Wilderado

Hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Wilderado crafts expansive indie rock that blends soaring vocals and rumbling guitars into an open-road, Americana-inspired sound. The quartet balances rollicking energy with a laid-back vibe and inventive melodies, which helped them cultivate a large following during the late 2010s via relentless touring and multiple EPs and singles that accumulated millions of streams. Their self-titled debut album arrived in 2021, followed by the 2023 single “In Between,” a collaboration with Matt Berninger of the National.

Max Rainer on vocals and guitar and Tyler Wimpee on vocals and guitar first joined forces as co-songwriters during college under the name Bird Dog. By 2016 bassist Colton Dearing and drummer Justin Kila had joined, forming the quartet that issued its debut EP, Misty Shrub, as Wilderado. Later that year the follow-up EP Latigo generated millions of streams and lifted the group’s visibility. This momentum led to support slots on tours with Band of Horses, Lindsey Buckingham & Christine McVie, and Judah & the Lion, while 2017 saw a run of singles that repeated the pattern of strong online engagement. Phil Ek, known for work with Fleet Foxes and Father John Misty, produced the third EP Favors, released in 2018 and later issued in an acoustic edition. The band maintained an active schedule on both sides of the Atlantic and returned in 2019 with the single “Surefire.” Three additional singles—“Take Some Time,” “Revenant,” and “CFS”—appeared in 2020. In 2021 “Mr. Major” served as the lead single ahead of the full-length eponymous album that October. After issuing “Head Right” and five alternate versions of “Surefire,” the group compiled concert recordings from the United States and United Kingdom into Wilderado Live, which surfaced in April 2023. That August they released another single, “In Between,” featuring Matt Berninger of the National, along with an alternate take that includes singer and songwriter Ken Pomeroy.