J. W. Sollis

Camp Co-founder and Director

Camp Director J.W. Sollis is dedicated to preserving the legacy of Western Swing Music, popularized by the late bandleader Bob Wills.  Sollis, a former educator, has enlisted some of Texas’ finest fiddle players and guitarists to lend a hand in teaching.
“Not only are our instructors top musicians, they have been trained to teach,” Sollis said.  He is dedicated to bringing a program that benefits beginners as well as advanced  musicians. 

Ronny Dale Shultz Lead Guitar Instructor  

From guitar to trumpet, Ronny Dale Shultz, is sought as a session player and performer. Also a vocalist, Shultz has played with Bob Will's Texas Playboys, David "Fathead" Newman, Claude Gray, Red Stegall, Leroy Van Dyke, Lynn Anderson, Johnny Bush, Frenchie Burke, Johnny Gimble, Hank Thompson and many others. He is a graduate of Texas Christian University and owns World Records Recording Studio in Crowell, Texas. 

 

Jess Meador
FiddleInstructor

At age six, Jess Meador of Decatur, TX, 'found his calling' when he started fiddle lessons with world champion fiddler Dale Morris, Sr. He fell in love with the Western Swing Music. At age 10 Jess began playing in the band with Aris Cook. He was the smallest band member but held his own and hasn‘t missed a beat since. Jess is a favorite among the honky-tonk and dancehall crowds in the North Texas area and is noted for his versatility, ability to improvise, and also to play twin fiddle and two- and three-part harmony. In addition to the four-string and five-string fiddle, Jess plays the electric mandolin and guitar. Jess has won many awards and honors including Texas State Junior Fiddle Champion, Junior World Fiddle Champion, the Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering Champion Fiddler, and the Cowtown Society of Western Swing' Rising Star Awards. This is his second year to teach at the camp.

Glenn McLaughlin
Beginning Guitar Instructor

Hailing from Fort Worth, TX, Glenn McLaughlin has traveled extensively playing festivals, clubs, restaurants, private events, dance halls and feature concerts. 

A classically trained pianist from a young age, he also studied the drums and trumpet for a number of years.  In 2004, he began playing rhythm guitar for the GinnyMac Band, which sparked his interest in learning western swing and other genres of music. He went on to study jazz guitar at the prestigious University of North Texas jazz program in 2006.

McLaughlin has shared the stage with some of the greats, including Tommy Allsup, Ricky Turpin (formerly of Asleep at the Wheel), Rick McCrae (Ace in the Hole Band), Woody Paul (Riders in the Sky), and more. Glenn enjoys touring, playing gigs, teaching, songwriting, jamming, and collaborating with fellow musicians.

The Legacy of Bobby Boatright

Born into a musical family, his dad Art played bass and guitar, while his younger brother Johnny played fiddle and guitar and gained his own fame with the C&W group, Canyon.

Bobby began playing his fiddle professionally at age 11 with a youth band out of Denison, Texas. At age 14, Bobby moved with his family to Wichita Falls, where he began playing in a band led by noted radio personality Bill Mack. They played two television shows a week, and traveled the Texas and Oklahoma area playing dances and stage shows five-and-six nights a week.

Bobby continued playing dances three nights a week wh

ile attending Midwestern University in Wichita Falls, eventually receiving two master's degrees, one in physics and the other in math. He taught math at Weatherford Junior College and managed to play for several bands, including his own, The Bar H Cowboys.

Bobby was a member of the Original Texas Playboys, under the direction of Leon McAuliffe, from 1977-1986. The group retired after their famous “For The Last Time” concert in Fort Worth, following the death of their legendary piano player, Al Stricklin.

Although Bobby made numerous recordings during his career, his last album, Lost Trails, features Bobby and his brother, Johnny, as vocalist. It is a compilation of some of his favorite songs, one of which is Happy Trails, adopted as the official theme song of the camp after Bobby’s death in September 2009.

The Bobby Boatright Music Camp continues to be one of the most sought after and successful camps of its kind. Bobby's friends and associates keep his dream alive by providing an outstanding music education in a relaxed and fun environment.

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