STRONG SONG AND DRINK

A chance encounter at Cook Children’s Medical Center is all it took to set Todd Barrow on his mission to revamp classic country with his signature modern twist. One day, an American Idol contestant was slated to perform for the patients at Todd’s place of employment, but the audio tech was nowhere to be found. When he heard the call, “Can anybody here run sound?” Todd answered. In walked Texas Music Hall of Fame Honoree Sonny Burgess just as Todd was setting up the live rig, and the two musicians struck up a conversation. Sonny told Todd about his work with Charlie Pride and Randy Travis, and asked Todd if he might lend his technical skills to help build the recording studio sponsored by Garth Brooks and Troy Aikman he that had in the works. This serendipitous encounter yielded a coffee meeting to review the blueprints for the project, and before long, Sonny was meeting Todd for coffee weekly to discuss music. Eventually, he became Todd’s mentor, forever changing the course of Todd’s career.