Wild Feathers Get a Little Help From Friends at the Ryman

Taylor Burns of The Wild Feathers, photos by Dylan Skye Aycock

Nashville rock band The Wild Feathers returned to Music City for a triumphant homecoming show at the Ryman Auditorium in June.

Since releasing its self-titled debut album in 2013, the four-piece has toured the world and performed on numerous TV shows, all while keeping a passionate fan base back home, accommodating them with notable shows in 2014 at Bonnaroo and Live on the Green (also appearing on that local event’s bill in 2013). The band has spent the past year touring heavily behind its latest album, Lonely Is a Lifetime (recorded in Nashville), finally circling back home and making its Ryman debut.

“99 percent of [the new album] was written on tour, trying to find our way back home,” said vocalist/guitarist Ricky Young during the set.

Ricky Young, vocalist / guitarist, of The Wild Feathers

The band got off to a fast start with Southern-style rockers including “Help Me Out” and fan favorite “Backwoods Company,” with Young, bassist Joel King and guitarist Taylor Burns passing vocal duties around verse to verse and teaming up for harmonious choruses. The sold-out crowd ate up these big choruses, and it’s no wonder. The Wild Feathers’ very accessible, Southern-influenced rock sound is only a pedal steel away from country; they’re one of the few young, top-tier rock acts in Nashville that don’t seem to shy away the country aspect of Music City, all while not going too far in that direction to alienate the rock crowd. This can kind of come off as “middle-of-the-road” to some listeners, but luckily the electricity of the hometown crowd was enough to keep things interesting.

Jamestown Revival

The night’s collaborations proved particularly potent, as founding member Preston Wimberly rejoined the group for “Left My Woman” (a song from the band’s debut album about leaving your significant other while on tour) and local guitar whiz Daniel Donato delivered a blistering, Allman Brothers-esque solo on “Hard Times.” Both Wimberly and Donato stayed around for several tracks, and even returned later with opening act Jamestown Revival (which had an excellent Ryman debut itself earlier that night) for a Joe Cocker-inspired rendition of the Beatles’ “With a Little Help From My Friends.”

“So many dreams have been made tonight,” said Young.