Gage McNeely, a 2023 Frenship High School alum, grew up surrounded by music. Through his grandparent's musical talents, McNeely fell in love with music at a young age, and at 8 years old, enrolled in School of Rock. From there he stayed in the School of Rock program for 10 years, performing 35 live shows and various types of music.
“School of Rock is really what shaped my playing style into what it is today,” said McNeely.
During his time at Frenship, McNeely was introduced to a group of guys who also had a passion for music. They played together in the annual Heritage Middle School talent show in the 7th grade and surprised many of their peers and teachers.
“After the show, everyone was extremely complimentary; this was a huge confidence boost. Even since graduating and picking up bigger gigs like the one I have now, I still have teachers reach out with kind words all the time,” said McNeely. “It's always a good feeling to see that the teachers I looked up to in high school still care about their students the same way they did when we were in class every day.”
McNeely first realized that guitar could be more than a hobby after participating in a recording session shortly after graduation.
“Right after graduation, I got a text from a random number asking if I would go do a recording session. I had never done studio work but agreed to go. After that song took off and people from Nashville began to reach out, I realized there was potential to do this as a career,” said McNeely.
Recently, McNeely was named a finalist for Guitar Player of the Year at the Texas Country Music Awards.
“While being up for a TCMA award was a great honor, I’ve never been one to like having the spotlight on me. So going to the awards was definitely out of my comfort zone. Although I was nervous and initially didn’t necessarily want to attend, it ended up being a great experience where I got to meet and catch up with lots of friends in the music world,” said McNeely.
The biggest turning point in his career, according to McNeely, was joining Hudson Westbrook’s band.
“Two years ago, nobody in the band knew each other; we were just all playing music for fun. Over the last 2 years, we have played over 230 shows, traveling all over the United States,” said McNeely. “The first little bit of the tour consisted of 5 band members, a tour manager, and a photographer. We traveled in a transit van and had a trailer full of gear; we did thousands of miles in this setup over the span of about 8 months.”
Since then, the band has expanded significantly, adding a bus and trailer, a new band member, a merchandise manager, a sound engineer, a lighting designer, and a bus driver. Next year, they plan to grow into two buses and a semi-truck.
Looking ahead, McNeely will have the opportunity to open for George Strait at Jones Stadium with Hudson Westbrook, a milestone he describes as thrilling.
“I’ve never been as excited for a show as I am for the George Strait one. I grew up on George Strait. I’ve seen him live 5 times, and for the 6th, I get to share a stage with him,” said McNeely. “Also, being a lifelong Texas Tech fan, it’s like my worlds are colliding! This show was by far the hardest secret I’ve ever had to keep. I’m very happy that the world now knows about this event and the response that it had.”
As he reflects on his musical journey, he wants to encourage Frenship students to seek out opportunities and be bold.
“Work as hard as you can to hone your craft as much as possible and do and learn things that make you stand out from others. Secondly, I would say to take every opportunity that you possibly can. You never know who will see the work you do. If I had declined the offer to go record “Take it Slow,” I would have missed out on living my dream,” said McNeely.
McNeely is also a Business major at Texas Tech University’s Rawls College of Business and is on track to graduate next December while continuing to advance his music career. His dedication, talent, and hard work continue to make him a standout alumnus of Frenship High School.
To follow along with Hudson Westbrook and Gage McNeely ,click here.
