Oct. 5—Critically-acclaimed Texas singer/songwriter Adam Carroll said he often prefers playing smaller venues than the larger arena shows.

"I sure do — absolutely," Carroll said. He's had the chance to perform at larger venues that lack the audience interaction and closeness smaller, club-like venues offer.

Carroll will perform at a smaller, more intimate venue Friday night when he returns to McAlester for an Oct. 7 performance at Spaceship Earth Coffee.

While Carroll has long maintained the tradition of the lone troubadour, his musical partner Chris — who is also his wife — plans to join him on mandolin and vocals for the 8 p.m. McAlester show, billed as "Another Evening with Adam & Chris Carroll."

They became the first artists to play at a ticketed event at Spaceship Earth Coffee, when he and Chris performed at the venue in 2021. Jeremy Beaver, of Spaceship Earth, said he's delighted they are coming back for a return performance.

"Adam Carroll is one of those guys other songwriters really look up to," Beaver said. "The whole reason we do this is to bring performers like Adam for people to enjoy."

He's anticipating his Friday night McAlester performance at Spaceship Earth. "We had a great time there last year," Carroll said. He especially loves performing music with Chris.

"We try to have fun when we play together," he said. "I'm an introvert and she's a little more of a firecracker."

Adam Carroll's albums include his 2019 release "I Walked in Them Shoes," including songs such as "Crescent City Angels" and "My Only Good Shirt."

His lyrics are often filled with everything from sardonic wit to cutting edge humor, much like other vaunted singer/songwriters such as Guy Clark and John Prine.

Other Carroll albums include "Lookin' Out the Screen Door," an album filled with songs that have joined his long list of fan favorites, including "Erroll's Song" and "The Girl with the Dirty Hair."

He and Chris also teamed up for their album "Good Farmer," with the title song becoming another fan favorite.

What does he look for when writing a song?

"What I look for is something that's deep, you can keep coming back to and something simple that everybody can relate to," Carroll said. "Guy Clark used to say it's as much as what you leave out of a song as what you put in it."

One of Carroll's biggest supporters is famed Texas musician Robert Earl Keen, who is quoted as saying "If all were right with the world, Adam Carroll would be the Townes Van Zandt of our age."

Carroll feels it's quite an honor to be mentioned in the same breath as the famed Van Zandt, the original writer and performer on many songs that have become standards, including "Pancho and Lefty," "If I Needed You" and others. It's even more special coming from Keen.

"It's a real honor," Carroll said. "Robert is definitely a hero of mine," he said, adding that seeing Keen perform led to his decision to become a singer/songwriter himself.

Carroll guitar playing often includes an elaborate finger-picking style. He said in his younger days he'd been trained in the techniques of classical guitar and referred to the Cuban Flamenco song "Malagueña" by Ernesto Lecuona.

"Keith Richards said if a guitarist could play 'Malagueña', that would impress anyone," Carroll said. Although he had learned the song while studying under his classical guitar teacher, "I can't play it anymore," Carroll said with a chuckle.

If Oklahomans are fans of Texas singers and songwriters, Carroll is impressed with songwriters from Oklahoma, including Travis Linville, John Moreland and John Fullbright — all of whom have performed at McAlester's Dancing Rabbit Music Festival. Fullbright is set for a return performance at Dancing Rabbit's fall show on Nov. 12. Carroll also mentioned Mike McClure and The Great Divide — with McClure a recent performer at Spaceship Earth.

"I'm humbled to be around them," Carroll said.

Adam and Chris Carroll's McAlester performance is sandwiched between shows in Dallas and Oklahoma City.

Tickets to the Adam and Chris McCarroll concert are $20 in advance or $25 at the door — if any are left. Beaver said advance tickets can be purchased online at the spaceshipearth.coffee website or by stopping by Spaceship Earth at 345 E. Choctaw Avenue.

Beaver said Spaceship Earth is also hosting a $10 ticketed Saturday night show on Oct, 8, featuring Jackie Darlene and Zach Pack. He said Darlene is the granddaughter of Whitey Shafer, the Nashville-based songwriter whose songs include the George Strait hits "All My Ex's Live in Texas" and "Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind."

Meanwhile, Carroll said he really enjoyed his previous McAlester performance, especially the audience response.

"Everybody was appreciative," he said.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.