Randy Travis is celebrating his music’s connection to the state of Texas in an upcoming all-star tribute show.
Called A Texas Heroes & Friends Tribute to Randy Travis — 1 Night, 1 Place, 1 Time, the one-night-only event will gather a collection of artists from or closely associated with Texas to perform hits from Travis’ four-decade career.
A portion of the proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Randy Travis Foundation, which works to raise stroke and aphasia awareness as well as support music education in schools.
“We have a long history with Texas. I’ve been here for 64 years, so I’m a Texas girl. I made him move to Texas and now I can’t get him to leave,” the singer’s wife Mary Travis explained during a press conference announcing the tribute.
“Texas is kind of like the root of country music. Texas is a country song. We have the cowboys, we have the horses, we have the lassos, we have the guns, we have the neighbors, we have the pretty girls, we have everything there is in Texas that goes into a country song,” she continues.
The lineup of the Heroes & Friends tribute will be announced in the weeks ahead, and Mary says that it’ll run the full scope of generations of Texas country music.
“We are so happy to be able to have some of the great artists that we’ve known in the past — some may be a little older, some our age, and some younger, a lot younger — to come and sing these songs to you,” she adds, ”Because even in Randy’s silence, he’s still making music, and that’s by touching lives, touching hearts. Making a difference and inspiring those that are coming behind him. That’s what I love about Randy Travis, and that’s what I think people love about Randy Travis.”
The Texas-based tribute — which follows the announcement of a similar tribute show in Huntsville, Ala., that will focus more on Nashville-based artists — comes around the 10th anniversary of Travis’ 2013 stroke, which nearly claimed the country legend’s life and robbed him of the ability to speak and sing.
“It is 10 years out, and we feel so blessed that we get to still be here listening to music, listening to some of the great artists that make music and hear stories from the great artists and fans talking about how Randy Travis touched their lives,” Mary reflects. “People always say, ‘God left him here for a reason,’ and every single day, we see what that reason is.”
Though Travis hasn’t been able to speak and sing since his stroke, he’s found other ways to continue to impact the genre: He’s often spotted as a fan at other artists’ shows, and makes time to support younger acts rising the ranks of the music industry. At the Texas tribute, things will be no different: Though he can’t perform himself, his presence will be a massive part of the evening.
“We will be there. Randy will be on the stage. He would give anything in the world if he could stand up there and sing for people,” his wife says. “He will do everything that he can to support the artists, but we will there, we will be on the stage, Randy will be there for people to love on, to hug on, to just appreciate his legacy.”
The Texas Heroes & Friends tribute will take place at 7PM on Nov. 15 at the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas. Tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 18 online as well as at the venue box office, and are available to preorder now.