Texas Music News — October 6, 2026
Jonathan Saenz, the original bass player for Flatland Cavalry, no longer plays with the West Texas band. The news surfaced over the weekend with no press release and no farewell post. Still, fans noticed the gap, and the evidence stacked up fast.
Saenz helped found the band in 2014 alongside Cleto Cordero, Jason Albers, Reid Dillon, and Laura Jane. Since then, the group has grown from a West Texas upstart into a three-time ACM Group of the Year nominee. Today it pulls 3.3 million monthly Spotify listeners. A founding member leaving is like pulling a fence post from a long row, and the whole line leans.
The Empty Spot on Stage
Here is what the trail shows. Saenz apparently played his last show around Aug. 17 at Whitewater Amphitheater in New Braunfels, Texas. Then he vanished from the lineup. Meanwhile, he skipped the band’s recent dates opening for Kacey Musgraves. Producer Dwight A. Baker then filled in on bass at Nashville shows on Sept. 27 and 28. Promo photos no longer include Saenz, and his Wikipedia entry now lists him among past members.
Neither the band nor Saenz has commented, and Saving Country Music’s outreach to band representatives went unanswered. Flatland Cavalry now runs as Cordero, Albers, Dillon, fiddler Wesley Hall, multi-instrumentalist Adam Gallegos, and guitarist John Marlin. The band’s roots sit in West Texas, where rooms like the Tailgate in Midland, Texas, keep the live circuit alive. Bass in a Texas country band works like floorboards, so you feel its absence before you hear it. Still, a band built on open sky and long roads will find its rhythm again.
Details at Saving Country Music
More Texas Music News
Austin’s first Steel Guitar Fest inducted Junior Brown into its Hall of Fame. The Oct. 1-3 gathering at the Marriott South drew more than 50 players. Organizers also honored Asleep at the Wheel original Lucky Oceans and Hawaiian great David “Feet” Rogers. The Hall of Fame will settle in Honolulu, but a second festival returns in 2027. Details at Saving Country Music
Miranda Lambert goes disco on her new album, Crisco. The Lindale, Texas, native worked with producer Jesse Frasure and brought in Chris Stapleton and Ella Langley. Saving Country Music gave it 6.7 out of 10 and called it a fun dance record with thin songwriting. Details at Saving Country Music
ACL Fest closed a muddy first weekend at Zilker Park. Rain returned Sunday, yet Geese, Blood Orange, and The xx still played. Weekend Two follows this Friday, and Edie Brickell’s new band, World Famous Pets, plays that weekend. Details at The Austin Chronicle
Valhalla Tavern will close its Red River doors on Oct. 26. The Austin rock bar ends a 17-year run because new owners ended its lease. Co-owner Seth Levy says a few open performance slots remain before the last night. Details at CultureMap Austin