Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra

The question isn't what Alejandro Escovedo's accomplished over the past 30 years, but what he hasn't. He played in the late '70s punk band the Nuns and the trailblazing cowpunk quartet Rank & File before founding the revered alt-country rock troupe the True Believers. Escovedo then moved on to an acclaimed solo career that resulted in his being named Artist of the Decade for the '90s by No Depression, the Americana music bible. Few performers can match his ability to draw in an audience with his heartbreakingly honest tunes ("She Doesn't Live Here Anymore," "Last to Know") and then urge them to go wild by cranking it up ("Castanets," from his last studio release Man Under the Influence). The strength that Escovedo reveals in his music mirrors the strength that carries him through his life. In 2002, the Austin-based performer contracted a near-fatal case of hepatitis C, and his triumph over the disease makes this tour something of a miracle. Escovedo will be performing with his eight-piece string-enhanced orchestra, which features his old True Believers comrade Jon Dee Graham, a talented singer-songwriter who will be opening the evening.