On February 21, the rock band Vandoliers traveled from the Dallas/Fort Worth area to perform an electrifying show for a crowd at the Goldenlight Cantina in Amarillo. The five piece group blends punk rock attitude with a touch of a familiar country sound, and HPPR’s Nicole Crawford got the chance to sit down with their lead singer/songwriter/band leader Jenni Rose to talk about their recent releases and her experience as a transgender woman in the Texas music scene. To hear the full interview, click the link at the top of the page.
“Vandoliers got started in 2015, so we’ve been together for about 11 years now,” Rose said. “In that time, we’ve released five albums, including our most recent release ‘Life Behind Bars’. That album came out in June of last year. We release a new album every two years. It takes me about that long to figure it out, write it, find the money, find the producer, and find the studio.”
“Life Behind Bars” is unique in that it is the first release since Jenni publicly came out as a transgender woman, and the album touches on themes of dysphoria and addiction. Jenni talked a bit about her experience as a transgender woman working in the male-dominated Texas music scene. “My nervous system is on high alert pretty much all the time,” Rose explained. “However, I've been really impressed with the people that I've come across. We are a Texas band that plays in the country scene sometimes. We're also a punk band that plays in the punk scene sometimes. I feel like everybody kind of knew who we were from the beginning. All of our friends are still our friends, and anybody that wasn't really aligned with us is still probably not very aligned with us, and that's okay, too.”
Vandoliers’ stop in Amarillo was the first on their current world tour, taking them all over the United States and Europe. The group has a strong following in Europe, and is excited to return to the continent. “Our third European tour and fifth UK tour was last year, and this summer will be our sixth and seventh European and UK tours,” Rose explained. “We do really well in Germany, Spain, Netherlands and the UK. We've played arenas and festivals over there, opening for bands like Bowling for Soup and Less Than Jake, and we shared festival dates with Jason Isbell and Joan Jett. It's magical overseas.”
Vandoliers’ latest album “Life Behind Bars” released in June of 2025 under Break Maiden Records. Links to stream their music or pick up physical copies can be found on their website.
