Wild Horses Sold Their House, Then Made The In Between — SkimNews
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- Wild Horses sold their home after booking a high-profile slot at the 2021 Grand Rapids Riverfest, bought a 1989 Chevy Astro van and later replaced it with a high-mileage coach converted into a tour bus.
- Landon Pahl quit his day job to join Jed LaPlant and Ariana, completing the trio that developed after an early lineup of four to six players that included banjo and trumpet.
- The In Between was released in October through Outlaw Foundry/Atlantic Outpost as Wild Horses’ second studio album, comprising nine tracks written by Jed LaPlant and Ariana.
- “Sunrise on the Absaroke” gave the album its title with a road-weary account of making ends meet in close quarters, including the narrator’s effort to beat desert heat and cry his way home.
- “Take It As It Comes” captures the urgency Jed LaPlant attributes to playing noisy bars where the band felt out of place and trying to win people over: “this had better work.”
- Grand Rapids was where Jed LaPlant and Ariana met at open-mic nights in the Minnesota town of about 11,000; while both worked other jobs and paid for a house, Jed ended up with a broken back during Covid and his construction job was not going to cut it.
- Trampled by Turtles shared an October stage with Wild Horses during a run that brought the band especially receptive audiences; in December, Wild Horses will join Sam Barber on a swing from the Midwest to the West Coast.
Why it matters: For Wild Horses, the gamble has yielded a nine-track second album and receptive crowds, particularly during its October run with Trampled by Turtles. Selling the house and living on the road made hardship the band’s songwriting fuel, so the same gamble that sent them onto the road supplies material for songs that make listeners cry and lift their mood.
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