BMI Celebrates Songwriter Robert Earl Keen with Troubadour Award

Legendary Texas songwriter Robert Earl Keen joined BMI for an album release party, celebrating his latest release, The Happy Prisoner. Before playing a rousing set of songs from the album, Keen was honored with BMI’s inaugural Troubadour Award presented by BMI’s Jody Williams. “It’s hard to define success as a songwriter,” says Williams. “We have charts and sales tallies and best-of lists, all designed to help us keep track of who’s on top. But the best songwriters will tell you, that as exciting and encouraging as those benchmarks can be, they aren’t necessarily the most accurate barometers of success. The Troubadour Award celebrates the artists who craft for the sake of the song. It’s the songwriter’s songwriter award.” Keen and his band then gave the audience a high-energy set of the new tracks, peppered with Keen’s commentary on his legacy as a songwriter. “This award means so much to me,” says Keen. “I have always been a songwriter; it’s in my blood.” An ode to classic bluegrass music, The Happy Prisoner was released in February to high critical acclaim. Keen will be touring in support of the album throughout the spring.