CMT News

A concert celebrating Billy Joe Shaver's 65th birthday last year in Austin, Texas, will be released May 17 as A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver -- Live. The CD features performances and anecdotes from Guy Clark, Diamondback Texas, Joe Ely, the Geezinslaws, Colin Gilmore, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Rodney Hayden, Jack Ingram, Robert Earl Keen, Cory Morrow, Todd Snider, Dale Watson and Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis. Shaver himself performs four songs, including "Georgia on a Fast Train." ... In related news, Shaver's autobiography Honky Tonk Hero will be released Tuesday (March 1) by the University of Texas Press. He has also announced plans to marry Joanne Gray during an April 8 ceremony in Waco, Texas. Kinky Friedman will perform during the wedding. Shaver has signed on as "spiritual advisor" to Friedman's gubernatorial campaign in Texas.