Review: Texas Headhunters ‘Rise and Shine’
By Hal Horowitz
That was fast.
No sooner did the quickly recorded (in five days) debut album (2025) from the trio of guitarists that comprise the Texas Headhunters (Ian Moore, Johnny Moeller and Jesse Dayton) gain traction in the roots genre, than they return a year later. The second release is every bit as tough, biting and rugged as the first. At this rate, their third should be just around the corner.
But it’s no surprise that ‘Rise and Shine’ (released Oct. 9 on Blue Élan) arrived so quickly. After all, these veteran six-string slingers, each with three decades of experience, realize they have tapped into a good thing. They want to maintain that momentum created through not just that first set, but the extensive tour supporting it.
The concept initially seemed suspicious. Does any band short of Lynyrd Skynyd really need that many guitarists? But these three amigos also write crafty originals, sing, and share a relationship built on touring and playing with others for much of their extensive careers. No one hogs the spotlight and, being from Texas, have a common denominator in sharing a love of Freddie King (they enter shows to his version of “Palace of the King”) and “praying to the altar” of Billy Gibbons.
While the collective doesn’t sound like either icon, this is elevated over random blues rocking sharp-shooters doing their best Stevie Ray Vaughan licks. Jesse Dayton’s opening “Cut N Run” captures the dusky, rootsy funky vibe at the heart of the threesome’s groove. All take short solos with Dayton huffing “You can’t shed more tears when you’re all cried out” as he bemoans the end of a relationship. It’s a perfect start as Dayton howls, the guitars share the spotlight and the arrangement leaves room for it all to gel in just over 3 1/2 minutes.
Jon Moeller’s title track brings Southern rock grease to a Texas shuffle. The participants trade vocals on the three verses encouraging listeners to “Rise and Shine” with “One day we’re here and the next we’re gone.” It’s perfect for audience sing-alongs.
Ian Moore juices up a Bo Diddley beat for his thumping “Bigshot.” Dayton sits this one out, only contributing backing vocals. Moore and Moeller handle solos as the former sings about being the seventh son of the seventh son, a classic blues platitude.
Moore returns to pen a searing Southern soul ballad in the Otis Redding mode with “That’s the Kind of Fool I’ll Be.” It displays his smoother, emotional singing, even if the song’s structure follows an established template. Each guy gets time to whip up a tight, stinging solo adding to one of the set’s most incisive vocals.
Dayton regrets his mistakes (“Don’t speed past the police, don’t fish in another man’s spot”) in the swamp-infested “I Did It Anyway.” The tempo changes mid-tune as he strangles his instrument and sings with a bellowing baritone. Moeller, also credited as drummer (he overdubs percussion) is credited with “Funky So-N-So,” the disc’s lone instrumental. The holy guitar trinity split guitar chores on the surfy garage rocker which clocks in at under 2 ½ minutes.
That brevity is one of the disc’s most striking attributes. Three guitarists all looking to outdo each other could easily have taken the Satriani/Vai/Johnson G3 route where each participant gets plenty of time to display their speedy picking, often to the detriment of whatever tune their playing.
But the Texas Headhunters’ aim of putting the song first without getting distracted by extended shredding makes this sizzling combination of Lone Star guitarists more than the sum of its already impressive parts.
Watch “Bigshot”
Pre-order the album HERE