"To me, Bobby Earl Smith was, and still is, the heart and soul of that band and the sound I first heard ‘way back then, his West Texas twang evoking a sense of place without trying, his lyrics as timeless and fresh as great country music is supposed to be--mixing the hide-bound traditions of western and country with Mex and Tex and gospel and God knows what else.

Listening to Bobby Earl is like putting on my favorite pair of boots, the ones whose soles feel like they were form-fitted to each foot, and whose leather’s so aged and worn, the boot stack flops over like a piece of suede. Or sitting around the table for family supper on Sundays.  Or patting the head of your favorite dog who knows you better than any human does.  Or country, back when country was cool.  His timbre is puro West Texas, all twang and wide open spaces between each and every syllable.  He wears his heart on his sleeve and in lyrics that take you to another place somewhere in the west.  The playing is precise, but languid, loping and easy.  No one’s in a rush...This is what happens when the money’s off the table and no one’s betting piles of cash on the outcome: music for music’s sake--for the song, for the dance, for the emotion.  What a novel concept". - JOE NICK PATOSKI, somewhere in the hills outside of Austin

Kimmie Rhodes & Bobby Earl Smith announce a reunion of the legendary Jackalope Brothers Band, a renegade fun-loving local favorite of the 80s who played original songs at landmark venues, including The Alamo Hotel Lounge, Emmajoe’s, The Cactus Cafe, and The Armadillo Beer Garden. The band returns for one night only to its favorite haunt, The Broken Spoke, 3201 S. Lamar Boulevard, Saturday May 6.  Broken Spoke dance lessons kick at 8:00 p.m. with music following at 9:00 p.m.

Bobby Earl Smith, singer-songwriter and veteran of 1970's Austin bands Freda and the Firedogs and Alvin Crow and the Pleasant Valley Boys, celebrates the release of his new album "Calling Me Calling You" at the event.

The Jackalope Brothers band features ex-Jackalopes Ron Howard on piano and John X. Reed on guitar, joined by veteran sidemen Gabriel Rhodes (guitar), Freddie Krc (drums) and Eric Smith (bass). The Jackalope torch will be passed at the event to special guest, Jolie Goodnight (daughter of Kimmie & Joe Gracey) who now performs with her tribute band, Jolie and the Jackalopes.

Singer-songwriter, Kimmie Rhodes, from Lubbock, Texas, migrated to Austin in 1979, where she met celebrity DJ and key founder of the Austin progressive country scene, Joe Gracey and partner Bobby Earl Smith at Electric Graceyland Studios in the basement of the renowned KOKE FM. The trio formed her first band, Kimmie Rhodes & The Jackalope Brothers and soon recorded its first album at the invitation of Willie Nelson at his Pedernales Recording Studio.  The eponymous vinyl album was released in 1983.  Kimmie Rhodes’  multi-platinum selling songs have been recorded by Willie Nelson, Wynonna Judd, Trisha Yearwood, Amy Grant, Joe Ely, Waylon Jennings, Peter Frampton, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris and Babe The Pig. She has released a total of sixteen solo CDs to date.