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Blue Water Highway is an Austin-based Americana/folk rock band known for their soulful harmony singing, thoughtful songwriting, and live performances that are just as captivating and entertaining as their albums.

The band’s core consists of childhood friends Zack Kibodeaux and Greg Essington, who named the group after their coastal hometown highway that runs from the mouth of the Brazos River to Galveston, TX. Over a decade of national and international touring—from headlining shows to tours with Bob Seger, Reckless Kelly, Shane Smith and the Saints, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Johnny Lang, and Turnpike Troubadours–they’ve made four full-length albums of original music. Blending modern and traditional sounds to create something timeless and familiar, yet fresh and unique, comparisons have been made to artists such as The Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, and Counting Crows.

Their third album, Paper Airplanes, was produced by Cason Cooley (NEEDTOBREATHE, Drew Holcomb, David Ramirez) and led to The Austin-American Statesman hailing them as “one of Austin’s best Americana acts,” with “legitimate national potential.” They are now excited to present their most ambitious project to date—a self-produced album entitled Year of the Dragon. “Musically and lyrically, it’s a bunch of story songs told in the Southern Gothic vein,” says lead singer/songwriter, Zack Kibodeaux. “It’s an album about what happens when the dragon comes to town. We wanted to meld the classic Americana world of fast cars, rock and roll, chain gangs, cops, and Delta Blues with the fairytale world of knights, queens, dragons, and troubadours.”

A prime example of this can be found in the dark, modern blues-tinged “Natural Man,” or the haunting Appalachian-influenced, “A Gun is a Killing Tool,” both of which could easily serve as a soundtrack to popular TV shows such as Yellowstone or Peaky Blinders. With a gritty, ominous, but groovy sonic landscape described by Greg Essington as “a Spaghetti Western mixed with Alfred Hitchcock,” Natural Man serves as the villain’s theme song, the metaphorical “dragon” tune. “But every album about a dragon needs a hero, a knight to fight it,” says Essington, and so it’s contrasted with another Kibodeaux penned song called “Old School,” written about his policeman father, and memories of growing up in a law enforcement family. For all the noir-tinged sounds and stories however, the band still manages to preserve the beauty, hope, and soulful energy that has become their signature, as evidenced in gospel-themed ballads such as “Newborn Child,” and the folksy closing number, “Morning Glory.” Other highlights that showcase the musical range of the band include the early rock and roll influenced, “High Cotton,” the Springsteen meets Killers-esque opening track, “Year of the Dragon,” and “Tears on a Hardwood Floor,” a homage to the classic, late 60’s blues-rock of The Rolling Stones, and Creedence Clearwater Revival.

“We are in a great place, artistically,” says Kibodeaux. “We now know ourselves as a band, where to stretch out and where our boundaries are. It’s been great to incorporate all the traditional music we love, alongside current artists and sounds that inspire us.”