biography
BJ's story began in Alice, born and raised in the warm gulf breezes of the small Texas town just outside Corpus Christi. Thanks to his elementary teachers and one very persistent grandmother in particular, BJ found himself singing at school plays and family reunions at a very young age. By his high school years, he was a member of his school’s choir, as well as the choir at Saint Elizabeth Church. It's evident now that God was setting the groundwork- planting a love for music deep in his soul and a melody in his ear.
After graduation, a good friend and a few of BJ’s close cousins convinced him to buy his first guitar. Soon after, that same good friend, Brian Kruckenberg, we call him "Kruck," convinced BJ to play a short set with him at the newly opened Zapatos Cantina on Northgate, where they were students at Texas A&M in College Station. That same packed set then earned them an every Friday night residency at Zapatos, where they played every damn Friday for almost 3 years straight. It was a trial by fire, but it helped BJ learn to play and perform to crowds young and old, rooms empty or packed, skies rainy or sunny. Their acoustic duo, called Six Bridges by their friends and dedicated Aggie following, enjoyed great success. Soon they were opening up shows for the likes of Bruce and Charlie Robison and Radney Foster and even a performance on the Texas A&M Quad with rising star Roger Creager. The seed was planted.
It was at Zapatos, that BJ met fellow local singer/songwriters such as Mike Ethan Messick, Gabe Wootton, Greg Schroeder, Jamie Lin Wilson, and so many others. It was by these new college songwriter friends that BJ was introduced to music from across the spectrum that was much different than the mainstream country that he had grown up listening to on the radio dial in South Texas. For the first time BJ heard Chris Knight sing "It Ain't Easy Being Me" and Guy Clark’s "She Ain't Goin' Nowhere". He was hooked. Developing a respect and a love for songwriting - for the honest, raw, vulnerable story-telling aspect of a song helped sprout that seed.
After college graduation, BJ and Kruck moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where they continued to play. They narrowly missed a small recording deal when they placed second in the 1st ever Shiner Rising Star competition, hosted by Shiner Records and 95.3 The Range. Meanwhile BJ married his college sweetheart and they started to build a family, eventually having 3 boys and settling down to raise a family in the town of Burleson, just 20 minutes south of Fort Worth. Kruck eventually moved south for work to New Braunfels, and just like that, the music went silent. However, BJ kept writing and he kept playing, albeit generally alone in his living room once the kids went to sleep.
More than a decade later, after joining the praise team at First Baptist Church in Burleson as a rhythm guitar player, the fire was rekindled. As BJ started learning more about calling, purpose and spiritual gifting, it became apparent that music was a part of him, and he couldn't ignore it even if he tried. Some of BJ’s writing even took on a faith-based perspective, ranging from praise to spiritual warfare.
With the encouragement of his family and close friends, and a nod from Kruck, BJ took some songs from the Six Bridges vault and added some current ones. The result is an album about love, faith, family, friends, life, death, longing and hope - something he has self-described as "country'ish and “Christian'ish”.
BJ’s first studio EP, BJ Blair EP, is available on April 26, 2019.
