Austin-based singer/songwriter Gary P. Nunn isn’t ready to “go home with the armadillo” just yet.
Nunn, 77, and a 50-plus year member of the music business plays roughly 50 tour dates a year. On Aug. 19, he’ll headline a fundraising concert for the nonprofit “Raising a Hand for Rett.”
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Rett syndrome is a condition that affects how the brain develops. Rett syndrome is found mostly in girls.
The concert is set for 5 to 10:30 p.m. at Dosey Doe Big Barn, 25911 Interstate 45 in Spring. The opening group is The Heels, a trio of female musicians from Canada.
Tickets may be purchased at the Dosey Doe ticket website.
“Gary has been a big supporter of our project to the point that he took copies of Volume One out on the road with him and talked about our book project from the stage nightly selling many copies,” said Dave Clements co-founder of Raising a Hand for Rett. “Kevin and I both agree, as do many more cross Texas, that Gary is really talented, fun on stage and so very easy to like.”
Rett syndrome is a personal cause for Clements and his partner in the project, Kevin Black, brother of country musician Clint Black. Kevin Black lost his teen daughter, Cortney, to Rett syndrome in 2003.
The duo has fought to raise awareness and funds for a cure ever since. They combined their passions of music and photography with 210 images of music artists for the “Raising a Hand” book project.
The black and white hard copy Volume One was first printed in 2016 and sold 10,000 copies in 43 states and seven countries. Volume One had a black cover featuring Clint Black, The Eagles, George Strait, Greg Shelton, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Paul McCartney, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Jimmy Buffett and BB King.
Volume 2 of “Raising a Hand for Rett” published in July 2021. At the Aug. 19 event, Volume 3 for the project will be announced.
“The book has a really good chance of being our best yet and for sure it will be our largest,” Clements said. “Volume 3 will feature 338 artists all that have played at Dosey Doe over the last decade and a half. Also, it will have the complete history of The Big Barn with before-and-after photos of the barn’s construction. It is a terrific story that will warm your heart.”
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Nunn said his friendship with Black and Clements goes back years. He was featured in Volume 1 of the book and will be featured in Volume 3.
He said people coming to the show can expect his regular set, but he will take requests.
No doubt “London Homesick Blues” with its famous line — “I want to go home with the armadillo” — will be a part of the repertoire.
Other hits featured will be “What I Like About Texas” and “The Last Thing I Need First Thing in the Morning.”
Nunn will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of “London Homesick Blues” at the fundraising show.
In March 1973, he was traveling with musician Michael Martin Murphy in England and found it to be a lonely and dreary month in London.
“They put me up in a flat in London and it was cold and found myself wandering around looking out the window. It was a cold and drizzly typical London day. I just started thinking ‘it’s cold over here and I wish they’d turn the heat on,’” he said. It started out as an exercise in song writing with Nunn blending Texas songwriting with British styles.
Jerry Jeff Walker had Nunn perform the song on his Viva Terlinga album, which was released later in 1973.
“I never expected anything to come of it. It’s not your country typical song,” he said. His signature song, however, was the theme song for Austin City Limits for 27 years.
Nunn said he’s having more fun touring that he’s ever had. “It’s a just a joy to go out and play and have people be so enthusiastic.”
For more information about the Raising a Hand project, visit the Raising a Hand website.
