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Left photo WESTERN SWING — Jack Phillips, 17, is a senior at Sulphur Bluff High School and plays steel guitar with his six-pierce band, the Legacy Rose Band. -
FINE FIDDLING — Jack played Bob Wills music on the fiddle as a 10-year-old.
Since an early age, fiddler Jack Phillips, now a 17-year-old senior at Sulphur Bluff High School, has planned a career in music.
His career is in already in motion. He has his own six-piece country band, the Legacy Rose Band, and a calendar that is filling up fast. The band appeared close to home in February during the three-day Valentine Country Music Festival at the Canton Civic Center.
With a natural ear for music, Phillips has been playing fiddle since before his eighth birthday, performing the standard country and western swing tunes his parents, Mark and Allison Phillips, exposed him to, and the music of Bob Wills and other legends he admires.
After cutting his musical teeth at local venues like the Reilly Springs Jamboree and Gladewater Opry, Jack's skills began taking the spotlight at stage shows and dances around South and West Texas.
Always eager to learn, he watched and listened to seasoned musicians, and soon began picking up the mandolin, acoustic guitar, bass and steel guitar.
Phillips attended the famed Bobby Flores Music Camp, now BAM Music Camp (held in Bobby’s memory). That’s where he polished his vocals on the lead instruments he loved. By age 12, he was totally dedicated to performing and was freelancing for other artists.
He traveled with bands in demand, like Kelly Spinks and Miles of Texas as their fiddler. Starting at age 15, he played steel guitar for Bobby Flores and the Yellow Rose Band. Sadly, in 2022, Phillips' mentor succumbed to cancer, and Jack, along with bandmate RJ Smith, expressed the desire to carry on Bobby's legacy. And, they are doing so. Bobby's Rose Band has now become the Legacy Rose Band and is on the road around Texas on weekends.
So, if you’re in search of a good dance band for your upcoming event, give them a call. When he’s not with LRB, you may find Jack sitting in with other bands, lending his considerable skills on fiddle and steel guitar.
Mom said that Jack was exposed to good musicianship from an early age.
“He’d stand at the edge of the stage and soak in all that was going on between the players. When he was 7 ½, he told Santa he wanted a fiddle. So, at Christmas, that’s what Santa brought him. We had no idea that he would take hold and go with it. Some kids love sports or gymnastics or dance, and their parents are there to watch. Our son loved music. And, that’s where we spend our time, at musical events. Out of all the genres of music, it's traditional country, western swing, and jazz that he’s drawn to the most. Most would say that Jack is an old soul,” his mom said.
In May, Jack will graduate with his Sulphur Bluff classmates, then plans to launch his career full-time. Already heavily booked for concerts and festivals during the rest of 2023, Phillips also has a cruise on the horizon. When the Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas departs Galveston Jan. 14-21, 2024 for a weeklong cruise, Phillips and the Legacy Rose Band will be carrying country and western swing music to ports of call in Honduras and Mexico. That's a far piece from Sulphur Bluff, Texas.
You might want to go ahead and make your reservations to follow Jack and the Legacy Rose Band, and don't forget to pack your dancing shoes!
For cruise booking, contact Bob Landreth at (432) 638-3707 and tell him you are interested in the Legacy Rose Band Cruise. Contact Jack and the band by phone at (903) 348-7321 or by email at legacyroseband@ gmail.com.