Shooter Jennings

He picked up his guitar at 14 and hasn’t put it down since. He and his father recorded a few things together when they happened to have some microphones set up and the tape recorder plugged in. Then at 16, he discovered rock ‘n’ roll. Driven by a sound he heard coming together in his head — something like Lynyrd Skynyrd mutating into Guns N’ Roses — Jennings left Nashville a couple of years later to seek his fortunes in L.A.

There, he assembled a band and named it Stargunn. For six or seven years they tore up the local clubs, built a rabid following and earned praise from the local music press. But the Hollywood party scene eventually began to bother him. He says, ‘I was posing as a rocker — a country guy trying to be something he wasn’t.’ On March 30, 2003, he dissolved Stargunn and moved to New York City to spend time with his girlfriend and sort out what he wanted to do next. An unexpected gig at the House of Blues a few weeks later revived his creativity.

He returned to L.A. to form another band, the 357s. After six weeks in the studio, he completed his first solo album, Put the O Back in Country. Universal South released it in early 2005. With guest vocals from George Jones, Jennings’ ‘4th of July’ reached the mid-level of the country airplay charts. Jennings portrayed his father in the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line. In 2006, he issued the studio album, Electric Rodeo, as well as Live From Irving Plaza.