Jay William Miller | Keeping Southern Roots & Bluegrass Traditions Alive

Jay William Miller is one of the most promising young voices emerging from the modern Americana, bluegrass, and country music scene. Armed with a distinctive blend of traditional Appalachian roots, Southern storytelling, and contemporary country influences, Miller has quickly built a reputation as a captivating performer and songwriter whose music feels both timeless and fresh.

Known for his signature long hair, cowboy hat, and banjo-driven sound, Miller delivers a powerful combination of soulful vocals, authentic songwriting, and energetic live performances. His music draws inspiration from the rich traditions of bluegrass and folk while incorporating elements of country, Americana, and Southern rock, creating a sound uniquely his own.

A multi-instrumentalist and accomplished performer, Miller has earned attention for his ability to connect with audiences through honest lyrics that explore themes of family, faith, hard work, heartbreak, and life on the road. Whether performing solo or with a full band, he brings an undeniable authenticity to the stage that resonates with fans of traditional and contemporary roots music alike.

As his fan base continues to grow, Jay William Miller has become a sought-after performer at festivals, songwriter showcases, and live music venues throughout the country. His dedication to preserving the storytelling tradition while forging his own artistic path has positioned him as one of the exciting young artists helping carry American roots music into the next generation.

When he's not on stage, Miller remains committed to honing his craft as a songwriter, drawing inspiration from real-life experiences and the people he meets along the way. His passion for music, combined with his respect for the traditions that shaped him, continues to fuel a career that is steadily gaining momentum.

From banjo-driven roots to heartfelt storytelling, Jay William Miller represents the next generation of artists keeping authentic American music alive while making it unmistakably their own.

MORE ABOUT JAY WILLIAM MILLER:
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🎵 In This Episode:
• Jay William Miller interview
• Americana Music
• Outlaw Country
• Treefort Music Fest
• Muti Instrumentalist 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:20

Okay, so you can head on the stove when you feel it all called your face. Wanna call you display? And you want me back home baby I can die when I see high when I kiddy all this free steady look in me cut me like the canyons Cowboys old companion on me I know God made for me down running like the Western wind. We have to be in your arms again ain't no place.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Welcome to the podcast, Mr. J. William Miller. Thanks for joining us. Absolutely. Thanks for having me. Yeah, so we're in Boise at the Tree Fort Music Fest. Uh and you you're a local guy. You live here in Boise. Um but how so how many years have you played this fest?

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Uh I think uh I want to say this is three, probably. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

Cool. Caught your set last night, part of it, and it was fantastic. You are a hell of a banjo player, besides a guitar player. I got a kick out of that. That was a lot of fun watching you play the play the banjo. Tell me about that song you just played for us.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

Uh it's called I'd have Wildflower. Um I think a lot of people, even like some girlfriends that I've had, thought that I wrote it about them. Uh it's like a love song. Um and I think it's it was more birthed out of like um being on the road with a lot of the dudes that I uh tour with, and um I'm not married in um but some of them are married or in long-term relationships, and like it's such a strain. And so I've listened to uh The Heartache, but also you know, guys getting cussed out. Right, right. You know, meeting Tommy last night. Exactly. Right, right, right. So uh yeah, so that I mean uh I was just like, man, uh I hope that I can find somebody one day that's like worth it uh or like you know that could you know we could make this happen like that.

SPEAKER_01 3:24

You know, it's never gonna be easy, but it's like no, it no matter what you do, uh to be honest with you, Jay, when you travel um for for a living for work, it's always hard. You know, uh Miss Shanda and I have been married forty-four years, we've raised four kids. Um but you know, it was hard because she got left home with the kids and and I was out on the road and you know, trying to make a living and and not as a musician, but um, you know, in sales and marketing and and you know, did a lot of trade shows over the years and so you know we'd be gone for and and there were certain times of the years when we traveled extensively. You know, we might be home for a weekend and then gone again for another week or two. And so it's it's it's hard. And as a musician, like you said, you're not in that position, but uh someday you hope to be and you you hope to find somebody who can put up with it. You know, we just got done interviewing Andy Crosby and his wife Mindy sat here in the background, which is where they end up spending most of the time, right? In the background. Mine's behind mine's behind the camera. She's too camera shy. So yeah. But uh anyway, but a beautiful song. I love that. I love that. Yeah, it's uh really pretty.

