Aaron Watson Friday, November 27, 2009 8 pm Opener: James Pardo 8pm Born in Amarillo, TX, Watson's earliest musical influences were the gospel hymns he sang in church with his family and the classic country records by George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Willie Nelson his folks played around the house. Watson began writing and singing his own songs while he was a student at Abilene Christian University, and after graduating he became a regular fixture on the Texas honky tonk circuit. With an uncanny knack for mixing great songs and unforgettable performances with good, old-fashioned business savvy, Watson has grown night-by-night, fan-by-fan, album-by-album, one honky-tonk stage at a time into an unstoppable force in Texas Music with his sights firmly set on the national stage. With two albums and a few years of hard touring under his belt, Watson released his third album Shut Up & Dance in 2002. After a slow start, the debut single from the album, "Off the Record," took off at Texas radio and Watson and band started playing for sellout crowds all over the southwest. For his next release, 2004's The Honky Tonk Kid, Watson hooked up with veteran producer and Asleep at the Wheel leader Ray Benson. That album spawned another hit single, "Reckless," and Watson followed up quickly with the 2005 concert recording, Live at the Texas Hall of Fame. His next release, San Angelo, also produced by Benson, debuted at No. 60 on the Billboard chart and continued Watson's career momentum and impressive album sales. Watson’s 2008 release Angels & Outlaws reached #4 on the U.S. Billboard Heatseekers chart, #28 on its Country Albums chart, and landed in the The Billboard Top 200. The album's debut single, "Hearts Are Breaking Across Texas", reached the #1 spot on the Texas Music Chart. URL: www.aaronwatson.com