Paul Wade Bowen (born October 18, 1978) is an American Texas country and red dirt singer from Waco, Texas, United States.
Bowen was a member of the band West 84 with friend Matt Miller until 2001 when the group became known as Wade Bowen and West 84., AllMusic He released his first album in 2002, Try Not To Listen, which became a regional hit in Texas., AllMusic He released his first live album in 2003, recorded live at The Blue Light in Lubbock, Texas, followed by studio albums Lost Hotel in 2006 and If We Ever Make It Home in 2008. On November 21, 2009, Bowen recorded his second live album at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth. The album was released on April 27, 2010, as a CD/DVD combo.
Bowen released his fourth studio album, The Given, in 2010. It was his first on a major label, Sony imprint BNA Records, though he returned to releasing music independently after BNA closed. He released a self-titled studio album in 2014, followed by a duets album in 2015 with singer Randy Rogers of the Randy Rogers Band, titled Hold My Beer Vol. 1. Bowen's next album was Then Sings My Soul: Songs for My Mother, a solo gospel-influenced studio release. He has released three more albums: Watch This, with Randy Rogers, Solid Ground, released in 2018, and a follow-up to Hold My Beer Vol. 1, titled Hold My Beer Vol. 2, with Randy Rogers.
During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, Wade started a web series of live shows called Wade's World, where he hosted other prominent Texas musicians to play and tell stories about their songs every Friday night. Guests included Bruce Robison, Cody Canada, Jack Ingram, and others.
Personal life Bowen is the brother-in-law of Cross Canadian Ragweed frontman Cody Canada and is a graduate of Texas Tech University, where he is a member of the Epsilon Nu chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
Discography Albums Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales US Country US US Folk US Heat US Indie Try Not to Listen Release date: May 14, 2002 Label: New Texas Records — — — — — The Blue Light Live Release date: September 14, 2004 Label: Sustain Records — — — — — Lost Hotel Release date: February 21, 2006 Label: Sustain Records — — — — — If We Ever Make It Home Release date: September 20, 2008 Label: Sustain Records 29 176 — 2 — Live at Billy Bob's Texas Release date: April 27, 2010 Label: Smith Music Group 41 — — 16 50 The Given Release date: May 29, 2012 Label: BNA Records 9 44 — — — Wade Bowen Release date: October 28, 2014 Label: Amp Records 9 47 — — 8 US: 13,800 Hold My Beer, Vol. 1(with Randy Rogers) Release date: April 20, 2015 Label: Lil' Buddy Toons 4 37 — — 3US: 14,000 Sales figure given here Then Sings My Soul:Songs for My Mother Release date: March 18, 2016 Label: Bowen Sounds 18 — — — 14US: 3,300 Watch This(with Randy Rogers) Release date: June 3, 2016 Label: Lil' Buddy Toons 21 — 8 — 19 Solid Ground Released: February 9, 2018 Label: Lil' Buddy Toons 27 — 10 — 7 Hold My Beer, Vol. 2(with Randy Rogers) Release date: May 8, 2020 Label: Lil' Buddy Toons — — — — — Somewhere Between the Secret and the Truth Release date: August 12, 2022 Label: Thirty Tigers — — — — — The Version of Me You Get Release date: September 25, 2026 Label: Thirty Tigers "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Singles Year Single Peak positions Album US Country 2011 "Saturday Night" 39 The Given 2012 "To Live Is to Fly" —2013 "Songs About Trucks" — "Another Song Nobody Will Hear"(with Will Hoge) — 2014 "When I Woke Up Today" — Wade Bowen 2024 "Rainin on Me" — Flyin "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Music videos Year Video Director 2006 "God Bless This Town" Matheson Muir 2009 "Trouble" Evan Kaufmann 2012 "Saturday Night" (Acoustic) Deaton Flanigen 2013 "Songs About Trucks" Rose/Weems 2014 "When I Woke Up Today" Trey Fanjoy 2015 "Standards" (with Randy Rogers) The Edde Brothers 2020 "Rodeo Clown" (with Randy Rogers) Tim Duggan
References