Foster hip to country fans of all ages

Radney Foster is the rare artist who is equally revered by mainstream country executives in Nashville and by alt-country hipsters in Austin.

The singer, songwriter and producer first rose to fame as half of the critically acclaimed country duo Foster & Lloyd. Since launching a solo career in 1992, Foster has scored his own hit singles ("Nobody Wins," "Just Call Me Lonesome") and penned numerous tunes that have become hits for other acts, such as Sara Evans ("A Real Fine Place to Start") and Keith Urban ("Raining on Sunday").

Q. In concert, do you ever play songs that you've just recently written?

A. Yes, and sometimes they're so new I don't have all the words memorized yet. I have the lyric sheet in my laptop [computer], so I pull the laptop up on the stage, stick it on a stool and go, 'OK, this one's really new!' It always shocks the heck out of people.

Q. At Joe's Bar tonight, will you and co-headliner Robbie Fulks perform any songs together?

A. Well, if he would ask, I sure would. I love what Robbie does, and he's a brilliant singer-songwriter in his own right.

Q. Nowadays, do you earn significant royalties from Internet streaming, downloads and ringtones?

A. Oh, sure. I'm making a good living because now there are so many platforms for playing my music all over the world. I really didn't start out to be the guy who wrote songs for other people. It just kind of happened that way. I always wanted to go write a song so I could sing it.

Q. Country radio has changed in recent years, with independent-label acts like Taylor Swift now scoring big hits. What does the future hold for the country music industry?

A. In the next two or three years, we're going to see artists with no label at all have Top 10 records. They're just going to have a management company that hires the right promotions staff, publicity staff and marketing firm -- it's much more important who you sign as a manager than what record label you sign with. A lot of young acts don't even want a record label.