It is hard to catch up to Ryan Bingham these days. Between an aggressive tour and appearances on Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show, the 26-year-old Texan is a busy man. All of the attention the country musician is garnering is well deserved. He’s found a home on Lost Highway Records, joining an impressive roster that includes Lyle Lovett, Ryan Adams, Van Morrison and Willie Nelson.

Bingham’s youth gave him a lot of material for traditional country songs. He moved so often that he stopped unpacking the cardboard box that held his belongings. Once he reached his teen years, Bingham supported himself by traveling the junior rodeo circuit, pouring concrete and shoeing horses, sleeping on friends’ couches and truck beds. He didn’t seriously take up guitar until 17, when a neighbor taught him a mariachi song.

Branching beyond mariachi, Bingham started writing songs and playing for friends, leading to a regular slot in a Texas bar. He was soon driving cross-country, juggling rodeo and music gigs, selling tapes that he recorded in a friend’s garage from the tailgate of his truck. The night he double-booked himself, he made an easy choice of music over rodeo.

When Bingham was young, he listened to ’60s and ’70s records on the jukebox at an uncle’s bar. After being exposed to greats like Bob Dylan, Bob Wills and Marshall Tucker, Bingham found he couldn’t relate to the music of his teen years, like pop-country and alt-rock. That contrarian streak is evident in Bingham’s uncommonly personal and revealing songs. Bingham’s gravely voice is perfect for the music he writes, a mixture of rock, old and new country and blues.