Sitting tall in the saddle, his eyes take in the Social Distortion of the dusty streets of the one horse town. The locals cautiously approach him. Could he be the one?

The townspeople gather around. They’ve seen others before him, saddle tramps bringing tentatives and holds for The Moody Blues and Iggy Pop, only to end up on boot hill with crude, wooden markers summing up their misbegotten lives.

Here lies the body of Lester Moore

He promised us shows by Snoop Dogg & The Corrs
But he got caught up in the promoter wars
And after six slugs, no Les, no Moore

Clenching an unlit cigar between his teeth, the Stranger looks down at the townsfolk. Speaking nary a word, he reaches into his saddlebag…

And pulling out a signed contract for Mike Clark’s Prescription Renewal, he tosses it to little Billy, who lost his father in the great amphitheatre rush of 49. “Wow!” exclaims Billy. “A firm date! Thank you, thank you!”

Ignoring the boy he pulls out more contracts. For the barber there’s Tom Paxton and Midnight Oil, the town Doc gets Heroine Sheiks and for the schoolmarm it’s a wink and a smile as he removes his hat, revealing a glistening bald pate, and hands her a date for Jane’s Addiction.

It’s a day that the townsfolk will long remember. The day that the Stranger brought deliverance in the form of dates for John Wesley Harding, Lyle Lovett and Jaguares. For years to come they will talk about the day that the Stranger came to town. How he handed out dates for Continental Drifters and Everclear. And how he left without even saying his name.

“Who was that concert man?” the undertaker was heard to say as the Stranger rode towards the sunset, never to return again.

“I don’t know, replied the sheriff. “But he left a Clear Channel stock option.”

And thus an American legend was born.