Red Shahan

Red Shahan, who grew up in West Texas, stepped away from the Lone Star State's Red Dirt tradition by fusing gritty country with moody, sharp-edged rock & roll. That blend surfaced on his first album, Men & Coyotes, in 2015, and gained greater focus on Culberson County two years later. After spending his early years near Lubbock, he moved to Fort Worth in the mid-2010s to dedicate himself to music full-time. He put together a backing group, began working with producer Elijah Ford—who also played lead guitar—and put out Men & Coyotes on Magnolia Records in 2015, gradually expanding a local audience into a national one. After signing with Thirty Tigers, he delivered his follow-up, Culberson County, in March 2018; Ford handled production once more, and the set included a songwriting collaboration with Brent Cobb.