Here's your country and your alt-country Weekend Roundup.

Checking the schedule you’ll notice it’s Cinco de Mayo. I ask this out of a genuine curiosity regarding the celebration of human festive times: What the hell is Cinco de Mayo? I know what it is. But how did we get from commemorating a battle in 1862 in someone else’s country to drinkin’ and dancin’ and goin’ to Chili’s for shrimp scampi, sauteed in garlic-lime chipotle butter for only $9.99 for a limited time only, except in Alaska and Hawaii? I guess it’s the same route Chicago takes to find a gazillion gallons of green dye to dump in their river every March 17. I have nothing against Cinco de Mayo, I just wonder about the impedimenta between the various Point A’s and Point B’s of the world.



Honestly, who the hell cares. Go enjoy yourself at these or other fine shows:

Randy Brown will be playing at a nice little cottage restaurant on his home turf of Aledo.

Several fests: Bill’s, May, Fred’s and Swing. Bill’s Fest moved to Royse City, in case you didn’t know. Mayfest is still in the same place. You still hear mention of the hail storm there from 1995, but I’m not going to succumb to that. Oops, darn. Well, here’s to no hail and good times at Mayfest. You can’t see me toasting my glass of root beer in the air, but I really am.

Jamie Richards is at the White Elephant. I like the first sentence on his website: “Jamie Richards is not a man who fears the machine or cares what ‘they’ think.”

Yeah, man, screw “them” and the machine they rode in on.

I’m sure The Boys will put on a fun show at Adair’s.

Roger Creager and Brandon Rhyder will horse around at the Horseman Club.

Donny Ray Ford will be at Lee Harvey’s on Saturday.

At Adair’s on Sunday there will be a Deryl Dodd benefit, with King Cone, Mark David Manders, Tommy Alverson, Amos Staggs, Dan Roberts, Mike Mancy and Mr. Dodd himself. Dodd and his band had all their equipment stolen March 30. And when I say all, I mean everything down to the guitar cables. They were totally wiped out. Here’s to Mr. Dodd and the band having their stuff back real soon. You can’t see me toasting my glass of root beer in the air but I am.

One last thing - look at this guy's shirt from the Rangers game last night. It was louder than the crowd when Teixeira hit a home run in the 4th. Honest, I heard one guy a few rows behind me yell, “HEY, SHIRT - SHADDUP!!”