James Kent Finlay (February 9, 1938 - March 2, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. The founder of the Cheatham Street Warehouse in

San Marcos, Texas San Marcos ( ) is a city and the county seat of Hays County, Texas, United States. The city's limits extend into Caldwell and Guadalupe Counties, as well. San Marcos is within the Austin–Round Rock metropolitan area and on the Interstate 35 ...

, he supported, promoted, and mentored Texas musicians including

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

Todd Snider Todd Daniel Snider (born October 11, 1966) is an American singer-songwriter whose music incorporates elements of folk, rock, blues, alt country, and funk. Early career Todd Snider was born in Portland, Oregon, but was raised in nearby Beave ...

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...

, and

The Randy Rogers Band Randy Rogers Band is an American country music band from San Marcos, Texas. The band is composed of Randy Rogers (lead vocals), Geoffrey Hill (guitar), Jon Richardson (bass guitar), Brady Black (fiddle), Les Lawless (drums), and Todd Stewart (gui ...

early in their careers. Inspired by time spent in

Luckenbach, Texas Luckenbach ( ) is an unincorporated community 13 miles (19 km) from Fredericksburg in southeastern Gillespie County, Texas. Named for German nobleman Jakob Luckenbach, who helped settle the Texas Hill Country in 1845, Luckenbach is known as ...

with friend and mentor

Hondo Crouch Hondo may refer to: Places * Rio Hondo (disambiguation), the name of several locations, derived from the Spanish word for "deep" Canada * Hondo, Alberta, an unincorporated community United States * Hondo, New Mexico, an unincorporated com ...

, in June 1974 Finlay opened his own

honky-tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano (tack piano) ...

music venue along the train tracks in San Marcos, Texas with business partner Jim Cunningham. Formerly a grocery warehouse, the music hall known as The Cheatham Street Warehouse would serve as an important outlet for many up-and-coming musicians to perform. A former teacher and a lifelong, passionate musician and music-lover, Finlay has been recognized for his mentorship and encouragement of generations of singers and songwriters who passed through his venue and participated in his weekly "Songwriter's Circle". Kent Finlay was the recipient of the 2007 Coach Darrell K. Royal Texas Heritage Songwriters' Patron Award from the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association, the Lone Star Award from Lone Star Music in 2014, the 2014 San Marcos Tourism Lifetime Achievement Award, and posthumous induction into the Texas Music Legends Hall of Fame in 2016. Finlay established the non-profit Cheatham Street Music Foundation in 2005 to serve in the development, promotion and preservation of Texas music through regular songwriting classes, workshops, concerts and public forums in the spirit of Finlay's original songwriter's circles.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finlay, Kent 1938 births 2015 deaths Musicians from Texas