There’s Texas, and then there’s West Texas. You can leave it behind, but you can’t let it go — and nobody knows that better than the five young artists united under the banner of Austin’s West Texas Exiles. Although the band didn’t officially form until early 2022, its members are hardly newbies. Lubbock native Colin Gilmore and Amarillo’s Daniel Davis are both veteran solo artists, while Marco Gutierrez hails from El Paso’s Dirty River Boys. Together with bassist/producer Eric Harrison and drummer Trinidad Leal (Dirty River Boys, Dixie Witch, Grady, and Honky), they pool their shared influences (from fellow West Texans like Buddy Holly and the Flatlanders to Jason Isbell) to reinvigorate the the Texas music scene with a modern interpretation of the Lone Star vernacular. Grounded in rhythmic and lyrical honesty, the Exile sound is the vastness of the West Texas sky and the energy of a world where nothing stands still for long. Their 2023 debut EP, simply titled Volume 1, evoked the ghosts of southwestern Americana at its snake-bit best while pointing the way to brand new horizons. Their full-length debut, 8000 Days, released last September, builds upon the live chops the group has honed through a weekly residency at Austin’s legendary Continental Club plus gig sat key local events such as SXSW and WillieNelson’s Luck Reunion, as well as high-profile touring appearances at Nashville’s Americanafest, the Braun Brothers Reunion, and San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival.