THE WITTLIFF COLLECTIONS
TXST hosts Lost Gonzo Band for first event of the year
The Wittliff Collections at Texas State University had 340 people in attendance at its Sunday event — ¡Viva Terlingua! We Made the Music.
“This was our first event of 2025 and one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever had,” said Hector Saldaña, The Wittliff Collections Texas music curator.
This was a unique opportunity for attendees to hear a conversation with the surviving members of the original Lost Gonzo Band essential to creating the quintessential Texas album “¡Viva Terlingua!” with Jerry Jeff Walker in August 1973 in Luckenbach. The event kicked off with a panel discussion featuring the legendary musicians who played on the record — guitarist Craig Hillis, steel guitarist Herb Steiner, pianist-bassist Gary P. Nunn, bassist-guitarist- pianist Bob Livingston and drummer Michael McGeary. A good portion of the crowd followed the band into the exhibit for a last singalong around the historic piano that is on display at the Wittliff and was used on the ¡Viva Terlingua! album when it was recorded, which they used to take on the road. They sang a handful of songs, including “Gettin’ By” and “London Homesick Blues.”
The Wittliff Collections is on the 7th floor of the Alkek Library at TXST. The hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.
