Thom Shepherd CMA of Texas Songwriter of the Year Thom Shepherd is a touring singer and songwriter who lives in San Antonio, TX. A veteran of Nashville’s Music Row, Thom is the writer of five #1 singles including “Redneck Yacht Club,” “Riding with Private Malone,” and three Texas music number ones. In total Thom has written over 10 radio singles, two Grammy nominated songs, and has had over 100 songs recorded by other artists. A cowrite with Texas superstar Kevin Fowler lead to several trips to Austin, with Shepherd moving there in 2011.
A native of Northeast Texas, and a recording artist with a wide range of styles in his lengthy career, John David Kent is making a strong return to music on his first album in ten years.
Texas bluesman Lightnin’ Hopkins (1912-1982) played, sang and lived by his own rules. When a sideman once asked him what key they were playing in, he proclaimed, “the key of Lightnin’ Hopkins!” A protégé of Blind Lemon Jefferson at age 8, he hit the road at a young age, playing juke joints and picnics throughout the South. A stint on a chain gang left some scars, but never slowed him down as he blazed a trail through the blues with his raw, inimitable guitar playing and voice. Like many Black bluesmen, he was “rediscovered” by British rockers and white college kids in the 1960s. John Kruth spoke with people who knew and played with Lightnin’ Hopkins to get a full portrait of this one-of-a-kind artist.