Robert Earl Keen an Austin, Texas, songwriter will perform at Union Transfer

ON THE FACE of it, Austin, Texas-based talent Robert Earl Keen seems an unlikely booking for the hipster scene at Union Transfer. He's a champion and master of all things alt country - from fluttery Spanish-guitar-flavored, border-crossing ballads to lively cowpoke hoedowns, twangy blues and the ever popular Caribbean country mashups. All that puts him in the same big basket with guys such as Jerry Jeff Walker and Jimmy Buffet. And truthfully, he's not the greatest of singers, REK readily admits.

But Keen's songwriting nature, befitting his name, is the stuff of magic - at once sharp-witted and deceptively nonchalant. Take please, the title track of his newest masterpiece, "Ready for Confetti," which describes a down-and-out dude (and dudette) with earphones on and cardboard signs in hand, ready to celebrate any little bit of charity, though in the grand scheme that handout will be almost as meaningless as a sprinkling of colored paper. And how about the frisky, tap-dance-percussion-enhanced "I Gotta Go," which follows? At first this breezy shuffle suggests a guy way too busy to stay and chat. Turns out he's in prison, strolling to his execution.

Keen is pretty much under the radar screen in these parts, but on home turf, at a hipster gathering like the SXSW music conference, he's the real deal and an acknowledged inspiration to many up-and-comers, a bunch of whom (from Chris Knight to Reckless Kelly) paid homage on the double-disc concert set "Undone - a Musicfest Tribute to Robert Earl Keen." So if you're looking for the cool factor in country, Keen's most definitely the man. Opening his show: The Deep Dark Woods.

Union Transfer. 1026 Spring Garden St. 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, $25 (21+), 215-232-2100, www.utphilly.com.