Colter Wall Releases New Song to Coincide with the “Calgary Round-Up”
Canadian country folk artist and formidable singer Colter Wall has just released a new song as the first taste from an upcoming album. Called “Calgary Round-Up,” it’s an old song from early Canadian cowboy singer and yodeler Wilf Carter. Colter Wall has been promising to live crowds recently that his next record will be filled with old tunes forgotten in the modern world, and he delivers with this song. He’s been playing “Calgary Round-Up” in concert recently, and its release coincides with the opening of the actual Calgary Round-Up—known today as the Calgary Stampede—which started its annual festivities June 6th.
“It’s the largest outdoor rodeo in the world, but don’t tell anyone in Cheyenne that, ’cause they’ll get really mad,” Wall said introducing the song recently.
Colter Wall captivates audiences by evoking the ghosts of folk and country’s past with his haunting voice and primitive style. Along with his original tunes, Wall is about the perfect character to carry tunes like “Calgary Round-Up” to a new generation of ears. Little imagination is needed to hear the song like you would have heard it in the past when Colter sings.
Wilf Carter is considered the Father of Canadian Country Music, and opened the door for later Canadian performers such as Hank Snow to have prominent careers in both Canada and the United States. When Wilf Carter performed in the United States, he went by the nickname Montana Slim, and was well-renown in the States for his unique echo-style or three-in-one yodel. A member of both the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, he began performing in the early 1930’s after being kicked out of his house by his Baptist minister father at the age of 15.
Wilf Carter worked as a lumberjack, and was a train hobo, playing guitar for money when he could before settling in Calgary as a cowboy. Calgary is where Wilf Carter found a home for his music, and began performing at the Calgary Round-Up, and on trains and stages up and down the Canadian Rockies. The Calgary Round-Up was first founded in 1886, and Wilf would regularly perform at the event. He served as the Grand Marshall in 1979.
No word on when the new Colter Wall record will be released, or any further details, though rumors have it expected some time this fall. Colter is currently on tour, and has some big festival performances lined up, including the Red Wing Music Festival on July 14th, Newport Folk July 28th, Pickathon outside of Portland August 3rd and 4th, and Cody Jink’s Loud and Heavy Fest on August 18th.
BenBen
July 7, 2018 @ 9:13 am
Good stuff
ShadeGrown
July 7, 2018 @ 9:48 am
Went and bought it immediately. One of these years I swear I’ll make it to Pickathon
Corncaster
July 7, 2018 @ 10:19 am
Hard to argue with this.
Kaw-Liga
July 7, 2018 @ 10:26 am
Those Kanooks really know how to spin that north country folk.
Black Boots
July 7, 2018 @ 10:53 am
Love this dude
Mark
July 7, 2018 @ 11:42 am
nice rendition
good write up on Wilf Carter.
Wilf seems to have had the wanderlust. Interesting man.
Ulysses McCaskill
July 7, 2018 @ 12:36 pm
If this tune and all the others he’s been playing live are any indication, this record’s gonna be a killer. True western music if I’ve ever heard it.
Kevin Smith
July 8, 2018 @ 1:50 pm
Yeah good point. I’ve been of the opinion that Colter is mostly a folk musician, based on seeing him live and noticing his style.
This song though, is all old time cowboy ballad sounding, and with the steel guitar, it really does start to make a case for his relevance in the country western universe. I think he absolutely should do more of this sound with the western subject matter. His voice, strange as it is, seems to fit the style. Definitely curious about the next album.
Kent
July 9, 2018 @ 1:46 pm
To me he sounds a little like Johnny Cash.
ScottG
July 7, 2018 @ 12:39 pm
I saw him play this live a couple months ago and he mentioned then his new album was done and he was “hoping” for September. I could have been reading into it but he seemed moderately frustrated by that. He’s doing well though, as the year previous I saw him at a dive bar as an opener and this last time he sold out a decent sized venue as the headliner. Great show and cool song IMO.
Trigger
July 7, 2018 @ 3:06 pm
All artists want to get music out as soon as it’s done. But this is often bad business. Best to get all of your ducks in a row, formulate a plan, make sure you release it on a day a bunch of other albums aren’t being released, and give yourself every opportunity to succeed. Let the business people do their job.
Messer
July 8, 2018 @ 10:47 am
Isn’t letting the business people do their job what has turned country music into what it is today?
Trigger
July 8, 2018 @ 4:34 pm
Yeah, but in the case of someone like Colter Wall, he resides very much in the independent world. Thirty Tigers is his record label, he’s booked by Paradigm. The best artists make notoriously bad business people. Put the aces in their places, and let them do their worst. As long as they’re trustworthy, this usually works out better. Usually when you hear a great artist and wonder what their career hasn’t taken off, it’s often because they have no team of professionals. And nothing is more important then getting all of your ducks in a row before releasing an album.
Kent
July 9, 2018 @ 1:48 pm
Yes that’s what FAK did after they got signed to Columbia. They told them they wanted full control over the music and that they (Columbia and their manager) could take care of the rest. Like tour schedule, booking venues, promotion etc.
