The Texpats to Perform at Arts Center on May 22

We are excited to welcome The Texpats to the Chuck Sennett Center for the Arts on Friday, May 22, for what promises to be an amazing night of music and fun. Tickets are per person for the 7-9 p.m.(Central time) show. Use the ticket link on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/mentoneartscenter.org to purchase online, or call the number at the end of this article.

According to their bio, The Texpats are what happens when three seasoned Texas songwriters – Grace Pettis, Natalie Price, and Rachel Laven – carry their musical roots across state lines and accidentally build a home together in Nashville. Individually, they’ve spent years honing their craft on the road and in the studio. Pettis is a critically acclaimed, award-winning songwriter known for her “little novellas that dig deep” (“Americana Highways”), blending folk, country, and soul with a bold feminist perspective. Price, a Fort Worth native, has emerged as a compelling new voice with her cinematic, emotionally resonant “Ameri-kinda” sound. Laven, raised in the rich tradition of Texas roots music, is revered for her clear, unencumbered songwriting, delivering complex truths with striking simplicity and warmth.

But The Texpats aren’t just a musical collaboration; they’re a story. After a series of life upheavals (divorce, breakups, and big moves), each artist landed in Nashville at a turning point. Laven, recently established there, opened her home to fellow Texans in transition. Pettis moved to town in 2022 following a divorce and moved in with Laven a few years later; Price arrived soon after, at the end of a long-term relationship. What began as shared living space quickly became something more: a modern-day songwriter haven inspired by the legacy of homes like Guy and Susanna Clark’s, where writers gathered to trade songs, stories, and survival strategies. They called it the “Texpat Haus.”

On any given night, you’d find them on the back porch, passing guitars, harmonizing, writing, laughing, and slowly stitching themselves back together. It didn’t take them long to realize that what was happening in that house was too special to keep to themselves. Now, The Texpats bring that living room intimacy to the stage. Their shows are built around three-part harmonies, shared lead vocals, and a deep respect for each other’s songwriting. They perform originals from all three catalogs, reimagine each other’s songs, and weave in Texas-themed covers, creating a set that feels like stepping into a circle of friends where everyone is invited.

The connection runs deep. Pettis and Laven met during Pettis’ time with Texas trio Nobody’s Girl and ended up touring through England, the Netherlands, and Ireland together in 2019.

Pettis and Price, longtime best friends and collaborators, have toured extensively together as recently as 2025 and have co-written many songs. All three cut their teeth in the Texas songwriting scene. What unites them now is not just geography, but a shared musical lineage and a commitment to honest, story-driven songwriting.

With nine shows across the Southeast this spring and summer, The Texpats are taking their back porch on the road, offering audiences a rare glimpse into the kind of musical community that shaped them, and the kind of friendship that sustains them.

About Grace Pettis: Alabama and Georgia native Grace Pettis, daughter of award-winning singer-songwriter and Mentone resident Pierce Pettis, moved to Texas at the age of 18. Her musical roots are deep in the Texas Hill Country, where she recorded six studio albums and EPs as both a solo artist and as a member of Austin trio Nobody’s Girl (with BettySoo and Rebecca Loebe). Following the abrupt end of a 14-year relationship, Pettis relocated to Nashville in 2022. She is the winner of many prestigious songwriting contests, grants, and residencies, including NPR’s Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, the Buddy Holly Educational Foundation, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, and La Maison de Simon in Normandy, France. Her songs have been recorded by musical legends, including Sara Hickman and Ruthie Foster, with three cowrites on Foster’s Grammy-nominated album, “Healing Time” (2024). Signed to MPress Records, Pettis has released two critically acclaimed albums, “Working Woman” (2021) and “Down to the Letter” (2024). This year finds her writing, touring, and beginning work on a new album.

About Rachel Laven: Rachel Laven is a San Antonio-born songwriter whose clear-eyed, economical writing style distills complex human experiences into songs that are both deeply personal and widely relatable. Raised in a musical family and shaped by years on the road, Laven has developed a reputation as an observant storyteller with a warm, unflinching voice, drawing on the Texas songwriting tradition of artists like Susan Gibson and Slaid Cleaves. Her latest album, “Love and Luccheses,” showcases her gift for character-driven narratives and emotional precision, while her dynamic guitar work and effortless stage presence have made her a standout among her peers.

A finalist in the 2016 Grassy Hill New Folk Songwriter’s Competition, Laven toured nationally as part of the prestigious New Folk class, joining the ranks of artists like Robert Earl Keen and Anaïs Mitchell. Whether onstage or on record, she delivers her truths with clarity, confidence, and a quiet daring that continues to mark her as one of the most compelling voices of her generation.

About Natalie Price: Fort Worth-born Natalie Price came up in the Austin music scene and is a distinctive voice in Americana and folk-rock (“ameri-kinda,” as she calls it). She blends her Austin influence with a captivating narrative style and soul-stirring melodies. Also a NewSong Songwriting Competition winner (2023), SXSW official artist (2024), and a Buddy Holly Educational Foundation Scholar (2025), Price continues to gain recognition for her emotionally resonant songwriting. With a musical foundation deeply embedded in the human experience, her music paints vivid tales of love, loss, and life’s trials, echoing the essence of influences like Kathleen Edwards and Johnny Cash. This genuine connection to her art and her audience stems from a willingness to authentically share the emotional depth of her journey. Price’s latest singles span euphoric new love to reflections on friendship and the courage to move forward through challenges. Blending vulnerability with strength, her songs turn personal experiences into universal anthems, solidifying her reputation as a rising fan favorite.

Grab Tickets to The French Family Band

We had a few tickets left at press time to two shows featuring The French Family Band on June 20 and June 21. Don’t delay, because both shows will sell out.

Artist/instructor Bradley Wilson is returning to teach two weekend painting classes this summer.

The first two-day class runs June 13-14, and the other July 18-19. Details, including class descriptions, will be announced in the next issue of The Groundhog as well as on our Facebook page soon.

For more information on these events and classes, please see contact info below