Jason Petty has performed Hank Williams music to packed audiences all over the United States from Nashville to New York and now he is bringing his brand new show to Branson, the town for which it was especially written, beginning
“Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes, a musical revue, is an unforgettable live show which turns back the clock 50 years to experience the sounds of Hank Williams, his heroes and those he influenced,” said Mary Ellen Duerr, producer for Riverhorse Productions, management company for Petty. The show was written by Petty, the show’s star who was nominated in 2003 for an astonishing seven awards in Hank Williams: Lost Highway at the Little Schubert Theater off Broadway winning an Obie Award for Outstanding Performance and a Drama League Honor for Distinguished Performance.
The music of the legends, an authentic country four-piece band and Jason Petty deliver the heart and soul of country music with no less than 20 country classics from I’m So Lonesome, Hey Good Lookin’ and Wabash Cannonball to Kaw-Liga, Jambalaya, Your Cheatin’ Heart and more.
With his similar lanky, angular good looks of Williams, Petty has honed his singing to an extraordinary perfection. Petty has done extensive research into the life of Hank Williams and even visited Hank’s boyhood home, studied rare film footage and talked with innumerable people who knew the man.
“I spent time with members of his former band, the Drifting Cowboys, had dinner in their homes listened to their personal audio tapes of performances that no one knew existed,” said Petty.
Petty has consistently received rave reviews from all the major critics including the New York Times, Variety and Rolling Stone for his performance in Hank Williams: Lost Highway. “Petty consistently nails Williams’ honky-tonk timber with eerie authority,” wrote Josh L. Dickey, an Associated Press writer. “His voice wails and rails a mixture of country and blues that electrifies the house!” said Michael Kuchwara, also of the Associated Press. “This musical wouldn’t work without a star performance. It has one, his name is Jason Petty,” said the Dallas Morning News.
Despite his accolades as an actor and singer who has performed roles on film and television and in theaters across the United States, Canada and Europe, Petty remains true to his Tennessee roots where he grew up on his grandmother’s farm in Primm Springs, Tenn. He likes all types of music, but grew up listening to Hank and contends that today’s country music has lost some of the honesty of classic country music.
“Hank and My Honky Tonk Heroes shows the simple, honest genius of Williams’ songs that changed the face of country music,” said Petty.
For more information and show schedules call the box office at 417-334-6802.