Mary Chapin Carpenter fans are ready to 'Twist and Shout' again

As often happens when a music artist comes to Abilene, the question arises: Have they been here before?

Yes, Mary Chapin Carpenter has performed here.

In May 1992, she joined two gentlemen of country music, Vince Gill and Steve Wariner, for a show at the Taylor County Coliseum.

It doesn't seem as if she has been back.

That changes Wednesday night when Carpenter, after 31 years away, performs at the Paramount Theatre.

Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show are going fast.

Her appearance continues a recent trend of both current artists and those who made their names known years ago coming to the Paramount. Lyle Lovett and Rodney Crowell recently drew fans to the downtown theater.

Carpenter's show way back then included songs she likely will offer at the Paramount - "Passionate Kisses," "I Feel Lucky," "The Hard Way" and another for which she apologized.

It was "Read My Lips." Carpenter said she wrote the song before President H.W. Bush uttered that infamous phrase. That spoke to her perhaps not being a fan of the first Bush in the Oval Office.

Ironically, a highlight of that concert was confirmation that Garth Brooks would be coming to the Coliseum later that year. He did, in late July, and sold out the venue.

When drew fans to the Wariner-Carpenter-Gill show were two things.

First, the talent. These were artists who could sing and were adept at playing a guitar. Their songs were not the same old, same old.

Secondly, Wariner probably was the closest to being a true country music performer. Gill sang and played guitar with the country rock band Pure Prairie League before making it big in Nashville.

(A side note: Pure Prairie League will perform here July 29 at Lime Rock Amphitheater)

In an interview with the Reporter-News in 1992, Carpenter admitted that she was a bit all over the place, despite accolades won as a country music artist.

"It's so confusing sometimes," she said of being placed in a genre. "If I paid attention to every I've been described, I'd have the worst identity crisis in the world.

"My instinct is to just play what I play."

"Down at the Twist and Shout" won her a Grammy Award in 1992 for best country vocal performance by a female. She has won five of those awards, and has been nominated 15 times.

She is one of 15 women in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Other songs she likely will dust off for her show here are "Shut Up and Kiss Me" and "He Thinks He'll Keep Her."

She recorded her 15th album, "The Dirt and the Stars," during the pandemic era. Carpenter still is reflects on life, being growing older - she turned 65 this year, politics, heartbreak and compassion.

She is on her way to Colorado, to perform June 15-18 at the 50th Telluride Bluegrass Festival. She's been there before.

But that's after a long-awaited return in West Texas.

If You Go

• Who: Mary Chapin Carpenter, with opening act Emily Barker

• When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday

• Where: Paramount Theatre, 352 Cypress St.

• Tickets: Most floor seats already are sold - some single seats remain - but tickets are available for the lower and upper balcony at $39 plus any fees.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Mary Chapin Carpenter fans are ready to 'Twist and Shout' again