Dallas Burrow, who plays with his band at El Vaquero Winery this Sunday afternoon, was pretty much born and bred to be a Texas troubadour. The Sentinel recently caught up with him to learn how the native Central Texan has had a life surrounded by music and what he’s bringing to the Aug. 23 show.
“I was raised in New Braunfels, Texas,” he said. “In this part of the world, a lot of the roots music scene makes a stop here. Plus, my dad’s a songwriter and was (literally) blood brothers with Townes Van Zandt.” (You can’t get more Texas than that.)
Adding to influences is The Redbird, his family-run listening venue in New Braunfels. “We only seat 60 people,” he said. “It’s BYOB and there’s no talking. I come from that school. And I have a strong appreciation for that atmosphere.”
Burrow has been in good company at The Redbird: Americana (and local) favorites including Fred Eaglesmith, Butch Hancock, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Robert Earl Keen have all played that intimate room. In fact, it was Bryan Duckworth, Keen’s former — and still occasional — fiddle player “who connected me to Santa Cruz and your part of the world,” he added.
He’s also spent time on the road and around the world. “I’ve been a (wanderer) my whole life,” Burrow said. This year is no exception. The bulk of 2026 has kept him touring for “The Way the West Was Won,” his latest full-length collection of songs.
“Between live recordings, early EPs and albums, I think this is our 12th project or so, plus I have another new album coming out in September,” Burrow shared.
That many projects in, he’s still finding inspiration. “As a songwriter,” he said, “there are times where you’ll stop and ask yourself, ‘Have I already written about this?’ Because you don’t want to repeat yourself. But if you’re still finding things talk about, you keep going. And sometimes it takes more than one song or more than one album to work through all of the processing of what you’re going through. If you’re not running out of stuff to say at that point, you might be good for the long stretch.”
Texas native Dallas Burrow has had a life surrounded by music. He will play El Vaquero Winery with his band this Sunday afternoon. (Contributed)
I would add that as you get older and have different experiences, you as a writer looks at an older song differently or at least play it in a different arrangement. Burrow agreed: “I have this song on an older EP called ‘No Problem’ that I’ve recut with the full band. I think sometimes when you play a song a lot or maybe have a different set of people you want to record it with, you want to see every song have their day in the sun.”
The last time he was in town, Burrow managed to squeeze himself and his band into a sold-out show at The Ugly Mug in Soquel. This Sunday, they’ll stretch out on El Vaquero’s outdoor stage. No matter what the venue, Burrow welcomes every experience and knows it only makes you grow as an artist: “You have to just enjoy every little gig,” he said. “Think about every funky little place that Willie Nelson played before he finally made it, any place with a flatbed truck. Or even Bob Wills. All those days they’re all rolling around in a station wagon in Texas with no AC and every low-budget venue and PA (public address system) they dealt with.”
Burrow looks at every gig as an opportunity: “At some point you say, I’ve seen this before. I know what to do. I’m gonna stand right here and do my thing. You have to think about how to get the molecules in the room centered around you and think about what kind of material will work in that room or what’s the right cover song to draw them in that you follow with an original tune.
“With this band, over the years, we’ve played every kind of gig you can play. We know how to play in dance halls. For Sunday’s show, I’ll do a couple of tunes people can dance to, but I’ll still tell stories and get into the songwriting side of it. It’ll be a listening concert along with an occasion or two to dance. But I hope people come to listen as much as anything,” Burrow said.
Michael Gaither is a performing songwriter, trivia host, radio DJ and the music writer for The Santa Cruz Sentinel.
IF YOU GO
What: Dallas Burrow.
When: 4 p.m., Aug. 23.
Where: El Vaquero Winery, 2901 Freedom Blvd., Corralitos.
Tickets: $30 Gold Circle members, $20 general admission at snazzyproductions.com.