The Turnpike Troubadours stopped by The Bobby Bones Show for the first time to talk about their new album, how they came together as a band, what it’s like to be in the Texas Country Music scene and perform!
Turnpike Troubadours, made up of RC Edwards, Kyle Nix, Ryan Engleman, Gabriel Pearson, Hank Early and lead singer Evan Felker, have been a band for almost 20 years. They are from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and got their start playing gigs in Tulsa, Fort Smith and Fayetteville. Although they are not from Texas, they are heavily involved in the Texas Country Music scene and said they would not be where they are today if it wasn’t for the people in Texas who gave their music a chance.
They have been very popular in Texas and red dirt country music for a while, but they are just starting to go mainstream. They said it’s been weird to blow up in a way they never have before, but they feel very fortunate about it, especially since they are getting offers and deals to do more and expand their brand. They think during COVID is when more people started to discover them.
Everyone has been playing in the band in some form since 2006. The lead singer, Felker, didn’t know what the band’s vision was at first. He just knew he just wanted to be in a band, and they kept writing songs together. Being from a small town in Oklahoma, he didn’t get into songwriting until he went to a little tech college in Texas. Felker was an electrician before he pursued music. He said he was working all day and playing at shows all night, he finally reached a point where he thought he was playing enough gigs to make a living, and had that moment of, “If I don’t do it now, I never will.”
While in studio, they performed their song “Diamonds & Gasoline,” which they said is about realizing maybe you’re not meant for the situation and maybe the situation isn’t that important, and the end all be all. They also performed “Good Lord Lorrie,” and a song from their new album, “Mean Old Sun.”
Their new album A Cat In The Rain, will be out August 25.