Joel Thetford

Raised in the shadow of Billy Bob's, one of Texas's legendary honky tonks, Joel Thetford grew up in Fort Worth listening to the sounds of classic country radio and the wide variety of rock and roll, blues, and folk music that the Texas scene provided. His career as a bull-rider landed him eventually in Stephenville, where the Texas Country scene was booming. With acts like Gary Stewart, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Robert Earl Keen, making regular stops in town, those were Joel's earliest and strongest influences as he began writing songs.