Biography

Great news, Texas music fans: Hollin McKay's latest album Misfit Town is available now. You know Hollin's name as half of the celebrated McKay Brothers (legendary songwriter Guy Clark was a huge fan!). The new album stays true to his roots. “Most all of the stringed instruments on this record were made by Texas luthiers,” Hollin says. “This is truly a made-in-Texas record. My own guitar is from a large mesquite tree that fell in San Antonio.” Staying true to that spirit, several contributors on this album are up and coming Texas legends in their own right: Robyn Ludwick, Jamie Lin Wilson, Bonnie Whitmore, Bryce Clark and Hollin's brother Noel McKay.


Hollin effortlessly taps into the truth and honesty that make Texas music so unique. As the song goes, “Forty two years old with a shovel in my hand…all rock, no sand. Should have stayed in school and made a better plan….all rock, no sand.” McKay's characters hit close to home, from a felon with a score to settle to an alienated adolescent to inspired lovers. All Lone Star characters, at their best and worst, layered with clever guitar, lacy mandolin or lamenting cello.


Sharing regional success as part of The McKay Brothers in the early 2000s, Hollin has been crafting songs for twenty years, even garnering praise from The New York Times. “The McKay brothers are amazing and enchanting,” Guy Clark raved. Echoed iconic songwriter Ray Wylie Hubbard: “Absolutely phenomenal.” Hollin has an unpretentious, comfortable voice that brings to mind dusty country roads, dusky sunsets and hopes beyond our dreams. He's simply telling you his stories.