Raised in the shadow of Billy Bob's, one of Texas's legendary honky tonks, Joel Thetford grew up in Fort Worth listening to the sounds of classic country radio and the wide variety of rock and roll, blues, and folk music that the Texas scene provided. His career as a bull-rider landed him eventually in Stephenville, where the Texas Country scene was booming. With acts like Gary Stewart, Jerry Jeff Walker, and Robert Earl Keen, making regular stops in town, those were Joel's earliest and strongest influences as he began writing songs. While living with Will Mallett of the Mallett Brothers Band Joel was inspired by the band and one of the most famous folk singer/songwriters of our generation David Mallett to record his first album in 2015. Since then Joel has released 12 albums.
Joel’s new album ‘Guitars Outlaws and Unforgettable Tales’ features Grammy Award winner Dave Gutter who co-wrote, produced, and recorded the album. The album was mastered by Grammy Award winner Adam Ayan and mixed my Jonathan Wyman. Joel Thetford has become a fixture in the songwriting community and has been featured as supporting act/shared the stage with Dwight Yoakam, Alabama, Shooter Jennings, Asleep At The Wheel, James McMurtry, Darby Wilcox, Sarah Shook & the Disarmers, Hayley Thompson-King, Jake Hill and Deep Creek, Josh Morningstar, John Craigie, Scott Biram, The Alternate Roots, Barns Courtney, and many more. Joel has also appeared at the Heart Soul & Substance Festival, Sunaana Winter Music Festival, and AllRoads Music Festival.
Joel played a key role in bringing education and jobs in the audio/engineering field to Portland Maine. Joel also has been the host the past 3 years for the monthly Songwriters in The Round at Blue.