Born and raised in Waco, TX, singer/songwriter Wade Bowen started his musical career in the band West 84 with longtime friend Matt Miller. In 2001, after flirting with the idea of life outside of the music business (he graduated from Texas Tech with a public relations degree) Bowen decided to head out on his own, self-releasing his 2002 debut 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 of which were released on the Sustain label, and earned him an audience outside of his Texas homeland. Collaborations with Pat Green, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Radney Foster, Randy Rogers, Brandon Rhyder, Bleu Edmondson, and brother-in-law Cody Canada of Cross Canadian Ragweed followed, with a new album If We Ever Make It Home arriving in 2008. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide