THE WILDERS
Harkening back to the golden age of country music, The Wilders are a Kansas City string band of the highest order. Blessed with a high degree of humor and humility, this is a vibrant outfit that not only takes its music seriously, but brings to it a blazing virtuosity and tight ferocity. Led by singer, guitarist and country wisecracker Ike Sheldon, the band grounds itself firmly in the early formative years of recorded country music. Featured in each performance are the hard driving old time fiddle tunes presided over by multi-award-winning fiddler, Betse Ellis.
Witnessing a performance by The Wilders is an exciting experience not soon forgotten. The members huddle around a single microphone. When the time comes for a solo, each player moves with clockwork precision — they are artists at making each instrument and vocal line mix perfectly through their posture and position in relation to the microphone. Vintage country classics are infused with a new-found passion for old-time music, the sort that ruled the airwaves in the early days of radio. Borrowing from the vast and dusty collection of 20th century Americana, The Wilders careen through string band music of the 1920s, country music from the '30s, and honky tonk from the '40s. While their sound pre-dates rock 'n' roll by a few years, The Wilders approach the classic era with the same fire as the early rockers. In fact, one critic observed, "If this were Old Salem, they'd have to watch out, because they play like they're possessed." Says Seattle's The Stranger: "This Kansas City quartet lives up to the fiercer definition of their moniker. They play like the barn is on fire, the horses are gone, and they just don't give a damn."
Thu Nov 29 | 8 pm
CSPS | 1103 Third St SE | Cedar Rapids
$12 advance | $15 day of show

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