If you go
› Where: Songbirds Guitar Museum, 35 Station St. (South), 41 Station St. (North)› For more information: 423-531-2473TERRY MCBRIDE› When: 7 p.m. Friday, March 15 (N)› Admission: $30BACK N BLACK: THE ULTIMATE AC/DC TRIBUTE› When: 9 p.m. Friday, March 15 (S), 9 p.m.› Admission: $12 in advance, $15 the day of the showCHANNING WILSON› When: 7 p.m. Saturday, March 16 (N)› Admission: $15 in advance, $20 the day of the showTHE COMMUNICATORS PRESENT: THAT ’90s ST. PARTY’S DAY› When: 9 p.m. Saturday, March 16 (S)› Admission: $15
Born and raised in Texas, Terry McBride grew up in Lampasas, a small ranching community about 70 miles northwest of Austin. After receiving a guitar for his ninth birthday from his father it wasn't long before Terry was playing in local bands and spending summers on the road with his dad, the late Dale McBride, who was a recording artist with several Billboard singles in the late '70s.
The younger McBride became a sought-after bass player in the local music scene and spent the next few years playing with Texas artists Lee Roy Parnell, Bill Carter and the Blame, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Johnny Duncan, Rosie Flores and Delbert McClinton.
Terry McBride / Michael J. Media contributed photoIn 1989, McBride traveled to Nashville, where the songs he had been writing found their way to MCA President Tony Brown, who signed him to a recording contract with the label. Looking to harness McBride's vocal power, the label assembled McBride & The Ride.
The band recorded four albums for MCA, racking up several top five singles over the next few years, including "Sacred Ground," a No. 1 single in 1992.
McBride & The Ride received CMA and ACM nominations for Vocal Group of the Year before disbanding in 1995. After that, McBride began to focus on songwriting. He has had songs cut by Garth Brooks, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Hank Williams Jr., Ronnie Dunn, Kix Brooks, Alan Jackson, Trace Adkins, Easton Corbin, Kenny Rogers, John Anderson, Cole Swindell,Clare Dunn, Ricky Van Shelton, Wade Hayes, Gretchen Wilson and James Otto.
He co-wrote "Play Something Country" with Ronnie Dunn, which was the fastest-rising single of Brooks and Dunn's career and was also the final No. 1 song for the award-winning duo. McBride has had more than 25 songs recorded by Brooks & Dunn- among them, Brooks & Dunn's two duets with McEntire: "If You See Him/If You See Her" and "Cowgirls Don't Cry."
After nearly 15 years away from the spotlight, McBride has returned to stage as a solo act. He released "Hotels & Highways" EP in 2017. He'll be at Songbirds on Friday night, March 15.
"I wouldn't have thought it a year ago, but I'm really enjoying being able to get out and perform and sing well and have people enjoy it," says McBride in a news release. "There was so much touring early on. I was fortunate to be playing 200 dates a year - it's mind-boggling. It was such a blur. Now I'm taking it at my own pace and it's continuing to ramp up. It's an exciting time to be in the business."