What's in a name?

Is it a group of disc jockeys from a local country station?

The name Rebel Creek Radio invites the question, and that’s exactly the point.

“People are going to ask questions about it, and that's kind of what we want,” said drummer Chuck Neely. “We want people to get to know us. I don't really know how to tell you exactly how we came up with that name other than we were all kind of sitting around one day and someone said, ‘What about Rebel Creek Radio,’ and we're like, ‘Well, I don't hate it.’ Honestly, it's really grown on us.”

The Las Cruces-based country band has spent the last two years building a following on local stages, finally settling into its current lineup about six months ago. And while the name may carry a bit of mystery, the band’s sound is rooted in something familiar: 1990s country.

Lead singer Jason Cogdill didn’t start there.

“I started at an early age and I've kind of dipped my toe into essentially every music genre from funk to disco to heavy metal and hard rock,” Cogdill said. “I actually had the opportunity in the 90s to tour with a regional act on the east coast. We were pretty successful playing 90s country music when it was actually 90s country music.”

That era remains the foundation of Rebel Creek Radio’s identity — one the band believes sets it apart in a crowded local scene.

While he tried playing all kinds of music, Cogdill says he may be the only member who grew up primarily on country.

“I grew up heavily influenced by George Jones, Merle Haggard, obviously George Strait,” he said. “That’s what was playing at my house pretty much 24/7.”

Around him, the rest of the band brings a wider mix of influences.

Neely started playing guitar at eight years old and quickly found his footing in music.

“For me it just took off from there,” he said. “I played off and on through high school and kind of fell in love with the passion and the way that it's such a perfect medium to communicate with people. I think every song takes someone back to a special place in their life.”

Bass player Clint Hampton grew up in Kentucky in a musical household shaped by church and revival music, while guitarist Irving Torres brings a style that stretches beyond traditional country.

“Everything from Mahalia Jackson to the Allman Brothers, he's just so very well-rounded as a bassist,” Neely said of Hampton. “He really brings such a good groove, an in-the-pocket feel to what it is that we're doing.”

Cogdill said Torres’ approach adds another layer.

“I'm not even sure the best way to describe it,” he said. “It’s clean, it's beautiful … he's very well versed with his instrument. He can play anything from a George Strait classic or a Merle Haggard classic to rock and roll or some ZZ Top.”

Together, those influences shape a band that leans heavily into covers, but not in the way audiences might expect.

“Many of our fans have said they recognize, for instance, ‘The Fireman’ by George Strait, but you guys put your own spin on it,” Cogdill said. “We just add a little bit of what we like to call Rebel Creek flair.”

“We do not cover note for note or sound for sound,” he added. “We may change a tempo, we may change a melody, and definitely the arrangement of the song. If we're playing ‘Tennessee Whiskey,’ we'll have Irving put in a really smooth kind of a blues-esque country lead, and that's definitely not how the song is going to play on the radio.”

The result is a set list built for both familiarity and surprise — songs people recognize but performed in a way that keeps them engaged.

That approach has helped the band build a steady following, with crowds that come ready to dance and stay curious about what might come next.

“We recognize 100% that if we didn't have fans we wouldn't be doing this for very long,” Cogdill said. “But it's just been amazing so far to see the outpouring of support that we've really gotten locally.”

For Cogdill, who grew up in Las Cruces, that support carries extra meaning.

“I'm born and raised here, and it's always been a dream of mine to play music,” he said. “I am surrounded by some of the hardest working and most talented musicians in Las Cruces. The opportunity to showcase Rebel Creek is a little part of that dream come true.”

And in the end, the name that started as a passing idea has come to represent something more.

“When you're driving down the road listening to your favorite songs on the radio, and you're enjoying the scenery — the mountains, the streams — it just kind of brings that little bit of nostalgia,” Neely said. “It's a good time, it's a good feeling, and it's a good place to be.”

For Rebel Creek Radio, that feeling — part memory, part music — is exactly what they seek to create.