PWFAA Announces Acts for New Season

By Greg Ritchie

Messenger Reporter

HOUSTON COUNTY –  Piney Woods Fine Arts Association (PWFAA) announced its new season of concerts, including many new acts to hit this part of East Texas, with season tickets already available, and individual tickets going on sale Aug. 14.

The new lineup includes, as always, a myriad of different styles for most musical tastes, with everything from country, classic rock and blues – to a jazzy take on holiday favorites. 

The season will kick off Friday, Sept. 13 with three-time Grammy nominee and Texas native Ruthie Foster, sometimes called a mix somewhere between Bonnie Raitt and Aretha Franklin. Foster will bring a solid mix of blues, jazz, folk, soul and gospel, being nominated this year into the Texas Songwriters Hall of Fame. 

Oct. 12 sees the band Escape hit town, a Journey tribute band. The group Journey is loves for hits like “Don’t Stop Believing,” “Faithfully,” and “Any Way You Want It,” with 19 top-40 singles to hit the charts. Escape will bring those and other Journey favorites to Crockett Civic Center, a Texas band formed in 2006, listed as one of the best Journey tribute bands in the country. 

Nov. 22 will see the Bacon Brothers hit town, with brothers Michael and Kevin Bacon, known mostly for his work in Hollywood movies. The two have played together for the better part of 30 years, blending folk, rock, soul and country music. They call that diverse sound “forosoco.” They are promoting their album released this year, “Ballad of the Brothers.”

The traditional holiday show PWFAA treats us with this year is slated for Dec. 7, with Christmas with the Swingin’ Axes Jazz Band, headquartered in Nacadoches at SFA. The band has backed many big artists and performs in its own right and will bring a mix of traditional and fun holiday music with their own unique twist, something which will get old and young alike in a Christmas spirit. 

The first show of 2025 comes Jan. 24 with Shenandoah, a band formed in 1984 in Alabama, with a wide repertoire, including hits such as “The Church on Cumberland Road”, “Sunday in the South”, “Two Dozen Roses”, “Next to You, Next to Me” and “If Bubba Can Dance (I Can Too).” The group will swing through Crockett with over eight million albums sold in their long career. 

Ambrosia and Friends Peter Beckett and John Ford Coley will perform Feb. 22, part of their “Rock the Dock” tour series. The five-time Grammy-nominated ensemble achieved five Top 40 singles, including “How Much I Feel” and “Biggest Part of Me.” They continue to receive frequent radio airplay, gain the admiration and respect of the musical community, and sell out concerts around the world. 

The next concert in the series is scheduled for Mar. 7 with Linda Davis and her “Evening in the Round” concert. Davis is a three-time Grammy award winner, in both the Christian and country music genres. She continues to perform, write songs and inspire songwriters through her workshops and was inducted into The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2009.

The series ends with a bang as Tracy Byrd will perform Apr. 12, bringing the best of his hits to Houston County, no doubt including many of his chart-toppers like “Holdin’ Heaven,” “Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo,” and “Walking to Jerusalem.” The native Texan will be happy to be singing on his native soul, making Crockett one of the more than 4,000 concerts Byrd has performed around the world in his record-breaking career. 

Season tickets are on sale now and PWFAA Executive Director Ann Walker told The Messenger time is running out to lock in the best seats for the whole series, before individual tickets will be released to the public Aug. 14. There are still many opportunities to sponsor PWFAA concerts, with benefits varying by sponsorship level.

PWFAA is supported by its board of directors, many local sponsors, including The Messenger, Houston County Hotel Occupancy Tax Funds and other grants the association is able to use to put on its many events and support other local programs such as performances for area schools. 

To get more information, visit their website at www.pwfaa.org, stop by and see them Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in their Crockett office at 603 E. Goliad Ste. B, or by calling them at (936) 544-4276. 

Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]