Kelly Willis and Jamie Lin Wilson at Susanna’s Kitchen Coffeehouse

With a heartache-meetshonky-tonk voice, Kelly Willis’ tunes effortlessly combine the storytelling of country music and the driving force of rockabilly. Jamie Lin Wilson is known for her honeyed Texan twang that slides in and out of notes with easy grace, living and working in that sweet spot where folk and country meet. Kelly Willis and Jamie Lin Wilson take the Susanna’s Kitchen Coffeehouse stage on January 16.

A true Austin treasure, Willis has had an extensive career dating back some 30 years, when she first touched down in Texas. Beginning with rockabilly band Radio Ranch, she moved on to a solo stint recording five full-length albums, a compilation and an EP. After her marriage to Bruce Robison, the couple toured and recorded several albums together.

In 2018 Willis released Back to Being Blue, her first solo album in more than a decade. But artistic independence only goes so far, and she decided to hire Robison as producer on the new album. “As I was going through the process, I realized…nobody cared more about how it turned out than he did. I didn’t have a bigger fan out there in the world,” she said.

Formerly a member of the Trishas, a folk-country band Jamie Lin Wilson formed with Liz Foster, Kellee Mickwee, and Savannah Welch, the group’s close harmonies and songwriting talent quickly earned them a fan base. The Trishas toured with major acts like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Todd Snider, releasing a 2010 EP and the 2012 album High, Wide & Handsome.

As a solo artist Wilson recorded 2015’s Holidays & Wedding Rings. Three years later, she followed up with 2018’s well-received Jumping Over Rocks. Her songs often have stark vignettes and lyrics revealing a sly sense of humor that highlight the details most of us miss. The Daily Country News says, “No one covers the spectrum of age and experience quite like Jamie: moving portraits of men, women, and children coping, striving, wondering, and celebrating. Universal but specific and personal, too.”

Catch Kelly Willis and Jamie Lin Wilson on Thursday, January 16, at Susanna’s Kitchen Coffeehouse. Located at the corner of RR 12 and CR 1492 (at Wimberley United Methodist Church), doors open by 7:00 pm and the concert begins at 7:30 pm. Tickets (available only at the door) are $25 for adults, $5 for kids. Pizza, tamales, pie, coffee and soft drinks are available. Proceeds benefit The Barnabas Connection, Operation Good Shepherd, Camp Good Sam–Wimberley and WUMC’s Bright Beginnings Preschool.

For more information, go to www.wimberleyumc.orgor call 512-914-1703.