Bio
Based in Tulsa, OK, Township & Range is best described as “Americana,” as it encompasses a range of American styles. The project’s name comes from the fact that many of the songs focus on local color and geography filtered through a personal lens.
"[T]he neighbors, the neighborhoods, and the neighboring countryside take seat, front and center, in Linn’s songwriting. The writing...follows in the traditions of old Americana legends like Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie." --Hear Nebraska
A native of Oklahoma, Travis Linn spent nearly three decades in Nebraska. While there he garnered eight Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEAAs) both songwriting and playing bass in a variety of bands. Black Squirrels and The Electroliners both won OEAAs for "Best Americana/Folk" in 2008 and 2015, respectively. As bassist with Matt Whipkey, Travis earned both "Artist of the Year" and "Album of the Year." On the strength of those awards, the band toured with Dwight Yoakam throughout 2015-16.
Since its founding in 2013, T&R has been both a solo and collaborative effort in Omaha and Tulsa. It is currently a solo project.
T&R has released two EPs to favorable reviews for the Nectar + Venom label: Dust On Our Boots in 2015, and Nashville Unincorporated in 2017. OEAA nominations were forthcoming after the release of both EPs.
"If you're looking for some good country and Americana music from Omaha, check out Township & Range ... Linn's new EP, Dust On Our Boots is a collection of plains country tracks such as "Duct Tape & Bailin' Wire," about holding things together with what you have and healing up by rubbing a little grit on your scrapes. It's also my favorite from the five-song EP. "Sandhills Sojourn" sounds like the soundtrack to riding across Nebraska in a wagon, and "Top Shelf Tonight" is a toe-tapper about drinking the good stuff." --Omaha World-Herald
The Tulsa version of T&R began playing live in July 2022, and has performed at The Colony, The Whittier Bar, Thelma's Peach, Centennial Lounge, Renaissance Brewing Company, Kendall-Whittier Neighborhood's "Amps On Admiral," Noise Town Tulsa, Art Crawl on 66, and even the Blue Whale of Catoosa's 50th Birthday Bash. Township & Range was the only Tulsa artist invited to play PorchFestKC 2023. In December 2023, the live-in-studio episode of RSU TV's Studio 66 was aired on public television.
In 2025 T&R was one of the few Tulsa artists to perform at the Norman Music Festival (NMF) in Norman, OK, and played both days at the I Heart Rt. 66 Festival in Kingman, AZ. T&R performed at the historic Church Studio in Tulsa for their ongoing Tunes @ Noon series.
Soon T&R will be releasing a Route 66-themed album entitled Sixty-Six. In addition, several Route 66 celebrations have already been booked, including the national kick-off event in Springfield, MO, as well as Tulsa's Capital Cruise. Keep checking our “Live” page for updates as more events are added.
Travis Linn
Travis grew up in rural Oklahoma around bluegrass and honky-tonk music. His Grandpa Sing was an Ozark fiddler, and his dad played dobro. He learned a few guitar chords as a child, but concentrated on alto and baritone saxophone in school band. Once a senior in high school, Travis began teaching himself on the school’s bass guitar, and started learning guitar in earnest. Playing sax in the Creighton University Pep Band soon led to him playing sax, guitar, and bass in several Omaha bands. In the 2000s, Travis would earn numerous Omaha Entertainment and Arts Awards (OEAAs) playing bass and writing songs with Black Squirrels, All Young Girls Are Machine Guns, The Electroliners, and Matt Whipkey. As well as T&R, he played guitar and sang in cowpunk trio Bull Nettles. Currently Travis also plays doghouse bass and writes songs for an outfit called RC and the Sprugs. Over the years, Travis has been in bands ranging from ska to honky-tonk to punk. Apart from music, Travis is the author of two history books, and is an award-winning graphic designer.
WHY “TOWNSHIP & RANGE?”
Well, for several reasons. For those unaware, the township and range system is part of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) of which a large portion of the US is platted. A series of baselines and meridians give the zero points of the townships and ranges. And within those are smaller parcels called sections. • I grew up on 80 acres of land in eastern Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. When I was young, my grandfather had a map of the county from early statehood. (OK was not admitted into the Union until 1907). We were looking at the map, and he began teaching me how to read the townships and ranges in order to locate various family properties around the county, including where I lived in the country with my parents and sister. • When I started this project, I wanted something that reflected where I came from. I am proud to be from rural Oklahoma, and from the vast, varied, and beautiful American West. I also knew from the outset that some of the songs would focus on locations, locales, and local color. Even the songs that do not mention a geographical location exist with a particular place as a latent backdrop.