SPEAKER_00 4:31

I've got I think I've got out like a just an acoustic version that's really similar to what I just played. But uh I'm in the studio working on a record now, and that song will be on it with the full band.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

Oh, cool. Cool. So that's gonna be your first album.

SPEAKER_00 4:43

Full record, yeah. First full record. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:46

So um, and there your EPs are on like Spotify and Apple and wherever, all streaming. All the places. Yeah. You got a website? Mm-hmm. Yeah, just jwilliamiller.com. Cool. Okay. Um, well, we want to make sure everybody knows where to go find it. So let's talk about your your music career. Did did you grow up here in Boise?

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Yeah, born and raised here. Um and kind of kind of grew up uh around like the edge of town, closer to Meridian. Okay. So my mom's or so my dad's family is from northern Montana uh or north uh western Montana, and my mom's family is from eastern Oregon. Uh Granching family. So Okay. Okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:25

So where we're at in uh uh northwestern Montana?

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Uh around like Whitefish, Calispell, Hungry Horses. Beautiful country.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

That is so pretty. We we were just talking about the Songwriter Festival. Whitefish, um, we've been the last two years to Whitefish Songwriter Festival. Um and uh actually last year, and they've asked us again this year, we get to we get to interview some of the artists during the festival on uh on uh Saturday and Sunday, they have a morning show called Coffee and Conversation. So it's kind of like this. We just sit in BS and they play some music, but we're it's it's we have an audience and so we get to have some audience interaction and it's it's cool. But we love whitefish, it's so pretty. Yeah, yeah, such a pretty place.

SPEAKER_00 6:08

Yeah, I played uh the Great Northern Bar up there at the end of the year. Yes, yeah, yeah. Yeah, been in there.

SPEAKER_01 6:13

Yeah, yeah. We did some interviews at the Great Northern, not this past year, but the year before. So we did uh the coffee and conversation at Slowburn Records. I don't know if you saw that, it's right, kind of just on the back side of uh the Great Northern. Yeah, so yeah. Cool town. Yeah, I love that place. So uh any musicians in the family? Mom, dad, grandpa?

SPEAKER_00 6:34

Uh I'm the only one. My brother's played in a couple like punk bands. Um and so and he's always like he's always asking to come on tour with me too. And um and uh later this year we might make that happen, but sure.

SPEAKER_01 6:47

So younger brother, older brother?

SPEAKER_00 6:49

I got two younger brothers. Yeah, one of them doesn't really do any music, and the other one just kind of does a little bit of bug.

SPEAKER_01 6:53

Okay. Cool. Well, so where do you think the music influence came from? You just you you just got bit by that bug at some point and I think so. I mean uh I grew up uh with I think a lot of like classic rock and like uh 90s country kind of um which are two, I don't know, different Yeah, very different worlds, but yeah, but there's some similarities, and I don't care what anybody says, you know, you I I listen I grew up in the 70s, probably the same age as your parents, uh or close to and uh you know grew up in the 70s, listened to the Eagles in America and and and and those and uh and credence, those bands were more country than today's country is, I think.

SPEAKER_00 7:36

I would totally agree with you. Yeah, we were I was just talking with somebody's the other night about like we need to like do like a Eagles cover band or something, or you know, like go through some of these deep tracks that you know people have never really even heard.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Well, there's lots of there if they haven't really explored and know the Eagles, their their catalog is so vast and so deep and and and has so many different influences. You know, Don Hanley had but the problem with doing anything Eagles-wise is they're legal, they like to tie people up legally. That's the I played a I played, I don't play very good, but I played uh a Hotel California and posted it, shared it on a social media, and they shut it down. Yeah, so so we and we get copyright checked on everything we do. So if you've got a copyright on that song you played, it'll pop up, but if you allow it, then no problem. But but you know, we we we run into that occasionally, you know. So because we're a music podcast, that's what our podcast is about, music. And so we want to share, and and so when we do posts, we like to you know lead in with some live music or music, and that's not always well received. So but uh anyway, so um uh what what was your big influence? You said kind of traditional rock, classic rock, 70s rock, and then some 90s country. So who what really influenced your music?

