There is a special bond between Texas country acts who frequently play festivals, rodeos and fairs together. As Josh Abbott of Josh Abbott Band recently explained to BMI, there's a "real sense of camaraderie."

"It’s a lot of fun down here and you can make a real good living," Abbott explains. "We’re still trying to break on a national level. We’re usually called Texas country, and we’re proud of that, but we’re focused on branching out nationally. With [new album] Front Row Seat, we’re still touring behind that, and some people call that mainstream country, others call it Texas country, but we don’t really get caught up in the labels. We made a country music album that we’re proud of."

When asked which songwriters he admires, Abbott immediately mentioned Kacey Musgraves, a fellow Texan who sang on the Josh Abbott Band hit "Oh, Tonight." The biggest hit for the band so far, "Oh, Tonight" peaked at No. 41 on the country charts in 2011.

"I’m a big fan of Kacey Musgraves, I think she’s the female savior of country music," he says. "I think, 30 years from now, she’ll be iconic in a way that Dolly Parton is."

Abbott says songwriters like Chris Knight, Guy Clark and Shane McAnally, a frequent Musgraves collaborator, are also people he respects: "I also love Shane McAnally, he’s just a phenomenal writer."

Josh Abbott Band's latest single is "Wasn't That Drunk" and features Carly Pearce. The band recently made their national television debut performance of the song on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

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