Stoney LaRue plays music that combines the rootsy, emotionally honest sound of country with the beer-drinking swagger of heartland rock and a dash of the moody undercurrents of the blues. One of the founding fathers of the Southwestern Red Dirt scene, LaRue's music could be tough and swaggering (as on 2005's The Red Dirt Album and the 2007 concert set Live at Billy Bob's Texas) or personal and thoughtful (2011's Velvet and 2019's Onward), but the sweet growl of his voice and his crowd-pleasing charm were constants throughout his catalog.
Stoney LaRue was born in Taft, Texas,...