Rodney Crowell
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DateMar 14, 2019
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Event Starts8:00pm
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Doors Open7:00pm
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AvailabilityPast Event
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LocationBlue Gate PAC
760 S Van Buren St
Shipshewana, IN 46565
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Seating ChartView Seating Chart (If you are paying with a gift card, you must call to purchase tickets 260.768.4725)
Mar 14, 2019
Thursday @ 8:00pm
Event Details
Classics can become cliches.
And cliches, like whiskey, nostalgia, and orthodoxy, will deaden the mind.
We can't learn from what we know. It doesn't work that way. But if what we know morphs and changes, and whittles itself down to truthful essence, then we can find delight and inspiration.
That's what's going on here, in Rodney Crowell's most unusual of retrospectives. These are songs he wants to sing and play, performed as he wants to sing and play them.
This is nothing like a summation of an extraordinary life in songwriting, and the very act of releasing an album of "classics" that doesn't include "'Til I Gain Control Again," "Voila, An American Dream," "Song for the Life," "Stars on the Water," "Ashes by Now," "Bluebird Wine," "Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)," and all the others is either an act of humility or a chest-thump.
Hard to say, and maybe it doesn't matter. As always, Crowell is running toward his true self, even as he assures us he's not running fast enough.
"I've heard it said a thousand times, to thine own self be true," he sings. "Well, it's not for lack of trying, that this is something I can't do."
Check this out ... he sings that on a song called "Shame on the Moon Redux." It's a retrospective reinvention of "Shame on the Moon," a song Crowell wrote and Bob Seger recorded to grand success. The original was a hit. It was a smash. Crowell never liked the last verse, about stepping light on old toes.
"I used to let a lot of stuff go by," he says. "I didn't put in the work at the time to make that song be all that it could be."
And so, by way of an apology to a chart-topping song, Crowell re-wrote it as confession and admission.
"I was late in my twenties, and hungry for praise," is what he sings. "And waxing like crazy when I wrote down that phrase/ ‘Oh, blame it on midnight ... ooh, shame on the moon.'"
Crowell is no longer hungry for praise. We've been praising him for forty years, since the days when Guy Clark - the emphatic and acerbic father figure to several musical generations - pointed out the ebullient genius in "Bluebird Wine," a song that would become the first song on Emmylou Harris's first major label album. We've praised Crowell as a hit songwriter, as a chart-topping singer, and as a gruffly grinning member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
We've praised him to the point of satiation, and now Crowell's bouncing poetry is its own reward. Another poet, Donald Hall, identified writing's most sinful characteristics as being "tired, ordinary, trite, or false." Rodney Crowell would not be convicted of these crimes by a jury of peers.
This album of classics is not a victory lap. It's a field sprint, followed by a campfire circle. It's Rodney Crowell playing guitar and singing with friends, live and in real time. The revelations are in the reveling, and in Crowell's joyful ownership of songs that have become dear companions. We arrive as honored guests, here to listen to an artist's true self.
And cliches, like whiskey, nostalgia, and orthodoxy, will deaden the mind.
We can't learn from what we know. It doesn't work that way. But if what we know morphs and changes, and whittles itself down to truthful essence, then we can find delight and inspiration.
That's what's going on here, in Rodney Crowell's most unusual of retrospectives. These are songs he wants to sing and play, performed as he wants to sing and play them.
This is nothing like a summation of an extraordinary life in songwriting, and the very act of releasing an album of "classics" that doesn't include "'Til I Gain Control Again," "Voila, An American Dream," "Song for the Life," "Stars on the Water," "Ashes by Now," "Bluebird Wine," "Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream)," and all the others is either an act of humility or a chest-thump.
Hard to say, and maybe it doesn't matter. As always, Crowell is running toward his true self, even as he assures us he's not running fast enough.
"I've heard it said a thousand times, to thine own self be true," he sings. "Well, it's not for lack of trying, that this is something I can't do."
Check this out ... he sings that on a song called "Shame on the Moon Redux." It's a retrospective reinvention of "Shame on the Moon," a song Crowell wrote and Bob Seger recorded to grand success. The original was a hit. It was a smash. Crowell never liked the last verse, about stepping light on old toes.
"I used to let a lot of stuff go by," he says. "I didn't put in the work at the time to make that song be all that it could be."
And so, by way of an apology to a chart-topping song, Crowell re-wrote it as confession and admission.
"I was late in my twenties, and hungry for praise," is what he sings. "And waxing like crazy when I wrote down that phrase/ ‘Oh, blame it on midnight ... ooh, shame on the moon.'"
Crowell is no longer hungry for praise. We've been praising him for forty years, since the days when Guy Clark - the emphatic and acerbic father figure to several musical generations - pointed out the ebullient genius in "Bluebird Wine," a song that would become the first song on Emmylou Harris's first major label album. We've praised Crowell as a hit songwriter, as a chart-topping singer, and as a gruffly grinning member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
We've praised him to the point of satiation, and now Crowell's bouncing poetry is its own reward. Another poet, Donald Hall, identified writing's most sinful characteristics as being "tired, ordinary, trite, or false." Rodney Crowell would not be convicted of these crimes by a jury of peers.
