Asleep at the Wheel
The ArtsCenter, Carrboro
Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015
Asleep at the Wheel brought their “Merry Texas Christmas, Y’all” roadshow to The ArtsCenter on Thursday night, wrapping up a Southeastern swing of dates that the group will also end in North Carolina by opening for The Avett Brothers on New Year’s Eve at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The night was filled with hits. Jovial master of ceremonies Ray Benson led the ever-rotating lineup through a string of holiday songs as well as staples like “Route 66,”“Miles and Miles of Texas” and “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,” The band powered through the Willie Nelson co-penned number “Pretty Paper,” the Hawaiian classic “Mele Kalikimaka” and “Silent Night,” to which most of the-sold out crowd sang along.
At one point, Benson sat down to tell the tale of the “Texas Cowboy’s Night Before Christmas,” a tune saluting Texas musical icons like Willie Nelson, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Janis Joplin. In a rare treat, steel guitar legend Eddie Rivers stepped out from behind his instrument to sing an Elvis-lifted rendition of “Blue Christmas.” The group returned for an encore of the Bob Willis classic “Big Ball In Cowtown” before ending the evening with “Happy Trails.”
Below, check clips from the evening’s performance.
Asleep at the Wheel, “Christmas in Jail”
