At the age of 7, Welch and his family moved to
Midwest City, Oklahoma. After graduating high school, he began touring with bands like New Rodeo and Blue Rose Cafe. Welch moved to
Nashville in 1978 to work as a songwriter. Singers like
Ricky Skaggs,
Moe Bandy,
Waylon Jennings,
Patty Loveless,
Garth Brooks,
Trisha Yearwood and
Don Williams were using his material. At the same time he was very active in local clubs, performing with
John Scott Sherrill and the Wolves in Cheap Clothing, The Roosters, and finally his own band – The Overtones. His popularity grew and in 1988 he signed a record contract with
Reprise Records. In 1994 he co-founded
Dead Reckoning Records along with
Kieran Kane,
Tammy Rogers,
Mike Henderson and
Harry Stinson. The following year
Life Down Here on Earth was published and in 1999
Beneath My Wheels. The majority of songs are Welch's originals. In 2002 the album
Millionaire was recorded partially in Nashville and mostly in Denmark with a line-up of Scandinavian players. In 2004 Welch teamed up with fellow Dead Reckoning artists Kieran Kane and
Fats Kaplin to produce ''You Can't Save Everybody
. The trio followed this up with Lost John Dean
in 2006, to general acclaim. Lost John Dean'' reached number one on the Americana charts, and resulted in nominations for several awards including Duo/Group of the year at the 2006 Americana Honors and Awards. The following eponymous Kane Welch Kaplin, with the addition of Lucas Kane, was also nominated for Duo/Group. The group traveled to Australia 10 times, as well as Europe and the UK, Canada, and all over the United States. Throughout the 2000s, Welch has teamed up with Australian band
The Flood. They have recorded albums and DVDs together, and toured the country twice. Welch moved to
Wimberley, Texas, on April 1, 2008. In 2009, he recorded
A Patch Of Blue Sky, his first solo project in 8 years. He now lives in Australia with his wife, Sarah, and their family. ==Discography==