"The East Texas Band That Helped Bring Southern Rock Back to the Main Stage"
(Artist report)
Written by: Ginny Gaines
There are plenty of bands that play country music. There are plenty that play rock. There are plenty that play Southern rock, blues, Americana and Texas country. Then there is Whiskey Myers. For nearly two decades, Whiskey Myers has been doing things its own way. The band came out of East Texas, built its following one concert at a time, and eventually became one of the most successful modern Southern rock bands in America.
For nearly two decades, Whiskey Myers has been doing things its own way. The band came out of East Texas, built its following one concert at a time, and eventually became one of the most successful modern Southern rock bands in America. The story of Whiskey Myers isn't really a story about overnight fame. It's a story about six musicians, a lot of guitars, thousands of miles on the road and a stubborn determination to make music that sounds like them.
Whiskey Myers' story began in East Texas around 2007. Cody Cannon and John Jeffers were friends who loved playing guitar. Cody Tate eventually joined them, and the musicians began building what would become Whiskey Myers. The group originally performed under the name Lucky Southern before settling on the Whiskey Myers name. The early days were not glamorous. They weren't playing giant arenas or appearing on television. They were playing small Texas venues, parties and local shows and slowly figuring out what kind of band they wanted to be. Those years mattered.
Instead of having a record company tell them what they should sound like, Whiskey Myers developed its sound in front of real people. They played. They played. They played some more. And they learned how to hold an audience. one of the most important parts of the Whiskey Myers story.
In 2008, Whiskey Myers released its first album, Road of Life. It was the beginning of a recording career that would eventually stretch across seven studio albums. The early Whiskey Myers sound was already taking shape. There were country influences, Southern rock guitars, blues, Texas music and plenty of grit. The band didn't sound like polished Nashville country. It didn't sound like a traditional rock band either. It sounded like a group of Texas musicians who had grown up listening to both. And that was exactly the point.
In 2011, Whiskey Myers released Firewater. This was an important moment. The album reached No. 26 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and helped establish the band as a serious name in the Texas and Red Dirt music world. Songs such as "Broken Window Serenade," "Ballad of a Southern Man" and "Virginia" helped introduce more people to the band's music. ."Broken Window Serenade" became particularly important to the band's story.
"Broken Window Serenade" became particularly important to the band's story. The album reached No. 4 on Billboard's Country Albums chart and contained one of the band's most recognizable songs, "Stone." "Stone" would eventually become one of Whiskey Myers' signature songs. The band was no longer just a Texas success story. Something much bigger was happening.
One of the biggest turning points came in 2018. Whiskey Myers appeared on the television series Yellowstone. For a band that had spent years building an audience through concerts and word of mouth, this was huge. Suddenly, people who had never heard of Whiskey Myers were seeing them on television. Their music began reaching a much larger audience, and their catalog moved into the Top 10 of the iTunes country chart. For many new fans, Yellowstone became the introduction to Whiskey Myers. Someone might hear a song on the show, look up the band and discover that there were already years of music waiting to be explored. It was the kind of exposure that can completely change a band's career. And for Whiskey Myers, it did.
Then came 2019. Whiskey Myers released an album simply called Whiskey Myers. This record was a major turning point. For the first time, the band produced an entire album itself. The musicians weren't simply following somebody else's instructions. They were taking control of their own sound. And the gamble worked. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart and reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
That was a remarkable accomplishment for a band that had spent its early years playing small Texas venues. Songs such as "Die Rockin'," "Gasoline," "Bury My Bones" and "California to Carolina" showed just how broad the band's sound had become. There was country. There was blues. There was Southern rock. There was hard rock. There was old-fashioned rock & roll. here was old-fashioned rock & roll.
Whiskey Myers continued expanding its lineup and sound. Jamey Gleaves eventually joined the band on bass after original bassist Gary Brown departed. Tony Kent also became an important member of the group, contributing keyboards and percussion. With Cody Cannon, Cody Tate and John Jeffers handling guitars, the band had a powerful three-guitar foundation. That guitar-heavy sound became one of the band's trademarks. But Whiskey Myers didn't want to be trapped by guitars alone. That became obvious with the next album.
In 2022, Whiskey Myers released Tornillo. The album was named after Tornillo, Texas, where the band recorded it at Sonic Ranch. The record showed that Whiskey Myers was still willing to experiment. The musicians brought in additional sounds, including horns on several songs. The result was still unmistakably Whiskey Myers, but the band was proving that it didn't have to repeat the same formula over and over. Tornillo reached No. 10 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart. The band was now firmly established as a national act.
A group of Texas musicians picked up their guitars, started playing together and refused to let anybody tell them what kind of music they were supposed to make. And that's really Whiskey Myers. They're rock. They're Southern rock. They're blues. They're Texas. They're a little rough around the edges. And they like it that way. After nearly twenty years, Whiskey Myers has become one of the most recognizable names in modern Southern rock, not because they tried to fit into a particular musical box, but because they built their own.
That will do it for this report about Whiskey Myers. Thank you for reading and in closing, please know, Soundwave Music Media will be here and we will always do our best to bring you the rock music report. Please consider supporting our Soundwave Foundation with a donation! Rock On! Until next time...🤘
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Written By: Ginny Gaines
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