Raul Malo: at The Franklin Theatre (Franklin, TN) Thu. December 20, 2012

Raul Malo

Pop/Rock

Nashville Scene Critic's Pick …

If you saw The Mavericks do their thing at this year’s Americana Music Awards show, you know how artfully the long-running band and their lead singer, Raul Malo, combine Hank Williams, rockabilly and conjunto.Their syncretic approach pays tribute to those styles, but they can do just about anything — and they swing fiercely while they’re doing it.On his own, Malo has made some fine records, including 2009’s Lucky One and the following year’s acclaimed Sinners & Saints — his big, round tenor soars on these well-chosen sets of material comprising quasi-Americana tunes, ballads and rockers.Malo can sing anything, and he’s the rare vocalist whose sentimentality comes across as sheer, openhearted joy.A Nashville resident, Malo cut Sinners at his home studio, and continues to confound categorization. The reunited Mavericks have a new full-length, In Time, set for release early next year.

—EDD HURT