Axton includes father's music in performance

Oct. 6—Musician Matt Axton will bring his "humble slice of Americana" to Muskogee and Wagoner this weekend.

He also brings a family legacy. His father, Duncan native Hoyt Axton, wrote such hits as "Bony Fingers," "Never Been to Spain" and the Jeremiah bullfrog version of "Joy to the World."

"Keeping my dad's legacy alive is an honor and a duty, and I enjoy doing it," Matt Axton said. "He always promoted music and just sort of following your heart and doing something you love."

Matt Axton will perform his LA Americana at 7 p.m. Friday at Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, then 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday at The Canebrake Resort.

"I call us true Americana country," Axton said. "We've got a little mix of some country, some blues, some rock, a little bit of funky stuff, whatever we can get away with."

He said he also does a lot of his dad's music.

"We always end the show with 'Joy to the World,' there's no better way to end a show than 'Joy to the World,'" Axton said.

Axton's mother was a classically trained musician who played keyboard for her husband's band.

"She's still a music professor in California. For my money, she's the walking embodiment of music," he said. "Being around it, it just seeped in."

He said he picked up a guitar and started playing when he was in his teens.

"When my dad passed, I realized there was a big void there for songwriting," he said. "That's when I started focusing on it and making my living."

Axton said three-fourths of his act is original material, and the remainder is his father's songs.

"Sadly, we never got to play music together as adults," he said.

He recalled being a youngster and having his dad bring him and his siblings onto the stage for 'Joy to the World' or other tunes.

"I got to go to the Opry a couple of times. "My dad made music a family event."

Tar & Flowers, a Los Angeles based cosmic country singer/songwriter, will open for Axton this weekend.

"For him, it's more of a soundtrack for a spaghetti western," Axton said. "He writes very soundtrack style, like one big song with lots of character. It's very stylized."

If you go

WHO: Matt Axton and Tar & Flowers.

WHAT: LA Americana Road Show.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday.

WHERE: Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, 401 S. Third St.

ADMISSION: $5.

WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m. Sunday.

WHERE: Canebrake Resort, 33241 E 732nd Road, Wagoner.