Doug Strahan & The Good Neighbors

Doug Strahan is an Austin-area guitarist, singer and songwriter whose music lives in the greasy intersection of outlaw country, Southern rock, blues and blue-eyed soul. He calls it “American Old School”—too funky to be straight country, too twangy to be rock, and too rough around the edges to fit neatly into Americana.

After years playing lead guitar and helping drive Chili Cold Blood and the country-minded Moonhangers, Strahan stepped out with Coal Black Dreams, Late Night Schemes in 2014. He followed with Strahan & The Good Neighbors, Twilight Drifter, and Sadie, mixing barroom country, deep-groove blues, Southern boogie and vintage ’70s rock. The Austin Chronicle has compared the territory to artists including Charlie Rich and Gary Stewart, while Strahan’s own influences and sound evoke JJ Cale, Little Feat and the Allman Brothers.

The common thread is Strahan’s guitar work: gritty, loose and soulful, with the feel of somebody who learned as much in Texas bars as he did from records. It’s honky-tonk music with dirt under its fingernails and a serious rock ’n’ roll streak.