Gary P. Nunn - Texas Music Legend - Live at Cactus Theater!
Saturday, August 10, 2024
Doors: 6:50 pm • Showtime: 7:30 pm

As a founding father of the progressive country music scene in Austin, Texas, in the 1970s, Gary P. Nunn helped change the face of popular music. With a career spanning half a century – and no plans for stopping anytime soon - Nunn is a proud ambassador for the state of Texas, singing about his love of everything Texas in dance halls around the state and on concert stages around the world. His extraordinary gifts as a prolific songwriter and performer have established Gary P. Nunn as an icon of Lone Star music and earned him the respect of his peers and the admiration of countless country music fans worldwide. Garth Brooks called Nunn “a quintessential Austin troubadour” when talking about episodes in the Austin City Limits archives that were “like my childhood” by formative influences that included Nunn, Merle Haggard, Townes Van Zandt and Jerry Jeff Walker. It’s no wonder that All Music Guide hails him as “a Texas music institution.”

Nunn was a member of the legendary Lost Gonzo Band, a group of musicians who pioneered the progressive country movement and played an integral role in creating the music that first earned Austin the designation of ‘Live Music Capital of the World.’ Rolling Stone called the Gonzos’ self-titled debut record one of the best albums ever to come out of Austin. The Lost Gonzo Band played and recorded with some of the most iconic and colorful musicians in the history of Texas Music including Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey, Steven Fromholz, Rusty Weir and Ray Wylie Hubbard.

Gary P. Nunn’s signature Texas country song, “London Homesick Blues,” was a breakout hit on Jerry Jeff Walker’s landmark ¡Viva Terlingua! album, selling over one million copies, became an anthem for the state of Texas with its internationally known “I wanna go home with the Armadillo” chorus, and was the theme for the PBS concert TV show “Austin City Limits” for nearly three decades.

Nunn went on to release 17 albums, write over 200 songs and earn multiple gold and platinum records for writing, publishing and performing. Nunn's self-penned classic, “What I Like About Texas” became a second anthem for the state of Texas and was the inspiration for the Texas Travel Industry Association's #What I Like About Texas campaign, encouraging Texans and visitors to share their favorite people, places, music, food, and events from all over the state. In August 2019, Nunn made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage, joined by over 900 proud Texans in the crowd.

Nunn's lifetime achievements in country music were honored in 2018 with his selection for the prestigious Musicfest “Tribute to a Legend” honor and The CMA of Texas Living Legend Award. Nunn was also selected to be one of the artists featured in Outlaws and Armadillos, an exhibit spotlighting the outlaw country movement at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville which opened in May 2018. In April 2019, Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas House of Representatives and Texas Senate, all honored Nunn for his lifetime achievements to Texas country music and his outstanding contributions to the state of Texas.

Other honors include Governor Mark White naming Gary P. Nunn the state's Official Ambassador to the World and Governor Rick Perry declaring Gary P. Nunn Ambassador of Texas Music. Nunn was also inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame, honored in the West Texas Walk of Fame in Lubbock, and chosen to be included in The Texas Department of Commerce and Tourism’s roster of Lone Star Greats, created to recognize leaders in the fields of art, athletics and music.

Gary P. Nunn’s memoir, At Home with the Armadillo was released in January 2018. An homage to Texas, the rich history of Austin music, and to all the musicians and other personalities he met on the way, Nunn recounts the story of his life from a humble childhood in Oklahoma to his move to Texas where he got started playing music and what it was like in the beginning of the Austin music scene in the early 1970s.

Gary’s latest CD, Friends For Life, is a collection of duets featuring new versions of 12 of his songs by an all-star lineup by some of Texas’ most loved artists including Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Cody Johnson, Kevin Fowler, Bruce Robison, Wade Bowen, Cory Morrow, Cody Canada, Roger Creager, Kimmie Rhodes, Dale Watson, Sunny Sweeney and Red Steagall.

Special guest opener is Lubbock’s own Jere Lowe and Matt Saed.

Reserved Tickets:
Pre-show Meet & Greet VIP* - first two rows (rows A-B)....$50
Next five rows on floor (rows C-G)....$35
Last five rows on floor (rows H-M)....$30
Standard balcony......$25
Box seats (box ticket includes concessions)....$70

*VIP ticket holders (first two rows) meet in the lobby at 6:15 pm