Texas Tunes at MCL Grand

Amanda Shires kicks off 2013 Texas Tunes series at MCL Grand

Amanda Shires, less than two years removed from being named “Texas Musician of the Year,” will make her first Lewisville appearance on Saturday, Feb. 9, at Medical Center of Lewisville Grand Theater as part of the popular Texas Tunes concert series presented by the City of Lewisville.

The show will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Performance Hall of the MCL Grand, 100 N. Charles Street, and will include a brief intermission. Tickets are $15 ($10 for seniors age 65 and older or children age 12 and younger) and can be purchased at MCLGrand.tix.com or at the Customer Service window at Lewisville City Hall, 151 W. Church Street, during regular business hours.

Lewisville residents can purchase single-show tickets for $5 each, either in advance at City Hall or on the performance date at the MCL Grand box office. Current driver’s license or utility bill must be shown to receive the discounted resident rate.

Shires had a modest start to her music career back in 1992 when, at the age of 10, she convinced her father to buy a lime-green violin at a Mineral Wells pawn shop. Five years later she made her first appearance with The Texas Playboys.

Her first solo album was released in 2005, consisting mostly of violin instrumentals. She begin drawing widespread attention with her 2008 album, “Sew Your Heart with Wires,” a collection of duets co-written and performed with Rod Picott. That was followed the next year by the well-received “West Cross Timbers” album that established her as a rapidly emerging solo artist.

Shires’ most recent album was “Carrying Lightning,” which was released in 2011, the year she was named Texas Musician of the Year and her song “When You Need a Train It Never Comes” from that album was named the fifth-best song of the year by American Songwriter. That year she also appeared in the movie “Country Strong” as a band member backing up the character played by actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

This down-to-earth, self-effacing performer still maintains close ties to her West Texas roots, recording and occasionally performing with the Lubbock band Thrift Store Cowboys that she joined while in college. Her first Lewisville appearance will kick off the 2013 Texas Tunes concert series that features performers from music halls and festivals throughout the state who present great music in a variety of genres, but all with that unique Texas flair that has made the state a hotbed for fans of live music. Other performers in the 2013 series are songwriter Andy Gullahorn (March 9), blues legend Marcia Ball (April 20) and Lonestar Music Awards nominee Max Stalling (May 18).

Medical Center of Lewisville Grand Theater, located at 100 N. Charles Street, between Main and Church streets, opened in January 2011. The 40,000-square-foot facility features a 296-seat proscenium theater, black box theater, dance recital hall, art gallery, five art classrooms and a large courtyard. Medical Center of Lewisville has a multi-year agreement with the city for naming rights at the center.

To reach the MCL Grand from Interstate 35E, take exit 452 and proceed east on Main Street to Charles Street. The MCL Grand will be on the left. Free public parking is available along Main and Church streets, or at Lewisville City Hall across Church Street from the center. Parking is not permitted in the grass lot across Church Street from MCL Grand.

For details about upcoming events, or rental information for the facility, please visit www.MCLGrand.com or call 972.219.8446.