Colter Wall Celebrates New Album Release at Under The Big Sky

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On Friday, July 14th, Colter Wall released his latest album called Little Songs via LaHonda Records and his new deal with RCA to early critical acclaim. To celebrate the new release, the Saskatchewan, Canada native headed just south of the border (for him) to the original independent country megafestival, Under The Big Sky.
The contrast between Colter Wall’s wild and improbable popularly, and Colter’s understated and humble disposition couldn’t be greater. “My name’s Colter,” he mumbled into the mic after taking the stage. But even those who might be unaccustomed to the cowboy and Western singer/songwriter didn’t need an introduction. The crowd was wildly chanting his name like he was a hair metal superstar in 1987 as he walked out, and screaming at the top of their lungs at his mere appearance.
The enthusiasm is facilitated by the fact that public appearances by Colter Wall these days are extremely novel. Aside from the Dusty Boots Festival in Denver earlier this summer, Colter Wall has no other scheduled appearances on his calendar. There will be no tour behind the new album Little Songs. He even continues to brush of mega podcaster Joe Rogan’s salivating desires for a sit down interview in front of the largest audience in media.
For sure, Colter Wall is leaving piles of money on the table. But staying grounded to the land and the inspirations for his music appears to be more imperative for Colter than trying to compete in the country music rat race. If anything, Colter is trying to cool his own jets, while still finding the space to create in between being out on the range somewhere on horseback doing the very stuff he sings about in his original songs and Western standards that he’s been so vital to revitalizing in the modern context.
Colter featured many of the songs from his new album during the Under The Big Sky set, including the title track, “The Coyote & The Cowboy” by Ian Tyson, and the Hoyt Axton cover, “Evangelina” (see full set list below). After the 3rd song of his set, something happened to his signature mahogany-topped guitar. After fussing with it for an extended period, he ended up having to go with a backup. In typical Colter Wall fashion, he had to use a piece of blue haybale string to fashion the strap onto the neck.
The performance was interrupted by a couple of issues, including some sort of security situation in the middle of the crowd that had Colter shutting down the music for another 3 or 4-minute interval. You could tell Colter became a little frustrated that here he was playing one of the few shows all year, and he had to cut a song or two due to unforeseen circumstances.
But the set was still excellent, and so was Colter’s band that included the highly-regarded steel guitar player from Texas, Muskrat Jones, best known for playing with Colter Wall duet partner Summer Dean. Jake Groves was also there blowing harmonica, bringing essential parts to Colter songs like the rendition of “Cowpoke” by Stan Jones. Long-time bass player Jason Simpson also made the trek to Montana with drummer Russ Patterson.
Colter Wall live isn’t just like the record. He puts a little more gusto behind his songs, while also taking the opportunity to perform a few songs solo. And despite the rarity of appearances, the backing band is super tight. There are also experiences you can take in by seeing Colter Wall out in the wild. Under The Big Sky Fest has a train track running through the site. It seemed only fitting that a one point during Colter Wall’s set, there were trains going in both directions, adding to the Western ambiance in the reddening sky of the late afternoon.
Colter Wall is a very rare specimen in the music space. 10 years ago, nobody would have ever pontificated that a young kid from Canada could completely revitalize the popularity of Western songs in the country music canon. But with an arresting voice seeming to evoke the old ghosts of America’s rugged past, an authentic and humble disposition, and songs that speak to something real in an era of synthetic and artificial reality, Colter Wall is a rock, and an unlikely, but inarguable, star.
All photos by Kyle “Trigger” Coroneos







SET LIST:
1. Evangelina
2. Rocky Mountain Rangers
3. Western Swing and Waltzes
4. The Coyote & The Cowboy
5. Henry and Sam
6. ???
7. For a Long While
8. Little Songs
9. Happy Reunion
10. Instrumental
11. Caroline (solo)
12. Bob Fudge
13. Let’s All Help The Cowboys (Sing The Blues)
14. Motorcycle
15. Cowpoke
16. Cow/Calf Blue Yodel
17. Summer Wages (Ian Tyson tribute)
18. Sleeping on the Blacktop
July 15, 2023 @ 10:06 am
Man that album was disappointing…didn’t expect Childers AND Colter to break my heart this year
July 15, 2023 @ 11:09 am
Childers disappointed you last year and I wouldn’t be surprised if we have new music from him this fall to cleanse your pallet (but you probably still will be disappointed).
July 15, 2023 @ 2:19 pm
That would be nice but after the wait for last album I’m not getting my hopes up. The best of these guys, at least in my opinion, is sadly probably in the past.
