Wade Bowen: Cowboy Kid

Country music’s “Cowboy Kid” Wade Bowen talks musical influences, the release of his new album and how the cowboy spirit within him has kept him chasing dreams all these years.

Country music artist Wade Bowen is best known for his heart-wrenching radio ballads, but the singer’s new album “Flyin” pays homage to his Western roots. Born and raised in Waco, Texas, Bowen explores the influences his upbringing had on his life and now that of his family.

The Start Of Something Great

Bowen always wanted to sing. His family’s love for music rubbed off on him as a child.

“My two older sisters and my mom were really into music,” Bowen says. “We all just loved going to concerts and singing and playing. I am the only one who pursued it professionally. I always dreamt of doing this since I was a kid.”

The Texas native enjoyed music as a hobby for most of his childhood alongside his family, but when he went to college at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, there was a mindset shift and an ignited passion to pursue music professionally.

“There was a commitment in college where I was like, ‘OK, I am going to start a band,'” Bowen says. “I saw Robert Earl Keen play when I was a freshman at Texas Tech University, and it changed my life. This was a guy who wasn’t a mainstream act, and the place was sold out. I loved the songs, and I became an even bigger fan of him and the way he was doing it. I immediately started a band … and never looked back.”

Bowen’s early days as a musician are remembered fondly. He still keeps up with those original bandmates and recalls their early gigs as some of the best memories of his career.

“[My original bandmates are] all successful doing other things,” Bowen says. “They are great people, and most of them are still a huge part of my life. It was a lot of fun back in those days, for sure. I try to tell young kids in the business now how that was probably the most fun time in my career — when [I] didn’t have a clue.

“We would cram in an extended cab pickup loaded to the max and beg for gigs,” Bowen continues. “Anywhere we went, it was so much fun; we loved it. We didn’t sleep hardly at all … in terrible rooms or on fans’ couches. They talk about the comparison now of having a tour bus and flying everywhere, but that was really the most fun time I had. I don’t know if I could do it again, but it was fun.”

While Bowen is best known for his heart-wrenching country ballads, he is excited that his new album will feature songs inspired by the happiness he has found in life over the last few years. Songs like “Flyin” and “Rainin On Me” are all inspired by love, not sadness. Fear not, though. The artist assures listeners who love his classic sad country songs that there are plenty of those on the album, too. Photography by Chester Marc Songs For My Mother

Bowen’s family’s love for music continued to influence him even after his band and songs began to gain momentum in country radio. While Bowen was raised in the Catholic church, where there was less musical influence, his mother, who was raised Baptist, loved gospel music. She loved it so much that Bowen’s father asked him to make her an entire record singing his mother’s favorite gospel songs.

“I thought he was crazy,” Bowen says. “I thought he didn’t understand that I couldn’t just go make a record; it’s a huge ordeal.”

Bowen’s father had a simple request: Bowen would record himself playing some of his mother’s favorite gospel songs with a single acoustic guitar. However, Bowen knew better than to record himself with subpar production value. In the modern world of music, leaked recordings happen all too often, and artists have to protect themselves from those possible circumstances.

“I just went in and did a whole record, never thinking it would see the light of day,” Bowen says. “We called it ‘Songs For My Mother,’ and they were all her [favorite] old songs that she sang. We surprised her with it on Christmas morning.”

Bowen’s mother loved the album so much that she begged him to release it to the public. So, he did.

“It’s been pretty life-changing to constantly hear people talking about the gospel record that I didn’t really try to push,” Bowen says. “To have it make an impact like it has on people and to have those songs played at funerals, it’s had a huge impact on me as well.”

An Artist From Texas

Bowen has always drawn inspiration from other major artists of his time. He mentions loving household names as a child, like Alabama, George Strait, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill and Alan Jackson.

Later on, Robert Earl Keen and Guy Clark sparked his musical fire, and eventually, he dove into his love for rock ‘n’ roll through the Eagles, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Bruce Springsteen, who became Bowen’s son’s namesake.

As Bowen’s career blossomed as a solo artist, releasing hit songs and albums such as “Try Not To Listen,” “Lost Hotel” and “If We Ever Make It Home,” he made and maintained friendships with other notable country music stars, such as Randy Rogers of the Randy Rogers Band, who Bowen has done multiple collaborative albums with.

