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Photo Credit: Doug Hardesty
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Swagger has always been more than a stance—it’s the sound of freedom. It’s the electricity in Muddy Waters’ plugged-in blues, the fire in James Brown’s shout, the unfiltered emotion in Janis Joplin’s voice, and the fearless reinvention of Prince’s art. These artists didn’t just play music. They embodied conviction, turning lived experience into sound that shook the walls of culture.
Today, that swaggering soul finds new life in the Texas Headhunters—the powerhouse trio of Jesse Dayton, Ian Moore, and Johnny Moeller. Each is a heavyweight in their own right: Dayton with his outlaw grind and genre-crossing bravado, Moore with his psychedelic-tinged blues and emotive delivery, and Moeller with his deep-pocket Texas groove. Together, they form a band that doesn’t just nod to history—they push it forward.
Their debut album, Texas Headhunters, wasn’t fussed over in sterile studios. It was cut in five raw days at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio, capturing the same spirit that made Vaughan’s Stratocaster snarl and Joplin’s voice soar. This is music that smells like smoke and sweat, built to be played loud, alive, and unapologetic.
The Headhunters’ swagger doesn’t come from polish—it comes from truth. Like the legends before them, they’re not imitating tradition, they’re conversing with it. Every riff is a dialogue with the past, every groove a statement about where the future is headed.
“Swagger isn’t ego—it’s honesty. The Texas Headhunters remind us that the soul of music is about conviction, not conformity.” — Guitar Thrills Magazine
As a unit, the Texas Headhunters stand as proof that the lineage of blues and rock isn’t fading—it’s evolving. They are the embodiment of a musical spirit that has always belonged to the bold, the restless, and the fearless. And in their hands, swagger is alive and well.
Our Opinion: The Swagger Lives On Through the Texas Headhunters
At Guitar Thrills Magazine, we’ve always believed swagger is the heartbeat of great music. Not swagger in the shallow sense of posturing, but swagger as conviction—the kind that Muddy Waters, Janis Joplin, and Stevie Ray Vaughan carried with every note. It’s the raw, unfiltered honesty that separates artists who merely play from those who truly live their music.
The Texas Headhunters—Jesse Dayton, Ian Moore, and Johnny Moeller—embody that very spirit. Their debut effort is not the product of calculated polish, but of lived experience. Recorded in just five days, it’s music that bleeds authenticity, music that sounds like Texas itself: gritty, soulful, and unapologetically bold.
What makes them remarkable is not just their individual pedigrees, but their chemistry. Dayton brings outlaw grit, Moore delivers a psychedelic edge, and Moeller locks it all down with deep-groove precision. Together, they don’t imitate tradition—they ignite it.
In our opinion, the Texas Headhunters are not simply another blues-rock act. They are a continuation of a lineage, a bridge between the giants who paved the way and the new generation searching for something real. In an era often dominated by algorithm-driven formulas, their sound is refreshingly human, refreshingly flawed, refreshingly alive.
The swaggering soul of music is safe in their hands. And as far as we’re concerned, the Texas Headhunters aren’t just keeping the fire burning—they’re fanning the flames.
ABOUT THE TEXAS HEADHUNTERS
Texas Headhunters is what happens when three of Texas’ fiercest guitar slingers – Ian Moore, Johnny Moeller, and Jesse Dayton – finally collide on the same stage. Born from deep roots, old friendships, and a shared reverence for the swaggering soul of Texas blues, this is not your average jam. It’s a movement. A reckoning. A new chapter in the book of American roots music.
Each member carries serious pedigree: Moore’s psychedelic fire, Moeller’s deep-pocket sting, and Dayton’s outlaw storytelling have powered everything from The Fabulous Thunderbirds to Austin’s Antone’s legacy to Grammy-nominated collaborations and cult favorite solo records. Individually, they’ve blazed trails. Together, they’re setting the whole damn map on fire.
This isn’t a tribute, and it’s not nostalgia – it’s a revival with teeth. With roots tracing back to Antone’s and the late Clifford Antone’s last wave of discoveries, the Headhunters are here to remind the world what Texas blues was, is, and still can be.
When three powerhouse musicians—Jesse Dayton, Ian Moore, and Johnny Moeller—decide to join forces, you don’t just get another band. You get a collision of styles, experiences, and swagger that could only be born in Texas. Together as the Texas Headhunters, they’ve crafted a sound that is raw, soulful, and unfiltered, capturing the spirit of blues and rock while fearlessly pushing it into the future. Their debut album, recorded in just five days at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio, proves that lightning can, in fact, be bottled.
