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. Yet their name also evokes a sense of forward motion, which is clearly reflected in their latest album, Wild As We Came Here, available worldwide for purchase and streaming today!In March, the band released the video for “Scrape Me Off The Ceiling” exclusively with Folk Alley.
The video is comprised of footage from their week-long recording session in producer Sam Kassirer’s (Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive, Elephant Revival) rural Maine farmhouse-turned-studio and Red Wing Roots Music Festival, a 3 day music experience the band started in Mt. Solon, Virginia. Read a short interview with Trent Wagler and watch the video here. Wild As We Came Here is a significant leap for the band, which started its journey in 2004. Trent Wagler, Brian Dickel, and Eric Brubaker studied at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, about an hour from Charlottesville. Wagler and Dickel were in a punk/alternative band until acoustic music lured them in.
Wagler soon started crafting songs and learned flat-picking. Dickel took classes on building guitars. They briefly played as a duo before Brubaker joined on fiddle. Jay Lapp eventually came on board after getting to know the band from the local folk circuit. In 2010, following a variety of EPs and LPs, the ensemble officially branded itself as The Steel Wheels, a tip of the hat to steam-powered trains, industrial progress, and the buggies of their Mennonite lineage.Then as now, The Steel Wheels’ style weaves through Americana and bluegrass music, folk and old-time music, and the acoustic poetry of the finest singer-songwriters. By incorporating percussion and keyboards into the 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.
For more information, please visit https://www.thesteelwheels.
Tour Dates:
May 5 – Lawrence, KS – The Bottleneck
May 6 – Wichita, KS – Orpheum Theatre
May 7 – Hastings, NE – The Lark
May 8 – Cedar Rapids, IA – CSPS Hall
May 10 – Minneapolis, MN – Dakota Jazz Club
May 11 – Chicago, IL – Old Town School
May 12 – Goshen, IN – Goshen College
May 13 – Cleveland, OH – GAR Hall
May 25 – Thomas, WV – The Purple Fiddle
May 26 – Greer, SC – The Spinning Jenny
May 27 – Galax, VA – Blue Ridge Music Center
May 28 – Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle
June 5 – Pittsburgh, PA – Club Cafe Live
June 6 – The Parlor Room – Northampton, MA
June 7 – NYC – City Winery
June 8 – Cambridge, MA – Club Passim
June 9 – Chestertown, MD – Garfield Center
June 10 – Annapolis, MD – Rams Head
June 11 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
June 21 – Nashville, TN – The Station Inn
June 23 – Memphis, TN – Levitt Shell
June 24 – Johnson City, TN – Willow Tree
Jul. 14-16 – Red Wing Roots Music Festival
Jul. 29-30 – Floyd Fest
(Photos Courtesy of The Steel Wheels)