Featuring five musicians who grew up in El Paso, Lubbock, and Amarillo, 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-based band features a triple threat of songwriters in Gutierrez, Daniel Davis, and Colin Gilmore (son of legendary Texas troubadour Jimmie Dale Gilmore), alongside 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, along with performances at key local events such as SXSW and Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion, and high-profile touring appearances at AmericanaFest in Nashville, Braun Brothers Reunion, and San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.