Guitar Thrills Magazine sat down with the Texas Headhunters to talk about their chemistry, the soul behind their music, and what it means to carry the torch of Texas blues-rock into a new era.
INTERVIEW WITH TEXAS HEADHUNTERS AND GUITAR THRILLS MAGAZINE
Guitar Thrills: The Formation – What was the spark that brought the three of you together to form the Texas Headhunters, and how quickly did you realize the chemistry was undeniable?
Jesse: I had just gotten off a 17-month long tour promoting the duets record I made with Samantha Fish. It was a heavy time, we got nominated for a Grammy, toured the world. I was ready to do something a little looser, so my manager, Ruben Williams said why don't you grab a couple of gunslingers and go make a guitar record? So, I called Johnny and Ian & we all started writing songs & we knew instantly it was going to be this tour de force Texas guitar event
Johnny: We’ve all known each other and hanging around on the same Austin music scene since the late 80’s… A few years ago, I remember running in Jesse at the Continental Club and mentioned it would be cool if me, him and Ian got together and played sometime. So, we went over to a buddy’s studio and ended up each recording a song. It was easy, we knew we had to get back in and do more, but all ended up getting busy with our individual schedules. .
Ian: The initial idea was Jesse's. We have all been friends and fans of each other since we were kids. Once we got in the studio it became evident quickly that there was a cool and unique vibe amongst us.
Guitar Thrills: The Recording Process – Your debut album was tracked in just five days at Willie Nelson’s Pedernales Studio. How did that fast, raw process shape the sound of the record?
Jesse: Everything you hear on the record is us playing live in the main studio room just going for it. We're all at the age now where we know how we sing and how we play guitar, so we don't second-guess it. When we went back into the control room to listen to it, it sounded like the records that inspired us when we were kids.
Johnny: Jesse kept circling back around and eventually said “hey, my label loves the tunes we already recorded and gave the green light to go in and make a whole record. It was a fast, 5-day session. Ian and I went over to Jesse’s house in Austin, and we all showed each other our songs. And we went in and didn’t want to overthink anything, just get the right feel and vibe and capture that in those 5 days.
Ian: We've all made a lot of records. That is the only way to make a record like this. It needs to live and breathe. Going in there together let that happen, and not fussing around with stuff allowed our personalities to come out in a natural way.
Guitar Thrills: The Sound – Each of you brings a distinct musical identity—outlaw grit, psychedelic soul, and deep-pocket blues. How do you strike the balance between those influences without stepping on each other’s toes?
Jesse: Besides there being no ego weirdness between us, we all have massive respect for each other. We all do things the other ones can't do, and I think when we're featuring one of us and the other two are laying back, those two take great pride in creating small little hooky parts that stay out of the way and leave room for those big musical explosions to happen.
Johnny: I think the balance of “not stepping on each other’s toes” is because we all three are into what each guy brings and also have had our toes in those worlds also in the past.
Ian: I think it is mutual admiration. There were a lot of places where it was obvious for one of us to take a shot at something. Couple of times where someone would ask if they could take a pass. I think if you listen with an open mind while tracking most things answer themselves.
Guitar Thrills: Texas Legacy – Texas has a long history of producing genre-defining musicians, from Stevie Ray Vaughan to Janis Joplin. How does being from Texas influence your approach to writing and performing?
Jesse: I think we're one of the rare guitar acts who can actually say that most of our musical influences are not only from the state of Texas, but act that were 4020 miles where we all grew up.
Johnny: All my favorite musicians come from Texas. The first great blues record I bought was by Lightnin Hopkins when I was 14. I still have that record! The Three of us spend a lot of time talking about the musicians we grew up watching and ones we got to play with too… So, it can’t help but be a huge part of our songs. I think this record is very much a Texas thing!
Ian: It's cool because you have 3 folks from different parts of Texas. Johnny came up in north Texas, Jesse from the coastal bend, and me from Austin. I think those influences really came out clearly on the record. We all wanted to focus on this shared space, but also bring our own stories in. Texas has a unique identity, and a unique sound. Right now, there are a lot of cats from the southeast doing really cool stuff. We all love that, but our sounds are from Texas.
Guitar Thrills: The Swagger Factor – Guitar Thrills has called your sound “swaggering soul.” What does swagger mean to you personally, and how does it show up in your music?
Jesse: I think swagger happens when you don't overthink what you're playing. Music that's made below the waist is always sexier than the kind of over thought/every-perfect-note music.
Johnny: I like that! Swaggering soul… I’ve been seeing photos on social media from our first couple of tours and was noticing we all three definitely have our own swagger.
And for sure you hear in the record too.
