Tomball: Gary P. Nunn at Main Street Crossing

Gary P. Nunn is the cosmic cowboy who rode the Austin outlaw country movement to legend status and remains a popular draw across Texas. He grew up in Oklahoma before transplanting to Brownfield, Texas, where he cut his teeth in seventh‑grade garage bands. After studies at Texas Tech and South Plains College, he moved to the University of Texas at Austin in 1968 to study pharmacy. But he left serious pre-med behind and plunged into the local music scene.

He was a guitar‑to‑the‑bone sideman for Michael Martin Murphey, Willie Nelson, and Jerry Jeff Walker, and became pianist and bassist for the Lost Gonzo Band, backing Walker on the legendary ¡Viva Terlingua! in 1973. That album spotlighted his anthem “London Homesick Blues”—with its immortal chorus, “I wanna go home with the armadillo.” The song became the theme for Austin City Limits from 1977 to 2004. 

• Father of the progressive country/Core Austin Sound: Gary P. Nunn helped redefine country in the ’70s by blending folk, rock and blues with outlaw swagger.

• Signature anthem: “London Homesick Blues” made him synonymous with Texas pride and left an indelible mark on ACL viewers.

• Songwriter’s songwriter: Hits like “What I Like About Texas”, “Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning” (a Willie Nelson gold hit), and the Rosanne Cash chart-topper “Couldn’t Do Nothin’ Right” (penned with Karen Brooks) secured his place in the songwriter hall of fame.

After the Lost Gonzo Band disbanded in 1980, Gary P. Nunn went solo—launching independent labels and releasing over 17 albums and 200+ songs. He even readopted ranch life in Oklahoma before moving back to Texas in 2003. His memoir At Home with the Armadillo dropped in 2018.