Four Men From Now

Many moons ago, a cigarette company sponsored a songwriter's showcase during which John Hiatt, Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett and Steve Wariner swapped songs onstage. Although saving some gas money is probably a nice side benefit, that musical intimacy is the goal of the "Four Men from Now" tour, four more Texas songwriters casually doing their thing. San Marcos native Adam Carroll (pictured) takes the John Prine role, sliding through story songs with a grin. Michael Fracasso's Buddy Holly-like voice takes his prairie-lonesome lyrics deep into unexplored, dusty territory. Beaver Nelson makes like a utility infielder, with pop-driven songs that could go anywhere and feature potentially any sound, from tubas to gunshots. Nelson's regular guitarist, "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb (a former Loose Diamond), has a whispery, crackling baritone that makes Bob Dylan's life-worn voice sound gentle; his guitar work's bound to bring everything together. It's easy to imagine Four Men From Now as an evening of wisecracks, sidetracks -- and way more than enough songwriting to keep us coming back.