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G E TAWAY | GONZALES
Photo: Tom McCarthy Jr.Dallas
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Energy
Lubbock’s art scene flourishes from
deep High Plains roots
By Clayton MaxwellL
ubbock may not be the first city that comes to
mind when considering the arts in Texas, but
maybe it should be. The High Plains town that nur-
tured many of Texas’ most exalted musicians—
Buddy Holly, Waylon Jennings, Joe Ely, Terry Allen, and Jim-
mie Dale Gilmore to name a few—must have some creative
fairy dust blowing through its Caprock winds. The visual
arts are now finding fertile soil here, too. Just walk through
the galleries and workshops of the Lubbock Cultural Dis-
trict, and you’ll get a whiff of the artistic freedom inspired
by the city’s wide-open spaces and 265 days of sunshine
a year—a freedom that also comes from a cost-of-living
low enough that artists don’t sweat the rent. Like the wildly
spinning wind turbines you pass on the drive into town, the
“Hub City” is generating energy worthy of attention. If you
are one of those travelers who buzzes through Lubbock on
your way to New Mexico or Colorado, consider staying for
the weekend to see what you’re missing.G E TAWAY | LUBBOCK