For over a decade now, singer/songwriter, actor, and former bull rider Ryan Bingham has hung his hat in the middle of a path that runs between music, and film.
On one hand, Bingham is a well-known troubadour who's garnered an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy Award for his 2010 song, “The Weary Kind,” which appeared on the film, “Crazy Heart,” starring Jeff Bridges. Then there’s Bingham’s “Yellowstone” fame, where he’s best known for playing an ex-con named Walker, a ranch-hand who knows how to ride a horse, play guitar and sing, and how to throw a punch.
Bingham’s demeanor and attitude are a result of his upbringing, working on his family’s ranch in Hobbs, a small town on the west side of the State of New Mexico. His riding chops would eventually land him in a role riding on the rodeo team at Tarleton State University, in Stephenville. It was during his downtime between rides that he began singing in small groups to pass the time. Soon, Bingham would make a name for himself playing many gigs in the DFW area, specifically Fort Worth. His start wasn’t immediate, but he kept at it until his moniker appeared next to some of the biggest names in modern country music circles.
This Saturday, Bingham will be in Fort Worth to host “Ryan Bingham’s The Great Western,” at Dickies Arena. This one-day showcase includes a celebration of Western culture in the form of live music, tribal dances, bull riding, and much more.
But this isn’t Bingham’s first rodeo, nor is it his first time playing a show here. In fact, many local music fans, including Bingham himself, will agree that Fort Worth played a pivotal role in his career as a country artist. We recently had a chance to chat with Bingham about his time in the saddle, his first Fort Worth gig, and his opinion on our local music scene.
FWM: We were reading that you grew up in Hobbs, New Mexico, how did you end up in Fort Worth from all the way out there?
RB: Oh man, that's a long story, dude. But yeah, I did get my start there, man. Yeah, coming from Hobbs, New Mexico, it was a long road, and my family ranched out there and ended up going to work in the oil fields and we traveled around a lot, moved all over the state of Texas. And for one reason or another though, something kept bringing me back to Fort Worth. Originally it was riding bulls in the rodeo, coming up there and riding bulls and Billy Bob's and going to all the junior rodeos there at the Stockyards. So, I've been very, very fortunate to have spent the time that I have there. It's been a great town, great community, great support there.
FWM: How long have you actually been riding?
RB: I started riding calves and steers when I was a little kid in the junior rodeos, and rode bulls till kind of up into my mid-twenties until I really started playing music.
FWM: Wasn’t the rodeo circuit how you got your start playing in front of crowds? Is this tale true?
RB: It is. When I was going on the road to rodeos with my friends, I'd have a guitar in the backseat and we would make up songs about our adventures on the weekends and ultimately we'd spill over into a little bar and my friends would encourage me to get my guitar out and play an open mic night or whatever it was. And I just started getting gigs at bars. And I also ended up getting a job with a guy named Mack Altizer down in Del Rio, Texas. He had a rodeo company, Bad Company Rodeo, and he'd start setting up a flatbed trailer at the hospitality tents for all the cowboys and he'd get me to get my guitar out and play after the rodeos. And so, it was kind of a mix of playing the rodeos and all the little bars in town, and that's really where it started.
FWM: It’s my understanding that the very first bar you played in Fort Worth was completely empty. How did you keep your hopes up in the midst of something like that?
RB: Yeah, most of them were empty when I started out. It was really just; it was my friends. I never really had high expectations of being able to play music for a living or even really performing it for anybody. We were just making up fun songs on the road and a lot of times we'd just end up in the parking lot sitting on the tailgate of the truck and drinking a few beers and I would just sing these songs for my buddies that wanted to hear 'em.
And those were the guys that we'd go into a little bar somewhere and we might be the only four or five people in there, but they'd say, ‘Hey man, go get your guitar out of the truck, come in and play a couple songs,’ and five people would turn into 10 people and the next time I went back it would turn into 15 and 20. And so it just kind of started growing just one person at a time and really just out of those folks saying, ‘Hey, grab your guitar and play that song that you were singing in the back of the truck when we were going down the road.’ And so, it was really just kind of born out of that. It didn't matter if it was five people in the crowd or a hundred, if those five people wanted to hear a song, I was always just happy to play it for 'em.
FWM: Did you start off playing covers or were you always playing originals?
RB: It was mostly always originals. I really didn't have any formal kind of music education or training. And so I had an acoustic guitar and I only knew two or three chords on it. Most of the songs I was making up had one or two chords, just the cowboy chords. So this was before really all of the tablets or stuff on the internet and all of that. And so if you wanted to learn a song, you kind of either had to know how to read music off of a sheet or you had to be good enough to where you could listen to it off the radio or a record and play it. And I wasn't good enough to really listen to a song on the radio and figure out the chords and what they were doing. So, it took me quite a while of just playing my own songs that I would make up on one or two chords, and then eventually I would start playing with some other musicians that would start teaching me how to play music and teaching me new chords on the guitar and all of that stuff. Or I could get to a place where I could listen to a song and figure it out. So yeah, most of it was all just original songs.
