WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — It’s a special moment when musicians are able to perform in their hometown. However, when the lead singer of a Grammy-nominated punk rock band returns to Wichita Falls in August 2023, he’ll be taking the stage as a solo country artist.
Jaret Ray Reddick, frontman for the world-renowned band Bowling For Soup, is set to perform as a solo country artist in Wichita Falls, the place where he grew up and where his career in music began nearly 30 years ago.
Reddick’s first solo country show in his hometown is set for Saturday, August 19, 2023, at the Iron Horse Pub, located at 615 8th Street in Downtown Wichita Falls.
Joining Reddick on the Iron Horse stage will be James Cook, another country artist with deep Wichita Falls roots who hosts multiple shows on local country radio stations.
Tickets for the show are on sale now online. The concert will cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door on the day of the concert. The doors at Iron Horse will open on Saturday, August 19, 2023, at 8:30 p.m., and the show is set to get underway at 9:30 p.m.
Reddick released his first solo country album entitled “Just Woke Up” in March 2022, which features two Bowling For Soup songs reworked into the country genre. Recently, Reddick was named an Artist To Watch in 2023 by Texas Country Music Magazine.
That’s not all Reddick has been up to in recent years. In addition to his work as a solo country artist, he and the rest of the band he helped found, Bowling For Soup, continue to tour across the world.
Reddick’s voice can also be heard in the theme song for Disney’s “Phineas and Ferb”, and for those who thought Chuck E. Cheese’s voice has sounded different yet oddly familiar in recent years, that’s him too.
If that’s not enough, Reddick also hosts a number of successful podcasts:
Digital Reporter Josh Hoggard spoke with Reddick in October 2022 following the release of his solo country album. That interview can be viewed in its entirety in the video player below:
During their conversation, Reddick was asked if he or his band planned on making a return to Wichita Falls in the near future.
“Man, the Wichita Falls conversation comes back up all the time,” Reddick said. “I feel sure I’m going to come through there, at least as a country artist.”
True to his word, Reddick’s upcoming concert at the Iron Horse Pub will mark his return to his hometown, this time as a solo artist.
“I grew up in Wichita Falls. Country is king there,” Reddick said. “I draw most of my inspiration for songs and all of that from my childhood, and it was a big part of it. Ya know, playing in the marching band at Rider or playing sports at McNiel.”
During the interview, Reddick said despite some of the negative feedback he’s received for the song, “My Hometown”, he’s glad he’s from Wichita Falls, and his Bowling For Soup bandmates always speak fondly of their Texoma upbringings.
“I grew up listening to 99.9 KLUR every day,” Reddick said. “That’s my childhood.”