This album of classics is not a victory lap. It's a field sprint, followed by a campfire circle. It's Rodney Crowell playing guitar and singing with friends, live and in real time. The revelations are in the reveling, and in Crowell's joyful ownership of songs that have become dear companions. We arrive as honored guests, here to listen to an artist's true self.
Plan Your Visit:â–¼
Parking: Free parking is available at the venue. Please have patience and be respectful when leaving our parking lots after the show.
Ticket Office: For ticket sales and assistance with ticket orders, please visit our box office or call 260-768-4725. Box Office hours are Monday thru Saturday, 10am to 7pm. All ticket sales are final and non-refundable, no exception.
Tickets: Your phone is your ticket. Make sure you have downloaded your ticket before arriving at the venue to present at ticket check. Will Call tickets can be picked up at the box office window, and you must present a photo ID. If you need your tickets printed for any reason, visit the venue box office prior to entering ticket check. Tickets that include a dining package will need to be printed prior to visiting the restaurant since they serve as your dining voucher.
Rain or Shine Events: All events are rain or shine. In the event of hazardous weather during an event, please follow the safety directions given by venue staff and displayed on digital screens.
Bag Policy: For safety and efficiency, we recommend entering without a purse or bag at our venues. If essential items are needed, we encourage guests to bring them in a small, clear purse. All non-clear purses will be searched, and this will be enforced upon entry at our Performing Arts Center. Diaper Bags for families with small children and bags with required medical items are permitted. No oversized purses, tote or duffel bags, or backpacks of any type will be allowed.
Prohibited Items: Please review the prohibited items list before you come to an event. This list can be found on our FAQ page.
Concessions: Refreshments are available for purchase within the venue. No outside food, candy, or beverages are allowed.
Bar Service: We do have beer and wine service available at most of our PAC concerts. Hours of service vary, depending on show schedule, but the bar is typically open for at least 90 minutes once doors are open.
No Smoking: Smoking and vaping are strictly prohibited inside the venue.
Safety and Security Policies: All members of your party must have a ticket to enter the venue. All individuals entering the facility are subject to screening including the checking of bags and personal belongings for prohibited items. Re-entry is not permitted without a ticket. For a complete list of prohibited items and venue policies, visit our FAQ page.
Accessibility: For complete information on our services, please visit the Accessibility section of our FAQ page.
Dining Packages: Buffet dining at our Blue Gate Restaurant can be added to any ticket price for your convenience. Price would include meal but not gratuity. To ensure guests have time to dine, we suggest arriving no later than 2 hours prior to show time, in case the restaurant is on a wait.
Hotel Reservations: If you need hotel accommodations, consider staying at our Blue Gate Garden Inn – adjacent to the Performing Arts Center! For more information and to check availability, visit https://www.bluegategardeninn.com/ or call 260.768.4725.
For more information, simply visit our FAQ page.
Ticket Office: For ticket sales and assistance with ticket orders, please visit our box office or call 260-768-4725. Box Office hours are Monday thru Saturday, 10am to 7pm. All ticket sales are final and non-refundable, no exception.
Tickets: Your phone is your ticket. Make sure you have downloaded your ticket before arriving at the venue to present at ticket check. Will Call tickets can be picked up at the box office window, and you must present a photo ID. If you need your tickets printed for any reason, visit the venue box office prior to entering ticket check. Tickets that include a dining package will need to be printed prior to visiting the restaurant since they serve as your dining voucher.
Rain or Shine Events: All events are rain or shine. In the event of hazardous weather during an event, please follow the safety directions given by venue staff and displayed on digital screens.
Bag Policy: For safety and efficiency, we recommend entering without a purse or bag at our venues. If essential items are needed, we encourage guests to bring them in a small, clear purse. All non-clear purses will be searched, and this will be enforced upon entry at our Performing Arts Center. Diaper Bags for families with small children and bags with required medical items are permitted. No oversized purses, tote or duffel bags, or backpacks of any type will be allowed.
Prohibited Items: Please review the prohibited items list before you come to an event. This list can be found on our FAQ page.
Concessions: Refreshments are available for purchase within the venue. No outside food, candy, or beverages are allowed.
Bar Service: We do have beer and wine service available at most of our PAC concerts. Hours of service vary, depending on show schedule, but the bar is typically open for at least 90 minutes once doors are open.
No Smoking: Smoking and vaping are strictly prohibited inside the venue.
Safety and Security Policies: All members of your party must have a ticket to enter the venue. All individuals entering the facility are subject to screening including the checking of bags and personal belongings for prohibited items. Re-entry is not permitted without a ticket. For a complete list of prohibited items and venue policies, visit our FAQ page.
Accessibility: For complete information on our services, please visit the Accessibility section of our FAQ page.
Dining Packages: Buffet dining at our Blue Gate Restaurant can be added to any ticket price for your convenience. Price would include meal but not gratuity. To ensure guests have time to dine, we suggest arriving no later than 2 hours prior to show time, in case the restaurant is on a wait.
Hotel Reservations: If you need hotel accommodations, consider staying at our Blue Gate Garden Inn – adjacent to the Performing Arts Center! For more information and to check availability, visit https://www.bluegategardeninn.com/ or call 260.768.4725.
For more information, simply visit our FAQ page.
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