering force of nature that is the Drive-By Truckers is grounded in great songs. Patterson Hood and Jay Gonzalez prove it in this special duo acoustic session.

For the past 15 years Drive-By Truckers have stayed extremely busy. The Athens, Ga. based group has released nearly an album a year, toured to support their output and served as the backing band for other luminary musicians like Booker T. Jones and Bettye LaVette. All the while Patterson Hood, guitarist and main songwriter, has been at the center of it all.

On "Not So Loud," the Bottle Rockets completely transform their sound, trading in guitar-heavy, bluesy rock for a stripped-down take on alt-country.   

A quote that best summed up last evening's performance by Robbie Fulks came via a song by opener Willy Porter: "A measure of a man is what he does when he is alone."

Climbing up the KDHX charts is the latest release from Centro-Matic, Candidate Waltz. This stellar album showcases the band's genre-splitting talent.

Over the years Chicago has become a mecca for left-of-center country and roots bands. Sarah & the Tall Boys are the latest addition to the windy, twangy city.

Centro-matic's lo-fi alt-country spans emotions quiet and loud. At the center of that sound is Will Johnson, the somewhat accidental lead vocalist for the Texas quartet.

Centro-matic
Candidate Waltz
Undertow

In the time since Centro-matic's last record, 2008's Dual Hawks, lead singer, guitarist and principal songwriter Will Johnson has been as busy as ever. The band itself has kept a relatively low profile while Johnson has diffused his energy across several other projects.

Mother Nature was raging outside Friday night, but inside the Duck Room, fans were treated to a storm of a different type as night three of Twangfest 15 stirred up a squall of mighty fine roots-based music.

On the opening track "Alabama Pines" from his new album Jason Isbell laments, "No one gives a damn about the things I give a damn about." The faithful that came out to see the impressive 32-year-old Alabama songwriter certainly did give a damn.

Robbie Fulks follows his own path. Trying for years to break into the country music scene in Nashville, Fulks eventually gave up, striking out on his own and releasing Country Love Songs in 1996. Never looking back, the twists and turns of his career have been as unconventional as his songwriting.

Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler, founding members of Over the Rhine, delighted the Tuesday night crowd at Old Rock House with a generous 75 minute set filled with their songs and anecdotes about their life in Ohio.