Wade Bowen

Wade Bowen, raised in Texas, released his debut album in 2002. He is often associated with the genre known as "red dirt," though Bowen has a grittier voice than most of the other artists in the category. Bowen doesn't try to hide his background or who he is: he doesn't wear a cowboy hat and he doesn't moan about being a country boy. Instead, Wade Bowen takes a more mature stance on country by observing the characters of his hometown and writing honest rock songs and ballads from these observations.