Texas Music News — September 22, 2026
Carvin Jones, the Lufkin-born blues guitarist known worldwide as “The King of Strings,” died Sunday at his home in Phoenix. He was 60. His family confirmed the news in a statement Monday. Jones grew up in the Piney Woods of East Texas. There, his grandfather spun B.B. King records on the family record player. His grandmother bought him his first guitar when he was seven years old, and he never put it down.
Jones toured more than 37 countries across three continents. He shared stages with B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Albert King, Joe Cocker and REO Speedwagon. Eric Clapton once called him “a young cat out of Phoenix who I think is the next up-and-coming blues player.” That praise came early in his career, but Jones spent the next three decades proving it true. That same Piney Woods blues torch still burns in Kilgore, Texas, where guitarist Ally Venable carries it forward today.
He Turned Every Stage Into a Living Room
Jones didn’t just play at his audiences. He also walked straight into the crowd instead. His family said he “would leave the stage to play in the crowd, turning every show into something shared.” That generosity carried offstage, too. During the pandemic, Jones launched Carvin Cares. The grassroots effort delivered groceries to elderly Phoenix residents, funded from his own pocket. He also coached youth basketball teams, chasing his other great love whenever the tour bus let him stop.
Jones released four studio albums, starting with 1999’s What You Need. He toured for the USO in Iraq and Kuwait in 2011, playing for American troops far from home. He announced a cancer diagnosis last year but kept performing through it. His daughter, Stephanie Koch, said he called her last week with a new song idea, just like always. Carvin Jones spent six decades turning strangers into a crowd, and a crowd into a room full of friends. Now that room is a little quieter.
Details at KLTV.
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Randall King is back on the road, six and a half months sober, and thankful for it. He headlined the Lee Street Jamboree in Greenville, Texas, over the weekend. He told fans he’d checked into rehab this spring after canceling his tour. Now King resumes touring through December, closing out the year in El Paso. Details at Country Now.