Archive
A collection of memories, achievements, and moments from our history
Remembering those who made our community special
Photo collections from past events
Past winners and their achievements
Other important documents and announcements
Past performers at our events
Tabasco Birds
Formed in North Texas, the Tabasco Birds encapsulate the Cosmic American sound of Gram Parsons and the deep resonating lyrical style of the Silver Jews through a modern lens. This eight-piece group of musicians and songwriters develop lyrics that go straight to the feels. Their songs can make you get up and dance or break down and cry at any moment. Through dynamic Americana arrangements, the Tabasco Birds evoke excitement even in the most blue moments.
West Texas Exiles with Colin Gilmore
Featuring five musicians who grew up in El Paso, Lubbock and Amarillo, the West Texas Exiles draw upon the wide-open western reaches of the Lone Star State with a wide-ranging, Americana-centered sound.
Presley Haile
Presley Haile is a Texas-based singer-songwriter known for her soulful voice and down-to-earth songwriting. Drawing inspiration from traditional country and Americana, she crafts songs that reflect real-life experiences with sincerity and charm. Presley has earned a growing fanbase through her engaging live performances and authentic approach to storytelling.
The Moonshiners with Butch Hancock, Ginny Mac, Rory Hancock
Terlingua, TX Honky-tonk blues. Roger Moon, Rory Hancock, Butch Hancock, Marc Utter, & Japa Keenon.The Moonshiners are a Texas roots band featuring legendary songwriter Butch Hancock, accordionist and vocalist Ginny Mac, and guitarist Rory Hancock. Blending classic country, folk, and Western swing, the group brings together rich harmonies, storytelling lyrics, and masterful musicianship. Their sound celebrates Texas musical traditions while highlighting the unique talents of each member.
Kensie Coppin
Kensie Coppin is a Texas country singer-songwriter whose music combines honest, relatable storytelling with a fresh, modern edge. Raised on classic country influences, she has built a loyal following through her powerful vocals, heartfelt lyrics, and dynamic live performances. Kensie’s songs often explore themes of love, resilience, and self-discovery, establishing her as an authentic voice in the Texas music scene.
Thomas Michael Riley
His original Texas sound is a blend of Country/Folk/and Americana with lyrics that will make you laugh, cry, stomp your feet, and sing along!
Alejandro Escovedo
Few artists have lived as many musical lives as Alejandro Escovedo — and fewer still have made each one count. From the raw electricity of San Francisco's first-wave punk scene with The Nuns, to the avant-garde underground of late '70s New York, to helping lay the very foundation of Americana music in Austin with the legendary True Believers, Escovedo has spent decades doing what most artists only dream of: constantly reinventing himself without ever losing his soul. No Depression Magazine crowned him Artist of the Decade in 1998, but that was just a milestone on a journey that shows no signs of slowing. His latest album *Echo Dancing* — a bold reimagining of songs from across his storied career, recorded in Italy with world-class collaborators — is yet another reminder that Alejandro Escovedo isn't just a Texas treasure. He's one of the most vital and fearless voices in American music, full stop.
Nikki Lane
Inspirations cased in a streetwise, modern shell that’s as unapologetic as Johnny Cash’s middle finger.
Summer Dean
Summer Dean puts on a hell-of-a show. Armed with three albums, constant tours, and a hot five-piece band behind her, Summer struts onto every stage with the confidence and vulnerability of a songstress that has cemented her place among the top rank Texas tunesmiths.
James McMurtry
He has that rare gift of being able to make a listener laugh out loud at one line and choke up at the next.
Los Pinche Gringos
Four VaTOs gÜeROs from remote Terlingua, Texas who have over 15 years evolved a unique border sound that is muy Mexicano but at the drop of the hat turns to Beatles, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Merle Haggard, and James Brown for inspiration.
Kaitlin Butts
Kaitlin Butts Is Leading a Red Dirt Revolution
The Butch Hancock Band
Butch Hancock is an American country recording artist and songwriter.
Matt Castillo
The dynamic young performer, who's already carved out a D.I.Y. niche and built a loyal fan base on his home turf, embodies a rare convergence of talent, vision and charisma that confirms his status as one of the Lone Star state's most promising indie artists.
Ray Wylie Hubbard
A longtime cult figure among fans of outlaw country and the gritty side of Americana, Ray Wylie Hubbard is a singer/songwriter specializing in hard-edged character studies and rough-hewn, compassionate meditations on life and relationships.
Mike and the Moonpies
Once celebrated as Austin's premiere dancehall band — with popular residencies at local institutions like The Hole In the Wall, Broken Spoke and the White Horse to match — the Moonpies have spent years expanding their reach far beyond the Lone Star State.
The Quaker City Night Hawks
Quaker City Night Hawks are a rock band from Fort Worth, Texas, blending gritty Southern rock, blues, and classic boogie with a modern edge. Known for their swampy grooves, dual guitar attack, and soulful harmonies, the band has built a reputation for electrifying live shows and a sound that feels both timeless and fresh. Their music channels everything from ZZ Top to Leon Russell while forging its own distinctive path.
Gary P. Nunn
Gary P. Nunn has been TAKING TEXAS TO THE COUNTRY and Texas country to the world for some 40 years now, establishing himself as an icon of Lone Star music.
Victor Trevino Jr
Victor Trevino Jr. has been performing for over performing professionally for 10 years. Specializing in vintage music and theatrical styles, he finds it hard to stick to one genre. His appreciation for the theater, as well musical and visual arts, inspired him to pursue a career that allowed him to give his talents to the world.