Ian: I remember sharing a stage with Erick Krasno. He was talking about how Texas guitarist just play differently, with a ferocity. It’s true. I practice all kinds of mellow lines, but when I get on the stand there is just a certain level of intensity. I guess that would be part of the swagger.
Guitar Thrills: Songwriting – The single “Maggie Went Back to Mineola” already carries a strong narrative punch. How do you approach songwriting as a trio? Do songs start with riffs, stories, or jam sessions?
Jesse: Maggie was a song I wrote about a country girl who lived in Dallas but was from deep in the piney woods of East Texas. Our songwriting for this record were all songs we just showed up to rehearsal with. I must admit it was pretty shocking the songs we heard from each other!
Johnny: We all brought our own songs pretty much completed to this record. We got together and the guitar parts and backing vocals all fell into place with ease. Jesse brought “Maggie Went Back to Minneola” on that very first session pretty much fully formed. As we’ve had more time on the road lately, we have been jamming and are talking about making the next record soon, I’m sure the songs might come about a bit differently this new one.
Ian: To this point most of what we've done has come in from the three of us bringing them in mostly done. That said, the songs all came alive in the studio.
Guitar Thrills: Live Energy – Fans describe your shows as raw and electric. What do you want people to walk away feeling after experiencing a Texas Headhunters performance?
Jesse: I just want people to be alleviated from the stress of life and enjoy themselves. Oddly enough, it’s not an overzealous guitar wank fest, the songs highlight all three of us. It's a take no prisoners show and there's a real healthy competition between us onstage.
Johnny: We’ve had great response to the band! It’s definitely high energy and with three guitar players, you’re gonna get some guitar!
Ian: This is all still new for us, but we are all three trying to create something, to tell a story. We feel like we are talking about the history of where we come from but bringing it to now. It’s been a lot of fun on the road seeing people's reactions. You never know what it’s really like until you get out on stage, and the response has been great!
Guitar Thrills: Collaboration vs. Ego – Supergroups sometimes struggle with too many strong voices. How do you keep the collaboration fluid while letting each personality shine?
Jesse: We root for each other in this band. If one of us wins, we all win. And the fact that not just one person must carry the entire show, we think it keeps it interesting for us, but especially for the audience. The audience gets 3 acts in one show!
Ian: Communication is key. Jesse and I have both had long solo careers. I think we both love seeing Johnny shine, and we both like each other’s music quite a bit, so we try to be aware of each person having their moments and really supporting the other folks when it’s their time to be center stage. I enjoy that part as much as anything, and it seems like the other guys feel the same.
Guitar Thrills: Carrying the Torch – Do you feel a responsibility to carry on the Texas blues-rock tradition, or is the goal to break new ground and redefine it?
Jesse: Well, all Texas musicians feel the weight of their state’s legacy, it’s an important historical birthplace for American music. If they don't, they might be a wee bit too cocky. But yea, were not here to recreate the past, were here to do our interpretation of what Texas guitar playing means to us.
Johnny: We love the whole Texas music tradition, but are also very much into creating our own take from where we’re from…
Ian: The very nature of how we are doing this kind of puts its own tack out. Bringing 3 disparate guitarists together, it kind of created its own thing. I have always felt a responsibility to speak for the culture I came from, the counterculture that I was raised in, and this is just writing another chapter in that book.
Guitar Thrills: Looking Ahead – With the debut album out, what’s next for the Texas Headhunters? Should fans expect relentless touring, more studio work, or both?
Jesse: We will be doing another record in 2026. Expect more touring through America, Europe and more.
Johnny: Like I said, we’re already talking about and throwing ideas around for the next record! Ian came in with a whole song he wrote while we were in Kentucky last week. And I know Jesse’s got some brewing too, so that fires me up… And for sure we’ll be out playing lots of shows too! Doing another run with Samantha Fish in October and then a bunch of shows in Texas and Oklahoma at the end of October. Ya’ll come check us out!
Ian: Both. We are doing a good deal of touring right now. We are already talking about getting back into the studio. I think we will be doing a good deal of both
Conclusion
The Texas Headhunters aren’t just another band—they’re a reminder of what happens when raw talent, deep respect for tradition, and fearless creativity collide. Jesse Dayton, Ian Moore, and Johnny Moeller have tapped into the swaggering soul of music that built Texas’ legendary reputation, while pushing it boldly into a new era. Their message is clear: the flame of blues-rock isn’t flickering, it’s roaring—and they’re carrying it forward with conviction.
For fans craving music that feels alive, unapologetic, and built on truth, the Texas Headhunters are the band to watch.
