Whatever you do, don’t tell Randy Rogers he’s just a musician.

Sure, the Texas native’s namesake band has been making its mark on the Country scene for more than two decades now, having racked up seven singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and continuing as one of the nation’s perennial live acts. The man himself is also undoubtedly one of the Lone Star State’s most accomplished singer-songwriters in recent memory.

But Rogers has always spread his wings a bit wider than most. “I’m not just a dude in a band who goes fishing every day,” he says with a laugh. No, he’s certainly not. The 45-year-old Rogers is one of Country music’s most forward-thinking businessmen, investors, and dreamers to boot. Whether cementing his name in the music industry, where he owned a management company and helped launched the careers of current superstars like fellow Texan Parker McCollum, owning retail stores with his wife Chelsea, investing in baseball teams and whiskey brands, revamping a beloved live music venue, or giving back to the community that raised him, Rogers is making an impact at every turn.

Yes, the Cleburne, Texas, native is something of a renaissance man. Though, he’s the first to admit that music has made all things possible. It’s why he’s made it his mission to have an effect in a major way on the music world — especially in his native Texas. And not just from the stage; Rogers is making moves behind the scenes as well. “I wouldn’t be in this industry if I wasn’t in love with the challenge,” he says of continuing to push the boundaries and take on new adventures.

Having found his way in a Red Dirt arena Rogers admits was relatively bare in terms of music industry presence at the time, he says he “felt almost an obligation” to change that for the better. To that end, in 2016 he and his longtime friend-partner Robin Schoepf launched Big Blind Management. “I felt fired up to help other people because it worked for me,” he says referencing how he too had a significant mentor in his life that helped him launch his music career: iconic Texas singer-songwriter Radney Foster. “Radney was the bridge between the business of Nashville and the talent and regional success of our band,” Rogers explains. “I’m thankful for that every day.” Now, Rogers says, he’s nothing if not thrilled to be able to likewise help younger artists find their way in an admittedly tough industry such as music. “You should be able to know that you can make it from Texas in the music business,” he says. “People need to understand that yes, the music industry is scary, and it is cutthroat, and it is a business. But if you learn that not everybody’s out to get you and the difference between a good deal and a bad deal, then you can work as hard as you want and go as far as you want.”

Additionally, Rogers is also an owner and investor in live music venues: he’s a partner in Roanoke’s ChopShop Live and, proudly, in 2017 he bought San Marcos’ Cheatham Street Warehouse, a legendary music venue where Rogers got his start more than 20 years ago. “It might be one of the things I’m most proud of,” he says. “The fact that live music is still in that building is so important. Before we got it, it was coming close to the bitter end.”

And while it’s music that launched Rogers into public consciousness, he’s since taken the opportunity to expand his repertoire. Sure, he’s had businesses that didn’t always work — he looks back with a smile on Outlaw Food Truck, which he says taught him lessons in how to be diligent in your approach to business — but his track record continues to exceed his wildest dreams. With his wife Chelsea at the helm, the Rogers family owns River Rose boutique, a two-location women’s retail store in Lubbock and New Braunfels, Texas. “It was kind of a hope and a prayer,” he says of the boutique, which has been going strong for a decade now. “I don’t know how she does it,” he says proudly. “It’s crazy. She’s certainly got a lot on her plate.”

Another project he’s incredibly fulfilled by is being an investor in a minor-league baseball team that calls Rogers’ native city its home — the Cleburne Railroaders. “Talk about going out of your comfort zone,” he says with a laugh of an experience that found him pitching his local city council on the idea, getting a stadium built, and then seeing the team eventually get sold to Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers. “That’s something I had never thought of doing,” he admits of owning a baseball team. “Maybe I had dreamed of it. But that was definitely one of the most fun experiences I’ve had outside of the music industry.”

Rogers has also branched out into the food and beverage industry: in addition to Bahnbrëcker, a whiskey company he started with some friends in 2021whose first release was a Hefeweizen whiskey called Slow River Blend, Rogers is also in the process of helping launch a brand-new, three-story rooftop bar. “It’ll be the first time I’ve ever been part of a venue that doesn’t have live music,” he says of Lost and Found, located in downtown New Braunfels.

But ask Rogers what he’s most proud of, despite all his music and business accomplishments, and it’s quite simple: spending time with his family and giving back to his community.

“I learned to give back from other artists,” he says. “From other people that were fortunate enough to be in the position I’m in. I just watched people give and give and give.” Plus, he adds, “My dad was a Southern Baptist preacher and there was also that ingrained in me from a small child to help your brother and sister, and help out those people that are in need. It’s just been a part of my life from the beginning.” It’s why more than five years ago he launched the Randy Rogers Family Foundation and has proudly hosted 14 Randy Rogers Band Golf Jam events – an annual charity tournament benefiting essential charities like Connections, which supports troubled youth between foster homes. The foundation also recently acquired an official 501c designation. 

To hear him tell it, though, Rogers’ own family is where it all starts and ends. The musician beams speaking about his wife and three daughters. Because, after all, he says, it may sound cliché, but they’re what gives him the strength and motivation to do everything in his life — music and beyond. When asked what’s the most rewarding part of his life in recent times, he doesn’t hesitate: “My daughters’ accomplishments,” he says. “And specifically, what’s going on in their lives and how important it is for me to be present with them, be available to them, and share in their highs and lows.”

Rogers, however, is far from done making an impact. In many ways, he’s just getting started. “I’m not finished yet but we’re winning the race,” he says with a smile of all things — his band, his businesses and, yes, his fulfilling life on the whole. Says Rogers quite simply: “I just love the challenge.”