The man who many believe singlehandedly
brought real country music back from the commercial abyss in the 1980s, Dwight
Yoakam, is bringing his rollicking honky-tonk roots sound to the Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center on April 11. Joining him on the date on his Cosmic
Roundup & Rodeo Tour will be Tex-Mex/Americana greats the Mavericks.
Born in Kentucky and raised in
Ohio, Yoakam moved to Nashville in the late 1970s to pursue a career in country
music but found himself at odds with the then-dominant, glossy urban cowboy style.
With guitarist Pete Anderson, he put together band that was influenced by his
early heroes Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and Buck Owens, and the group found
fast favor with the authenticity-seeking audiences at punk clubs, where they shared
bills with the likes of X, the Blasters, Los Lobos, and Hüsker Dü. Yoakam’s
1986 debut, Guitars, Cadillacs, etc., etc., became a sizeable hit on
college and alternative radio stations and from there crossed over into
mainstream playlists. His 1987 followup, Hillbilly Deluxe, brought four
Top 10 hits: “Little Sister,” “Little Ways,” “Please, Please Baby,” and “Always
Late with Your Kisses.”
The first single off 1988’s Buenos
Noches from a Lonely Room, the Buck Owens cover “Streets of Bakersfieled,” became
his first number one hit. Since then, Yoakam has acted in movies (most notably,
1996’s Sling Blade) and collaborated with Willie Nelson, Beck, and many
others. His most recent album, Brighter Days, features guest Post Malone.
Dwight Yoakam, the Mavericks, and
Jason Scott and the High Heat will perform at the Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention
Center in Poughkeepsie on April 11 at 6pm. Tickets are $72-$335.
This article appears in April 2025.
