By Jaci Schneider, Opinion Editor
Country singer and former ACU student Aaron Watson will return to Abilene on Tuesday for a concert and the release of his latest CD.
The concert is planned for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Paramount Theatre, and tickets cost $12 in advance or $15 at the door. All audience members also will receive Watson’s CD, Live at the Texas Hall of Fame, which will be released Tuesday.
“We run a good, clean show,” Watson said. He described his music as “honky tonk” and said he likes the old kind of country.
Watson is from Amarillo and attended ACU from 1998-2001. He said he’s only one credit away from earning his degree in biology.
“I was only three hours away till graduation when my music career took off,” Watson said. “So it was like make money or pay ACU.
“I’ll probably go back and finish up my degree sooner or later,” he said.
He said he spent most of his time at ACU taking guitar lessons, but now he spends much of his time traveling across Texas in a tour bus and performing concerts.
“I always try to play at a good, clean venue,” Watson said. Tuesday’s concert will be smaller than his regular concerts, and he said it hasn’t been promoted very much.
“It will be low key and more of an intimate acoustic show,” Watson said. “We always do really well in Abilene.”
Watson said his goal is to play good music and to set a good example. He said his band has turned down beer sponsorships.
“I don’t allow anyone to drink or lead that kind of lifestyle,” he said.
The CD that Watson will release Tuesday was recorded in College Station at the Texas Hall of Fame. Gino Genaro, Watson’s manager, said the album was recorded in February in front of a sold-out show of more than 2,000 people.
“In the last few years, Aaron’s developed a really strong following,” Genaro said.
Watson said he’s proud of “Live at the Texas Hall of Fame,” which will include 19 tracks.
“I think the CD turned out really cool,” he said.
Currently, Watson is in the process of recording a Gospel album that will be released late this summer. He also plans to record another country CD this summer.
