Music is open territory for Alejandro Escovedo

February 20, 2014 at 12:05a.m.

Roots rock legend Alejandro Escovedo isn’t afraid of taking chances to please his audience.

Take, for instance, his decision a few years ago at a gig at Wilbert’s in downtown Cleveland.

“A lot of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame people came to our show where we were just cello, violin and myself,” said Escovedo, calling from his Austin, Texas, home. “They were rather noisy and drunk, so we stopped the show and took it out outside. We took the whole audience and had a great performance acoustically in a parking garage.”

Considering the weather, Escovedo hopes he won’t have to do the same when he returns to Northeast Ohio for a co-headlining show with Peter Buck on Tuesday at Kent Stage. This high-profile bill is low-risk, with each artist performing individual sets along with a few collaborations.

Escovedo is known to knit rock, pop, country and Tejano into imaginative and introspective singer-songwriter fare.

Originally a member of the seminal Bay-area punk band the Nuns, Escovedo eventually landed in New York City before finally relocating to Austin and becoming an influential artist in the alternative country scene of the ’80s and ’90s.

The roots of his current tour date back to erstwhile R.E.M. guitarist Buck playing on Escovedo’s South by Southwest festival shows in Austin. The favor was then repaid later when Escovedo performed at Buck’s music festival. Out of that came a friendship, which led to the decision to hit the road together.

As for recording together in the future, Escovedo said he’d be up for that; however, he’s already begun writing material for his next project, which will act as a follow-up to 2012’s “Big Station.”

“I’ve had this project in mind for a while,” Escovedo said. “I’m going to collaborate with some friends of mine, California musicians. We’re starting to write for this new thing and it will be a great story. It’ll be really cool, but I’m not sure musically. It could go a lot of places.

“I thought of doing a completely string album with just a rhythm section. That’ll be part of it. But I guess that’s basically the same thing I always do, in a way.”

As for friends, Escovedo is keeping that information close to the vest, but therein lies the heart of his appeal. Not only is he a critical darling act but he also attracts plenty of big fish to his music. Whether it’s appearing on stage with Bruce Springsteen, Ian Hunter, John Cale or Iggy Pop, this veteran musician appears to be in his own musical world.

“My music definitely has its own stamp,” Escovedo said. “I’ve always tried to be me. I think the reason is that with every record and every band I always try to put the best I could possibly put together, and give the best performances I could. We never held back at all on any level.”