Simon RushworthSong
Baby Gone
Artist
The Steel Wheels
The Steel Wheels backstory
Since 2005, The Steel Wheels have been melding the traditional with the contemporary, while always remaining firmly rooted in the sounds of the Virginia mountains.
In 2017, the band first collaborated with producer Sam Kassirer on the critically acclaimed Wild As We Came Here, which features the alt-folk battlecry Scrape Me Off the Ceiling.
Through it all, The Steel Wheels have been about creating a community and sharing the experience of humanity with one another.
Nowhere is this more evident than at the Red Wing Roots Music Festival, founded by the band in 2013.
Taking place in the Shenandoah Valley, the festival has featured performances by Lucinda Williams, Billy Strings, Steve Earle & The Dukes, The Mavericks, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Earl Keen, Dawes, Trampled By Turtles and more.
Outside of their own festival, the band is known for its road-dog mentality, spending much of the year on tour.
In frontman Trent Wagler’s own words
“This was written as I said goodbye to my daughter (literally my ‘baby’ girl), as she left for college.
“It’s trying to manage the sadness of seeing inevitable change and loss, alongside the hope of future growth and positive change.
“The transformation of parenting is one that goes from being needed completely to understanding that many of the future adventures will have absolutely nothing to do with you.
“Your role as a parent has fundamentally changed — as it should.”
The verdict on Baby Gone
The Steel Wheels’ penchant for penning evocative Americana mixed with folk and bluegrass knows no bounds.
And with album number 13 on the horizon it seems the Virginians are hellbent on upping the ante.
Baby Gone is a beautifully personal song — that trademark suite of strings setting off lyrics that will resonate with every parent letting go.
But it’s impossible to listen to this heartfelt ode without thinking of the tragic 2019 passing of fiddle player and vocalist Eric Brubaker’s young daughter.
Understated and yet immensely powerful, Baby Gone ultimately preaches positivity as layers of banjo, fiddle and funky bass propel a special tune.
What’s next for The Steel Wheels
Unsurprisingly, the band’s out on the road between now and November and they kick things off all over again in January.
This week’s dates include Wray, Salt Lake City, Boise, Bend, Spokane and Seattle.
But fans have to wait until February before new long player Sideways drops via the band’s own label Big Ring Records.
