In the tradition of studio session hit makers like the Wrecking Crew, the Funk Brothers and the Muscle Shoals Swampers comes a contemporary outfit of studio cats-turned-recording artists known as the Texas Gentlemen. This Dallas-based quintet has backed everyone from the legendary Kris Kristofferson to eclectic singer-songwriters like Leon Bridges, Shakey Graves, Jack Ingram, Joe Ely and many others.
“We were playing around the Dallas area and got a residency playing covers for fun,” says Beau Bedford. “In between that we were working with artists and cutting as many records as possible. That really laid the groundwork for us to become what we have now playing live.”
“Our manager ran into New West president John Allen at SXSW”
All the members of the Texas Gentlemen were already successful as musical stylists and songwriters in their own right. Entering the studio to record under the “Gents” umbrella just seemed like a natural progression. “Before we signed with New West we cut [the album] TX Jelly last August in Muscle Shoals, Alabama at Fame Studios,” says Bedford. “I produce records and had an artist that dropped out of some dates. We had just come back from playing the Newport Folk Festival with Kris Kristofferson. I thought this would be a perfect time to have everyone come out and let’s make a Texas Gents record. We cut 27 tunes in four days—11 of which ended up on TX Jelly.”
The band had plans to release the album independently when a performance at this year’s SXSW festival redefined their course. “Our manager ran into New West president John Allen there,” explains Bedford. “John caught our show and thought it was insane. From there we had a conversation about teaming up with them. We felt it was a great connection to find these dudes. We’re excited to be releasing this record with them.”
True to form, the band was not intentionally looking for a label deal, yet one fell in their lap at the right time. “That is the story of the Texas Gentlemen,” claims Bedford with a laugh. “We pick things we love to do and seek out artists we love playing with, and that has begat one thing to the next. It’s just really a blessing to see all of the doors that have opened on our behalf.”
Their full-length album TX Jelly was released globally by New West Records on Sept. 15th.
Date Signed: May 10, 2017
Label: New West Records
Band Members: Ryan Ake, Beau Bedford, Daniel Creamer, Nik Lee, Matt McDonald.
Type of Music: Americana-influenced Rock/Country/Blues
Management: Steve Hutton - Uppercut Management
Booking: Jonathan Insogna - William Morris Endeavor
Legal: N/A
Publicity: Brady Brock, [email protected]
Web: thetexasgentlemen.com
A&R: John Allen - New West Records
