SONG PREMIERE: Uncle Lucius Serve Up a Rocking Tex-Mex Ode to Tacos with “Let Me Get A Lengua Plate” Off ‘Live In ’25’

Photo credit: Barbara FG

What makes a rock ‘n’ roll band?

Its essence does not lie on a shelf. You can look at any object you want, a stack of records or framed show posters, but they are mere symbols.

Ask a true fan why they love their favorite band, and it’s a matter of moments. Seeing a great band live offers the audience the chance to witness the moment of creation up close. To participate in it. The possibility of a transcendent experience, for performer and audience alike.

Ask a musician what makes a great performance and they’ll tell you it never hurts to play on sacred ground. Gruene Hall, the oldest of Texas’s famed dancehalls, has witnessed a century and a half of legendary performers, from Ziggy Marley to ZZ Top, and launched countless careers.

When Uncle Lucius disbanded in 2018 and reunited in 2023, they chose this stage for both occasions. “You can feel the magic within those walls,” lead singer Kevin Galloway says. Out November 21st, Live in ‘25 (PRE-ORDER) captures the band’s latest outing at Gruene Hall, recorded during a sold-out two-night stand in March of this year.

The band had always held the Hall in almost mythic regard. Joshua Dane Greco (drums) was a regular on the dancefloor from an early age, watching Robert Earl Keen and, knowingly or not, filing away some tricks for future use. Drew Scherger (bass) had two dream stages as a young musician: the Ryman and Gruene Hall. While in college at the University of Texas, he convinced some reluctant friends to check out the famous place they’d heard so much about. Walking up to Willie’s door (a secret side entry hole in the wall adjacent to the stage), they saw that it was open, and onstage was Willie Nelson himself, singing “Crazy”.

This band is a live animal. However satisfying their recordings may be, they’ve always paled in comparison to the live show. Never by the book, pat or rote, the boys strive to keep it fresh, maintain a little play in the joints at all times, so that no two performances are alike.

There’s something elemental about the live performance, without which this band could not exist. They have to perform the way an organism has to breathe; it’s their lifeblood.

So it was with the community who first built the Hall, in 1878. These immigrant communities, largely German and Czech, did not build the Hall because the settlement was so wealthy and had so much surplus to fritter away on amusements. They built it because their culture demanded a place to be among each other, to meet and mingle and dance and drink, and for a moment forget the incredible hardship of their frontier lives. They wouldn’t have survived without it.

So it is with Uncle Lucius. Without their live performances, without the chance for a new living creation each and every night out, they simply wouldn’t exist. This live album captures the band, and the fans, at their most heartfelt and at their very best.

Live in ‘25 finds the band in a reflective moment, both on their own career and the long arc of Texas music. Uncle Lucius dwells on their own history, tracing their decades-long career, past influences like Bobby Charles, and newer material into one album. They also look back on the past century of Gruene Hall, carrying the Texan legacy of country, swamp rock, and Americana. “Having Uncle Lucius record a live album at Gruene Hall continues the tradition that’s been alive here for nearly 150 years,” a representative of the venue says. “Gruene Hall has always been a place where music lives on, and we’re proud to be part of the Uncle Lucius story.”

Today, Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of the standout tune “Let Me Get a Lengua Plate,” one of four newly penned songs included in the collection. The song is a true work of Tex-Mex rock and roll that captures the influence of fellow Central Texas acts like The Gourds and Doug Sahm. It does this by paying homage to the Lone Star State’s culinary treasures and incorporating the accordion to give it a touch of conjunto. With its lyrical nods to ingredients and items you can find at most taquerias around Texas, the song is an easygoing rocker that you can sing along with while stirring up a mean appetite.

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