Ruben V spends Halloween where he always seems to land: Sam's Burger Joint

San Antonio's blues-Latin-soul guitarist plays Sam's on Grayson Street on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Some San Antonio musicians come home a couple of times a year. Ruben V never really leaves. This Halloween, his name is at the top of the bill at Sam's Burger Joint.

Ruben V plays Sam's Burger Joint on Saturday, Oct. 31. Doors are at 7:30 p.m., the show starts at 8:30 p.m., and it's 18+. The venue lists tickets from $10 to $70, so you can go cheap at the back or book a table up front. Sam's sits at 330 E. Grayson St., at the corner of Broadway and Grayson just north of downtown. Check the venue's parking map before you go, because Halloween traffic on Broadway won't be doing anyone favors.

In February he sat in for a Sternewirth Session at Hotel Emma. That's a musician who works this city's rooms week in and week out. Our own records count 72 Ruben V shows in San Antonio, more than in any other market.

Round Top's bio calls him a homegrown Texas guitar hero. His sound is usually described as a smooth blend of blues, Latin, soul and rock, and he's a guitarist first. Texas Public Radio caught that mix on tape years ago when he brought the blues to *Live at Jazz TX*, the jazz club's broadcast series.

We didn't find a new Ruben V record attached to this show, and it doesn't need one. His catalog already runs deep, with solo and band albums stretching back years. A Ruben V night at Sam's is a working blues show: long solos, songs that bend toward a Latin groove or a soul ballad, and a crowd that has mostly seen him before and came back anyway.

In a town full of guitar players, Ruben V is the one who keeps getting the Saturday nights.

Sam's is a good fit for that kind of evening. It's a burger place with a long-running music calendar, and it celebrated 25 years with a concert series of its own. The room has heard plenty of blues. It still turns up for him.

Wear the costume if you want. Nobody at Sam's will mind. Just get there before 8:30, order something off the grill, and let the first set settle in.

Sources: Sam's Burger Joint — Calendar (samsburgerjoint.com); Sam's Burger Joint — Parking Map (samsburgerjoint.com); San Antonio Current — Ruben V, Jimmy Spacek & Will Owen Gage (sacurrent.com); Hotel Emma — Sternewirth Session: Ruben V (thehotelemma.com); Texas Public Radio — Ruben V brings the blues to Live at Jazz TX (tpr.org); Round Top — Ruben V in concert (roundtop.com); SATX Today — Sam's Burger Joint celebrates 25 years (satxtoday.6amcity.com)