Charlie Robison

Labeling Charlie Robison "pure country" is like calling Bush a "compassionate conservative" -- you've only got it half right. There's no denying the country-fried charisma of this down-home Texas badass (Robison, that is), but for every measure of steel guitar and Southern drawl that drips from his lyrics, he dishes up an equal helping of rock-and-roll attitude. Besides being married to a neocon's worst nightmare -- Dixie Chicks banjo player and enemy combatant Emily Robison -- Robison's live shows are notorious for their rowdy mix of honky-tonk, bluegrass, folk and classic rock. Whether he's covering AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" or entertaining the locals with tongue-in-cheek boot stompers such as "Sunset Boulevard" (I'd spend all my money on caviar and cocaine/And I would not remember how you broke my heart today), Robison knows how to be the life of the party for every type of showgoer. Is it wrong for a red stater to act so blue? Not in Robison's case.