Featuring five musicians who grew up in El Paso, Lubbock and Amarillo, the West Texas Exiles draw upon the wide-open western reaches of the Lone Star State with a wide-ranging, Americana-centered sound. Rising from the embers of the Dirty River Boys, which Marco Gutierrez co-founded in 2009, the Austin band features a triple-threat of songwriters in Gutierrez, Daniel Davis and Colin Gilmore (son of legendary Texas troubadour Jimmie Dale Gilmore), plus seasoned bassist Eric Harrison and latter-day Dirty River Boys drummer Trinidad Leal. The Exiles' 2023 debut EP paved the way for their first full-length album, 8000 Days, due out later this year. The recordings build upon the live chops the group has honed through a weekly residency at Austin’s legendary Continental Club plus gigs at key local events such as SXSW and Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion, as well as high-profile touring appearances at Nashville’s Americanafest, Braun Brothers Reunion and San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.
