Singer Songwriter

Tonight as I was driving, I was listening to the local NPR station out of Commerce Texas 88.9 KETR.  The show at the time was "Notably Texan" with Matt Meinke, he was spinning some tunes that were damn good!  Then he interviewed the guy, Graham Wilkinson was his name.  Come to find out Graham was born 30 miles to west of me in Denison Texas, the son of a Methodist Minister and also lived for some time 30 miles to the southeast of me in Commerce Texas.  This guy is good!!  He has that "it" factor, you know what I mean?  I'm not sure what it is, but I can assure you I'll be gettin some of his music.  Check him out!

http://www.grahamwilkinsonmusic.com/

True Outlaw's

The 60's and early 70's had a big influence on Texas Country; or it could be said that Texas Country had a big influence on the 60's and 70's.  Outlaw Country owes its existence to Texas, most notably Austin, Texas.  It was during this time that Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Billy Joe Shaver, Gary P. Nunn, David Allan Coe and others lived up to the name Outlaws'.  Brushes with the law for drinking, drugs, and just plain 'ol Hell Raising set these artists apart from their contemporaries.  Nashville couldn't control them and Austin welcomed them with open arms.

During this time period another style of Texas music took shape, "The Lubbock Sound".  Artists like Joe Ely, Lloyd Maines, Butch Hancock, Terry Allen and Jimmie Dale Gilmore had there own kind of sound.  While not making it has big as Willie and Waylon, they nonetheless, played a huge part into what is known today as "Texas Country".

Texas Country

Western Swing
When people think of Texas they generally think oil wells, cattle and Country Music.  Though Texas has a lot more to offer than just those three things, its Country Music is some of the most influential and timeless music that exists. 

You could pretty much say Texas Country started with Western Swing.  Pioneers like Bob Wills, Alvin Crow and others set the stage for the likes of Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizell, Big Daddy Don Walser and Johnny Horton.

Texas Blues

Tyler Bryant |

Tyler Bryant |

Texas Blues Association

Texas Blues Association

Texas Music

Texas Music is an anomaly unto itself as well as those who claim to love it.  I can't say how many times I've heard someone say with a certain bravado "Yeah, I mainly just listen to Texas Musicians".  To which I'll reply, "Really! me too, I'll really like Jim Reeves, Lightnin' Hopkins, Doug Sahm, and The Polyphonic Spree!"  That is usually followed by me being called a jackass, and the occasional argument sometimes ensues.

 Texas Music ebbs and flows from Tejano, to punk rock, to mariachi, to electronic, to blues, to gospel, to country, to rap, to R&B, to rock and every facet in between.  From mainstream, to Indie - if you like music, I mean real heart felt music, there's a place for you in Texas!



Texas Blues 



No sensible Texan or other knowledgeable person would claim that the Blues is genuinely Texas, BUT, Texans did put there own spin on the style which originated in the Mississippi Delta at the beginning of the 1900's.  Just like a good Mayhaw Jelly, Texas blues came out of East Texas, namely the timber camps and oilfields and then spread to Dallas, Houston and Galveston during the Great Depression.  By the 1970's Texas Blues had lost pretty much all of it's appeal.  Texas Rockers ZZ Top included some blues riffs in there styling but it wasn't until the emergence of the great Stevie Ray Vaughan in the 1980's that the term Texas Blues actually meant something again.  With the tragic and sudden death of Stevie Ray Vaughan in August of 1990 the Texas Blues scene crept back into a seemingly quite spot on the shelf.  Texas still has its fair share of great Texas Blues artist, most notably Tyler Bryant form Honey Grove, Texas.