And thus far it’s working well for them. But that of course also mean that they have to following these “promotion plans” like playing at radio stations and doing, at times, boring interviews and stuff like that. which on the downside means that their label and manager are ” in some sense “controlling” part their life. But that applies more or less to everyone that has a job of some kind.
Chandler Jansen
July 7, 2018 @ 12:55 pm
Hello Trigger. I’ve been wanting to write something to you for a while because I check your website daily. Your website has educated me very much and you have introduced me to some awesome new traditional country singers such as Joshua Hedley, Strugill Simpson, Zephaniah Ohora, Teea Goans, Mike And the Moonpies, Tyler Childers, Colter Wall, Jamey Johnson and Margo Price. I wholeheartedly agree with your stance on the modern pop country and I believe you are doing the right thing to credit these “underground” singers that radio will not play. I’m only 14 but I love the traditional/classic country music. I don’t like all the criticism that this site receives from the other comments because you are doing exactly what should be done to keep our music alive.
Trigger
July 7, 2018 @ 3:02 pm
Thanks for reading Chandler. I’m glad you found the site!
Chandler
July 7, 2018 @ 5:40 pm
You are very welcome!
Benny Lee
July 7, 2018 @ 7:17 pm
Every time I think I couldn’t like this kid’s music any more than I already do, he goes and does something like this!
IMO the best, most distinct male voice in music today, and his musical choices (which were great to begin with) keep getting better all the time.
Canuck
July 7, 2018 @ 7:40 pm
Thank God there’s better music coming out of the Canadian country music scene such as this guy. It’s a mix of American country music and turds like Dean Brody, the Brad Paisley Lite of the Canadian scene, with his gimmicky songs. Nice to hear some good stuff for a change.
Clay
July 7, 2018 @ 9:16 pm
Saw Colter open up for Cody Jinks at Whitewater tonight, put on a solid show but seems visually frustrated afterwards. Just gave the fans a thanks and went walking out the back alone quickly. Maybe he wanted more of a set time. Also Cody was wearing sunglasses probably to offset the vertigo from 2 weeks ago. Solid concert all the way around.
Glenn
July 8, 2018 @ 3:56 am
The Calgary Stampede is an excellent incubator of great country artists and a great place to see new artists that you might not know about yet. With several stages going all the time, it’s like a music festival along with the chuckwagon races and rodeo for those times when you want something else. I went to the Stampede for many years, and fondly recall hearing artists like Gil Grand, the Rankin Family, Farmer’s Daughter, and Rhodes & Marshall, some of whom I had never heard of in the US but were excellent artists and I loaded up with their CD’s while in Canada.
King Honky Of Crackershire
July 8, 2018 @ 5:31 am
I wonder if it will cause long term damage to his vocal chords to sing in that voice. It’s an interesting method, to sing in a voice entirely different than the one you speak with. I can’t say it doesn’t sound cool, though.
Ulysses McCaskille
July 8, 2018 @ 2:42 pm
Brilliantly crafted backhanded compliment. Bravo Honk.
Dirt Road Derek
July 8, 2018 @ 6:42 pm
There’s nothing remotely detrimental to his voice about this vocal style. It’s not like he’s screaming like George Corpsegrinder Fisher. He’s just utilizing his lower range, like thousands of vocalists before him. If anything he’s strengthening his voice making use of his full range.
Ulysses McCaskill
July 8, 2018 @ 7:48 pm
Honky’s just being negative because he’s a contrarian and has to invent problems where there aren’t any.
Glenn
July 9, 2018 @ 3:51 am
I can understand why Colter’s voice could be considered by some to be an “acquired taste”. As with nearly all artists, a distinct vocal style and inflection is part of their identity as someone you can recognize within hearing just a few notes of a song, and this guy is definitely one of those. He sounds like he is singing with a big wad of chaw in his mouth, making some of his words difficult to understand, while his speaking voice is perfectly normal. I have no problems with his vocal style, his songs and guitar chops take me past that, but I can very well understand why some people might find it odd.
King Honky Of Crackershire
July 9, 2018 @ 2:33 pm
I think his singing voice sounds cool. I just think it sounds like he sort of created a voice to sing with, and that he sounds totally different when he talks.
King Honky Of Crackershire
July 9, 2018 @ 3:34 am
I hope you’re right, Derek. I’ve often heard otherwise.
Dirt Road Derek
July 9, 2018 @ 7:03 am
I have 35 years of experience as a recording and touring vocalist, for genres ranging from country to hard rock to death metal. Even some of the most brutal sounding vocal styles can be done without damaging the vocal chords as long as you use the proper technique. What Colter is doing with his voice is harmless, and just a testament to his impressive vocal range. The fact that his speaking voice differs from his singing voice doesn’t is irrelevant. My singing voice has never sounded exactly like my speaking voice, regardless of what genre or vocal style I’ve done, and this is typical of many vocalists.
Dirt Road Derek
July 8, 2018 @ 6:36 pm
Such a great voice, and a great song 🙂