“We have been playing shows together since there was nobody in the crowd,” Bowen says. “There is a huge comradery, especially with a lot of Texas artists. Everyone supports each other like crazy and loves each other and really believes in what we have and what we do. I am very proud of my friendships.”

While Bowen is close with his fellow Texas artists, the singer hopes his music won’t be confined to the regional borders of the Red Dirt genre. Bowen considers his music country, whether it fits in Texas, Nashville, overseas or anywhere else.

“I try to say I am an artist from Texas, not a Texas artist,” Bowen says, adding that being Texas country or Red Dirt wasn’t planned. “I take a lot of pride in where I am from — 1,000% — but I also believe that [my music] can be accepted and played all over.”

A New Inspiration

Now a household country music name, Bowen has signed national publishing deals and major label deals and is preparing to release a brand-new album.

“This is my second time producing a record on my own,” Bowen says. “It has a little bit of everything — some really sad-ass country songs and some really rock ‘n’ roll stuff. It has a lot of diversity, and I have always taken a lot of pride in that through my career — to be able to sing and play any genre I want to — and I think that’s what people are going to hear with this record.”

The music on this record may feature a little bit of everything, but the core of the lyrics come from the same place Bowen’s music always has — his own personal experiences. The “Lost Hotel” singer admits he tends to be on the reserved side, so staying true to himself as a writer and pouring from his own thoughts and feelings are ways for him to express himself when he otherwise might not.

“I have always considered myself to be like an open-diary style songwriter. It’s important for me to write about things I have felt, things I knew and things I understood. It is also a chance for me to get stuff off my chest and a chance to say things; I am not always the most vocal person in the room.”

If you’ve listened to Bowen’s music at all, you’ve likely heard some of his brutally honest and heartbreaking songs. It’s perhaps what the singer is best known for — songs like “Lost Hotel,” “Why Can’t You Love Me” and “West Texas Rain.” And while he is still digging deep for those beautiful country songs that pull at the heartstrings, Bowen is also finding new inspiration from the profound happiness in his life.

“I always thought it was easy to write about struggles,” Bowen says. “When I found a lot of happiness, I thought it would be hard to write songs — because I love sad, slow country songs — but I have found the complete opposite. I love writing and playing more than I ever have, and I think you hear that in the songs.

“I feel like right now is the best version of myself I have ever been as a writer,” he continues. “I am just diving into every little aspect I can of my life or finding inspiration in other people’s stories. I just love music right now.”

Bowen’s musical influences include everything from ’80s and ’90s classic country like Alan Jackson, George Strait and Vince Gill to classic rock like the Eagles and Bruce Springsteen, whom Bowen named one of his children after. Photography by Chester Marc Flyin

The new album features already-released single titled “Raining On Me,” as well as “Hidin Behind This Microphone,” which Bowen describes as an especially emotional song for him. While not on the album, listeners can also look forward to hearing other newly released single “Lovin’ Not Leavin,” which tells the story of women who, despite all its difficulties, fall in love with the troubadour, cowboy type, wherever they get their music. The gypsy spirit and fast-paced life of a singer is a hard life to commit to, not unlike that of the cowboy lifestyle. The song is a salute to the strong women who choose to fall in love with “cowboy kind” and endure the trials that lifestyle surely brings to a relationship.

And speaking of the cowboy kind, Bowen recently released a single, “Cowboy Kid,” which pays homage to Bowen’s childhood. Bowen used to saddle his horse and ride around on his childhood ranch by himself. He aspired to the cowboy life and had the cowboy spirit deep within him — even going so far as to tie his horse to a tree and lie down to take a fake nap, as he imagined the real-life cowboys were doing out on the plains. As he wrote it, though, the song evolved into something much deeper.

“The song started out as talking about those dreams I had as a kid, and we had this epiphany in the middle of writing it that I am still the same kid who had those dreams,” Bowen says. “I haven’t stopped, I haven’t slowed down, I haven’t settled on any dreams.

“We tend to think as adults that we outgrow our dreams, but we should never feel that way. We should always stay true to them and hold ourselves accountable to the dreams we had when we were younger.”

