Friday: 6 p.m. Heritage; Saturday: 5 p.m. Railroad; Sunday: 4:15 p.m. Kenduskeag

Dale Watson was born to, fed on and raised with real country. “This isn’t retro-minded,” Watson asserts. “It’s hopefully a natural progression of what country music would have been if it hadn’t been polluted by the ’80s and ’90s.”

Although born in Alabama, Watson considers Texas his home state, having moved to Pasadena, Texas, with his family in his early teens. Steeped in the classic country music played by his singer-guitarist father, Don, and his uncle Jim, once a member of Merle Travis’ band, he wrote his first song at age 12 and cut his first recording at 14. After playing area beer joints and honky-tonks, Watson decided to try his hand in Los Angeles and Nashville, experiences that mostly taught him what he didn’t want to be. Unimpressed by the glitz of the “new country” scene, he returned to Texas to settle in Austin, where he was received enthusiastically by audiences who appreciated his dedication to vintage country sounds.

Watson’s albums are replete with references to Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and Hank Snow. His live performances, whether at Jenny’s Little Longhorn Saloon (his Austin favorite) or on one of his frequent European tours, are squarely in the tradition set forth by his honky-tonk predecessors. But he is quick to emphasize that he is not merely paying homage to a bygone era. With his uncompromising approach, he creates new music in a defiantly old style, and his soulful tunes have a timeless quality that appeals to purists and neophytes alike.

“I’m one of Dale’s biggest fans,” says country music veteran Willie Nelson. “Dale stays true to what he believes in … whatever they say made me and Waylon [Jennings] ‘outlaws,’ I think he’s the same. If we were, he is.”

Beginning with his 1995 release “Cheatin’ Heart Attack,” Watson and his LoneStars have released seven albums. His critically acclaimed recent album, “Every Song I Write Is For You,” is a very personal collection of songs written in 2000 and released in 2001.

Dale Watson and His LoneStars are firmly in the here and now, and they’re determined to keep the true country flame burning.

Profile on Page 59.