The Wilder Blue

“There is music. And then there is The Wilder Blue, who feel so transcendent, they’re in a category all of their own.” —Saving Country Music

 

The Wilder Blue began in 2019 when Zane Williams, already a seasoned troubadour with seven solo albums under his belt, pulled together a select group of multi-talented musicians from the Texas music scene. Their debut album Hill Country (2020) and its follow-up The Wilder Blue (2022) garnered comparisons to early Eagles and ’80s-era Alabama by interweaving five-part harmonies with bluegrassy arrangements of folk-rock and country songs.

 

Twenty years before he was fronting a break-out band, Zane Williams was a solo coffeehouse performer and aspiring songwriter in Nashville. After moving back to his native Texas in 2008 he eventually became a dancehall staple and respected songwriter with cuts by the likes of Pat Green, Kevin Fowler, and Cody Johnson. To the surprise of his fans (and the bemusement of his booking agent), Zane announced the formation of the new group in 2019 by soliciting band names from his fans and promising lifetime free tickets to anyone whose suggestion was picked. (The winning name “Hill Country” had to be changed just after the release of their first album due to a trademark conflict, but the winner is still on the guest list for life!)

 

Multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter Andy Rogers was the only member of Zane’s former band to join the new group. Born and raised in Lebanon, TN, Rogers learned bluegrass chops from an early age and excelled on bass, banjo, dobro, guitar, and just about anything with strings. Rogers moved to Denton, TX in 2004 to study jazz bass at the University of North Texas and made a long-term home in the eclectic arts community he found there. Playing in a series of rock and country gigs eventually led him to join the Zane Williams band on bass and vocals in 2016.

 

Looking over the Texas music scene for likely bandmates, Williams sent a text to a singer-songwriter and lead guitar player whose voice had caught his ear a few years before on local radio. Paul Eason was ensconced at the time in a comfortable guitar gig with Texas staple Kevin Fowler but was immediately intrigued by the notion of joining forces. Originally from Houston, TX but living at the time in San Antonio, Eason fronted various bands beginning in his teens and released two solo albums in the early 2000s before joining the Fowler band full time. A third solo album followed in 2016, which showcased his distinctive lead vocals, southwestern aesthetics, and

impeccable guitar playing.

 

Eason, in turn, vividly recalled meeting a singing drummer named Lyndon Hughes who had been with the Roger Creager band. Eason and Williams paid a visit to the studio in the Woodlands, TX where Hughes was working as an engineer, producer, drummer, and vocalist. Singing together that day on a new song Williams had written called “Dixie Darlin’,” the three realized they were onto something special. Hughes, a Houston native, brought a wide range of skills to the new band. His effortless harmony vocals, his versatile drumming, and his ears as an engineer and producer would end up having a major impact on shaping the sound of the band.