Dust off the mirror ball, y’all. Robert Earl Keen’s annual holiday tour is back, and this year the Texas songwriting legend is trading the tinsel for a little Studio 54 shine. The 2026 run is called I Will Survive…Christmas, and it’s exactly as fun as it sounds: holiday classics, disco smash hits, and plenty of the REK catalog that’s kept fans coming back for decades.
If you’ve ever wondered what “Merry Christmas from the Family” would feel like under a spinning glitter ball, December is your chance to find out.
The Tour at a Glance
The Robert Earl Keen Band kicks things off December 8 at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, one of the most beloved rooms in all of country music. From there it’s Kansas City, then west to Colorado and New Mexico, before the band heads home for a six-night run through Texas that wraps up right before Christmas week. Singer-songwriter Drayton Farley opens every show.
Robert Earl Keen’s I Will Survive…Christmas Tour Dates
- December 8: Tulsa, OK, Cain’s Ballroom
- December 9: Kansas City, MO, Uptown Theater
- December 12: Fort Collins, CO, Washington’s
- December 13: Santa Fe, NM, Santa Fe Convention Center
- December 15: Lubbock, TX, The Buddy Holly Hall
- December 16: Houston, TX, House of Blues
- December 17: Austin, TX, ACL Live Theater
- December 18: Dallas, TX, House of Blues
- December 19: Fort Worth, TX, Tannahill’s Tavern
- December 20: San Antonio, TX, The Aztec Theatre
How to Get Tickets (Pre-Sale Code Inside)
Pre-sale is open now with the code REKDISCO. These holiday shows have a habit of selling out, especially the Texas dates, so if your town is on the list, don’t sleep on it. Full ticket details are at robertearlkeen.com.
Yes, You Should Dress the Part
REK is officially encouraging fans to show up in costume. Think bell bottoms, leisure suits, wide collars, platform boots, or (in his words, more or less) whatever from the ’70s still fits. Picture a Fort Worth honky-tonk full of rhinestones and polyester and tell us that isn’t the best holiday photo op of the year.
Our tip: layer up. Lubbock, Fort Collins and Santa Fe in mid-December are not disco weather, no matter how hot the dance floor gets.
Why REK’s Christmas Shows Are a Tradition Worth Keeping
This isn’t a one-off gimmick. Keen has built a whole holiday tradition out of a single song. “Merry Christmas from the Family” first appeared on his 1994 album Gringo Honeymoon, and its very real (and very funny) take on a messy Texas family Christmas turned it into a modern classic. It’s since been covered by The Chicks and Montgomery Gentry, and the University of Texas Press even published a companion book of the same name in 2005.
That song became the heart of an annual Christmas show, and every year REK and the band build the night around a new theme. A few favorites from years past:
- 2017: Fam-O-Lee Back to the Country Jamboree, a country-rock twist with openers like Elizabeth Cook and The Quebe Sisters
- 2019: Countdown to Christmas: Lunar Tunes & Looney Times, a nod to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing
- 2024: Lights, Camera, Christmas!, a musical tour through classic holiday movies
- 2025: The Greatest Christmas on Earth, a full-on holiday circus
Going from the moon to the big top to the disco floor tells you everything about REK’s sense of humor. And after he wrapped his “I’m Comin’ Home” farewell run at Floore’s Country Store in Helotes back in 2022, fans have been more than happy that the road, as he famously sings, really does seem to go on forever.
Our Take
Holiday tours can get a little cookie-cutter. Same carols, same sweaters, same encore. REK has spent years proving there’s another way: lean into the fun, bring the band, and make the crowd part of the show. A disco Christmas from a Texas troubadour shouldn’t work on paper. That’s exactly why it will.
And with Cain’s Ballroom, the Buddy Holly Hall and the Aztec Theatre on the list, you’re getting some of the best rooms in the region to boogie in.
Your Turn
Be honest: are you showing up in full ’70s disco gear, or is this a jeans-and-boots night for you? And which Christmas song would you most like to hear REK give the disco treatment? Tell us in the comments.
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