Witnessing Music History in Lubbock

Last Saturday night, my husband and I traveled to Lubbock for a live music show.

I know what you're thinking, "why in the world would you drive three hours to the Texas desert for live music???"

Well, let me explain. Over a month ago we stumbled across a post about Peter Frampton playing live.

Peter Frampton live in Lubbock.

Lubbock? Seriously?! What the heck is Frampton doing in Lubbock? And for those in the know, Frampton is suffering from a muscular illness that is really taking its toll on his ability to play and he stopped touring a couple of years ago. So, knowing this, how is it that Peter Frampton is taking the stage again, much less in Lubbock, of all places?

The big deal? Buddy Holly's 85th Birthday Celebration. Who would've guessed Frampton is a huge Buddy Holly fan?

So, seeing that post over a month ago, and knowing how much Ernie loves Frampton --and seeing as how neither of us had ever seen Frampton live before -- I insisted we get tickets. "He's sick," I told Ernie ."We will probably never get another chance to see him play live."

So, the day arrived and off to Lubbock we went!

We really had no idea what was in store for us. We knew some other artists were going to be there but really didn't know who. And wow, we couldn't believe the musicians we got to see!

Come to find out, one of the original members of Buddy Holly's band, The Crickets, was there. A guy by the name of Albert Lee. Searching Albert's credentials, I found out this guy is a legendary guitarist and composer having played with country music greats like Jerry Reed, Emmylou Harris, Ricky Skaggs, Rodney Crowell and The Everly Brothers.

Commerce, Texas, native Gary Nicholson was also there. He's written or co-written songs for Vince Gill, Montgomery Gentry, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Brad Paisley, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Clay Walker. In 2006, he was nominated to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriter's Association Hall of Fame in 2011 and has received several ASCAP Awards for his songwriting.

Grammy Award winning songwriter and guitarist Steve Cropper was there. Now Steve is the guy who played electric guitar on "Tell Me Why," the hit single for Wynonna Judd back in 1993. He's also known for playing on albums for country artists like Dolly Parton, Jimmy Buffett, Roy Orbison, Craig Morgan and Rebecca Lynn Howard but probably his most notable work is having co-written the 1960s rock hit "(Sittin' On The) Dock Of The Bay" with the legendary musician Otis Redding.

The first half of the show was a Q&A with each of the above artists, and Peter Frampton, of course.

The second half featured performances from each of the artists performing songs they'd written or performed on and their interpretation of Buddy Holly's work. For Mario Valens, it was a chance to perform "La Bamba," his brother Ritchie's most well-known song.

Several musicians who were scheduled to be there had played together recently and each was exposed to COVID so they had to cancel. That was a bummer. But overall, this was an amazing evening and a very unique show. Ernie and I had never seen Frampton so, of course that was the highlight for us.. and being fans of live music, rock-n-roll and history buffs, it's definitely an evening we will remember for a very long time!

The venue where the evening's event took place is the Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts in Lubbock. You can find out more about this new venue by going to their website here.