The Steel Wheels

The Steel Wheels, a Virginia-rooted Americana outfit grounded in bluegrass, developed a loyal audience by performing regularly at folk and roots festivals. Their acoustic approach blends warmth and authority with melodic clarity that respects traditional foundations, as displayed in the refined tone of early recordings such as 2010’s Uncloudy Day. Keyboard textures and a measure of pop refinement entered the arrangements on 2017’s Wild as We Came Here, while Over the Trees in 2019 and Sideways in 2024 drew equally from indie rock and alt-country alongside contemporary folk or bluegrass.

Trent Wagler, who handles vocals and guitar, joined forces with Jay Lapp on mandolin, guitar, and vocals to launch the group’s first lineup in 2004; bassist Brian Dickel and fiddler Eric Brubaker joined shortly afterward. Before adopting the Steel Wheels name, the ensemble issued three albums on Dojo—Journal of a Barefoot Soldier in 2005, Blue Heaven in 2006, and Adrienna Valentine in 2008—then released the independent LPs Red Wing and Uncloudy Day in 2010. Those recordings earned seven Independent Music Awards nominations that year, together with Americana radio exposure and festival bookings. The band also conducted a summer “SpokeSongs” tour, cycling through Virginia or Michigan and performing songs along the route.

After two further independent releases, Lay Down, Lay Low in 2012 and No More Rain in 2013, the group signed with Big Ring Records for Leave Some Things Behind in 2015. Sam Kassirer, keyboardist for Josh Ritter, produced Wild as We Came Here in 2017; that same year drummer Kevin Garcia joined the lineup and Jeremy Darrow took over bass from Brian Dickel. Over the Trees arrived in 2019, an eclectic and ambitious set that reached number 32 on the Independent Albums chart.

While confined at home during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, the members invited fans to commission original songs; for a fee, Trent Wagler would compose a piece based on a personal story or tribute, after which the Steel Wheels recorded it remotely. The response filled two albums—Everyone a Song, Vol. One, issued in November 2020, and Everyone a Song, Vol. Two, released a year later. The band later returned to the studio with producer Sam Kassirer for Sideways, a February 2024 collection containing twelve new songs.