Kevin Welch

Kevin Welch moved from his home in Oklahoma to Nashville in 1978 to work as a songwriter. Singers like Ricky Skaggs, Waylon Jennings, Patty Loveless, Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Don Williams and The Highwaymen among many others were using his material. His popularity grew and in 1988 he signed a record contract with Reprise Records.

In 1990 the album Kevin Welch was recorded and 2 years later Western Beat. In 1994 he co-founded Dead Reckoning Records along with Kieran Kane, Tammy Rogers, Mike Henderson and Harry Stinson. The following year Life Down Here on Earth was published and in 1999 Beneath My Wheels. In 2002 the album Millionaire was recorded partially in Nashville and mostly in Denmark with a stellar line-up of Scandinavian players.

In 2004 Welch teamed up with fellow Dead Reckoning artists Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin to produce You Can’t Save Everybody. The trio followed this up with Lost John Dean in 2006, to general acclaim. Lost John Dean reached number one on the Americana charts, and resulted in nominations for several awards including Duo/Group of the year at the 2006 Americana Honors and Awards. The following eponymous Kane Welch Kaplin, with the addition of Lucas Kane, was also nominated for Duo/Group. The group traveled to Australia 10 times, as well as Europe and the UK, Canada, and all over the United States.

Welch moved to Wimberley, Texas, on 1 April 2008. In 2009, he recorded A Patch Of Blue Sky, his first solo project in 8 years. The recording features Texas musicians as well as his son Dustin, who played banjo and slide guitar, and his daughter Savannah, who appeared with her band the Trishas. He tours the world almost non-stop, though 2010 also saw the beginning of a series of Songwriting Workshops, held on his secluded property in the Hill Country once a month.

Kevin Welch along with ‘son’ Dustin & Kelley Mickwee performing “Highland Mary”

Kevin Welch performs “Come A Rain” on the Texas Music Scene