A new album from the WyoFolk Project is out today, featuring over a dozen songwriters from across the Cowboy State.
The musicians recorded previously unreleased tracks in a cabin in Hoback thanks to funding from the Wyoming Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
“This is really kind of a dream project,” said Aaron Davis, the Hoback-based musician who orchestrated the project.
Davis, a frontman of local bands Screen Door Porch and Aaron Davis & The Mystery Machine, has organized tours with other musicians for a decade through the WYOmericana Caravan.
This time, he said he wanted to produce something that’s recorded instead.
Aaron Davis & The Mystery Machine work the crowd into a frenzy during Treefort Music Festival in Boise. (Jack Catlin/KHOL)
“All of these songwriters are not trying to produce a product that’s going to be commercially viable,” Davis said. “They’re trying to produce something that they can be proud of, so that’s the bottom line for this project. It’s just coming from the heart.”
The 14 musicians featured on the album include Teton County locals Michael Batdorf, Isaac Hayden and Inland Isle.
Davis said he hopes this is just the start for the WyoFolk Project, listing at least 70 artists around the state he wants to include on future albums.
“Everybody brings a different vision,” he said. “I can honestly say everybody was so open and easy to work with, that it made the creative process so smooth and fun.”
The album is now streaming, with physical CDs available for purchase online.
KHOL Music Director Jack Catlin contributed to this story.
