Texas music legend Gary P. Nunn will headline the 2025 Collinsville Pioneer Day, according to a statement released earlier this week by the Collinsville Area Chamber of Commerce.
“We are thrilled with this announcement,” Pioneer Day chairman Austin Lewter said. “Gary P. Nunn is truly a living legend. His more than 50-year career is rooted in the genesis of Texas Country Music. In the beginning, it was him and the Lost Gonzo Band. Jerry Jeff Walker caught on. Willie and Waylon sang about Luckenbach and the rest is history. But it all started with Gary P. Nunn.”
Nunn will headline the Holiday Auto Group Main Stage at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20.
As always, the event is free and open to the public.
“The Chamber Board of Directors is dedicated to growing our festival year-in and year-out. Featuring talent like this is proof-positive of that.”
The Whites of Texas will open the show at 8 p.m.
They are a husband-and-wife duo hailing from the Texas Coast, but they have Grayson County roots.
“Robby and Dannielle White are from Van Alstyne, but they have been based in South Padre Island for several years now,” Lewter said. “Folks may remember Robby White and the Tejas Gringos. They were popular across North Texas some years ago. The couple’s reinvented sound is stripped back and pure. Their harmonies resonate and the songwriting is impeccable.
They will pair great with Gary P. Nunn.”
This year’s festival is themed “Generations of Pioneers” and plans are well underway.
It will kick off at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 with an evening full of fun for the whole family and culminating that evening with the headline act.
Nunn is a prolific singer-songwriter and is widely considered the father of the progressive country scene that started in Austin in the early 1970s.
He is best known for writing “London Homesick Blues,” which was the theme song for Austin City Limits, on PBS, from 1977 to 2004.
A few of his most recognized songs include “Taking Texas to Country,” “You Ask Me What I Like About Texas” and “The Last Thing I Needed the First Thing This Morning” which Willie Nelson made Number 1 in 1982 and has since been covered by Chris Stapleton— among others.
Nunn’s songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphy, Tracy Nelson, David Allen Coe and Rosanne Cash.
At age 79, and with a continuing array of successful solo albums and an army of fans, Nunn remains a driving force in the American music scene.
He has been featured on programs such as “Nashville Now, “The Texas Connection,” “Austin City Limits” and singing the National Anthem at Texas Rangers baseball games, among other appearances.
His song “Taking Texas to the World” is currently the song for TV’s “Texas Bucket List.”
The Collinsville Area Chamber of Commerce Board of directors next meets Wednesday, June 25 at the Collinsville City Annex. Meetings are open to the public.
“We are always looking for volunteers and input,” Lewter said. “We hope to see you there.”
