Thursday, November 10th – Come join us celebrate these talented artists! Admission is Free
The public is invited to attend the upcoming inductions into the West Texas Walk of Fame for 2022. The honorees are: Bess Hubbard, Hoyle Nix, Jody Nix and Amanda Shires. The induction ceremony will take place on Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 7:00pm in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center Theatre located at 1501 Mac Davis Lane. Doors open to the public at 6:30pm.
Bess Hubbard: Artist, Sculptor, and Printmaker
Ms Hubbard was born in 1896 and spent all of her adult life in Lubbock. Initially seeing her artwork as a hobby, Bess later continued her education studying art at various institutions including the Chicago Academy of Fine Art. During her time studying she was quickly noted for her impressionist paintings and lithographs before beginning work on sculpting, jewelry, and stained glass in the 1940s. By the 1950s she had become internationally recognized with her work being exhibited in places such as the Seattle Art Museum, the Museums of Fine Arts in Little Rock, Houston, and Dallas, the Denver Art Museum, and the Museum at Texas Tech University in her home town of Lubbock, as well as galleries in London, England, and other European countries. One of her sculptures can be found at the City of Lubbock Cemetery in the Hubbard Family plot. Bess died in March of 1977 and was interred at her family plot in the City of Lubbock Cemetery.
Hoyle Nix: Singer/Songwriter, Western Swing Artist, Fiddle Player and Bandleader
At the age of six Hoyle learned how to play the fiddle and went on to form the West Texas Cowboys with his brother Ben in 1946. The West Texas Cowboys cut their first record in 1949 for the Dallas based Star Talent record label where the initial release, Nix’s “A Big Ball’s in Cowtown,” a folk-derived rewrite, proved to be an enduring standard. He spent the next 10 years recording albums with many small Texas record companies, such as Queen, Caprock, Bo-Kay, and Winston. Hoyle eventually started his own record label, Stampede, in 1968 named after his original Big Spring dance hall of the same name. During the 1950s the popularity of the West Texas Cowboys grew and the band expanded to no less than nine members. Hoyle has been inducted into the Nebraska County Music Hall of Fame, the Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame, the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame, and the Western Swing Hall of Fame. He died at the age of 67 in 1985.
Jody Nix: Western Swing artist, Singer, Fiddle Player and Bandleader
The son of Hoyle Nix, Jody inevitably grew up surrounded by musical heritage, and began his musical career at the age of eight playing the drums in his father’s band. At 11 Jody was playing the fiddle, at 16 he was singing and at 21 he joined Bob Wills on a recording in 1973 as a guest artist and singing in three songs. A musical great in his own right, Jody has recorded 11 albums, and played with The Texas Cowboys at the Black Tie and Black Boots Ball in Washington DC in 1989 for then President George H. W. Bush. In 2008 Jody was part of the group that represented Texas at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC and also performed at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. Jody has received many accolades and awards throughout his career including his induction in the Western Swing Society Hall of Fame, the Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame, and the Cowboy Hall of Fame at the Big Spring Heritage Museum. Jody still performs over 100 dates a year and remains an inspirational figure in Texas music.
Amanda Shires: Singer-songwriter, Musician, Fiddle player and Poet
By the age of 10 she started playing fiddle after convincing her father to purchase the instrument at a pawn shop on the promise that she would learn how to play. By 12 years old Amanda was taking lessons, most notably from Frankie McCourter of the Texas Playboys. She impressed quickly and was invited to play with the band at several shows before joining them in 1997 at the age of 16. Following her graduation from Lubbock High School, Amanda attended South Plains College before graduating from Texas Tech University in 2004. While at South Plains College she became a founding member of the Thrift Store Cowboys. Amanda has gone on to release seven solo albums along with numerous performances with other artists and bands. She recorded the 2017 album The Nashville Sound with Jason Isbell which was nominated for, and won the 2018 Best Americana Album at the Grammy Awards and the International Album of the year at the UK Americana Awards. Amanda is the founder of The Highwomen, a supergroup she performs with along with Maren Morris, Nathalie Hemby, and Brandi Carlile.
