Wednesday night, The Varsity Theatre will host a performer who has sold out such venues as the Houston Astrodome and Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, a club notorious for its popularity on the country music circuit.
Pat Green, Texas-born country music singer-songwriter, will return to Louisiana for what he expects to be a welcoming crowd.
“The Varsity is one of my all-time favorite venues to play,” Green said. He said his fan base in Louisiana is as strong as almost anywhere else.
Green has been performing for about 10 years, starting in college.
“The guitar was such an immediate addiction for me,” Green said. “And it has never let me go.”
Green turned his addiction into a career by touring relentlessly and recording several albums independently until he was finally noticed by major labels.
Green said that he, like all performers, dreamed of performing in front of huge audiences, but this was not the driving motivation for what he was doing.
Green said this had a lot to do with his reluctance to sign on with a major label.
“I felt like the only way to have my own say in what I wanted to do was to have a thing already going [before joining a label],” Green said.
Green said it was not about “remaining independent,” it was a way of maintaining some level of control and strengthening his position before going to a label.
Green said he and the rest of his band know they have done exactly that.
But even amid all his success, especially given the speed with which it occurred, Green still plays colleges, small venues and charity events — amid all the sold-out arenas.
Green said he still loves playing the small venues because it keeps the fans and the locations changing.
“Variety is the spice of life,” Green said. “If all I wanted to do was sing in the Astrodome, there wouldn’t be anything to look forward to.”
Green said his wife and his bandmates are another reason why he remains so down-to-earth, especially compared to other famous artists.
“There’s no way I could attempt to be anything to them but a regular human being,” Green said.
Green seems pleased with the way things have worked out for him in his career.
“I’m just a happy guy, and I don’t have any complaints,” Green said. “I’m doing exactly what I wanted to do, exactly how I wanted to do it.”
Tickets to the show are $20 and the doors open at 8:00 p.m.