SPEAKER_00 9:01

Um I think uh I mean I spent so I've I've been an audio engineer a while, so um I don't know, I think just throughout the years uh I I got really into like kind of the indie scene, and then I'm well, so there's probably a period in my life where you know you're a kid growing up on the way to football games or driving out to work or family's ranch over in Oregon, um, you know, like you know, you're listening to whatever your parents put on the card. Right. Uh and then you graduate high school and you're like, I want to be nothing like them. Right, right. And so I um really into hip hop and super into hip hop still, but like a a lot into like the indie wave, you know, the bony veyer kind of um vibe that was um in the mid-2000s, I guess. And then uh and then you get older and you kind of realize I guess I am kinda like my parents. And I'm a little and I went back to that like classic rock and and 90s country, but then also but also like I think mixed in um to that was like all the indie artists that I'd listened to over the years too. Sure. Um I my favorite playlist is the indigo playlist on Spotify. Okay. You know, just a lot you'll have a song that like really doesn't sound country at all on there, but then or then you'll have like um you know, maybe like Lucas Nelson covering his father or something. Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

It's just very love Lucas Nelson. We we've seen Lucas live uh handful, three, four times. Um uh great artist. He's gonna be in uh at uh Targue Fest in July in Griggs. Uh yeah. So we're not very far from there, right? So we're hoping to get to get over to that. And uh him and Ryan Bingham are both playing. Oh, that's a great line. Yeah, yeah. So but um Today's episode of Musical Miles Podcast is brought to you by Roper Apparel and Footwear. Whether you're chasing songs, loading gear, or standing front row at a live show, Roper blends Western tradition with modern comfort and style, built tough, worn proud, and ready for every mile. Roper, wear the west. Anyway, what uh so specifically on the on the rock side, classic rock. What what really spoke to you? What did you really glum onto?

SPEAKER_00 11:12

I love ballads. Um I think one of the first songs I ever learned playing guitar was um Oh, I think it's Poison. Um I cannot think of the name of it right now. Um gosh. Every Russ has a thorn. Oh yeah, oh yeah. Is that poison? Yes, yeah, yes, yeah. Uh and then uh when I like where and I graduated high school, actually, they do this um this Boise's music festival here, which we played a number of years back. The first time they ever did it was like kind of this unlike tamed chaos of a Ranger and Brett Michael's uh liner. Oh really? Yeah, like but like those kind of like really, you know, like kind of ballads uh stuff like that really made a mark on and then 90s country.

SPEAKER_01 11:59

What do you what do you lean towards?

SPEAKER_00 12:00

What do you know that it like really comes out? Um I listen I remember listening to a lot of like um of uh God I want to say Toby Keith, I don't even know if that counts as nineties.

SPEAKER_01 12:13

Uh yeah uh but then you get late 80s when he kind of came on the scene. Yeah. Um but but yeah, nine early nineties and then throughout the nineties he was a he was a force to be reckoned with for sure.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Um I think it's in other songs and oh you got Brad Paisley, you got Oh man, yeah. Brad Paisley's probably my favorite guitar player of all time, too.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

What a guitar player. Yeah, I could listen to for years. Yeah, loved love his guitar playing. Um uh if I'm gonna pick a guitar player though, me personally, Stevie Ravon was pretty tough to beat, right? Uh Clapton's pretty amazing. I mean, there's so many good ones. Jeff Crosby's no slouch. Oh, yeah. For an Idaho boy, right? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:54

I mean, I I yeah, I was at a show last night. Yeah. I think works. Yeah, it was last night.

SPEAKER_01 13:00

We didn't make it because it was at midnight. But yeah. Uh yeah, he's so talented. And and there's a guy who loves what he does. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Well, I think everybody does. You know, I I your your your your set was pretty high energy. I got a kick out of you guys. You you you you had fun up there on stage.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I like to. Like uh I started playing solo and like honestly, I'd written a lot of really sad songs.

