Rolling Stone and Sonesta kicked off their five-city ‘Musicians on Musicians’ tour at the Stephen F. Austin Royal Sonesta Hotel with Charley Crockett and Noeline Hofmann. The exclusive event brought together Grammy-nominated Texas songwriter Charley Crockett with rising country music star Noeline Hofmann for an intimate evening of storytelling and music.
Crockett and Hofmann joined Rolling Stone senior music editor Joseph Hudak on stage for an engaging, and often humorous, conversation about their musical common ground and how a sense of place influences an artist’s songwriting. Crockett, in matching dark denim pants and jacket, spoke about the role that Austin, the city he calls home, plays in his music, and told freewheeling stories about trying to book gigs in hotel bars around town and busking on street corners. Hofmann, in her brown fringed jacket and prairie skirt, shared the geographical focus behind her breakout hit “Purple Gas,” a song that puts listeners squarely in her farming community of Southern Alberta, Canada.
Hofmann performed a gorgeous set that included “Purple Gas” and a cover of Johnny Cash’s “Big River,” before Crockett, all Texas swagger, tore through a set highlighting his new album Lonesome Drifter. He detailed the struggle of the working musician in “Life of a Country Singer” and warned other artists of shady business deals in the song “Game I Can’t Win.”
The event marks the start of Rolling Stone and Sonesta’s expanded ‘Musicians on Musicians’ partnership. This year, the event series evolved into a five-city national tour, with stops in some of America’s most musically rich cities. Each event features a unique pairing of an established and an emerging artist exploring their craft and delivering an exclusive performance in the intimate setting of a Sonesta signature hotel.
The next stop on the tour will be New Orleans on May 8 at the Royal Sonesta New Orleans and then Washington, DC on June 12 at the Royal Sonesta Washington, DC. The final two events will take place in New York City in September and Portland, Oregon in November. Each event will feature an artist pairing, conversation and performances deeply rooted in the musical culture of the city.
