BOOTH DOES NOT INCLUDE ADMISSION--- SEATED SHOW BUT SEATING NOT GUARANTEED ---

On “The Road Never Ends,” the second track of Mike Zito’s new June 11 CD, Gone to Texas, he cranks things into the stratosphere with a sonic blast of electric slide guitar and blistering vocals, accompanied on vocals and harmonica by the great Delbert McClinton. Also along for the ride on his label debut solo CD for Ruf Records are special guests Sonny Landreth on guitar, Susan Cowsill on vocals and Lewis Stephens (Delbert McClinton, Freddie King) on keyboards. Zito expertly matches them with his core band, The Wheel: Jimmy Carpenter – sax and guitars; Rob Lee – drums; and Scot Sutherland – bass. The result effectively announces one of the most exciting and highly-anticipated new releases of the year. Recorded at Dockside Studios in Maurice, Louisiana, Gone to Texas was produced by the Beaumont, Texas-based Mike Zito and engineered by long-time New Orleans notable David Ferrell, giving the album’s mix a decided Crescent City bent, while embracing Zito’s Texas blues and roots influences. “Rainbow Bridge,” aided and abetted by some killer Sonny Landreth guitar work and soulful Susan Cowsill vocals, sounds like a long-lost Little Feat song. The lead-off title track is an autobiographical tale of redemption and catharsis for Zito, who literally lived the tale, with a bit of an Allman Brothers musical twinge. “Subtraction Blues” deals with a man whose dealings with his woman “just don’t add up,” spiced with a funky Second Line feel. “Take It Easy,” one of the two non-original tracks on the CD, is Zito’s soothing take on the Delbert McClinton-penned ballad. The other cover is Mike’s unique version of Beaumont’s own Blind Willie Johnson’s “Let Your Love Shine on Me.” And on “Texas Flyer,” he salutes the legendary “Texas Cannonball” himself – Freddie King – in the best way possible: with a flurry of stinging blues guitar leads that are still hanging somewhere over the Lone Star State.