Jonny Tex – the former messy country act with a rotating cast of musicians, now a solid four-piece rock band – made his way from Boston to Austin for SXSW 2026, sitting down with Atwood Magazine to talk transformation, faith, creative evolution, and the pursuit of a more honest sound.

“Heifer” / “Cherubhead” – Jonny Tex

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><a href="https://jonnytex.bandcamp.com/album/heifer-cherubhead">Heifer / Cherubhead by Jonny Tex</a>

It’s fun to make cool sounds, but at a certain point you have to get serious and actually think about what you’re writing.

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With cans of Chef Boyardee, bottles of soy sauce, and Clif bars to the left; imported bags of chips and sweets to the right; and 6-packs of beer in the refrigerator behind them, the four-piece indie rockers of Jonny Tex take center stage.

Well, center of the aisle at your neighborhood convenience store.

Rio Market, situated just off the University of Texas campus, hosts local bands in its tightly packed space every weekend – and plenty of visiting acts for the week of SXSW.

"Heifer" / "Cherubhead" - Jonny Tex — “Heifer” / “Cherubhead” – Jonny Tex

Bass bounces, drums crash, and heavy strums of textured guitar ring out as the group jumps around their few square feet of space. The shoulder-to-shoulder audience blocks the register and refrigerated section as they nod and dance along. A slight country twang escapes the noise as audience-requested tune “Heifer” hits the air and frontman Tex repeats, “I’d give it all away.”

With their head-banging and dance-inducing energy, you’ll be begging for new sounds to enter your bloodstream. Luckily, their next single “Mustard Seeds” is set to release April 30 with an EP trailing close behind. But for now… the once Texas youth pastor to-be and now Boston-based rocker sat down with Atwood prior to the band’s unofficial SXSW set.

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:: connect with Jonny Tex here ::

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A CONVERSATION WITH JONNY TEX

Atwood Magazine: When did music first come into your life?

Jonny Tex: I grew up in Austin. My parents met at Jazz Fest and so growing up they got me really into a lot of like New Orleans jazz bands, like Trombone Shorty and Galactic and Rebirth Brass Band, all these like really big bands. It was awesome. And through that, my dad was a big grunge guy so he got me into Nirvana and Pearl Jam and stuff. And then I grew up a little bit outside of the city so we would come to shows constantly and I was always kind of really inspired by live music.

They were bringing me to shows for a very long time. I saw Two Door Cinema Club in… I think it’s a closed 200-cap venue or something when I was like 11. My dad and I went, it’s like my favorite memory still. That kind of stuff definitely fueled me to play guitar and make music.

[We] always would come to South by and I had a lot of friends who would just try to sneak into shows when I was 15 so it’s very exciting to be here now and actually playing in it.

Music has obviously been in your life for so long. Was there a moment where you knew you’d follow this path or did it build more gradually over time?

Tex: I was studying to become a pastor for a while. I was working in worship music world and I think that was kind of my forced foray into… like I was really deep in the church and I was really excited about leading worship. And then after a while I realized I just wanted to play rock music. [laughs]

Was there a point where things shifted – when you decided to follow music or leave the church, if they’re tied together?

Tex: Yeah, I think it was a gradual change. I worked in youth ministry… I think just to work in that industry after a while you’re like, “Oh, this is really f***ed up.” All of it is like I-IV-I chord progression. You can just make inspiring music. You could make songs about hanging out in a grocery store and it would be just as inspiring. That was a big part of it.

I mean, everything is a metaphor.

Tex: Yeah, exactly! I think maybe the big [factor]… this is cheesy, but I have a lot of queer people in my life. And I was always like, “Okay, you’re telling me this and I don’t know if I believe it.” Because I know all these awesome people you claim to hate it and I don’t hate those people. I think there was just enough of a cultural disconnect where I was like, “I think it’s time just to make awesome rock music.”

Do you think having that background influences your music?

