Floating down Wilson, Wyoming’s Fish Creek in 2021, Walker Young & Ben Musser formed an immediate musical connection. Since that fateful day, they’ve performed as a harmonizing soul and country duo with Young on accordion and keys and Musser on guitars and drums. Young & Musser performances this past year have included Music on Main in Victor, Idaho, and The Horseshoe Music Festival presented by Duane and Lisa Betts in Jackson.
When the two established musicians started playing together, they realized they shared a mutual love for old soul, country, rock and roll, boogie-woogie, and R&B music. The thing that connected them most, however, was the combination of their voices.
“We found that singing together, our voices blend well. We want to sing together as much as possible,” Musser said. “We’ll add harmony parts on a cover song, where there’s previously none. So, yeah, singing is our thing.”
This coming Father’s Day, Sunday, June 16, Young & Musser are the featured performers at Wilson Advocacy’s “I Love Wilson Jubilee,” celebrating all things Wilson, Wyoming. Wilson Advocacy is a small group of volunteers “dedicated to maintaining a small-town, friendly atmosphere where people smile instead of frown.”
The free event will commemorate the renovated Wetlands Boardwalk, the new Teton Raptor Center campus, numerous Wilson businesses, and the brand new Wilson to Stilson Pathway which runs along the south side of Wyoming Highway 22 between Stilson Ranch and the town of Wilson, Wyoming.
“It’s changed our lives and has changed our kids’ lives for the better,” Musser beamed about the pathway. “All of a sudden, everybody’s connected over in Wilson, you see people using it all the time.”
Billed as “A Strolling, Rolling Community Celebration,” the “I Love Wilson Jubilee” will mark the first time the town of Wilson has been officially celebrated since the centennial of the town’s founding in 1989.
The “open house block party” kicks off at 2 p.m. and includes a Jubilee scavenger hunt for kids, a community art project at Old Wilson Schoolhouse Community Center, numerous event-only discounts and deals at local businesses, and a concert at Owen Bircher Park from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The Young & Musser performance will be a specially-themed set of original songs, choice covers, and a couple more surprises featuring accordion, guitar, keys, percussion, and the duo’s harmonizing vocals.
What makes the event and Young & Musser’s performance all the more special is that it lands on Father’s Day.
“Anybody that has kids knows how important your kids are to you, and hopefully you are to your kids. And so I think it’s a good time to celebrate fathers,” Young said. “There’s nothing I’d rather do on Father’s Day than be around my family and get to play music with Walker,” Musser continued. “And to be around other fathers who are appreciative and happy to be celebrated for a day – it’s going to be a lovely time.”
Listen above for KHOL’s full conversation with and performances by Young & Musser.
