Wylie and the Wild West's Joyful Country Music Comes To Kent Friday

KENT, WA - It's been tragic week for country music fans. The week began with a massacre at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, and each day since has brought more tragic news about the aftermath. But there is a chance for country fans to end the week on a positive note.

Country musician Wylie Gustafson's Wylie and the Wild West is playing a show in Kent Friday and it's a chance to see joyful, expertly-played traditional country music.

"With our music, there is a joyful side to it, so hopefully we can give people an excuse to forget what's been going on," Gustafson told Patch.com.

Gustafson is from northern Montana and learned to yodel out on the range from his father, R.W. Gustafson, and still works as a cowboy today (he missed calf shipping season this year because he was out playing gigs). Gustafson got his start in 1980s in the Los Angeles traditional country scene alongside artists like Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakum, Rosie Flores, and Dave Alvin.

In the 1990s he wrote a hit song - a very short song, his bandmates joke - that became the signature yodel you hear in Yahoo! commercials.

His shows blend old and new country styles, folk, rock covers, rockabilly, western swing, and, yes, yodeling. As Gustafson yodels and jumps around the stage, the Wild West band backs him up with expert Fender Telecaster twang and airtight swing drumming.

Check out how fun this is:

Gustafson played the Tractor Tavern in Ballard two years ago, but it's been a while since he's been in Kent. Local fans will notice the band has added an upright bassist and Gustafson has switched from bass to electric guitar, his preferred instrument. The band is planning to a record a new album soon and Gustafson said they'll likely play a few new songs Friday.

"We're going to try and have a good time tomorrow night," he said. "We're going to celebrate our western culture and that lifestyle.

"The Seattle area needs a dose yodeling," he added.

If you're looking for a fun country music night or just a refuge from this week's events, you can buy tickets to Wylie and the Wild West here. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Kent-Meridian Performing Arts Center, 10020 Southeast 256th St.

Image via Paul A. Hebert/Associated Press