Well just when you thought it couldn’t get any better with the music in downtown Conroe, it did over the past several weeks with concerts in the Corner Pub, Tuts, the City Café, Dosey Does in The Woodlands and especially the legendary Crighton Theatre!

The clock struck 8 p.m. and the show started in the Crighton as Rosie Flores took the stage with Kenny Vaughan of the Fabulous Superlatives (Marty Stuart’s band) and they both rocked the house. Kenny who played with Rosie for three years played the electric Fender telecaster like he was from another planet. Mouths dropped throughout the venue as he proved he is one of the best six stringers on the planet. Rosie, broken arm and all, played acoustic rhythm guitar and sang like a honky tonk angel. I’ve seen Rosie six times over the last 30-plus years and this was the best I ever heard her. Rosie Flores was a great choice to open for Marty Stuart. The crowd loved her.

Speaking of Marty Stuart, he and his band, the Superlatives put on an unbelievable show with their great vocals, harmonies, pickin’, original songs and great selection of cover songs. They have to be one of, if not the best and most talented groups on the music front today. Marty Stuart on lead vocals and harmony vocals, dobro, guitar and mandolin, Paul Martin on stand up slap bass, Handsome Harry Stinson on drums and Kenny Vaughan on lead acoustic guitar are as good as it gets. All the players harmonize and sing lead. Handsome Harry hit a high note that he held for more than 40 seconds! They said they loved Conroe and the Crighton Theatre. They also said that the backstage hospitality was some of if not the best they had ever had. They loved the food, the sound, the respect paid by the audience and the overall goal that we have set for our downtown. Marty received a thunderous standing ovation, came back on stage and took request and did a six-song encore. He played for more than two hours although contracted for 75 minutes. He went to the lobby and signed CDs, books, T-shirts and took pictures with fans for 75 minutes. After that he met Craig Campobella and went down to my building with his band and admired the Texian Soldier being sculpted for the flag park. He offered to come back in April to help with the grand opening. By the way, Saturday night on his music show on Channel RFD Marty will host his beautiful wife Connie Smith and the legendary John Prine.

By John Ross Martin, III