The Enduring Legacy of Colter Wall’s “Imaginary Appalachia”

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#512 (Western), #519 (Appalachian), and #590 (Underground Country) on the Country DDS.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a decade since someone probably mentioned to you that you should check out this really cool, but really obscure EP from a Canadian guy that sounded like he’d been throat punched by a banshee, but whose music called to something deep inside of you that drew you in, and you couldn’t stop listening.

For others, they came to Imaginary Appalachia via the backdoor after seeing Colter Wall perform a couple of live versions of the EP’s songs at a brewery in Saskatoon called Original 16, or via hearing the song “Sleeping on the Blacktop” on the soundtrack for the Taylor Sheridan-written film Hell or High Water from 2016.

But nobody thought this was anything but some cool stuff for you and your buddies to obsess over that would be banished to obscurity like all the greatest music of the era, buried under the weight of Bro-Country. And in some respects, that assessment was correct. Until it wasn’t.

Similar to Sturgill Simpson and other revolutionaries of the era, Colter Wall wasn’t riding on anyone’s coattails. There wasn’t some formula or template to follow. He had to create an appeal for his music out of whole cloth—a difficult to impossible task for an unknown guy from Saskatchewan trying to forge his way forward in the world with fey notions of Western music.

But when Colter Wall opened his mouth and sang, it was like the ghosts of the Wild West came billowing out from his soul. Shivers ran up and down your spine, and goosebumps broke out on your arms. Colter Wall was able to tap into some dormant, archaic appeal in the North American consciousness, and awaken a monster of an appetite that refuses to be satiated, and continues to grow in voraciousness to this day.



Imaginary Appalachia, the songs, and Colter Wall himself deserve immense credit for seeding the appeal for all things Western in North American culture today, and not just in music. Sure, the smash TV series Yellowstone and other things have certainly helped that appeal along, and the show featured many Colter Wall songs. But Imaginary Appalachia came first. Granted, the EP took on a decidedly more Appalachian, Gothic, and almost a little bit of a punk attitude to it compared to Colter’s later works that adhere more to Western traditions.

At the time though, Colter Wall was still literally just a kid. He was 19, trying to figure himself out, and who he was in music. The album explores an almost mythical version of the Appalachian region. Wall, who had never been to Appalachia at the time of writing the songs, created a world in his imagination that he then populated with characters and stories inspired by folk, country, and Western music traditions. 

Eventually, Colter Wall would settle into his much more dedicated Western character. And as opposed to touring endlessly to cash in on his unexpected fame or taking Joe Rogan up on his open invitation for an interview, he’s decided to remain mostly back on the ranch in Canada, only touring intermittently. And when he records, he keeps it close to the traditional Western perspective his career will ultimately be remembered for.

Now, Western music has become an improbable resurgent influence in the roots music revolution, with numerous artists finding success with music that should have been banished to obscurity decades ago. But it all started in Colter Wall’s imagination, with a little 7-song EP, and tracks like the now Platinum Certified “Sleeping On The Blacktop,” and the Gold-selling “Devil Wears a Suit and Tie.” The album wasn’t an overnight smash—far from it. But in May of 2024, Imaginary Appalachia was Certified Gold itself.

Now, just as we look back on all the Western music greats of yore, even if Colter Wall never releases another lick of music, his legacy is secured, thanks to the work that started with Imaginary Appalachia.

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Imaginary Appalachia was originally released on June 2nd, 2015. To celebrate the anniversary, Colter Wall is releasing the EP on limited edition opaque olive green vinyl, with bonus tracks of the two “Original 16 Brewery” songs originally captured on video.

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