Robert Earl Keen - Then And Now
About This Event
Robert Earl Keen brings "Then And Now" to Irving Plaza, pairing earlier songs with later work and foregrounding his story-song approach rooted in Texas country, red dirt and Americana; Coleman Jennings joins the bill with his own narrative-country material. Keen’s plainspoken delivery and Jennings’s stage presence—shaped in part by a career in banking, finance and civic and faith-based community leadership—keep attention on lyrics and the band's groove rather than spectacle.
About Then And Now
Then and Now is a historical novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Set mainly in Imola, Italy, but also in other Italian cities, including Machiavelli's hometown Florence during the Renaissance, the story focuses on three months in the life of Niccolò Machiavelli, the Florentine politician, diplomat, philosopher and writer in the early years of the 16th century. The book was first published by Heinemann in 1946. It recollects Machiavelli's encounter with Cesare Borgia, who was the model on which Machiavelli based his Il Principe. Against that background, a love farce unfolds, in which Machiavelli tries to seduce the young wife of his host at Imola. The unsuccessful affair gave Machiavelli the idea of writing his first comedy, The Mandrake. Thus, Then and Now appears to combine the two best-known works of Machiavelli – The Prince and The Mandrake.
About the Artists
Robert Earl Keen
Robert Earl Keen is a Houston-raised singer-songwriter whose work sits at the crossroads of Texas country, red dirt, Americana, and outlaw traditions. He built his reputation on narrative writing, treating songs like short stories with specific characters and a sense of place.
Coleman Jennings
Coleman Jennings is a country artist whose work sits comfortably in the narrative tradition of American roots music. In New York City, he has appeared at Irving Plaza, including on the bill with Robert Earl Keen for “Then And Now,” a set built around early and later material.