Shinyribs

Who Are They?

Shinyribs are a nine-piece Texas soul revue built around singer and guitarist Kevin Russell. Take New Orleans R&B, Gulf Coast swamp pop, Memphis horns, country twang, and a preacher's sense of showmanship, throw it all in one pot, and you have the sound.

Russell spent two decades in the beloved Austin roots band The Gourds, and started Shinyribs in 2007 as a side project. When the Gourds wound down in 2013, this became the whole thing, and it turned into one of the most purely joyful live acts anywhere.

On record it is warm and soulful. Live it is a full-blown revue, horns blaring, Russell dancing across the stage, a room full of people who came to sweat. Few bands are more fun to see.

The Story

A side project that swallowed a career, in the best way.

1. 1994

   The Gourds

   Kevin Russell co-founds the Austin roots band The Gourds, a cult-favorite alt-country outfit he plays in for nearly twenty years.

2. 2007

   Shinyribs begins

   Russell starts Shinyribs as a loose solo side project, leaning toward the swamp pop and Gulf Coast soul he grew up on around Beaumont and Shreveport.

3. 2010

   Well After Awhile

   The first Shinyribs album, home to signatures like "East Tx Rust," lays out the swampy, soulful blueprint.

4. 2013

   The Gourds end, Shinyribs takes over

   When the Gourds call it quits, Russell pours everything into Shinyribs, growing it into a full horn-driven revue. Gulf Coast Museum arrives the same year.

5. 2015

   Okra Candy

   The band deepens its New Orleans and Memphis soul instincts, and the live reputation keeps growing.

6. 2021

   Late Night TV Gold

   A recent, wide-ranging record that shows the revue can do tender as well as it does raucous.

Start Here

One official video and two Austin City Limits performances. The live ones are the whole point.

The Albums 5 to start with

The records are warm and soulful; the live show is the fireworks. Start with these five.

Playlists

One curated YouTube Music playlist of Shinyribs essentials, the swampy way in.

The Band

A genuine revue: a big band built to fill a room, all orbiting one irrepressible frontman.

• Kevin RussellVocals / GuitarThe frontman, songwriter, and showman; twenty years in The Gourds before this became his life's work
• The Shiny Soul SistersBacking VocalsThe call-and-response gospel-soul voices that lift the whole revue
• The Tijuana Trainwreck HornsHorn SectionThe Memphis-and-New-Orleans brass that gives the band its punch
• The Rhythm SectionBass / Drums / KeysThe deep Gulf Coast groove the whole nine-piece is built on

Influences

Shinyribs live at the crossroads of the Gulf: New Orleans funk, Memphis soul, and Texas roots, all flowing into one delta.

Interviews

Two conversations with Kevin Russell on the band, the Gulf Coast, and the joy of it.

Going Deeper

A few directions once the essentials have you dancing.

• See the revue. Non-negotiable. A festival set like Front Porch Fest is the perfect place to catch it.
• The Gourds. Russell's twenty years in the beloved Austin band are worth the trip back.
• The Gulf Coast roots. Follow the thread to The Meters and the whole New Orleans tradition.
• The covers. Shinyribs are famous for turning unlikely pop songs into swamp-soul workouts. Go find them live.

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