Crye, Lovett are ‘Workin’ Men’
If your country music tastes run to the Outlaw Country as performed by the greats like Merle Haggard and Johnny Paycheck, get yourself to BrightStar Theaters this Saturday night.
That’s when two Texarkana raised, longtime musicians, Ace Crye and Johnny Lovett, return to town to perform their twoman tribute show to Haggard and Paycheck, “The Workin’ Men.” Both musicians are plenty experienced in the art of paying tribute to great music icons. This time, Lovett appears as Haggard, while Crye performs as Paycheck.
Lovett got his start as a youngster mimicking Elvis Presley when he could do “Hound Dog” at the tender age of 2 years old. In subsequent years, he was performing at talent shows and had his own band going.
As an adult, Lovett moved on to the honkytonks and served as the official Elvis for a Dallas radio station for several years. He performed with a litany of well-
known musicians as an Elvis tribute artist, and then took off with his own music and the band Neon Therapy.
After a post-band breakup hiatus, Lovett returned to the stage to perform his Elvis tribute, and “Workin’ Men” sees him portraying someone different but still iconic in the legendary Hag.
Atlanta, Texas-born Crye is also practiced in the art of paying tribute to Elvis. As a teen, young Ace performed at area oprys and was soon a working musician. He’s performed for troops overseas and appeared in TV shows about Elvis.
Crye has opened for Charlie Daniels, been a Carnival Cruise Lines performer and helmed his own bands: 7 Feet of Country and Texas Gypsy. Now, he’s back in Texarkana doing his best to portray Paycheck, another icon from the Outlaw Country movement. Show time is 7 p.m.
(Tickets: $13.99 general admission, $20 reserved, $20 at the door. Tickets are on sale at BrightStarTheaters.com. BrightStar is located at 2729 New Boston Road. More info: 903-255-7132.)