Event

The Steel Wheels

Hailing from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, The Steel Wheels are familiar with the traditions of folk music and how a string band is supposed to sound. In fact, theyve been drawing on those steadfast traditions for more than a decade. Yet, their name also evokes a sense of forward motion, which is clearly reflected in their latest album, Wild As We Came Here.

The Steel Wheels recorded their album in rural Maine, where producer Sam Kassirer (Lake Street Dive, Josh Ritter) owns a recording studio inside a renovated farmhouse from the 18th century. All four band members Trent Wagler (guitar, banjo), Eric Brubaker (fiddle), Brian Dickel (upright bass) and Jay Lapp (mandolin) hunkered down for a week and a half to create Wild As We Came Here.

The bands name is a tip of the hat to steam-powered trains, industrial progress and the buggies of their Mennonite lineage. Their musical style weaves through Americana and bluegrass, folk and old-time music, and the acoustic poetry of the finest singer-songwriters. By incorporating percussion and keyboards into their recording sessions for the first time, Wild As We Came Here adds new textures to their catalog, as themes of discovery and perseverance run throughout the collection.

With support from Ozarks songwriter Lyal Strickland:

The songs Lyal Strickland writes are like the world he lives in: A little tough sometimes, doggedly inspiring at others, but always absolutely real. Strickland doubles as a working farmer so when he writes about surviving in modern-day America, hes speaking from experience.

2014s Balanced on Barbed Wire was his sixth album, but the first to get national distribution and acclaim; winning raves like Pure Americana, melodic and warm; lyrically thoughtful and full of feel (Popdose) and music with Universal resonancerural grit and grace (No Depression). Now comes Preservation, Stricklands most personal work to date.

Doors: 6pm
Show: 6:30pm
$12 advance | $15 day of show