90.1 FM San Luis Obispo | 91.7 FM Paso Robles | 91.1 FM Cayucos | 95.1 FM Lompoc | 90.9 FM Avila
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KNBX (north county KCBX) is currently off the air due to a PG&E service interruption.

A winter’s-eve at legendary Luckenbach, Texas

Luckenbach, Texas General Store and Saloon
Tom Wilmer

A mid winter night’s visit at Luckenbach, Texas—where we chat with Dan who tends the store and saloon, and Bo Porter who’s spent more than 40 years as a traveling troubadour. 

The Hill Country town of Luckenbach dates from its founding in the mid-1800's by German Emigrants.

450 residents resided in Luckenbach at the dawn of the 20th Century, but today the tiny town proudly claims three citizens.

Luckenbach didn’t earn its place as a legendary music venue until 1973 when Jerry Jeff Walker recorded the live album Viva Terlingua in the Dance Hall, followed by the 1977 hit “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” performed by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

Bo Porter (back to camera) sits in on a "pickers' circle" in the Luckenbach, Texas Saloon
Credit Thomas Wilmer
Bo Porter (back to camera) sits in on a "pickers' circle" in the Luckenbach, Texas Saloon

I met up with Bo Porter at Luckenbach where he had just finished sitting in on a Picker Circle in the General Store’s saloon with musician friends before heading over to go on stage at Hondo’s on Main in nearby Fredericksburg, Texas.

Bo Porter (right) visits with correspondent Tom Wilmer at Luckenbach, Texas
Credit Ms. McClellan
Bo Porter (right) visits with correspondent Tom Wilmer at Luckenbach, Texas

Over the years Texas-based musician Bo Porter has worked as a performer at Dollywood, and opened for Diamond Rio, Junior Brown, Tim McGraw, Sunny Throckmorton, Loretta Lynn and many other top musicians.

Porter’s European tours have included performances at Billybob’s Euro Disney, Grindlewald, and Zurich Switzerland, Norway and more. 

Midwinter, midweek night at the legendary Luckenbach, Texas saloon
Credit Tom Wilmer
Midwinter, midweek night at the legendary Luckenbach, Texas saloon

Music: American Outlaws: The Highwaymen Live Luckenbach (Back to the Basics of Love) recorded live --Sony Entertainment

Bo Porter: Mexican Lettuce and Take Me Back to Luckenbach from Porter's  Try Your Luck album

Journeys of Discovery with Tom WIlmer KCBX/NPR.ORG podcast  album art
Credit Kornreich Design
Journeys of Discovery with Tom WIlmer KCBX/NPR.ORG podcast album art

You are invited to subscribe to the Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR Podcast travel show Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer via: 

Apple Podcast

NPR.ORG Podcast Directory

NPR One (APP)

Google Plus

Stitcher.com

mixcloud

Twitter: TomCWilmer

Instagram: Thomas.Wilmer

Culture Editor @360magazine

Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer podcast featured on NPR One, iTunes, Stitcher,com Winner of the 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013 Lowell Thomas Award
Credit SATW Foundation
Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer podcast featured on NPR One, iTunes, Stitcher,com Winner of the 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013 Lowell Thomas Award

Tom Wilmer produces on-air content for Issues & Ideas airing over KCBX and is producer and host of the six-time Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR podcast Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer. Recorded live on-location across America and around the world, the podcasts feature the arts, culture, music, nature, history, science, wine & spirits, brewpubs, and the culinary arts--everything from baseball to exploring South Pacific atolls to interviewing the real Santa Claus in the Arctic.
Related Content