The Western Express

We understand how events work and we know how to work with schedules, people, and the overall experience of the event.

Parts of the event might need quiet dinner music. Another part might have a dance lesson. In another, we could create a raucous honky tonk atmosphere. We know party songs, drinking songs, love songs, and we even wrote one called Quesadilla Mamacita.

We play songs you know by heart and songs you should know. Our energy is always right where it needs to be to fit the mood, and we're 100% professional all the time.

Ready to learn to two-step like a real Texans?!
Stephen is a real-deal dance instructor, and he's available for two-step lessons for a small additional fee. Trust us, it gets the party going and keeps everyone engaged for hours.

Their musical approach is far deeper than prevailing tastes in music. The record is rich with fast songs and haunting Texas balladry.
~Americana Highways

One of the best new names from Austin, who play it right and play it real. Recommended for lovers, poets, and the occasional lunatic.
~Lonesome Highway

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Stephen and Phill are Texas natives, bringing their own musical tastes and backgrounds to The Western Express. They started the band together in 2019, a year after they met on Craigslist. They started as a duo, with Phill on bass and Stephen singing and playing acoustic guitar. Since then, they've expanded the band roster, played hundreds of shows, released a record, and scored top 30 Texas Country hits.

In 2022, The Western Express released their debut album, Lunatics, Lovers & Poets, to high praise and excitement from their Austin, TX fan base.

The record capped off a year that saw the band release five singles and two music videos, play an official SXSW showcase, headline a stage at the Houston Rodeo, and execute a flurry of promotion across the country.

Acclaimed by music industry folks of many stripes, the record was produced by veteran John Evans, who captured the sound Stephen and Phill wanted. “It sounds like a border town honky tonk,” said one industry insider.

In 2024, The Western Express will play the Houston Rodeo for the third straight year and the Austin Rodeo for the second in a row. They've opened for Kinky Friedman, The Wilder Blue, and Cody Hibbard, and played some of the most iconic music venues in Texas, like the Broken Spoke, Luckenbach, Floore's Country Store.

Most importantly, the boys have invested heavily in their Austin community, building what amounts to an army of friends, pals, dancers, and fans who turn out for their shows. They carry this momentum into 2024, when they are releasing their sophomore album (again with John Evans as producer) and hitting the road to new audiences all over the Southwest.