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It’s Time for Horton’s Holiday Hayride: The Reverend Horton Heat‘s hayride events are held at different locations throughout the year, but these holiday shows will be a bit special. Who better to get you in the holiday spirit than the Rev (aka Jim Heath) — a man who can hold a crowd in his firm grip, hootin’ and hollering’ all the way. His belly might not shake when he laughs (like a bowl full of jelly), but he’ll laugh anyway.

“One thing that is sinking in now, is that I enjoy playing gigs now more than I did when I was younger,” Heath told this writer in 2015. “For one thing, there’s a lot less stress involved. There are instances where, when I was young, every gig mattered so much. Looking back, I was totally misguided. The thing now is that I like the camaraderie with the guys but the traveling – I’m done. I don’t like it, but it’s a necessary evil. So I hate the traveling more than ever, but I like playing music more than ever. It’s all good. I’ve had real jobs in my life, and this is definitely not a real job.”

He’s never lost his passion for performing live.

“I hear this from artists that are way bigger than Reverend Horton Heat,” Heath said. “They go and tour, and make a lot more money, but it’s not really about that. It’s about keeping it together. If they say, ‘I’ve got enough money, I’m not going to play for a year and a half,’ then all of a sudden, their best friends are out of a job for a year and a half. It’s an entity.”

Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys and Wayne the Train Hancock also play.

It’s Time for Horton’s Holiday Hayride: The event takes place at 8 p.m. on Friday, December 3 and Saturday, December 4 at Alex’s Bar.

 

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