A month ago, I made up my mind that I was going to write a song about Wyoming. The inspiration was there, the love of subject was there and my writing had finally returned after months of drought. I finished it (proudly) last week just in time for the Artichoke concert.

I wanted this song to be deep, heartfelt and human. I wanted it to really express the beauty within the state and the air that flows through it. With that said, it spoke for itself and I had written three of the four verses before finally hitting a wall. In search of some final inspiration, I went to Wikipedia to gain a little insight on Wyoming and her history.

Above is the song’s debut at Artichoke Music. The lyrics to Wyoming should reflect my love but above all, tell a story and pay tribute to the last good plot of land.

We were scheduled to play at 4pm on the opening day of the 2007 Oyster Ridge Music Festival. Our plan was to leave Salt Lake City at noon in order to give us time to check into our hotel and arrive at the Festival with time to spare. From Salt Lake City, UT to Kemmerer, WY is never more than a two-and-a-half hour drive (but nobody told us of the two hour traffic delay that was ahead). We set out at a standard pace, abiding by the law until we hit the unforeseen traffic that put us well behind pace.

We had an obligation; Tommy was driving the van and knew what needed to be done. We were pushing the limit of the vehicle and well on our way to making up the lost time when we happened upon a State Trooper 13 miles outside of the Kemmerer city limits. The officer was kind, understanding of our situation but obligated to teach us a lesson. As you can see, he quickly issued us a ticket (as not to delay us any further) and set us on our way. We were sure to signal as we re-entered traffic that day and continued with haste as we entered Kemmerer. We pulled up in a daze, unloaded our equipment directly onto the stage and started our Friday set slightly winded but conveniently on time.

PS. 79 in a 65 was a very generous white lie (courtesy of the State Trooper) to avoid the ticket posting on Tommy’s long term driving record.

A very talented Mr. Paul Wardwell is the official videographer for the Oyster Ridge Music Festival and he just sent me a link to his most recent video compilation for the 2007 festival. Click here or on the image above to see the full video recap on YouTube! Lander is a pretty minimal part of the entire video but you’ll get a great idea for the vibe of the festival and the reason we make the road trip every summer to Kemmerer. Enjoy!!!

Sifting through the pictures from my trip to Wyoming, I found this beautiful shot of the Popo Agie River. The Popo Agie is a small river that runs through the middle of Lander, WY and I had the opportunity to wade my feet in the water and sit on the shore like I use to as a child. This time, I repeated the lyrics of my song Popo Agie to myself while I sat in the place of its inspiration. I guess I wanted to relive the days and see how accurate my words were in relation to the actual. See for yourself:

POPO AGIE
by tyler stenson

I can feel the Lander wind,
Coming up beneath me again.
But to the north there are billionaires
That lay between the millionaires and
Their buildings stretch to touch the sky
In the bigger world on the other side of the middle-
of Popo Agie.

Running down the crooked miles,
I could feel the muscles tire.
I could bend my tongue and sing
The words of Pioneers
(They’re coming up between my teeth).
And all at once their melodies
Turn to fields of industry and
The California air to black
So the movie stars are moving back to the middle-
to Popo Agie.

These are places,
Western spaces and
I go back there just to taste it.
Feel a warm night,
Mixed with fireflies
Where I can feel the Lander wind
Coming up beneath me again.

POPO AGIE live at ORMF 2006 (the 2007 recording is on the way!)

We were really excited to be offered two days at this year’s Oyster Ridge Music Festival in Kemmerer, WY. Last year we debuted on a Sunday afternoon but this year we were honored to be placed on Friday and Saturday’s stage. We didn’t want our two sets to be redundant, so we purposefully saved a lot of our best material for the second day of the festival. Friday was fun but the set list on Saturday was strong all the way through and filled with the best we had to offer. Take a look at the image above… this is the actual set list that we crafted in the minutes leading up to our second performance at ORMF 2007.

Another year has passed us by and another appearance at the Oyster Ridge Music Festival is under our belt. The folks in Kemmerer, WY really know how to host a festival and we’re always honored to be a part of it. Thank you to the festival crew and coordinators for letting us participate in the event and thank you to those that danced and watched our Friday and Saturday sets. We had a ton of fun and we sincerely look forward to next year’s appearance!

It looks to be a busy summer for Lander music! We’ll be taking a road trip into the great plains of Utah and Wyoming later this month, performing for a local Autism Fundraiser, appearing on television and making a few performance stops along the way. We’re very excited to get on the road and spread the word of Lander across middle America and finish strong at the Oyster Ridge Music Festival in Kemmerer, WY. I hope you’ll check out the details below and we’ll hope to see you in the front row!

JULY 21 Lake Oswego Farmer’s Market tyler solo 9:00am
JULY 22 Kennedy School Autism Fundraiser 2:00pm
JULY 25 Salt Lake City (TBA)
JULY 26 KUTV Morning News Salt Lake City, UT 5am
JULY 26 Tahitian Noni International Provo, UT 7:00pm
JULY 27 Oyster Ridge Music Festival Kemmerer, WY 4:00pm
JULY 28 Oyster Ridge Music Festival Kemmerer, WY 4:00pm
AUG 02 Mississippi Studios Songwriters in the Round tyler solo 8:00

I’ve just returned from my trip to Wyoming and I’m truly inspired- I’m amazed at what a secluded mountain lake can do for the soul and for writer’s block. I can’t say that I have a hundred new songs to share with you but it was a great chance to clear my head and piece together a few lines that have had me puzzled for months. Now in Portland, I’ll be sinking back into reality over the next few weeks and sorting my thoughts onto paper just in time for Lander’s return to the Oyster Ridge Music Festival in Kemmerer, WY. Check out the show schedule to the right and be sure to come listen to my new thoughts as they appear in song.

As of this morning, I’ll be taking a road trip toward Wyoming to find a much needed vacation. The plan is to go camping in the Western Mountains for four days with my dad and four brothers, then spend the 4th of July in Lander, WY with the rest of my family. This will be an extremely nestalgic trip for me and a chance to breathe in the scenery and experiences. Much of my writing reflects my childhood in Wyoming and my experiences in the West. I’m excited to revisit my roots and gather some more material. Until then, please enjoy these songs about Wyoming:

Popo Agie (a small river that runs through Lander)

Babysitting the Cowboy (a song about a younger me in Lander, WY)

Old Things (I remember living there… remember me?)

The great people at the Oyster Ridge Music Festival in Kemmer WY just posted a great festival documentary on youtube.com. Paul Wardwell put together a nice video that captures the spirit of the Festival and the people involved. Go to youtube.com to check out the 3 part documentary- Lander made an appearance so I wanted to post this to show everyone (short but sweet). We were honored to play the show in 2006 and we look forward to our next appearance in 2007. Enjoy the video and see you at next year’s Oyster Ridge Music Festival!

Here are two recordings from our show at the ORMF:

Popo Agie

Rome Tomorrow - acoustic