SPEAKER_01 13:26

You said that last night, and you said that you're you're notorious for writing sad songs.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Yeah, I think those first couple years of playing were kind of depressing when the band came around. Like people were like, Oh, I love this music, but it kind of kind of puts me in a down mood sometimes. Like, uh, that's fair. So But you know what?

SPEAKER_01 13:43

A good ballad is you know, they gotta be sad, right? To be a good ballad.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

Yeah, I think uh I I think one of our merch items, like we have a sticker that's like sad boys that like to party. And and like the boys are all like they they feel the same way, but like yeah, we just kind of uh I always say during shows, I'm like, this song is gonna start off really slow, but I promise you, like we deal with our problems with rock and roll and a beard too. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

There you go. You build and kind of get over that, right? Right. Well, cool. Well, um, so is there a songwriter that really really uh spoke to you, somebody that you you really like to follow or um have learned a lot from?

SPEAKER_00 14:25

Um in like the indie world, this guy Noah Gunderson.

SPEAKER_01 14:29

Uh you're the second guy. Well, Andy mentioned Noah Gunderson. Andy would say Noah Gunderson.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Yeah. Uh he's like I've I've listened to him uh talk about writing a lot. I've had you know I've had the chance to sit down with him a few times and talk about writing and stuff. And um and yeah, like he's you know, just like a lot of you know, as far as like crafting words together and building a story, and um I don't know. I think I think like building a song that's not like just easily understood right away, but like it tells the story through the music too.

SPEAKER_01 14:58

So let me ask you, so because I love the songwriting process, not that I'm a songwriter, but I so do you when you do that, do you do you start with the storyline first? Do you start with the title first, you start with the music first? How do you st or or is it just a pand?

SPEAKER_00 15:16

I start with a feeling. Um so like I think so that's like I started writing music because I had like I'd gone through a couple years of really just tragedy and needed an outlet. Um and around 2020 is when I really like just put my head down and started writing. Sure. Because I had all that extra time on my hands like the rest of us. Yeah. And uh and so I took those feelings and put them into songs, and that's just kind of even uh started with sad songs, but like now with love songs, you know, it's like it was you know, the feeling of like um like Ida Wildflower was like you know, a feeling of um like longing love kind of song. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

Cool. So you start with a feeling and then and then what comes? I mean, you do you just do you journal? Do you just make notes on your phone? How do you do that?

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Do you handwrite stuff? Uh sometimes I I I found my I would like to handwrite. I think it's way more aesthetically cool to like sit and pen a song down. Yeah. Um, I think like when you're if you're like out traveling on the road trying to make this thing happen, like you just don't have as much time. And then and like so honestly, a lot of times I'll like be driving, I'll have an idea and I'll like like put it in a voice memo and then come back to that. So I've got all these random voice memos of little things and um Do you always do you always remember what the hell was I thinking?

SPEAKER_01 16:41

Or does that come to you sometimes like that? Or absolutely forget it if I don't. What was I thinking there? You know, and and I don't know about you, but you know, like all you'll have that that moment between sleep and awake, that you have those moments of consciousness that you're like, oh that's a great idea. That's a that's a great song title.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

Or that's do you have those? Oh yeah. I mean there's I there was like a moment I think a few weeks ago where I like uh was just slow to get up and then uh had an idea for a song, and I was like, oh I've gotta go like put this down right now or it's or it's gone. Like forever.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

So do you do you uh when so when you pick up the guitar, like you're sitting there holding the guitar, like I I do, and I'm not and once again I'm not a guitar player and not a s not a soccer. But but I know you're pretty damn good, way better than I am. But I I I just like to just I call it noodling, you know, just play notes and and see if there's something that fits. Because I really don't know music theory, I don't know I don't know a lot about the guitar, I just know I love guitars and I love the sounds that they make. Yeah, and I'm so enthralled. I'd love to watch someone else play and watch their finger work, whether it's whether it's and I'm like, how do they make that sound? How do you how do you make that note ring out? Yeah and I'm missing that. Where is that how how am I missing it? So so I'm learning, I'm I I I I learn things by watching, yeah. And but my question to you would be, are you sitting there going and you just noodling and then you go, oh, that's a good little riff for that song I have, that idea. Is that how that happens for you?

