HE MAY NOT be a household name like his old pal Lyle Lovett, but Texan Robert Earl Keen has amassed a sizable following. Back in the early '90s, you could catch him in the intimate space at Blind Willie's, but he's been filling the Variety Playhouse for years now. His fans span generations, too. At a Keen show, you'll see both rowdy college kids and graying fans of alt-country, all of them having a rip-roaring good time, singing and stomping along to excerpts from a catalog that spans more than 20 years.

The landscape of Texas has played a starring role in Keen's music from his 1984 debut, "No Kinda Dancer," to 2005's "What I Really Mean." Here's a Keen-centric geographical survey of the Lone Star state, and where you'll find these hot spots in his songs and on the map. And since Keen mentions neighboring Mexico almost as often, there's a short detour south of the border, too.

JOE MITCHELL/AP (ENLARGE)
Robert Earl Keen: Crossing borders – and generations.
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Agua Dulce

"This old porch is a just big ol' red and white Hereford bull / Standin' under a mesquite tree in Agua Dulce, Texas." ("The Front Porch Song" from "No Kinda Dancer" — this song was co-written with Lyle Lovett, when he and Keen both lived in College Station, home of Texas A&M University.)

Harlingen

"Fred and Rita drove from Harlingen / I can't remember how I'm kin to them." ("Merry Christmas From the Family" from 1994's "Gringo Honeymoon")

Corpus Christi

"If I could live my life all over, it wouldn't matter anyway / 'Cause I never could stay sober, on the Corpus Christi Bay." ("Corpus Christi Bay," from 1993's "A Bigger Piece of Sky")

Eagle Pass

"In the El Vaquero Bar in the town of Eagle Pass / Moments from my freedom, warm whiskey in my glass." ("A New Life in Old Mexico" from 1998's "Walking Distance." Also mentioned in this song is the nation's seventh-largest city, San Antonio, according to the 2006 census.)

Acuña, Coahuila, Mexico

"There's an alley in Acuña, right next to a night club / That's never been paved and is hip deep in chugholes." ("A Border Tragedy," from "What I Really Mean." Acuña sits right across the Rio Grande from Del Rio, Texas. Other Mexican cities, including Mazatlan and Guanajuato, pop up in Keen's lyrics.)

• THE 411: Robert Earl Keen. $25. 8:30 p.m. April 4. Variety Playhouse, 1099 Euclid Ave. N.E., Little Five Points. 404-521-1786, www.variety-playhouse.com.