Riffs: Jonatha Brooke at Blue Rock Songstress Jonatha Brooke culminated Blue Rock’s Live! Cool Nights 2022–2023 season with a performance from the Blue Rock stage on April 13.
Proprietor Billy Crockett said Brooke exemplified the “power of the song,” and traced her recording journey from The Story, her band in the ‘90s, to solo albums such as “Midnight Hallelujah” and “The Sweetwater Sessions,” as well as her work with Disney for the “Return to Never Land.” He also talked about her evolution as a musical playwright and her co-writing credits with the likes of Katy Perry, the Dixie Chicks and other well-known artists.
“Certain artists,” he said, “can connect a chord movement with a line of melody that, with its completion, becomes transformative. I’ll never forget the first time I heard her do that.”
Billboard Magazine called her “. . . one of the most gifted and unique artists of the decade.”
Performing with virtuoso guitarist Sean Driscoll, the words of her songs floated on the wings of his solos into a singularly exquisite oblivion, especially on the song, “Are You Getting This Down?”
Evocative at times of Shawn Colvin, Suzanne Vega, Rickie Lee Jones and Joni Mitchell, Brooke compelled her audience to listen, really listen, to the conversation she elicits between her muse and her inner self.
Roams: Lockhart Just 43 minutes east of Wimberley, the Caldwell County Courthouse, an impressive limestone and red sandstone structure in the style of Second Empire, lords over the city of Lockhart. Built in 1894, its second floor has been used for films and its clock tower houses a working Seth Thomas clock, restored by the venerable Gene Galbraith of the Southwest Museum of Clocks and Watches, also in Lockhart.
Manny Gammage’s Texas Hatters
One of only a few custom hat makers remaining in the US, this place is a treasure trove of craft, talent, style and starstruck history.
Hats for some of the world’s most infamous took shape there — Robert Duvall, Tommy Lee Jones, Matt Damon, Anjelica Huston, Dolly Parton, Sissy Spacek — and a long, long list of other actors, musicians and well-styled folk.
Whitewashed and tidy, the beautiful shop is filled with an impressive number of photos and styles to take in. Missing is third generation master hatter David Torres who died in March at the young age of 52. A delightfully warm and whimsical mad hatter himself, his essence remains throughout the shop. No longer there to measure and guide clients to their quintessential style, he leaves a large space for the next generation to fill. To learn more, visit texashatters. com.
Old School Leathersmith
The Old School Leathersmith shop on San Antonio Street is a fully bespoke, custom leather shop.
Filled with examples of everything from belts and wallets to holsters and chaps, the hushed gloam inside is broken only by the muted gleam of conchos, buckles and other decorative metalwork. Jan Bessette and her husband, Mark, with the salty vowels of Rhode Island still attached to his speech, are the proprietors of this humble temple.
Jan, a Texan and optometrist by profession, and Mark, a traditional leatherworker, met years ago in Rhode Island working at a mission to help addicts recover. In time they made their home in Lockhart, working side by side in the intimate atmosphere of the shop, with Jan taking up leatherwork alongside her husband. Work in the shop proceeds at the pace of the artists: meditative and unhurried.
Small things like wallets, ordered in April, might be ready in time for Christmas. Otherwise, there are long wait lists for all items — the more exotic, the longer the wait. It may take two months or longer to get on a list and another two to eight months for the work to be completed. Patience is required. The list for handmade shoes is now closed, Jan said, “We hope to finish those on the existing list by the time we die.”
The Gaslight Baker Theatre If the courthouse is Lockhart’s majordomo, the Gaslight Baker Theatre on Main Street is surely the city’s grand dame. Built in 1920, this impressive 242-seat theater was home to early silent movies and talkies. Since opening, it has accommodated several owners and remodels, and was most recently purchased in 1997 by the Lockhart Theatre Company as a community theater. Its 2023 season includes Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 9 – 5 The Musical, Frankenstein, plus a couple of vaudeville shows and a veteran’s tribute.
Terry Black’s Barbeque
Run by nephews of the Black dynasty, the newest destination in Lockhart for BBQ is Terry Black’s BBQ. It’s not to be confused with their Uncle Kent’s place that goes by the simpler name of Black’s BBQ.
The entrance to Terry Black’s place takes visitors past 40 large woodfired smokers manned throughout the day by pitmasters. Gregarious pitmaster Luis Martinez displayed rows of briskets sweating inside the black ovens to anyone interested in seeing the process.
“My dad was a pitmaster,” he said. “The first time he showed me a brisket and jiggled it to show me it was done, I was amazed. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with the art of BBQ.”
“I think,” Martinez added, “my brain might be shaped like one big brisket.”
A full menu of beef, pork and chicken — including Flintstone-sized beef ribs — with three different sauces to sam- ple can be ordered with fresh side dishes and salads.
Henry’s Restaurant
The place the locals go for breakfast, burgers and other casual fare near the square is Henry’s on Commerce Street. Local business and concerns can be heard over a classic burger and fries.
Raves: Ikebana Workshop Kudos to the Hays County Master Gardeners and Iris Ramos for presenting an Ikebana workshop on Saturday, April 15.
One of many educational courses available to keep Master Gardeners educated and engaged, this class on traditional Japanese flower arranging proved to be greatly layered and nuanced. A contemplative practice with origins in 11th century Japan, it expresses the sacredness of the world in a special dish with mindful placements of flowers, branches and, sometimes, objects.
