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Small town, big time
Music City Texas Theater has achieved what some would consider darn near
impossible.
Since its opening in 2003, it has brought to the stage of a renovated
American Legion Hall such performers as Jackson Browne and Don Henley.
Mr. Henley is a native of Linden, where MCT, as the locals lovingly call
it, is nestled in a grove of pine trees in deep East Texas.
Mr. Henley was only 4 or 5 when he first recited the poem "Little Jack
Horner" on that same stage. He and Mr. Browne are now members of the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Last year, MCT welcomed the T-Bone Walker Blues Festival, named in honor
of the blues great, another native son. That one brought Keb' Mo' to the
stage, and all of this in a town with barely 2,000 people.
Now the 420-seat MCT welcomes its next big act: country artist Pat
Green, who will perform a special acoustic concert Friday at 7:30, at
$75 a ticket. A portion of the proceeds will go to one of Mr. Green's
favorite charities, the Gladney Fund of Fort Worth, an adoption
foundation.
Regardless of the act, it's not uncommon at Music City Texas for
performers to make themselves available after the show for extended
meet-and-greets. MCT sells barbecue sandwiches and homemade chicken and
dumplings, but you might want to wander over to Vaughan's Catfish
Restaurant, just north of town on State Highway 8.
Regular concerts take place on the first Saturday night of every month.
They most often feature Moon & the Starz, headed by MCT's main man,
chairman of the board Richard M. Bowden, the author of such stellar
parodies as "Please Come to New Boston." He and Mr. Henley shared a high
school and college band before Mr. Henley joined the Eagles (who still
have the No. 1-selling album in music history) and Mr. Bowden became
lead guitarist for Linda Ronstadt and Dan Fogelberg.
• Linden is about 185 miles east of downtown Dallas, halfway between
Interstate 30 and Interstate 20 and 16 miles north of Jefferson on U.S.
Highway 59. The nearest lodging is in Jefferson. Once you arrive in
Linden, go one mile west of the Cass County Courthouse on State Highway
11, and turn right (north) on Legion Street. MCT is the first and only
building on the right. 903-756-9934. www.musiccitytexas.org.
– Michael Granberry
Published in The Dallas Morning News: 02.23.07