SPEAKER_00 18:19

Yeah, I think I try to stick to like, you know, you take like a um a chord progression and figure out kind of what flows together, get a little creative. I'm I wouldn't say I'm great at music theory, but I'm I am really like now that this is becoming a more serious part of my life, I sure uh, you know, I'm trying to get better work on it, work on myself. Actually, it was really funny. So we played our set yesterday. Um, I had a music theory teacher in high school. Uh I was awful at it. Like I failed the class. But he comes to all of our shows. The teacher, uh uh, yeah, Derek Brunier. He was uh Was he at the show yet? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it was like I uh I love seeing him out because it's like uh like man, I was like not built for this, but he's still like so pumped to like see me out there doing it.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Oh yeah. Well I love that. I love that he's out there supporting you. That you know, I I I don't know if you uh ever saw Ashley McBride tell the story about her teacher who said, You're wasting your time.

SPEAKER_00 19:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:21

Yeah. She's amazing too. She is so talented, so talented. Have you had a chance to go out to Nashville at all?

SPEAKER_00 19:28

Yes. Uh not so much for music, but I've had a uh a lot of friends who've lived there for music and whatnot. Okay. Um so I've made a few trips and I've got my favorite spots down there.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

And yeah, yeah, we love Nashville. We we had the opportunity before we started the podcast to go out there uh uh for work and and uh for some meetings and got to see the ryman and and go to the Opry and go tour the back of the Opry and get to stand on that stage and how cool is that. Oh, it's yeah. Such a cool place. So do you have any aspirations for that for Nashville? Or are you Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:04

Um I think uh I'm I don't know, like there's I've had friends who've moved uh you know to Nashville or oh yeah, there we go. I've had friends who've moved to Nashville to you know pursue a dream or something. Sure. It's like every time you're there, it's funny. Like I I love to play the Ask your Uber driver, what they do kind of thing. Oh, they're all songwriters. They're all songwriters. Every one of them's a songwriter. Making a record.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

Or or or they're a waiter in in the restaurant. So I'm a songwriter.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

So yeah, so I mean I like uh I don't know if that's the move right now. I kind of like to think that the um age of the internet kind of allows people to be to ha get more exposure through that and be wherever they want to live. And I live Idaho and I want to live in Idaho.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

So well, there's some huge stars have been made on the internet. You know, Baker blankenship is one that no one no one would have ever thought Baker would have made it as a as a Yeah, not something you would see in Nashville like. No, no. Yeah. Well, but you know, even in in the in the age that we're in, you you go back to the 90s country. You think back on the artists and the stars in the 90s, Joe Nichols, Clint Black, you know, Randy Travis, those guys all they all had a look, right? They're very polished, they're very, they're all very, you know, model-esque. Yeah, you know. Yeah, it was the yeah, green look. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. The the Riley Green look, right? But but you know, but you know, in the world we live in today, you know, there's there's room for Baker Blankenship and for Luke Combs and all great voices, you know.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

But we're talking about John Morland last night, yeah around the campfire at Worcester Stane and of like you're familiar with him? Uh vaguely. Yeah. Just massive man covered in tattoos and bald and like uh yeah, like you know, but insane voice and insane songwriter.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Well a little bit like Post Malone, who'd ever thought Post Malone Would it fit into Nashville? Or Jelly Roll for that matter. You know, I mean Jelly, when when Jelly first came on the scene, he there was a lot of people. I didn't I wasn't sure I wanted to be a jelly roll fan. I'm a huge jelly roll fan. I've seen him live. And and I've never met him, but I I've worked with uh other songwriters and people that that have worked with Jelly, and they tell me he's just as sweet in real life. That's what I've heard, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:22

I'm I mean, I felt that's I felt similarly, and then I was at a festival uh that we were playing, and he was headlining, and I'm like loading out our set on a different stage, but I'm like walking past the main stage, and he's giving this like motivational speech, and I'm like, I'm like starting to tear up like you know, it was like kind of you know, I was like, okay, this guy's not that bad.

