ALAMOSA — Society Hall is welcoming back regional favorites Michael Hearne and South by Southwest, featuring Carmen Acciaioli, Zeke Severson and Don Richmond, for a concert at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 20.

Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the show are $20 and available online at societyhall.org or in person at the Green Spot in Alamosa. The concert will also stream on the Society Hall Facebook page and You-Tube channel.

Hearne, who splits his time between San Marcos, Texas, and his long-time home in northern New Mexico, is one of the most beloved and influential singer-songwriter-guitarists playing in the Southwest today. He and his band South by Southwest have been delighting audiences both in their home region of New Mexico, Texas, and Colorado as well as around the country, and internationally, for more than 30 years.

Hearne's "whiskey-velvet voice", as friend Eliza Gilkyson terms it, as well as his impressive command of the guitar make him one of the most memorable artists performing in the country and Americana arenas. Add in his compelling and evocative songwriting and you have a combination rarely seen anywhere.

Adding in the pedal steel and fiddle mastery of Acciaioli and the impeccable bass of Severson, plus the soaring three-part harmonies, and you have one of the best examples of Americana music with a southwest flair that you will ever hear anywhere.

Says Society Hall board member and area musician and record producer Richmond, who will also be joining the band, “I've been listening to Michael since the late 1970's, first with The Great American Honky-Tonk Band, and then with South by Southwest, as well as solo and in other configurations, and from the very first time I heard him until now, he just knocks me out, on all levels. There's pretty much nobody I'd rather hear sing a song.”

Richmond also credits Hearne for being a profound influence on his music and career, and that of the Rifters band. He continues, “Michael and SXSW pretty much invented a genre – what we call Southwest Americana - that sort of folk/country/singer-songwriter with southwestern sensibilities, and that high, airy sound that come from living in Taos and Red River for so long.”

Hearne will feature songs from his latest album "Better Days", selections from a new album in progress, and favorites from his many older releases.

“Better Days” features performances by such luminaries as Lloyd Maines, Gilkyson, Dave Perez (Tejas Brothers), Kelley Mickwee, Ben Jones (Beat Root Revival), and Terri Hendrix. Filled with Hearne's trademark beautiful songwriting, lively rhythms, and compelling messages, "Better Days" is a true masterwork.

Hearne also hosts the 3-day Big Barn Dance Music Festival, held every year the weekend after Labor Day in Taos, N.M., which has become one of the premier songwriter-oriented festivals in the country over its 22 years.

Society Hall is at the corner of 4th Street and Ross Avenue in Alamosa.