Ray Wylie Hubbard- Cedarburg Cultural Center 4/9/16

photo by Will Piper

"If this is the first time you've ever seen me perform, let me remind you that I am an acquired taste," Ray Wylie Hubbard quipped with a smirk and deviant expression on his weathered, beaded face during his recent sold-out show at the Cedarburg Cultural Center this past Saturday night.  Oklahoma born, Texas raised, and Cedarburg bound was the moniker that the Cedarburg Cultural Center used to advertise Ray Wylie Hubbard's performance.  This true road-traveled folk, country, and blues performer drew a capacity crowd for a concert which could have easily taken place at a venue downtown.  Thank goodness for Ozaukee County, Kathy Lanser and her team landed Ray Wylie at the Cedarburg Cultural Center for an intimate evening songs and tales from the road.

Ray Wylie Hubbard is a man who's seen a lot in his sixty-nine years on Earth.  With a career that dates back to the 1970's, Hubbard is often viewed as a songwriter admired by other musicians in the field but not a commercial success in terms of mainstream record sales or radio hits. His biggest "hit," was penning the often covered, "Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother," which was popularized by Jerry Jeff Walker in 1973, and since covered by a plethora of singer-songwriters, country crooners, and even the jam band, The String Cheese Incident.   

In recent years however, Ray Wylie Hubbard has experienced a career renaissance and gained more attention and fans due to his constant touring and a series of critically acclaimed recent releases including: 2006's Snake Farm, 2010's A. Enlightenment B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is no C),  2012's The Grifter's Hymnal, and 2015's The Ruffian's Misfortune.  It should come as no surprise that the majority of Hubbard's set focused on songs written in the past ten years, although he did play "Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother," after a group of fans requested it before the show, which seems to be an exception, not the norm, in terms of his regular playlist.  

photo by Will Piper

Hubbard is a true troubadour in every aspect of the word-- he is a poet who delivers his messages via song.  Joined on stage with his son Lucas on lead guitar, and a prolific drummer, Hubbard traversed an eclectic ninety-minute-plus set of tunes often steeped in the "after hours" side of life. Hubbard's dusty, smokey aura and bawdy tales stick to your gut like how your shoes may stick to a rowdy saloon floor when the lights come up at last call.  This is most evidenced on tracks like "Snake Farm," "Mississippi Flush," and my personal favorite, "Drunken Poets Dream" which Hubbard penned with another one of my favorite country-blues artists,  Hayes Carll.  

However, Hubbard's banter and storytelling in between songs was arguably as entertaining if not more so than the songs themselves.  Hubbard spoke of characters from his past like "Mambo John" who made hats out of dead animals.  I must say, out of the many shows I've seen throughout my lifetime, few songwriters could hold a candle to Hubbard's earnest banter on life.

As many folks are starting to get more interested in contemporary artists who are performing traditional or "outlaw" country music (Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Hayes Carll, Nikki Lane and Margo Price all come to mind), it is great to hear from a true pioneer in the field- Ray Wylie Hubbard, a troubadour if there ever was one.