SPEAKER_01 22:41

Yeah, he's he's well, you know, for what he he came through in his life, you know. Absolutely, yeah. And what he's been able to accomplish. Just amazing. Um, there there are so many talented artists out there though that uh um you know we don't get to be familiar with. We got to be familiar with you because of Tree Fort. And but there's 500 plus acts here. How do we you just shared a story with us about the tree bus, what do you call it? Fort Bus? Bus fort? Tree line. Bus fort. Yeah, yeah, you you got they've got artists. You you're actually playing on one, or you did?

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Yeah, tomorrow too. Tomorrow too.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

So that is just amazing to me that there's music everywhere in this town. You cannot walk outside of a venue or outside of a building and not hear live music happening somewhere. Yeah. This weekend.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

This weekend. Well, I mean, and even we're pretty I we're pretty lucky, and I I really like living here and and honestly, I'm really thankful for the folks at Duck Club that uh have put all the years and time into creating this culture that we have here. Yeah. Because there's like, I mean, I can't even think of the number of venues that are downtown now, and they've all got shows all week long.

SPEAKER_01 23:48

So well, you've got, I mean, just the the the the main ones, like the knitting factory and and uh some of the artists and the bands that they bring into town are pretty amazing. And and I mean it this is just a really it's interesting how four hours from Idaho Falls to hear the difference in them in the music scene. Oh, yeah. You know, and I would love to see that Idaho Falls grow and accept that. And they're getting better. There's more venues over there, but it's still very small in comparison to here.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Yeah, I was a judge in uh a Battle of the Bands over in uh Haley.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

Um did you do that this year or yeah, this year. So they've had it twice. Yep. We we were there at the first one. Oh, nice. She invited us to the first one, and then we did some interviews, but it was kind of a a rough spot for us to do interviews. There's not really much there. He's kind of small. So it was it we actually interviewed uh Heath Owen's band there. Oh, I love Heath. They played some shows together and then ended up having to redo it, and we did some other brief interviews there with some other artists that played in that, but it was it was just they weren't good, and so it was early on in our learning curve, and so we we redid Heath eventually, and that was great.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

So but yeah, what a talented kid. Yeah, yeah, and that whole I mean that whole experience was really cool because I know a lot of people here voicey, and then you know, the people that come through town, and um, but then I like you know, I I'd even me trying to go play, like a lot of times if you're headed over into Wyoming or Montana going to some of those, like through uh Idaho Falls is like a nice place to stop, break up the drive, or vocatello, but there's like really it's kind of desert.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

First Nash, they they they they host some good bands there. Uh Crosby's played there, and so has uh um uh Tyler and the Train Robbers and those guys who played there. But you know, you've got the the uh uh Bone Store, which is out in the middle of nowhere. And I don't know if you know about it. What a cool venue. That's really cool. Jeff's played there as well. And so we've had we've had uh lots of uh good bands. Oh my well, they're hosting the Vandaliers are playing there this summer. Oh, that's a great thing. And and uh and then on uh on top of that, um let's see who else. Oh, Sundance Head is playing there. Do you know Sundance? I don't think so. Sundance won the voice in like 2016. Okay. And we've interviewed Sundance's first name. That's his real first name. Uh his dad, his dad was a famous singer, songwriter in the 60s.

SPEAKER_00 26:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 26:21

Yeah. So uh and I'm trying to remember what his dad's first name was. He's since passed. But anyway, some some great bands that come through over there. Well, they've had uh they had the Wilder Blue. Wilder Blue was opening for um, they had been opening for Luke Combs in stadium concerts, and then they played Bone Idaho. Yeah, you know, and so just crazy how that how that whole thing shook out. But anyway, there's some cool venues over there. We know we know a lot of them, and so you need to stay in touch with me. If you're gonna be coming through that way, let me know. We're actually have a uh artist that um we've had on the podcast twice, and she was on that TV show uh CBS The Road. Do you know that show? Did you watch that? Her name's Olivia Harms, and she is from Oregon originally, now lives in California, but she grew up on a ranch over there in Oregon. Yeah. And uh her mom is a very famous international western uh Okay uh Joni Harms. Yeah. And uh anyway, Olivia's gonna be playing in uh Gillette at Dusty Vaquero Days. Do you know about that?