July 15, 2023 @ 11:12 am
Disappointed? What were you expecting?
July 15, 2023 @ 12:15 pm
Tell me you’re all hat without telling me. For those few of us still actually living the Western lifestyle, he can’t make enough of these records.
July 15, 2023 @ 2:15 pm
Where did I ever say anything about being a cowboy lmao. I liked his his gritty and meaningful music so I have the right to be disappointed when this album is completely devoid of anything that even remotely resembles his first three albums, the albums that helped shape me as I grew up. I’m not mad at him, he’s still one of my all time favorites, just can’t get into the hokey pokey Roy Rogers cowpoke style. Glad there is an audience that is enjoying it though.
July 17, 2023 @ 6:28 am
Unfortunately, this is what a lot of artists do. They put out a fantastic album, for example one consisting entirely of perfectly traditional country, and maybe another one like it, and then turn away from that traditional sound and never come back to it again ever in their career, switching to pop or tropical or whatever (Hello Kenny Chesney,whose first albums were right-down hard country, then he switched to tropical island music and he has never done a traditional country song since).
July 17, 2023 @ 8:46 am
To these ears its still traditional country its just hes moved on from where he first started but its not like theres anything commercial sounding on the record its not like hes sold out or anything. Its art so you paint one picture and the next time you draw again you paint another picture. People like Dylan didnt stay in the same place either.
July 17, 2023 @ 12:38 pm
I agree, this is not a commercial album at all. It’s OK, his art, and that’s fine. Other artists don’t stay in the same place, but most don’t forget what got them the fans in the first place, it’s a careful balance of artistic “freedom” and honoring what made you famous. If you start out singing bluegrass and you switch to singing Queensryche, your original fans probably are not going along for the ride, that’s the sort of thing I was talking about.
July 18, 2023 @ 6:16 am
Conversely, I really didn’t care that much for Colter Wall until he started primarily singing the western songs. Not that I disliked him, but he was just another interchangeable roots artist to my ear until he started singing songs that were meaningful to me on a personal level.
By the way, I don’t know what your lifestyle is like, but even if it wasn’t appealing to me I wouldn’t be enough of a dick to call it hokey.
July 15, 2023 @ 3:59 pm
@ Andrew, tell us you’re a dick by acting like one. ????
July 15, 2023 @ 1:29 pm
He has no desire to be a country star, dude just wants to cowboy and sing cowboy songs. Can’t blame him for the lack of polish, this isn’t his priority
July 15, 2023 @ 2:32 pm
I loved it. It seemed like the tiniest bit of a step down from Western Swing and Waltzes at first, but it’s grown on me with a few listens. He’s definitely came a long way from his early work.
July 15, 2023 @ 10:31 am
Coyote and the Cowboy is an Ian Tyson cover.
July 15, 2023 @ 3:58 pm
“Colter Wall is a very rare specimen in the music space. 10 years ago, nobody would have ever pontificated that a young kid from Canada could completely revitalize the popularity of Western songs in the country music canon.”
I love how he completely transformed himself from a wannabe rocker to a dusty cowpoke. Credit where credit is due, he seems to have immersed himself in the cowboy lifestyle. I know my comment might upset a few fan-girl/guys, but I’m happy for his success, and I hope he continues to grow his fanbase.
July 15, 2023 @ 11:43 pm
Colter Wall never wanted to be a “wannabe rocker.”
July 20, 2023 @ 11:11 am
“Colter Wall never wanted to be a “wannabe rocker.””
Actually, he was a rocker before he crafted his dusty cowpoke image, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not an indictment, and I don’t know why you (and others) pretend he came into this world fully formed as a cowboy poet. The rock influences give his music grit. I discovered him long before you even knew who he was, Trig. Do your homework. ????
From AllMusic:
“Wall first picked up the guitar when he was 12 years old, and by the time he was 13, he’d decided he wanted to make music his career. Initially, he played in local rock bands, but as he dug deeper into rock history, he developed an interest in the gritty, traditional sounds of blues and Appalachian country, and his ambitions moved from playing lead guitar to songwriting. In time, Wall shifted from playing with a rock band to solo gigs focusing on his country-accented material…”
July 16, 2023 @ 7:49 am
I don’t know what anyone else is smoking, but the album is pretty damn good, from what I gather it’s almost a campfire concept album. “Little Songs” that get you thru the campfire or a long day in the saddle.
