Everett Wren does not make small music. His songs have a sweeping grandness, like a big sky, even when they’re about, or inspired by, small moments. On Cascades, releasing Jan. 17, 2025, the Austin-based songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist taps a deep well of American musical idioms and influences, from Western music and bluegrass to Broadway and traditional folk balladry, to craft songs of startling complexity and precision. Accompanying his tenor vocals on fiddle, mandolin, percussion, and acoustic, electric, resophonic slide and lap steel guitars, Wren also clogs on the self-produced album, recorded at his home studio.
Performing since age 4 in his family’s band, Wren won an Arkansas state fiddling championship as a teen and played first violin in the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra before touring the country with Missouri-based Americana band Wagon, which recorded albums for the Hightone and Glitterhouse labels (including one produced by Lloyd Maines). Wren busked in Europe, earned a master’s of engineering degree in acoustics from the University of Texas at Austin, and co-founded Austin bands Chalkboard Poets and Lost & Nameless (alum Harmoni Kelley now plays bass with Kenny Chesney) before releasing his self-produced solo debut, Porchlight, in 2022. https://www.everettwren.com/
Wren’s voice has more timbre, personality & emotional heft. Quite excellent.”-Americana Highways