Culture
A Townes Van Zandt tribute night is coming to The Union March 5, and it’s benefitting WOUB
By: Emily Votaw
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On Saturday, March 5, The Union will host a Townes Van Zandt tribute night for the benefit of WOUB Public Media.
Organized by Lou Poster of Drift Mouth, the lineup for the benefit includes sets by Poster (who will also host the event), Caitlin Kraus, Jake Dunn, JJ Reed, Megan Bee, Eric Nassau of Devil Doves, Kelby Primmer, Benji Brite of Slagpile, and RJ Martin.
Townes Van Zandt, who is widely regarded as one of the most impressive American singer-songwriters of the 20th century, lived all but the very tail end of his short life in what could only be described as willful obscurity — sometimes even forsaking electricity, running water, and plumbing to live in a shack in the woods.
He left behind a trove of songs that are almost universally regarded as masterpieces, and perhaps particularly well loved by other musicians who continue to be influenced by Van Zandt’s distinctive, poetic voice.
The upcoming benefit is modeled after the annual Townes Van Zandt tribute nights that have been put on for over 15 years in Columbus for the benefit of public radio station WCBE.
“My friend, Eric Nassau of the Devil Doves, has been doing a Townes Van Zandt tribute night for WCBE in Columbus for 17 or 18 years. I relocated to Athens about a year and a half ago, and I realized that I was gonna be missing out on one of my favorite nights in Columbus, one that I’ve been participating in for eight or 10 years now. I called up [Nassau] and I said, ‘Hey, would you mind if I kind of took your idea for a tribute night for the local radio station?’ And he was amenable to that — and I kind of took it from there and ran with it,” said Poster.
Poster has been an avid fan of Townes Van Zandt since his early 20s.
“There are a few writers in literature that have done kind of the same thing that Townes did for music. They’ve learned how to convey human emotions from one brain to another, in a totally new way. I think Cormac McCarthy is a good example of that. Don DeLillo is a great example of that. There are some people who can just make you feel something — and Townes has done that with music in a way that I’ve never heard anybody else do,” said Poster. “There are other great songwriters. Clearly there are tons of great songwriters. There are thousands and thousands of great songs in the world, but Townes can really make you feel what he was feeling in a way that I don’t think anybody else has ever been able to do.”
Towards the end of Townes Van Zandt’s life, Poster had an opportunity to see the artist perform live. He decided not to go, and while he can’t remember exactly why – he said he’s glad he didn’t.
“He was a troubled individual and had a lot of substance abuse problems. He wasn’t all the way together towards the end,” said Poster. “I think that that part of his legacy, that troubling part of it, has put a lot of people off of his music. He wasn’t maybe the best person of all time. But he had a lot to say in describing us, for us — I think.”
Why a benefit for WOUB?
Poster says it’s a way to give back to the station for all it does for the community, and especially for Athens’ rich music scene.
“WOUB does a lot for the community. You do a lot for local artists and you show our region what our region is doing, and that’s incredibly valuable. Most places, and I’m not talking about other places here in Athens, I’m just talking about in general, throughout the country, it’s Clear Channel and it’s monoculture, and it’s the 20 bands that you’re supposed to listen to on the radio. Having a local resource like WOUB that does care, and not just care, but does promote, does introduce local artists to a wider audience — it’s inspiring to younger and newer artists to come and do things because they can hear it on the radio because it’s legitimate — because it’s part of the culture,” said Poster. “I first heard indie rock and punk rock on a college radio station in Morgantown, West Virginia, when I was growing up, and that influenced me more than any other radio station, TV show — anything. With the music that I make now and the music that the people that are gonna be playing this tribute — it makes perfect sense to be partnered up with WOUB for what I hope will be a pretty fantastic night.”
Townes Van Zandt Tribute Night: a Benefit for WOUB, will take place on Saturday, March 5 at The Union. Doors open at 8 p.m.