Hillbilly Haiku House Concert feat. Nathan Bell & Angaleena Presley

Denise and Rick Williams tend to open their Lebanon home to musicians who don't make polite dinner conversation. Their Hillbilly Haiku House Concerts lean toward hardcore troubadours whose words provoke rather than comfort. In the last year or two, they've hosted Steve Young, James Talley, Malcolm Holcombe and, recently, Austin's Gurf Morlix. Next up is Nathan Bell, whose blue-collar realism and pointed political narratives sound like an issue of The Nation backed by raw-boned Telecaster solos. He's bringing along Angaleena Presley, a true coalminer's daughter who writes her truths just as Loretta wrote hers four decades ago. She sings of teen Oxycontin addicts, young women hiding pregnancies from grandmothers, relying on the Tao instead of the Bible and about whether or not it means anything to be a country girl in the 21st Century. She'll convince you it does. Reservations required; for information, visit myspace.com/hillbillyhaikuhouseconcerts.
Sat., Aug. 16, 8 p.m., 2008