Cowpunk is a subgenre of punk rock that began in the United Kingdom and Southern California in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It combines punk rock or new wave with country, folk, and blues in its sound, lyrical subject matter, attitude, and style. Examples include Social Distortion, The Gun Club, The Long Ryders, Dash Rip Rock, Violent Femmes, The Blasters, Mojo Nixon, Meat Puppets, The Beat Farmers, Rubber Rodeo, Rank and File, and Jason and the Scorchers. Many of the musicians in this scene subsequently became associated with alternative country, roots rock or Americana.
Toadies are an American rock band formed in 1989 in Fort Worth, Texas, best known for the song "Possum Kingdom". The band's classic lineup consisted of Vaden Todd Lewis, Lisa Umbarger, Darrel Herbert, and Mark Reznicek (drums). It formed in 1989 and disbanded in 2001 after Umbarger left the group. The band reformed and released the album No Deliverance in 2008. In 2010, they re-released the album Feeler with Kirtland Records. The band's most recent album, The Lower Side of Uptown, was released in September 2017.
Deep Blue Something is an American rock band who are known for their 1995 hit single "Breakfast at Tiffany's" from their second album Home. Home achieved gold-record status; however, the band parted ways with Interscope Records and went on creative hiatus for several years, only releasing the follow-up Byzantium in Japan and some European countries. They eventually signed with the Aezra label and released Deep Blue Something in mid-2001, breaking up shortly after. The band regrouped with all members at the end of 2014 and signed to drummer John Kirtland's independent label, Kirtland Records.
Tripping Daisy is a neo-psychedelic pop rock band that was formed in Dallas, Texas, by lead singer/guitarist Tim DeLaughter in 1990 along with Jeff Bouck (drums), Wes Berggren (guitar) and Mark Pirro (bass).
Slobberbone is an American alt-country band from Denton, Texas, led by singer-songwriter Brent Best, Cody Garcia, Tony Harper, and Brian Lane. Best continues to tour as a solo act, performing both songs by Slobberbone and The Drams, and songs from his solo record, but also reunites with both bands for shows with full band line-ups.
Stewart Ransom "Rhett" Miller II is the lead singer of the country rock band Old 97's. He also records and performs as a solo musician, and has been published as a writer of both fiction and non-fiction.
Bloodshot Records is an independent record label based in Chicago, Illinois, which specializes in alternative country music.
Burden Brothers are a hard rock band formed in Dallas, Texas, by Toadies lead singer/songwriter Vaden Todd Lewis and Reverend Horton Heat/Izzy Stradlin drummer Taz Bentley. The band currently consists of Lewis (Vocals/Guitar), Bentley (Drums/Vocals), and Casey Hess (Guitar/Vocals). The band went on indefinite hiatus since 2006, due to the Toadies reunion and other interests, but reunited to perform at the Dia De Los Toadies music festival in September 2015.
Cory Dale Branan is an American singer-songwriter from Mississippi.
Fair to Midland was an American alternative metal band based in Texas. They produced two self-released albums before signing to Serjical Strike, Serj Tankian's vanity label at Universal Republic. There, they released their only major record label album, Fables from a Mayfly, in 2007. While the album broke into the Billboard 200, they eventually parted ways with Serjical Strike and later released their fourth album Arrows and Anchors in July 2011. Tentative plans for a fifth album had been discussed at the end of the Arrow and Anchors touring cycle, but the band became inactive in 2013.
Vaden Danger Todd Lewis is an American musician best known as the vocalist and guitarist for Toadies, an alternative rock band from Fort Worth, Texas. Lewis was also the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Dallas-based Burden Brothers. In July 2017, Lewis opened The Loop Artist Rehearsal Studios in Fort Worth.
The Chemistry Set was an indie pop band from Dallas, Texas, USA, formed in 2002. The four band members met at a party and created a psychedelic pop, progressive band. Stephen Duncan wrote the band's songs with influences including David Bowie, the Beatles, the Flaming Lips, Led Zeppelin and the Shins. The band has two albums including The Chemistry Set, released in 2004, and Blue Monsters, which was self-released in 2006.
The Telefones are a musical group based in Dallas, Texas. A regular act at the notable punk venue the Hot Klub in the 1980s, they are generally considered a pioneer Texas punk band, but have also been called “Dallas' first—and best—new wave band,” and yet also "[n]either punk nor new-wave." Their sound is a blend of many different styles and eras of rock and pop music.
Lydia Loveless is an American alternative country singer-songwriter from Columbus, Ohio. Their music combines pop music, classic country, honky tonk, and punk rock.
Nicholas Altobelli is an American singer and songwriter based in Dallas, Texas.
Todd Michael "Leon" Bridges is an American soul singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bridges' debut album, titled Coming Home, was released on June 23, 2015, on Columbia Records and subsequently nominated for Best R&B Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.
Dia De Los Toadies is an annual music festival organized by perennial headlining act Toadies. First held in August 2008 at Possum Kingdom Lake, the festival has subsequently been held in Glen Rose, New Braunfels, and at Panther Island Pavilion in Fort Worth. The ninth annual festival was held on June 11, 2016 in New Braunfels. The annual festival has been described as "the Willie's Picnic of a new generation."
The Yawpers are a three-piece rock and roll band from Denver, Colorado. Their name is derived from a Walt Whitman poem, entitled "Song of Myself" from Leaves of Grass: "I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world." The Yawpers play in a unique setting of two acoustic guitar players and drummer, yet their music is played with "raucous glee comparable to seeing a metal band".
Pimpadelic was a Fort Worth, Texas–based rock band.
Paul Mark Cauthen is an American singer-songwriter from East Texas. He started his music career in an Americana/indie folk rock duo called Sons of Fathers, before turning solo. He has released three albums and an EP as a solo artist, the most recent being Country Coming Down released in April 2022.
