The Steel Wheels share new single “Yes I Know”, ahead of ‘Sideways’ album out Feb 9th

The Steel Wheels New Single

“Yes I Know” Out Now

Upcoming Album Sideways Releases February 9

via Big Ring Records

Photographer Credit: Mike Lee

The Steel Wheels have shared new single “Yes I Know” from forthcoming album Sideways, out February 9 2024.

Speaking about the song, The Steel Wheels’ Trent Wagler said: ““Yes I Know” dips into that feeling when you can see the moment you’re in with someone else as a beautiful moment, while simultaneously seeing the future-that no relationship is static. Is “forever” a useful idea to comfort our fears? Maybe, or maybe it can be inspiring to remember all relationships will eventually end. For me, there are times of year when forever feels more real than others: The heat of the summer, when the days last 16 hours feel full of forever energy, while the month or so of leaves changing in the fall always confronts me with change and the passage of time.

The video for the song started as more of a 2 week autumnal leaf study. I live in Harrisonburg, VA down the block from a beautiful city park. I wanted to try to film the changing of the leaves, so I started recording the same video every day for a couple of weeks in October/November. The video logs my small daily nature walks and the transformative show of the seasonal shifts. “

Pre-order/pre-save Sideways

Nearly 20 years after debuting as an all-acoustic string band, the group has crafted an expansive album that mixes their knack for crafting big pop hooks with traditional Appalachian instrumentation. Produced by Sam Kassirer (Lake Street Dive, Langhorne Slim, Josh Ritter), Sideways takes influence from psychedelic rock, pop, jam and more to expand upon their distinct, well-established sound. From the LP, the band has shared singles “Easy On Your Way” and “Baby Gone,” which have attracted attention from No Depression, Folk Alley, The Americana Music Association and more.

Over twelve tracks, the LP covers heavy topics such as grief, loss, fatherhood and mental health. Many of the songs were penned in response to direct events in the band members’ lives. Namely, the sudden passing of fiddle player and vocalist Eric Brubaker’s young daughter to a rare disease. And during the pandemic, when Wagler’s child faced a mental health crisis that left Wagler and his family feeling lost and frustrated inside our country’s mental health care system.

The band first collaborated with Kassirer on 2017’s critically-acclaimed Wild As We Came Here, which features the now ubiquitous alt-folk battle cry “Scrape Me Off the Ceiling.” Through it all, The Steel Wheels have been about creating a community and sharing the experience of humanity with one another. Nowhere is this more evident than at the Red Wing Roots Music Festival, founded by the band in 2013. Taking place in the Shenandoah Valley, the festival has featured performances by Lucinda Williams, Billy Strings, Steve Earle & The Dukes, The Mavericks, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Earl Keen, Dawes, Trampled By Turtles and more. Outside of their own festival, the band is known for its road-dog mentality, spending many nights of the year on the road.

The band has announced a special US Winter Roots Concert on January 20, an offshoot of their highly successful and long-running Red Wing Roots Music Festival, featuring an album release show with Lindsay Lou at Wilson Hall in Harrisonburg, VA. See more information HERE. Next year, the group will appear on NPR’s Mountain Stage, taping live on February 20, and will perform at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City, MO on February 22 and 23. Find a full list of tour dates below or visit http://thesteelwheels.com/tour.

The Steel Wheels is Trent Wagler (vocals/guitar/banjo), Jay Lapp (guitar/mandolin/vocals), Eric Brubaker (fiddle/vocals), Kevin Garcia (drums/percussion/mallet keyboards), Jeremy Darrow (bass).

Sideways Tracklist