Texas–U.S.S.R. Musicians' Exchange

The Texas–U.S.S.R. Musicians' Exchange was a 1987 cultural exchange tour of the Soviet Union featuring a group of musicians from Texas. Among the musicians who performed on the tour were Butch Hancock, Tomas Ramirez, Bobby Bridger, Elouise Burrell, Bobby Mack, Mike Shea, Deborah Giles, Bruce Truitt, Tom Ash, Steve Zirkel, Ron Rogers, Natasha Geddie, Jean Marie Houston, Bobby Williams, Ralph Taylor and Steve Parkess, who originally conceived of the project. The group performed and interacted with local musicians, artists and music fans in Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev, and after leaving the Soviet Union the group opened for Chris Isaak at a concert in Helsinki, Finland. A limited-edition silk-screen print was created by graphic artist Nels “Jagmo” Jacobson to publicize and commemorate the tour.