Bowen says there is an energy to this record in trying things that he hasn’t done before. He is writing with industry vets like Eric Paslay, Heather Morgan, Leslie Satcher, Randy Montana and others. Some of these writers Bowen has worked with on projects before, and some are new faces to Bowen’s camp.

Flyin is one of the songs Bowen is most excited about on this album. It’s about getting out of your head, letting go and realizing life is good, just enjoy it.

“You’re already flying — just soak it up,” Bowen says.

The Modern Musician

Speaking of big dreams, Bowen recalls some of the most iconic music venues he has played and why they continue to standout to him.

The Blue Light in Lubbock, Texas, holds a special place in Bowen’s heart from his early days as an artist and somewhere he regards as a great place for songwriters to get started.

His favorite place to play on a regular basis, though, is Billy Bob’s Texas in the Historic Fort Worth Stockyards. He also recalls some of his favorite musical memories from Red Rocks Amphitheater near Denver, Colorado, and the iconic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The ever-changing media landscape has both pros and cons for musicians. Trends can skyrocket artists to viral stardom and leave them behind in the dust just as quickly. Bowen says it’s much easier to promote and release songs in musical culture today, but the problem is how easy it is for listeners to move on from it.

“You have to find innovative ways to hold their attention a little longer if you can,” Bowen says. “It’s definitely different from what it was when I started, where there was so much emphasis on a record, and the group of songs together on an album was so very important. That just doesn’t seem to hold much value right now.”

Music consumption has shifted drastically over the years from CDs to MP3s to streaming and now TikTok and Instagram Reels — it’s increasingly hard for an artist to keep up with the times and stay relevant in the age of overnight viral sensations.

“I just try to write the songs I know I can write and not to follow trends,” Bowen says “I could try to write songs like Zach Bryan, but it’s not going to be natural or what my strength is. I love and respect what he’s doing and … I think it’s important for artists to stay true to what they do best. I may take some chances here and there, but — for the most part — I just write the songs I know and play them and do the best I can.”

Bowen’s finger is definitely on the pulse of what’s up-and-coming in country music, though. The veteran singer shared a few names he has his eyes and ears on, such as William Beckman and the aforementioned Zach Bryan, who burst onto the country scene with his viral song “Something In The Orange” and hasn’t slowed down since. And while he’s impressed by what he sees in young country stars, Bowen says he’s still mostly listening to ’80s and ’90s country music for the most part.

Bowen’s new album, “Flyin,” is different than anything he has every released, crossing between genres with a diverse selection of song styles but still holding true to the brutally honest lyrics Bowen is know for. Photography by Chester Marc Discography

Of Bowen’s discography, he struggles to pick a favorite, as every album is a timestamp of a unique time and place in the artist’s life.

“‘Lost Hotel,’ for me, was my chance to prove myself as a songwriter,” Bowen says. “It means a lot to me.”

Bowen also says “If We Ever Make It Home” holds significance as a time when he really tried to prove himself as an artist beyond his songwriting abilities, while he’s recently been digging back into “Solid Ground,” which was produced by Bowen’s good friend, Keith Gattis, who died in April 2023. Without a doubt, though, he is most looking forward to the upcoming album release.

“There is some personal stuff on here,” Bowen says. “There is some struggle that comes with this business, and there’s some of that in the song ‘Hidden Behind This Microphone,’ which is a pretty emotional song for me.”

Bowen says there is also some true, classic country influence on this record that he has never done with his career.

“There is some pretty country s— on this record,” Bowen says with a laugh. “I really love it; I am excited about it.”

“I just try to write the songs I know I can write and not to follow trends.” — Wade Bowen

The Family Business

Bowen has no plans to slow down singing and songwriter any time soon, but he does hope his legacy will someday continue through his two sons.

“I hope they wrote songs,” Bowen says. “I introduce them to as much as possible and let them figure out what they love and don’t love. They both play instruments and sing very well.”

The family lives together in New Braunfels, Texas. Bowen reflects on how starting a family has changed the way he draws inspiration for his music and the impact on his priorities in life.

“Having children changes the way you look at the world,” Bowen says. “It inspires me every day. I am loving my life and loving my career more than I ever have, and the inspiration is coming from everywhere.”

Listeners can enjoy Bowen’s music wherever they stream their music!

This article was originally published in the May 2024 issue of Western Horseman.

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