Dale Watson doesn’t follow trends. He never has. The acclaimed Ameripolitan icon has released ‘Unwanted’ via 40 Below Records, an entirely self-written and self-produced album that delivers exactly what his most devoted fans and the country music tradition demand: lean, hard-hitting honky-tonk, outlaw country, western swing, and rockabilly from one of American roots music’s most uncompromising originals.
Backed by his longtime band The Lonestars and joined by Celine Lee, The Memphians, Katie Shore of Asleep at the Wheel, and pianist Matt Hubbard, ‘Unwanted’ carries the kind of lived-in authenticity that critics keep reaching for superlatives to describe. MOJO gave it four stars, Country Music People called him “the Ameripolitan torchbearer,” and Americana Highways put it simply: “Others drink ginger ale and smile; Watson is bourbon with a bite.” PopMatters puts his catalog “in the same jukebox as Willie, Waylon, Ernest Tubb, and Bob Wills,” and Saving Country Music calls him “the true embodiment of country.”
Watson has shared stages with Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Ray Price, Loretta Lynn, and Dwight Yoakam, and has appeared on Austin City Limits, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Late Show with David Letterman. None of it has pulled him off the road. “I still play over 300 shows a year,” he says. “That’s where the truth is. That’s where the songs tell you if they’re real.” As founder of the Ameripolitan Music Awards and an honored Texas State Musician, Watson views ‘Unwanted’ as part of a living tradition. “Outlaw country isn’t nostalgia. It’s alive, it’s loud, and it’s still being written.”
Tour Dates:
May 2, Austin, TX, Broken Spoke
May 2, Austin, TX, Brentwood Neighborhood Park
May 4, Austin, TX, The Continental Club
May 9, Yantis, TX, Neon Moon Restaurant & Social Club
May 11, Austin, TX, The Continental Club
May 16, West Jackson, TN, Ned R McWherter TN Cultural Arts
May 17, Nashville, TN, Eastside Rockin’ Rumble
May 21, Houston, TX, McGonigal’s Mucky Duck
May 22, Coupland, TX, Coupland Dancehall
May 23, Austin, TX, Rollins Theatre
May 24, New Braunfels, TX, Gruene Hall
May 25, Austin, TX, The Continental Club
May 28, Austin, TX, Parker Jazz Club
May 29, Memphis, TN, Memphis Italian Fest at Marquette Park
May 31, Llano, TX, Sundown
June 6, Dallas, TX, Sons of Hermann Hall
June 7, Buchanan Dam, TX, Pardners Nightclub Largest Dancehall
June 10, Tomball, TX, Main Street Crossing
June 13, Lewisville, TX, Lewisville Grand Theater
June 20, Austin, TX, Broken Spoke
June 21, Llano, TX, Sundown
June 25, St. Louis, MO, Off Broadway
June 26, Columbia, MO, Rose Music Hall
June 27, Kansas City, MO, Knuckleheads
July 2, Corpus Christi, TX, House of Rock
July 3, Austin, TX, The Continental Club
July 4, Taylor, TX, American Legion Post 39
July 9, Livingston, MT, Empire Twin Theatre
July 18, Austin, TX, Broken Spoke
July 19, Llano, TX, Sundown
July 24, Coupland, TX, Coupland Dancehall
August 1, Austin, TX, Broken Spoke
August 7, Robinson, ND, Hanson’s Bar
September 4, Bandera, TX, 11th Street Cowboy Bar
September 5, Austin, TX, Broken Spoke
September 30, Cleveland, OH, Beachland Ballroom
October 8, Columbus, MS, Barn Concert Series
October 9, Decatur, GA, Eddie’s Attic
October 16, Evansville, IN, Vanderburgh 4-H Center
November 7, Lockhart, TX, Manny Gammage’s Texas Hatters Inc