The other night I got to hear Terry Allen for the first time. Allen is a Texas singer/songwriter, a clique that includes Joe Ely (my personal favorite) the late Steven Fromholz, Lyle Lovett and Gene Autry (Gene Autry?).

Allen floored me, so I immediately set out to hear more. When I did, one thing that struck me was how much his songwriting benefits from the proximity of Mexico. In fact, if it weren’t for our neighbor to the south, I’m not sure what Allen and his amigos would write about. More…