A snapshot of the career of Texas troubadour Robert Earl Keen.

Robert Earl Keen closes all his shows with the adored anthem, “The Road Goes on Forever.” It’s the tragic story of a waitress and a shady loner on the road together – they have nothing in common except for their disillusionment.

Each stanza, saturated with blue-collar details and Main Street USA nostalgia, resonates with a potent line: “The road goes on forever and the party never ends.”

Keen has written a lot of compelling songs spanning more than 18 records. He’s also penned tunes for Nanci Griffith, The Highwaymen, The Dixie Chicks. He’s toured with Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. His music regularly yields comparisons to the aforementioned songwriters and praise from the likes of Steve Earle.

Alongside Van Zandt and college chum/occasional collaborator Lyle Lovett, Keen was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2015, he became the first recipient of BMI’s Troubadour Award, an honor given to musicians who create “without thinking of topping charts.” That same year marked Keen’s unforeseen foray into bluegrass territory with his acclaimed Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions, which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Bluegrass charts.

In between a heavy touring schedule that includes a performance at Monterey’s Golden State Theatre on Sunday, Keen’s been writing tunes he calls “Snapchat songs.” The Houston native described them – all 90 seconds or less – to the Huffington Post as “short-attention-span songs for a short-attention-span culture,” with titles like “The Bamboo Panda,” about a Chinese restaurant.

In 1996, Keen scored a gig at the lauded Texas honky tonk Floore’s Country Store. A recording of the show was released as an album called No. 2 LIVE Dinner; it blew up and remains the best-selling record of Keen’s career.

Keen refers to the album as a “raw and reckless” accident – initially, the show wasn’t intended to be recorded or released. To commemorate the 20th anniversary, Keen released Live Dinner Reunion, a two-disc set that celebrates the show with another at Floore’s Country Store. This time, Keen had 5,000 people in the audience and an array of special guests, including Joe Ely, Bruce Robison, Cory Morrow, Cody Canada and Lovett.

Keen said Reunion is a reminder to himself that he can get what he wants: the opportunity to perform with friends.

“We were all talking about funny stuff we had done,” Keen recalled. “If I ever had a real family reunion, that was it.”

ROBERT EARL KEEN 7pm Sunday, Jan. 29. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $25-$60. 649-1070, www.goldenstatetheatre.com