The Scott Walker Band
Texas Country that will get you dancing!
Sunny Sweeney
Sunny Sweeney, a genre-bending, songwriting spitfire who has spent equal time in the rich musical traditions of Texas and Tennessee.
Nik Parr and the Selfless Lovers
Nik Parr’s original music is a high-energy piano-driven rock n’ roll endeavor with strong soul, funk, and blues influences. Parr’s band is built around his piano playing and singing, with an ear for catchy, danceable, and widely appealing new songs.
Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad
From the deep in the heart of Texas, Billy King and The Bad Bad Bad is a Power Psych band based out of Austin. They blend power psych, tough attitude, and raw American rock n roll grit who refuse to be boxed in by an industry obsessed with Algorithms. Their mission is simple: create the best rock songs they can not bound by genre, stand with the independent artists and outsiders who feel the world shifting, interrupt the status quo and liberate the entire globe. No one is free until we are all free.
Django Walker
Django Walker is a Texas-born singer-songwriter and guitarist, blending classic Americana with modern Texas country influences. He is the son of legendary country artist Jerry Jeff Walker. Django has carved out his own musical path with heartfelt songwriting and energetic performances that honor his father’s legacy while showcasing his own distinctive style.
Sentimental Family Band
The Sentimental Family Band is an Austin-based country trio made up of songwriters Camille Lewis, Kyle Albrecht, and Matthew Shepherd, who have been a staple of the local scene since 2019. Though none of the three came from country music roots — having previously played in indie and experimental projects — they found their way back to the genre through shared nostalgia and a love of classic sounds. Named as a nod to Tommy X Hancock's Supernatural Family Band, a touchstone from their youth, the group built a following playing two-stepping sets at Austin venues like the Sagebrush and White Horse before gradually weaving in original material. Their debut album *Sweethearts Only*, recorded with producer Billy Horton at Fort Horton Studios, blends traditional country influences with their more experimental sensibilities, resulting in a mellow, heartfelt record that reflects both where they came from and where they've arrived.
Mark David Manders
Mark David Manders has been a mainstay in Texas music for over twenty years. His music reflects his life: an intriguing dichotomy of the introspective soul searcher and the beer swilling, drunken poet.
Jesse Dayton
Equally steeped in Texas/Louisiana blues, old-school country and punk-rock, Dayton is the music world’s best-kept secret, hiding in plain sight as a guitarist for Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Ryan Bingham and L.A. punk pioneers X, as well as touring alongside Social Distortion, the Supersuckers and John Doe.
The Droptines
Austin-based band The Droptines live wildly between the lines of Americana and rock and roll – what they dub alternative Americana. Signed to Big Loud Texas, the band sets their first full-length project with the label, Drought Flower, for April 3. Their artistry is defined by lead singer Conner Arthur’s vocal growl and reminiscent of The Droptines’ most pointed influences like rock heroes Tom Petty and James McMurty. Working with lauded producer and Big Loud Texas co-founder and president of A&R Jon Randall, the gritty band’s new music is entrenched in a southern vernacular – writing and performing the songs they want to hear most. Defined by a “beatnik-like itinerary of a lost soul’s activity” (Saving Country Music), The Droptines set out on their headlining Drought Flower Tour beginning in April.
Petty Theft
One of the largest draws on the local cover band scene, the band brings crowds to their feet, dropping every Tom Petty hit you could name, from 'American Girl' to 'Don't Come Around Here No More' and everything in between.
Ellis Bullard
Ellis Bullard is a True-Blue Honky Tonk experience. He is the byproduct of the hard livin' and touring across America the past 7-8 years.
Nathan Colt Young
During the last 10 years, Nathan has performed in various places in Texas, from Houston to Luckenbach all the way to Terlingua. A legendary performer and a good-looking fellow!
Keegan McInroe & Band
Keegan McInroe is a writer, musician. and international touring artist based in Fort Worth, Texas. Keeping in spirit with his predecessor troubadouring minstrels, Keegan has spent the better part of the last two decades traversing the roads, wildernesses, and cities of the Old World and New, weaving the resulting experiences and observations together with varied influences from folk, country, and the blues to create an original and evolving tapestry of lyric-driven American roots music. McInroe has shared the stage with Leon Russell, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Willis Alan Ramsey, Otis Taylor, Carolyn Wonderland, Ian Moore, and others. He has been published in various papers and magazines for his travel writings, stories, poems, and occasional forays into politics. He is the host of The Keegan McInroe Radio Hour and The Uncouth Pilgrim Podcast.
Kathryn Legendre
Kathryn Legendre, a native Texan, has become a fixture of the Austin music scene, playing her own brand of original honky tonk. Folks will tell you that she's never been one to follow trends – that encompasses Legendre's whole outlook on songwriting and, well, life. Along the way, she’s built a catalog consisting of her 2013 debut album Old Soul, 2016 EP Don't Give A Damn, 2019 EP Making It Up, and 2020 singles, “One Long Sad Song” & “Waiting In Line.” As a result, Legendre has earned 2020 & 2023 Honky Tonk Female Ameripolitan nominations, as well as a 2021 Austin Music Awards Best Country Artist nomination. She’s also been featured on 2023 festival lineups, including Two Step Inn, Stagecoach, and ACL Music Festival. Most recently, Kathryn released a new full-length album, Here’s Your Honky Tonk (June 2025).