Del Rio Native William Beckmann Shines at SXSW, Opens for George Strait

William Beckmann, the Del Rio kid, as he likes to call himself, grew up on the Texas-Mexico border, spending 18 years immersed in the rich diversity the region has to offer. Now 30, the singer-songwriter has turned that upbringing into a career milestone that would have been hard to imagine from his early days playing small venues and private parties in Val Verde County: on April 9 and April 11, Beckmann will take the stage at the Moody Center in Austin as the opening act for George Strait.

Beckmann shared a video on Dec. 26 last year with the comment that he was manifesting a chance to open for the King of Country Music. Less than a month later, the booking was official. George Strait announced the two in-the-round shows at Moody Center for April 9 and April 11, 2026. Opening both shows is fellow Texas native William Beckmann.

"To be opening up for him is an absolute dream come true. And to be doing it in my home state in Texas, here in the city of Austin, is amazing," Beckmann said. "So I can't put into words how grateful I am for the opportunity. It's definitely one of those things that you have to pinch yourself, but yeah, we're really happy about it."

That opportunity traces directly to the sound he developed growing up in Del Rio. "Listening to all kinds of different music, growing up on the border from country music to mariachi music and northern Mexican music. It was all kind of a blend there in Del Rio," Beckmann said, adding that when he left for Nashville, "he made sure to bring some of that Mexican culture with him."

Beckmann relocated to Nashville and released his debut EP, Outskirts of Town, on November 21, 2018, which led to him signing a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music the following year. His career got a significant boost when two Del Rio connections took him under their wing. After catching the attention of hometown hero Radney Foster, who helped dial in his classically charged songwriting, and Randy Rogers, who took the young artist on tour helping craft a stately stage magnetism, two self-styled EPs and a 2023 Opry debut built Beckmann's buzz.

Beckmann made his Grand Ole Opry debut on March 3, 2023, performing his own song "Bourbon Whiskey" and a cover of "Volver, Volver" by Vicente Fernández, the latter of which went viral and earned over 3.5 million views on the Opry's YouTube channel. The bilingual set was no accident. "I grew up in a bilingual family," Beckmann has explained. "Both of my parents speak Spanish, and so do my siblings and my grandparents. I often have to explain my heritage to people when I tell them my family is Hispanic. My name and the way I look don't really back that statement up. There was a big silver rush in the early 1900s, so a lot of Europeans came to central Mexico to mine for silver. Because of that, there's a lot of European names in Mexico, and that's where my ancestors came from."

Beckmann signed with Warner Music Nashville and subsequently released his major label debut, Whiskey Lies & Alibis, on June 20, 2025. He co-wrote eight of the album's 12 songs with elite hit makers including Jessie Jo Dillion, Jesse Frasure, and Rhett Akins.

Beckmann appeared at South by Southwest last week, reflecting on the musical roots and border-town blend that shaped him, and the career milestones that followed. The mentorship he received from Foster and Rogers clearly left a mark. "I think maybe at the time I didn't realize how cool of a gift that is, to be able to have people that take you under their wing," he said. "But that's definitely a Texas thing that I'm very proud of. And I try to represent the state of Texas and the Texas music community the same way."

Beckmann developed a deep, dark-honey baritone with natural vibrato and first found a foothold on the Texas tour circuit, dressed to kill and with a timeless sound to match. Those roots are visible in his venue history: sold-out nights at Gruene Hall, multiple-night sellouts at the Brauntex Theatre in New Braunfels for his Christmas tour two years running, and performances at Frost Bank Arena for the San Antonio Rodeo and at Billy Bob's in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

For Del Rio, the Moody Center dates represent a full-circle moment: a kid who once played private parties in Val Verde County, mentored by a hometown country star, now opening for the King of Country himself, in his home state.