Album Notes

No Depression “…Add Steve Bedunah to the list of talented Texans with the ability to spin rugged and robust stories with almost literary flair.”

Music Row “The twangin’ title tune to Bedunah’s latest is meant as an inspirational musician’s celebration. But his dusty, world-weary voice makes it sound haunted, dark and desperate. I dig that.”

Austin Chronicle “…Bedunah's writing has been compared to James McMurtry, but stylistically he rides somewhere between Townes Van Zandt's monotone and Kris Kristofferson's gravelly vocals. Plug It in and Play isn't his first recording, but it's the one that should bring him the right audience.”

San Antonio Express “…Plug It In And Play," is a healthy helping of songs that deal seriously, intelligently and cogently about the pull, and clash, of the rural and the urban.”

Buddy “… He gives us good singing, musicianship, and — most importantly, to my reckoning — good storytelling.”

Country Standard Times “…this is an impressive effort.”


Even from the beginning, songwriter/singer Steve Bedunah received high praise for his work. Robert Oermann, Nashville’s most acclaimed critic, wrote in Music Row about Bedunah’s “The Johnstons” in his first CD Hand Me Down Land, “The first thing that catches your ear is the band laying down a twangin’, thumpin Cash-like groove. The second thing that you notice is that you’re in the presence of a major songwriter. This dark dramatic word portrait will haunt you.”

Brian Owens, in Metronome Magazine, remarked, “It wouldn't be surprising to see Bedunah nominated for Best New Country Act for this outstanding album.” Jim Beal of the San Antonio Express notes that Bedunah is “among the best when it comes to chronicling the clash of urban and rural Texas.”

The best advice about listening to Bedunah’s second album Plug It In and Play is indeed to “ plug it in and play, play loud as you can” as the verse says. Plug It In and Play mesmerizes with an assortment of country and suburban characters who value their land, their music, their relatives, and their whiskey as they battle their way through a life they didn’t choose. These carefully crafted vignettes capture the pathos of our times perfectly.

Bedunah’s songs create a tension between a dark, overwhelming world and the sometimes fiery but always individualistic characters who seek to gain some margin of hope. The CD’s foreboding atmosphere is balanced by its high energy and Bedunah’s superb use of imagery and metaphoric language, raising his songs to poetic heights. Despite their dark trappings, the songs uplift the listener and make him think.


Bedunah can move from a foot stomping, can’t keep your foot still rhythm to lullaby at the drop of a hat and it all makes sense. If you love songs that echo in your head long after you’ve listened to them and you have a wide range in musical taste, Steve Bedunah delivers on both counts. Try one of his albums. It won’t be a casual “this is nice” listening experience.. It will be a unique Americana “slice of life” experience you will treasure over and over again.


Steve Bedunah was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up on its western edge overlooking the Trinity Valley to the grasslands of the West, a rugged and rattlesnake infested place. But he spent many of his weekends and summers in East Texas on his grandfather’s farm. He learned much about the Texas spirit from his hardworking, tough spirited relatives. He formed a band when he was in elementary school and started writing his first songs. He’s never been able to put down his guitar or his pen for very long. Bedunah like Texas is large and powerfully built with a low, strong voice. You can find Bedunah singing all over the Southwest’s many bars, honky tonks, and music festivals.