Wylie standing on horseback

Photo by Ross Hecox, Western Horseman

Wylie Gustafson is an American Original. The gifted singer, songwriter, rancher, horseman, and the world-famous Yahoo!® yodeler leads the musical outfit known as Wylie & the Wild West. As one music writer sums it up: “Forget everything you hate about modern country, this guy is all old school cool without being a tired period piece.”

   

Wylie is a real life cowboy born into a 4th generation ranching family on the empty sprawl of Northern Montana. He celebrates his unique rural perspective as a prolific singer/songwriter with over twenty albums to his credit. Whether playing for a crowd of 50 or 5,000, Wylie’s goal is always the same: “To win a crowd and not be boring!”

   

Since 1989, the Wylie & the Wild West has become internationally known for their captivating presentation of original and traditional music of America and its colorful West. The group got its start on Ronnie Mack’s Barn Dance at the Palomino Club in North Hollywood, California, developing their sound alongside artists such as Dale Watson, Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakum, Rosie Flores and Dave Alvin. Since then, Wylie & the Wild West have played thousands of gigs, delighting audiences around the world with their one-of-a-kind brand of music which includes elements of Cowboy, Traditional Country, Western Swing, Folk and Yodeling. Their resume includes over 50 appearances on the Grand Ole Opry along with other notable venues including the National Folk Festival, the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, The Los Angeles Performing Arts Center, the Bumbershoot Festival, the Stagecoach Festival, Merlefest, the National Cowboy Gathering, and a Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. Add to that a performance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. 

Conan O'Brien and Wylie

Click to open Wylie and Conan

 

If you were a part of the millions of viewers who watched the 2014 Superbowl commercial “God made a Farmer”

by Dodge Trucks you’ll see Wylie with his hard working family doing what they do every day to keep food on America’s tables. His deep rooted Western lifestyle remains the backbone of his art.