Treaty Oak Revival: An Alliance Between Punk and Country

December 15, 2022

Treaty Oak Revival didn’t really have a choice but to be a country band. They grew up in West Texas, a market that practically demands bands play country, and, well, it’s also hard to escape your roots. 

“I have an accent,” said Sam Canty, the band’s lead vocalist, in an interview with BandWagon – and for the record, he sure as heck does.

Even so, all that Texas red dirt country the band seemed destined to play couldn’t bury their love of rock and roll, especially in a world of modern crossovers. Canty is unafraid to proclaim his love of big punk acts such as Sum 41 and Blink 182 and Treaty Oak Revival finds themselves with their feet in more than one arena.

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Album Review: Trash. – Ghosts

December 13, 2022

Let’s face it. For many, the past couple of years have been pretty garbage, in a lot of ways. However, for Colorado’s progressive pop-punk outfit Trash., it would seem the past two years have been about growth and preparing a sophomore release that, in every sense of the word, is quite the opposite of what the band’s moniker projects.

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Nothing to Hide Behind: Wheelwright’s Jared Kolesar After The Mill

October 10, 2022

“I think there’s an element of a lonely cowboy out on the trail,” Jared Kolesar of Wheelwright tells BandWagon. “There’s many songs now with a story that is best told while I’m alone with my guitar.”

The reworked songs give his Jared & The Mill fans a chance to preview his new sound, one he calls more sonically interesting, with more synth and more effects to his vocals to go with some new hip-hop vibes. He calls the sound Neo-Western and compares it to a mix of 80’s futurism and Americana. Or, in his own words, “like Blade Runner with more cowboy vibes.” 

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Birth, Death and Time In The Sun: SUSTO’s Justin Osborne Finds new Dimesion

September 12, 2022

“There were ravines growing between me and people in my life,” Justin Osborne tells BandWagon. “And with COVID, everybody got pushed back together. Some of those changes had to be faced head on.”

Osborne is the commandant of North Carolina’s Susto and he’s just gone through some of the most intense years of his life.

“If humans are dimensional,” he says, “there’s a whole new dimension of myself that was awakened.”

Susto’s sound sits between Americana, psych-pop and the indie-rock church of rootsy folk. A mix of satire and earnestness adds a roughness; a raised eyebrow setting it apart from rural radio. Its dark, drug-influenced sentimentality and staunch idealism is, at its heart, just barefaced American songwriting.

“There were a lot of attempts at reconciliation – my own beliefs with how I was raised,” he says. “I’m trying not to disrespect,” he says, “but to participate in these big life events.”

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Bevin Luna: 105.5 The Colorado Sound’s Featured Artist

July 21, 2022

“Madison & Angelus is a garage rock EP because it’s rock and roll. And it was literally recorded in a garage in LaPorte, Colorado,” Bevin Luna says.
True to the garage band ethos, the 6 tracks mesh originals, covers and co-writes with big, fuzzy guitars, overdriven vocals and bashing drums. But the garage has a heart and some depth behind its door. Much of the writing discusses the turmoil of being a musician in the digital age, and as Luna puts it: “In the middle of a pandemic sandwich: never knowing where to begin or if it’s ever going to end – constantly trying to reassure ourselves that everything was gonna be OK.”

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Album Review: Musuji – Blanket Statement

July 7, 2022

To say that Musuji’s reputation precedes them would be an understatement. Known for their “wild with madness” moniker, Musuji mash together layer upon layer of sound and energy to create their own blend of funky, intense indie rock that is equally as chill as it is disastrous – and that’s in a good way.

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Single Review: Eufórquestra – “Arizona to Georgia”

July 6, 2022

Eufórquestra’s recent single, “Arizona to Georgia,” leans into groovy funk-rock, with jammy vibes and a big sound, reminiscent of early Steely Dan or Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle.” This song has a lot of potential to extend to a full jam, pushing audiences to have a “little less talk, a little more listen” as the lyrics demand.

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A Century of Country – Greeley Stampede’s New Stage Set for Brad Paisley and More

June 21, 2022

The Greeley Stampede’s new stage was built with Brad Paisley in mind.

The last time he played here, in 2007, Paisley had 10 semi-trailers full of equipment, said Justin Watada, executive director of the Stampede. Way back then, three “up and coming” acts performed with Paisley, including a young lady named Taylor Swift.

The brand new stage is bigger and much better, with all the fixins you’d expect from a show at Red Rocks, including a platform that will allow the artists to walk 50 feet out into the crowd. And Paisley is back as the Stampede’s biggest act in a lineup that includes Stone Temple Pilots, Jon Pardi, Cole Swindell and Jordan Davis.

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