20 minutes | Thursday, 23 May 2024
'The CountryLine Songwriter Series', is where you'll hear from some of the most successful artists and songwriters working in Nashville today. Country music is all about storytelling and this is where you'll discover the stories from the people themselves of how they managed to find their way into such a competitive industry and rise to the top. What motivates and inspires them and what they've learnt along the way.
Born and raised in Waco, Texas, Wade Bowen started his musical career in the band West 84 with longtime friend Matt Miller. In 2002 Bowen decided to head out on his own, self-releasing his debut album “Try Not to Listen”, and playing up to 250 gigs a year. The hard work eventually paid off as the title track climbed into the Top Ten on the Texas music chart, and the rising star began planning his follow-up. “Live at the Blue Light”, and “Lost Hotel”, arrived in 2006; both earned him an audience outside of Texas. “If We Ever Make It Home”, was released in 2008 -- it wound up peaking at number 239 on Billboard's Country albums charts. Before he delivered “Live at Billy Bob's Texas”, in 2010.
Bowen signed to the Sony-distributed BNA Records for 2012's “The Given”, which went to number nine on the country album charts; its single "Saturday Night", topped out at 39. Not long after its release, though, BNA restructured and Bowen was once again independent. He released an eponymous album in 2014, and commercially it performed just as well as its major-supported predecessor. One year later, he had his greatest success with “Hold My Beer, Vol. 1”, a duet album with Randy Rogers; it went all the way to number four. The next year, he released the country gospel-themed “Then Sings My Soul: Songs for My Mother”, on his Bowen Sounds label. Another collaboration with Rogers, “Watch This”, arrived months later.
In early 2018, Bowen issued the well-received “Solid Ground,” which climbed to 27 on the Billboard country charts, and in 2020 he and Randy Rogers released a sequel to their acclaimed duet LP, appropriately titled “Hold My Beer, Vol.2”, Bowen returned in 2021 with the EP “Where Phones Don't Work”, then for the first time took on the role of sole producer for his 2022 album “Somewhere Between the Secret and the Truth.” He continued during this prolific period with his tenth studio set, “Flyin”, which arrived in May 2024 and upon its release he spoke with CountryLine’s Stuart Banford.