FWM: Were there any specific local bars that you played you wanted to give a shout out to?
RB: Oh gosh, there's a ton of 'em. There's a place out west of Fort Worth, it's called Woody's Tavern, that they would always let me and my drummer Papa Smith in. It would just be the two of us, and they'd let us come play. I remember playing at the White Elephant, and obviously Billy Bob's.
There was a really nice lady there in Fort Worth at the time. I don't think she lives there anymore. Her name was Joanie, and she had a little thing she called the Clubhouse Concerts, and it was basically kind of this little apartment complex she was living in. They had an activity center and she started just putting on parties and would invite songwriters to come and play and start a little music series. She was always really supportive of me and let me come play her little series there. And then Justin Frazell over at the radio station was just a really early on supporter. He let me come in there with my guitar even before I had a record out or anything, and he would just let me play a few songs on the radio and let people know if I was playing a little bar in town. It was just a whole mess of that stuff that we would play.
FWM: Why did you pick Fort Worth to debut your new showcase, which features more than music? I know this show will also feature a rodeo and some live performances from local artists. Is this your way of paying homage to Panther City?
RB: Fort Worth has always really been one of the strongest markets I've ever played. I've had so much great support from the local radio stations and played some of my biggest shows there. Playing Billy Bob's at one time was kind of the biggest crowd I'd ever played at in the country. So, I think to be able to kind of come back and give back to that community and support the local community and the fans there that have been so loyal to me for so long, I think it's great. And I also wanted to add the Bull Riding and rodeo aspect to this and the history and the culture. They’re so rich in the Stockyards and I have such a history there from being a little kid and riding bulls at the Stockyards Rodeo. And so, it's a chance of just getting back home and sharing all this stuff with the folks that helped me get to where I am today.
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FWM: What do you tell people that accuse you of being a poser? Do you set them straight?
RB: Man, no one has ever said that straight to my face. There's always going to people on the internet and stuff like that that say things, but most of those folks don't know who I am or where I come from or what I've been through in life. So, all you can do is just kind of put one foot in front of the other and let the music speak for itself. I've always been a firm believer that no matter how talented you are or how good you could sing or whatever it is, if you have a song or you have something to say that's honest to you and inspires you in a certain way, there's a good chance that's going to resonate with somebody else. I think a lot of these songs and stories are pretty universal. A lot of us go through the same things growing up in life, in love, in loss, and all the emotions that come with all of that stuff.
FWM: Last year you did a cover of the Toadies' "Possum Kingdom." Is that a song you've always wanted to cover?
RB: I've always been a big fan of the Toadies since I was in high school, but I never thought that I'd ever really play any of those songs or cover 'Possum Kingdom.' I always felt like the music was on such a level, there's no way I could cover a song like that. It wasn't until the Texas Gentleman, they recorded the music and they sent it over to me and they're like, ‘Man, just take a crack at it.’ And I was like, ‘all right.’ So, I just sat, and I just worked on the vocals over and over and I just did the best I could with it. It was a lot of fun getting to do that. But yeah, no, I never thought I'd ever do a cover of it.
FWM: Knowing where you come from, and how much the Fort Worth music scene helped mold you, what is your opinion of the Fort Worth music scene now?
RB: Man, it's always been good and still is. My good friend Matt Smith and his brother Graylin Smith, and their sister Bethany, they have the Magnolia Motor Lounge over there on the west side of town. When they first opened that place, I'd always keep in touch and they'd always let me know the songwriters and the bands that were coming through.
So, I've always had to keep my ear pretty close to the ground on that and it's great, man. So I got to give a lot of credit to the community there. It's kind of like Austin in a way. A lot of that music wouldn't be possible if the community didn't support it as much as they do, and kind of give young bands a place to come play and kind of cut their teeth. Plus, learn how to write songs and learn how to play in a band and tune your guitar. You can practice all day long at home all you want, but until you get on a stage with lights and sound in the crowd and learn how to navigate the challenges that kind of come with that.
And I think having that, if you want to call it the ‘Field of Dreams’ so to speak, there gives a lot of folks the opportunity to get out there and practice and play and play live and play in front of people. And you really see it when you get out on the road. I’ve played festivals and shows all over the world. I'll be somewhere and the local promoter will hire a young up-and-comer to come play. And you can tell if those folks have just been kind of playing at home or if they've actually been on a stage singing through a microphone with sound and all of that.
And then there's just so much good music that comes from that area too, the Texas songwriters and all the influences there. There's always been a lot of great music coming out of there and a lot of my favorite bands. And it wasn't really until I got up around that area too that I ever thought that I could have an opportunity to really play for a living. Having that support allows you to go out and learn and it’s just something you can't really put a price tag on.
