Pat Green, Cory Morrow, Wade Bowen, Ryan James...and now, the Josh Abbott Band. Some of the best artists in Texas country music have gotten there start in the West Texas town of Lubbock while attending Texas Tech University, and the next in line for greatness is no different.
Formed in early 2006, JAB was founded by fraternity brothers: Josh Abbott, Austin Davis, Drew Hurt, and Neel Huey. After playing mostly acoustic open mic night shows at The Blue Light, Josh and Austin called on Drew and Neel to give the band a rhythm section. On their debut night, The Blue Light packed in a full house and a sense of something special was present! After a year of picking up local shows and greek parties, the band released a self-titled LP in 2007 featuring four tracks. Immediately, the band recorded a music video for "Buried Me" and entered it in the Music City Madness competition on CMT.com. After beating out over 600 other videos, the live concept video made the final cut!
The momentum kept rolling and JAB's popularity began to grow rapidly in Lubbock and on the Tech campus. Eventually, the band began to pick up road shows, and were invited to play the Zieg-Fest after-party at Lake Bryan. JAB knew they were starting to arrive when some of Texas country's most popular artists came to party and watch them, including: Eli Young Band, Roger Creagor, Rich O'Toole, Kyle Bennett Band, and Brady Black of Randy Rogers Band. JAB has now played shows with: Pat Green, Eli Young Band, Randy Rogers Band, Wade Bowen, Stoney LaRue, Cory Morrow, Rich O'Toole, Adam Hood, Ryan James, The Hogg Maulies, Johnny Cooper, Matt Martindale, Charlie Shafter Band, and many more!
From Lubbock to Houston to Amarillo to Austin, the Josh Abbott Band is making themselves known and catching on fast! Whether its the powerful, ranging vocals, catchy lyrics that hook, or unique sound of an electric banjo, JAB is making their mark quickly. With the recent release of their hit single "Taste" and the addition of KB Talent, one of the best booking agencies in Texas country, the band is looking for even more success in the year 2008. Shows are already booked as far east as North Carolina and as far north as Missouri.
Additionally, JAB is set to record a new album, "We're All In", with Drew Womack bringing his talents over to co-produce vocals. With the addition of a fiddle player, as well as a new bass player, JAB is set to explode in 2008 and take their place as one of Texas country's finest!
-"The new song 'Taste', by the Josh Abbott Band is great. Perfectly rolling
verses, braced by powerful melody. They bring the whole meal deal with this
song, yet, it's only a small "taste" of the big things to come for these guys."
Matt Martindale (formerly of Cooder Graw)
-"Taste - "A cool voice, a cool band and a really cool tune! People are going to love this
song!"
Mike Eli of Eli Young Band
-"Taste is a song that will get stuck in your head. It's going to do great on
the radio. Watch out for these guys."
Rich O'Toole