The WyoFolk Project, helmed by Jackson area musician Aaron Davis, features 14 songs from 14 Wyoming singer-songwriters. Every song was recorded for the album at Davis’ Three Hearted Recording studio in Hoback, Wyo. The project’s main goal was to serve as a lasting snapshot of Wyoming’s current musical footprint.
Davis aimed for WyoFolk to be a “historical document.”
“That was the number one goal — to have a historical recording in the way that the Lomax family did with early American music,” Davis noted.
Artists from the album are touring the state, taking their songs to Sheridan and Laramie this month. The tour kicked off in Jackson at the Center for the Arts on Tuesday, Sept 19. In advance of the show, two of the featured artists, Alysia Kraft and Jordan Smith, joined us in the KHOL studios to chat about the project and to perform a couple of songs.
Kraft said she is excited to be part of the album with artists that inspired her to become a musician.
“It feels really cool to be included amongst artists who you have grown up listening to,” Kraft beamed.
Wyoming’s iconic landscapes added to the music for Kraft, she said the experience felt tethered to the place where it was recorded.
“It felt like the right setting to record these songs,” Kraft explained.
Smith praised Davis’ producing skills in the recording and complimented him for his tenacity in not just conceiving the project and securing funding for it from the Wyoming Arts Council, but for seeing it through.
“Aaron did a great job of not overproducing any of it, which is kind of like Wyoming. We don’t really overdo things in this state. And I like that,” Smith said.
Kraft hopes the listener feels a sense of connection with the project.
“I always hope that the audience can feel themselves in the songs. Find a space to really sink into the songs and connect with them,” Kraft added.
Listen above for KHOL’s full conversation with and performances by Alysia Kraft and Jordan Smith.
