William Beckmann journeys from the Texas border to Nashville, national acclaim
William Beckmann, 27, is the latest in a line of rapidly succeeding south Texans emerging on the forefront of mainstream country's Nashville radar.
He's a bilingual performer from Del Rio, Texas. The town is 150 miles west of George Strait's San Antonio and 300 miles north of Monterrey, Mexico. Radney Foster, a fellow Del Rio native and 2023 inductee in the Texas Songwriters Hall of Fame, has mentored him.
Beckmann has an album forthcoming, alongside having already also toured with Wade Bowen, Parker McCollum and Koe Wetzel. Plus, he's recently opened for the Randy Rogers Band at the Ryman Auditorium and debuted at the Grand Ole Opry in the same weekend, plus headlining at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth, Texas and the San Antonio Rodeo.
Via a newly-released documentary, he's carrying the momentum he's gaining back home, 20 minutes away from Del Rio, to an October 2022 gig at the Corona Club in Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico.
"My heritage, influences and upbringing are unlike many others in country music," says Beckmann to The Tennessean.
He's quick to mention legendary accordion-driven, norteno folk act Los Tigres del Norte, horn and violin-led mariachi waltzes Willie Nelson's classical guitar stylings as the standout Mexican-originated influences on his work.
Insofar as more traditional American inspirations, Guy Clark and Townes van Zandt are apparent in his lineage, as well as favorites more familiar to Nashville's modern mainstream like Johnny Cash, George Jones, Kenny Rogers, Strait and Hank Williams.
"I'm just trying to embrace where I'm from. People deserve to feel as comfortable and confident as I do in highlighting their identity, plus own it and wear it well -- especially if it's a little left of center," adds Beckmann.
A chance high school meeting with Foster led to the vaunted, three-decade-long Nashville veteran advising aspiring performer Beckmann to write 100 songs over a year. After doing so, he gained a valued mentor.
"Radney taught me how to make every line count. He showed me how to really pick things apart and understand the mechanics of songwriting, and I still send him stuff I'm working on to this day," he states via a press release.
For Beckmann, playing Acuna's Corona Club allowed him to add flourishes of Antonio Banderas' star-vehicle film "Desperado" to his resume. The club that the singer-songwriter sold out appears in the Rober Rodriguez-directed film that tells the story of El Mariachi, a musician and gunslinger who gets entangled with a border-town drug kingpin.
The town has been linked with wild behavior in songs by the likes of Bowen, Steve Earle, Robert Earl Keen, Strait and ZZ Top, plus also prominently featured in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill: Volume 2."
However, its economy has slowly recovered from an F3-level tornado striking the city in 2015.
For Beckmann, reviving interest in Acuna allows for the city's blue-collar approach to providing legendary entertainment to -- if even for one night -- maintain its legendary influence in country music and Western culture.
"From boot-shiners and people selling knick-knacks to bar owners having a great night of business, it's a dream come true to see towns like [Acuna] continue to thrive."
Insofar as Beckmann's continued success, sadly recently deceased Nashville-based, but Johnson City, Texas-born performer Keith Gatts penned his just-released single "It's Still January."
It's a bluesy, smooth song with the Texas-to-Tennessee crossover flourishes that benefitted Gattis' star-making turns "Little Drops of My Heart" and "El Cerrito Place."
Alongside his 2022 breakouts “Bourbon Whiskey," cover of Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 classic “I’m on Fire” and recent Texas Regional Radio hit “Damn This Heart of Mine,” he's building a catalog of hits and covers that has led Opry Entertainment Group's Director of Artist Relations & Programming Strategy to highlight "the richness of his vocal and the classic beauty of his songs" as the keys to his growing acclaim.
"There's always been a Texas scene. However, being able to exist at a time where I can play alongside my inspirations and also have artists younger than I am [growing in renown], not just in Texas but nationwide is remarkable. We all believe in each other's success and are willing to help each other. When you're able to gain as many friends as you do fans -- while developing a career -- it's a blessing."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: William Beckmann journeys from the Texas border to Nashville, national acclaim
