From stage to heart, the community remembers Lockhart for his guitar talent and lasting impact on local artists.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coastal Bend community is coming together to honor and remember a local blues musician.

A recognizable voice, guitar skills like no other, and an even better human being. This is how Preston Wyatt remembers his friend, Rich Lockhart.

“There’s a lot of musicians that have the rock star attitude. Rich didn’t. He was cocky. I mean, he was cocky because he was good, but he was always nice to everybody. Everybody was Rich’s friend, and I’ll miss him,” he said.

Wyatt said every performance was one of a kind, and he made sure to capture them all.

“Oh man. He influenced a lot of people, not only with his guitar, his musicianship, and his songwriting,” Wyatt said. “But all the musicians here in this town, they all have their own Rich story, and they all have the time that they got to play with him. Everybody wanted to play with Rich Lockhart. He was that good.”

Rich was part of the Texas Coastal Bend Blues Society, and President Frank Butler said he left a lasting impact.

“He was such a talented artist. Everybody respected him and wanted to have a chance to play with him or be on the same bill,” Butler said. “I mean, he’s probably played every single venue that I can think of in the Coastal Bend.”

The Sandbox was his final performance. His longtime friend Joseph Bazan said Rich and the band were set to play that night.

“We always shared things, and he gave me these beautiful beads right here, and I’ve been wearing them ever since. I probably won’t ever take them off, but it’s a good symbol to remind me of him,” Bazan said.

Our Lexis Greene shared a close connection with her cousin, Rich.

“Rich was a big family man. He brought us all together without even trying to. I was sitting at this table the last time I got to see him play, and he would just bring me out. He’d bring everybody out. He brought strangers together to watch him play, and that’s what he did best,” Greene said. “I always knew from a young age when he first played his guitar that he was going to be something special, and it really warmed my heart to see that the community feels the same way about him.”

She has a lot of memories with him.

“Having a musician cousin is really special. I was super proud of him, but Thanksgiving was my favorite. We would just be eating, and then we’d make him pull out his guitar, Richard, or play a song for us. We had all these requests. One of my mom’s favorites is ‘Tennessee Whiskey.’ I loved it when he played Johnny Cash. He even played at my wedding,” Greene said.

Gone too soon, Rich’s friends said his legacy will continue.

“I have hundreds of hours of concerts and shows, and I’m going to be putting them together. There is going to be video so people can download it on streaming platforms. The music’s going to be out there, and he’s going to live forever,” Butler said.

“We’ve got some big ideas for this stage, so we’ll see what we can do for him in his honor and his legacy,” Bazan said.

The Sandbox will host a benefit for Rich next week, with 100% of proceeds going to his family. We’ll post those details here once they’re finalized.

The family has a GoFundMe to help pay for his funeral expenses.