The Real Deal

"Folks, like I said before and it's STILL true, James Hand is the real deal!" - Willie Nelson

Willie is right!

I had the privilege of hearing James Hand in concert last night at the Mucky Duck. It was one of the best concerts I have ever heard at the Duck or anywhere else. James Hand is truly a unique and special artist.

I only heard of James Hand for the first time about two weeks ago. I was driving down the road listening to the LoneStar Jukebox on KPFT. They played the song In the Corner, At the Table, By the Jukebox which at the time I thought must have been an old Lefty Frizzell song that I had somehow managed to never hear before. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the song was a recent recording by a still living songwriter who lives and tours in Texas.

James Hand gets a lot of comparisons to both Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams. While clearly influenced by the styles of these two legendary artists James Hand has his own unique voice and style. His voice and his songs rank right up there with the great honky tonk singers of years gone by in my opinion. His songs are not merely in imitation of that earlier tradition but are a continuation of it.

Go see James Hand in concert. You will not be disappointed. You will probably be amazed. Like Willie said, he is the real deal.

You can check out samples of James Hand's music here.

A good article on James Hand can be read here.