Monte Warden won his first of a dozen Austin Music Awards when he was just 15 years old for Best New Band, honoring his rockabilly trio Whoa Trigger!. Warden rode the buzz of that band into his next project – leading (as well as writing all the material for) the even more popular and highly influential, The Wagoneers (which Chet Flippo described as ‘The greatest Honky-Tonk band that ever was’), which scored a major-label deal with A&M Records after performing at the very 1st SXSW. The Wagoneers’ Stout and High debut was released to worldwide critical acclaim and is widely considered one of the best and most influential country albums of the 80s. His 1994 self-titled solo debut was named one of the 100 best US albums of the 20th Century by NME. In addition to his success with The Wagoneers on A&M Records, Warden has been signed to RCA, Watermelon, and Asylum/Warner Records. He has appeared in numerous top-ten music videos and television shows, including multiple appearances on Austin City Limits and The Grand Ole Opry.
Warden's biggest commercial success began in 2002 when he started writing for Moonkiss Music, his wife Brandi's publishing company. For the first time, Warden enjoyed multi-million selling cuts, landing placements in major film and television shows, singles on five separate Billboard charts, as well as over one hundred major-label cuts by artists like George Strait, Josh Turner, Carrie Underwood, George Jones, Patty Loveless, Asleep At The Wheel, Kelly Willis, Josh Abbott Band, and Travis Tritt, to name a few. Warden co-wrote Strait's smash-hit, "Desperately", and in the fall of 2005, the song earned him his first BMI Award. In March 2007, Warden was awarded the prestigious BMI 'Million-Air' Award for "Desperately", signifying over 1 million radio performances.
Warden is a rare two-time member of The Texas Music Hall of Fame, both as a solo artist and as a member of The Wagoneers. The Wagoneers reunited in 2012 and continue to play and pack clubs and dancehalls.
In 2017, he announced his new Americana project, Monte Warden and The Dangerous Few, a universally critically acclaimed project of all-original material showcasing the songwriting collaboration of Brandi & Monte Warden in the Jazz / Traditional Pop genre that Paste Magazine dubbed ‘The Great Americana Songbook’, while noting ‘Warden has created a sound that never before existed’. KUTX opined, ‘Imagine Gene Vincent singing Cole Porter’. The 2020 debut album received world-wide critical praise as well as first-ballot Grammy nominations in six categories, including “Best Americana Album” and the highly coveted “Album of the Year”. The combo enjoys a monthly SRO residency at Austin's most prestigious nightclub, Parker Jazz Club.
From 2020-2023, Warden hosted the hugely successful livestream, The Monte Warden Feel Good Hour, for 156 consecutive weeks. He has dedicated much of his career in the advocacy of artist's rights, their just compensation, and fair treatment in business.
Warden is also a proud 7th generation Texan, with ancestors having fought in the Battles of Bexar and San Jacinto in The Texas Revolution.