Tex: Big time. I think that’s definitely a large part of the story. I think I’m really drawn to how the church interacts with the world in kind of a post-technocracy space where everyone has access to so much information and I think that a lot of those themes have inspired me a lot.

Or it’s like just stuff that like I’ve lived in my life. Especially like leaving the church, it’s just there’s so many… I just see that experience and that heartbreak and so many other things.

How would you describe your own sound today? And how has it changed over time?

Tex: I keep my ears open and I think that’s a constant conversation I’m having is like, “What does this music sound like?” I think at the end of the day, I’ve wanted the music to feel quintessentially like me. But I think there’s also an element of, “How can I make this enjoyable for people to listen to?”

I’ve played in a lot of bands in Boston and I think all those inspired me in different ways. I play in a noise-rock band, I play in an indie-pop, psych-pop band. [Jonny Tex] used to be like a drunk country cover band. We had a residency at this venue in Boston. We would just get really hammered and play loud and they eventually fired us. [laughs] We were a little bit too rambunctious. There was a little bit of that ethos in there too where it’s like, that’s what I love. I did that for fun. I wanna do these songs for fun.

Do you expect your sound to shift and evolve as you yourself do?

Tex: Yeah, definitely. I think writing songs is a pursuit… a lifelong pursuit where you’re always kind of trying to refine what you’re trying to say and respond to the things around. I’m in the process of writing a record right now and I think that like there’s a lot of “What do I want to make? What do I want to say?” I think it’s just refining that over and over and just writing more songs until I’m happy with a concise statement.

What’s been on rotation for you recently?

Tex: What I’ve been spinning a lot is Wide Open Spaces by The Chicks. That’s been my go-to record. I’ve been listening to my friends Night Moth. They just put out a record that’s really good. They’re one of my favorite bands from New England.

Do you consider yourself more of a lyrics or a sound person?

Tex: I definitely write sound first, that’s like my favorite thing to do – just to write cool, interesting songs like pop music that’s a slightly more challenging or interesting or memorable. But I also labor over lyrics for a very long time. I’m figuring out what I want to say. I think I’ve turned more into a lyrics person over time.

I think there’s just something when you’re making music, you realize, “Okay, I’m actually saying words and I want ’em to actually mean something.” It’s fun to make cool sounds, but at a certain point you have to get serious and actually think about what you’re writing.

Is there a part of the creative process you’re the most attached to?

Tex: I like just messing around. I really like staying at home and just thinking of new ways to do really simple things. I think a good song is simple but effective. Every part has a purpose and I think it’s really fun to sit at, you know, at whatever time and try to make that happen. So probably just like mixing drums, guitar, and bass to try to make something that sounds sonically interesting. I think that’s probably my favorite. I hate writing lyrics. It’s really important, but I hate doing it. [laughs]

Where do you tend to find inspiration?

Tex: I like Tom Robbins a lot. He’s a very random writer. It’s kind of very colorful and nonsensical magical language. I always love to try dip into those books ’cause I think they’re just really colorful and he uses a lot of interesting sounds together. So that’s always a good challenge.

That and the bible. [laughs]

And the bible, there’s that background. Honestly, it stays with you. I grew up Catholic… it’s such a different life.

Tex: Yeah! It’s such a different life.

But also it’s still in me. Because you were raised that way for so long.

Tex: I have this funny thing. Maybe this is too crazy of an idea… but I feel like I learned so much character growth being a Christian for a specific period of time. And then stepping away, it almost makes me wanna have my kids go to church just to learn how to be good people. It’s an interesting place to come from.

What do you hope listeners can take out of your music?

Tex: I hope people are left thinking about their role in the world and also I hope that I scratch people’s brains. Like making the song satisfying, but also to think about the world.

What’s next for you?

Tex: We’re working on a record. We’re putting out an EP in May with Happen Twice, our label. [We’re] hitting the road a lot, playing a lot of shows. We started as a band like literally a year ago here [in Austin]. And I think we’re just trying to get in front of people and let people know we’re here.

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