Omar Dykes serves as the primary frontman for the Austin, Texas swamp rock outfit Omar & the Howlers, in which he handles vocals and guitar. Born during 1950 in McComb, Mississippi—the same town that gave rise to Bo Diddley, whose signature rhythm shaped much of Dykes’ approach—he absorbed his mother’s wide-ranging assortment of country, rock & roll, and soul discs from an early age. While still in his early teens he began slipping into nearby juke joints; once he acquired a guitar he returned to those same rooms to start performing. After finishing high school he drifted through Mississippi for several years, then moved to Austin in 1976. There Stevie Ray Vaughan befriended him, and shortly afterward Dykes assembled the Howlers, who issued their first recording, Big Leg Beat, in 1980. Following 1984’s I Told You So the group landed a Columbia contract that yielded Hard Times in the Land of Plenty in 1987. Although the major-label period proved brief, Omar & the Howlers stayed a constant presence on the Austin scene in the decades that followed and also cultivated a devoted European cult following. In 2007 Dykes joined Jimmie Vaughan for an album of Jimmy Reed material issued by the Ruf label under the title On the Jimmy Reed Highway. Two years later Ruf released Big Town Playboy, Dykes’ debut solo album. A further tribute project appeared in 2013, again credited to Dykes as a solo artist: Runnin’ with the Wolf, devoted to the repertoire of Howlin’ Wolf.