And good on him for actually living the life he’s singing about unlike hordes of other people in this Country and Western who are faker than Bush 2 on horseback(for those that don’t know, the man is deathly afraid of horses). He’s out there doing it, living it, breathing it, immersed in it. That’s shines thru on all his records. It’s so f’in rare these days to have someone like that.
Im definitely a “songs of the plains” kind of guy. That record is in my top 5 records of the last 10 years IMO but Little Songs is solid. The expansiveness you feel in the songs is
Palpable and the writing is top notch and it plays nicely from track 1-10.
Interested to see what you think of it Trig.
July 16, 2023 @ 8:43 am
I will have a dedicated review for “Little Songs” forthcoming. I just wanted to capture this moment because Colter Wall live appearances are so rare.
The reception I have seen for the album has been overwhelmingly positive. It sucks that the discussion here started off with someone criticizing it, but that’s the way it goes. My post about it on Facebook and Instagram is full of folks raving about it. Some people love to come here and lash out about whatever is being talked about.
July 15, 2023 @ 8:18 pm
So, he should still be larping as a stoner hobo so you can relive your youth?
Admittedly, cowboying is also a vagabond lifestyle, but it’s more productive for your neighbor, and less personally destructive (I can think of a couple stars we’ve recently lost to the stoner life). And in Colter’s case it’s inspiring some pretty damn fine art. I’m glad he traded the blacktop for the trail.
July 15, 2023 @ 9:51 pm
Like the picture of the smile.
July 16, 2023 @ 9:04 am
I read the article from ” Saving Country Music .com ” …… I have been following Colter Wall for some time !! Love his beginning and love his current work ….. Love him best with just him and his guitar but with drummer and bass is great. Missed a photo of the “drummer ” in the article as such happens quite often …… makes me sad as the drummer/percussion is such an addition to any musical group performing !! I am a man now approaching 80 years and listened to alot of great and performers from Johnny Cash and KISS live and am sure glad to have lived long enough to have been introduced to Colter Wall’s Music and style………..
July 16, 2023 @ 10:59 am
The fact that people are discussing his work good or bad means he’s doing something right. I think the new records amazing. Any critics I normally read say they hate that hes moved so far from where he started I expected it to happen and Ive listened to him from the beginning. If you want your musicians to keep making the same record over and over because its easier for you, youd be better listening to more commercial music . As well as making music this is art and the best at this never ever stood still (unlike some of their fans) you could never paint the same picture twice anyway. So well done Colter and keep on upsetting people because for all the fans that cant catch up im sure your be winning more.
July 16, 2023 @ 11:36 am
He also turned up on stage at the after party with Vincent Neil Emerson and sang “Road Runner”.
Pretty sweet to see him in a room with 200 people.
VNE is a barnstormer too, btw.
July 17, 2023 @ 9:48 am
Album was okay. I’d say a third of the tunes hit home and the rest just felt soulless. Maybe it’s the production or something? Kinda bummed as I prefer his later stuff and loathe his debut album so I enjoy this “cowboy” sound. This just didn’t hit the mark for me. I expected a lot more for the length between albums.
July 17, 2023 @ 3:19 pm
Colter’s set was excruciatingly SLOOOOW. People around me in near the back of the bit, both sitting and standing were quite bored. He even slowed down Blacktop to a crawl. But I realize this is the kind of music Wall makes (after Imaginary Appalachia anyway), so I’m sure if that’s your cup of tea, you enjoyed him. Give me Drayton’s set over Colter’s all day.
July 17, 2023 @ 10:46 pm
Personally I love the loose, on the floor production of the new record, and think his band sounds great, but I’m a sucker for that sort of thing. Feels a bit slight, but the Ian Tyson cover warms my heart, his voice sounds natural, and powerful. I think there’s a few genuine, timeless sounding, classics on the record, as well as some lovely, lived-in lyrical moments. I have been a sceptic in the past about Colter, as a Canadian I hated his father’s politics, and I felt that in the pat he had a number of unearned affectations, but over the years he’s moved away from that, and this might be his most honest record yet. Sounds pretty good to my ears.
July 18, 2023 @ 6:19 am
Can we get some clarification on song #6?
July 19, 2023 @ 6:44 am
As usual, everything’s great until the internet, message boards, and socials get involved.
July 25, 2023 @ 11:09 am
I’d love to hear any of the songs from the back of a horse, without a group out people.
July 25, 2023 @ 11:11 am
Besides I’ll bet them bigger outfits pay a bit better on a work days wage ????????
July 25, 2023 @ 11:14 am
And I guess if they didn’t please well on work days wage then well you’ll have that but I bet you’re hell a lot more happier than that when you go to sleep