Randy Weeks

A resident of Southern California for some three decades, Randy Weeks was such an integral part of the rootsy country-rock scene that he was often mistaken for a native. In fact, Weeks was born and bred in Windom, Minnesota, and spent some time in the early '70s playing with Minneapolis bands before heading west in search of fame and fortune. He found the likes of Jeff Rymes, with whom he co-led the Lonesome Strangers through the halcyon days of the '80s and a handful of well-received twang-rock albums, and Dwight Yoakam, with whom he toured and recorded. He also encountered Lucinda Williams, whose version of Weeks's "Can't Let Go" on her Grammy-winning Car Wheels on a Gravel Road helped establish his reputation as a premier songwriter. Weeks moved to Austin a few years back, apparently to exchange California beach sand for Texas grit. Recently he released his latest solo album, Going My Way (Certifiable), produced by Will Sexton, and full of well-crafted charmers peppered with dusty pop hooks and tapping a panoply of roots sounds from honky-tonk and folk rock to touches of Memphis soul and New Orleans funk. Weeks's appealingly dry vocals fall somewhere between Lou Reed and Willie Nelson, while an impressive crew of pals including Tony and Eliza Gilkyson and Cindy Cashdollar lend support. With Molly Maher & Her Disbelievers, and Bob Manning & the Real Deal. (photo by Jen Hellow)
Thu., May 7, 9 p.m., 2009