From Buddy Holly and Mac Davis to Josh Abbott and Pat Green, many nationally known musicians got their start in Lubbock.
The tradition continues with the 2021 Lubbock Music NOW album. Twenty-one local performers and songwriters are featured on the 6th annual album. The album release coincides with the October 1 First Friday Art Trail. CDs and T-shirts will be available for purchase at the Lubbock Music NOW table outside the CASP 5th & J Studios. Some of the artists featured on the album and members of the Lubbock Music NOW committee will be on hand.
The artists selected for the 2021 Lubbock Music NOW album, with song titles, performers, and songwriters, in alphabetical order are:
- Alicia Morgan – “Stupid”
(Alicia Morgan) - Alfredo Rodriguez – “A Better Man”
(Alfredo Cordova Rodriguez) - Amy Faris (featuring Madeline Powell) – “Casualty”
(Amy Faris, W.A. Mozart) - Beautifully Brutal – “I Remember Loving You”
(Morri Hartgraves) - Brady Moyers – “Here to Stay”
(Brady Moyers) - Dustin Garrett (featuring Hannah Jackson) – “The World Is Crashing Down”
(Dustin Garrett) - The Grace Perspective – “Your Love is Strong”
(Joshua Sills) - Gypsy Jayne – “Old Dirt Road”
(Gypsy Jayne) - Hannah Jackson – “It’s Just Life”
(Hannah Jackson) - Jake Pyeatt – “Stay”
(Jake Pyeatt) - Janette B – “For You”
(Janette B) - Jason Nutt & Highway 70 – “100 Miles An Hour”
(Jason Nutt) - Jim Dixon – “Dance with a memory”
(Jim Dixon) - Kameryn Stanaland (featuring TJ Gutierrez) – “Already Gone”
(Kameryn Stanaland) - Keegan Peck – “Once in a Lifetime Love”
(Amy Faris) - Madelyn Mandry – “Mine”
(Madelyn Mandry) - Outwest – “Love and the End”
(Jonny Hughes) - Petrichor, Ltd. – “Ones & 0s”
(Kristopher Schmitt, Justin Lentz, Jared Brandon) - Richard Bowles – “He Is Real”
(Richard Bowles) - Ron Riley – “Strut”
(Ron Riley) - Vahrii – “Charge It To The Game”
(Damien Hernandez)
All songs on the album are original and professionally produced. For the first time this year, songwriters who do not themselves perform could submit an entry by selecting a performer to record their song. Musicians and songwriters living in a 100-mile radius of Lubbock are eligible to submit material for the album.
Each artist submitted one entry to the Lubbock Music NOW committee. The final selection for the album was made by a panel of past and current members of the Texas Branch of the Recording Academy (Texas Grammy Board). Judges did not know the names of the performers or songwriters.
“I don’t know what it is about Lubbock and the South Plains but there has always been superb music coming out of this area,” said Don Caldwell, a nationally known music producer, performer and member of the Lubbock Music NOW committee. “I don’t believe that people realize how much talent is part of the Lubbock Music scene. They know Buddy Holly and Mac Davis, but so many artists with songs on the charts started their careers playing gigs in Lubbock.”
This is the 6th Lubbock Music NOW album and Caldwell said the Grammy Board judges have told him they have been impressed with the talent on every album, a statement that doesn’t surprise him.
“Pick a bar or restaurant in Lubbock and you can hear really superior live music almost any night of the week,” he says. “This project is a terrific way for young performers to find a wider audience.”
The 2021 album will release on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and dozens of other streaming services. The hard copy of the CD and T-shirts are also available for purchase through Select-a-Seat Lubbock
Each artist receives a $200 cash prize from Civic Lubbock, Inc., and copies of the album.
The Lubbock Music NOW project was developed by Civic Lubbock, Inc. in 2016 to honor and recognize musicians living and working in the Lubbock area and producing original music. Civic Lubbock, Inc. is a non-profit organization created in 1956. Its mission is to foster and promote arts and entertainment in Lubbock.
