Friends of the Allen Public Library

Tex & Mary Schutz join New Zealand’s Roger Tibbs

by Tom Keener

Prepare for a foot-stomping evening of entertaining songs and stories as Roger Tibbs joins Tex and Mary Schutz at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8.  The audience will be treated to a variety of classic country tunes that cover a wide range of subjects including life on the farm, a cowboy named Eddie, driving a truck for a living, being a cowboy, Jesus as a young boy, and ordinary country folks. 

For several winters, Tex and Mary entertained guests at resorts in Arizona and South Texas and continue to perform each summer at festivals, community concerts, churches and RV rallies across the country.  They present their own “Miles of Memories Country MusicFest” each September in Hastings, Nebraska, a family event that includes concerts, theme shows, learning sessions and lots of music, fellowship and fun for fans of traditional country, bluegrass, cowboy and gospel music.

 This duo is regularly featured on “Midwest Country Music,” carried on RFD-TV, which is recorded each week at the Midwest Country Music Theatre in Sandstone, Minnesota.  Tex is originally from Texas (by way of Nebraska) and is an award-winning vocalist, guitar, mandolin and Dobro player.  Together, Tex and Mary have won awards for their harmony singing and are long-time members of the Mid-America Country Music Hall of Fame.  Mary calls Nebraska home and is proud of her farm-girl heritage.  The couple makes their home on a lake near Streetman, Texas.
 

New Zealander Roger Tibbs has been featured on “That’s Country” television where he shared the stage with Emmy Lou Harris, Connie Smith and Johnny Russell.  Roger recorded his hit album “Yodeling Man” on the Music World label, which won that label's Gold Disc Award for strong sales.  In addition, this album won the Gold Guitar award for the highest-selling album in Australia at the Tamworth NSW Awards in 1987. He remains the only male New Zealand artist to be awarded a Tamworth Gold Guitar.  In 2010, Roger was inducted into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame, a project of the National Traditional Country Music Association.

Sponsored by Bach to Books, this program is free and no reservations are required.