SPEAKER_00 27:23

Yes, I've been wanting to make it over there. Yeah, it's it's always a dance of like what festivals you're at and right, right.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Well, we're in the same boat, but we're actually going this year to Gillette, and then uh Olivia's following us home, and we're gonna have uh she's gonna put on a concert in our backyard. Nice. So we're excited. So we we might even depend on the weather and how things go, we might even be able to do something like that with we we love live music, so and love to share that experience and try to get more people in set in Southeast Dido to really understand and Yeah, we're actually playing a festival called South Fork Fest this summer.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

That's are you coming? Yeah, we'll be there. Oh, great. We covered it last year. We'll have to hang out there. Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

They reached out a couple weeks ago and it's this it's the same week, it's the one weekend we don't have anything going on in August. So yeah, he just he just sent me sent me the invite. It looks awesome. Way cool. It's a beautiful place on the South Fork of the of the uh Snake River, yeah. And uh yeah, so you'll love that. That's fun. Yeah, yeah. That kid, in fact, he just he's gonna send me the lineup yet. I didn't know you were coming, so that's way cool.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

He's probably wrapping it up. I I was just, I mean, getting ready for Tree Four. It took me forever to just sign our contract. Sure. So he was like, uh as soon as you do that, we'll put you on the lineup. I was like, Oh, okay, sorry.

SPEAKER_01 28:34

Yeah, they they they do a great job because they had somebody come in and do a lot of video and stuff. They do music videos. As I said, so really cool deal. So we'll look forward to seeing you over there. Yeah, that'll be fun.

SPEAKER_00 28:45

So yeah, look forward to it.

SPEAKER_01 28:46

Yeah, cool, cool. Well, anything else you want to share with us? Where else are you going this summer?

SPEAKER_00 28:51

Um, it's a good question.

SPEAKER_01 28:52

You're doing South Fork Fest.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

What other festivals? Um, what other festivals are we doing? Uh it's a lighter summer, so I'm the next two months I'm really digging down and trying to finish this record. Okay. Um, so I'm usually Tree Fort is when like you just like you hit the road and for me at least and and start playing a bunch of shows. Um I would say how many the I mean I look forward to this every year. We're kind of trying to turn it into a festival, but we played um a place called Crouch, Idaho, or near Garden Valley. Okay. Every year for the Fourth July. Okay. The town was famous on the Fourth of July for how crazy things got. Like it's like fireworks in the street, like there's kind of no laws. The police like legitimately the police just sit and all the calamity gone. They're like they're like, we're just trying to make sure no one dies. Right, right, right. And uh so it's just it's always been like a really fun party. There's you know, it's up in the mountains, there's a river you can hang out in. So I uh we're calling it Freedom Fest this year. Okay. Um and in the passages, we just call it Fourth of July, but we're trying to kind of forge a little, maybe Fourth of July festival there.

SPEAKER_01 29:55

Sure. Well fun. Well, cool. Well, if nothing else, we look forward to seeing you at South Fork Fest. That's in August. Um, yeah. I don't know whether we'll get this released before then. So uh it is yeah, Colton Wilson. Coulter, Colter Wilson is is the guy. So um anyway, a lot of cool stuff going on. Yeah. Well, we're getting them stacked in here like Fordwood now. So, but man, we appreciate you taking time to sit with us. Yeah, it's cool to meet you. We look forward to seeing you and hanging out with you in uh in in at high sea is the name of the little wide spot on the road by Ryrie Idaho. Okay, yeah, high sea is the is the wide spot, but there's a hot springs there. Oh, sweet. It's kind of cool. Kind of cool. Yeah, you'll enjoy it. All right, hey, for Musical Miles Podcast, I'm your host, Byron Duffin. We are here at the Tree Fort Fest in Boise, Idaho with Jay William Miller. All right, I got it right that time. All right. Hey, thanks for stopping by if we'll see you somewhere down the road, I'm sure. Audios for now.