Today we’d like to introduce you to Iain Weigert.
Hi Iain, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I picked up the guitar when I was about 4. My parents both played, so it seemed natural. They exposed me to Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty and a ton of other great artists of the era and steered me in that direction initially.
When I left home, I moved to New Orleans where I cut my teeth busking and playing in coffee shops and bars around the city. I played in a variety of bluegrass, americana and rock bands while also performing originals solo. I was attending Loyola University and delving deep into old blues and folk tunes from the early 20th century while studying American literature and poetry. As a songwriter, I was trying to draw from writers like John Steinbeck as much as people like Townes Van Zandt, Lucinda Williams or Shel Silverstein.
At some point I realized that if I wanted to make a living as a musician, I would have to learn to do as much as I can on my own. I started learning every instrument I could get my hands on. I borrowed a banjo and started picking up side man gigs. Then I got a mandolin and did the same thing. I taught myself everything from upright bass to pedal steel and picked up as much work as I could find.
In 2014, I moved to Los Angeles and began work on my first album. It was during this time that I met my musical partner and wife, Caitlin Webster. We formed a duo called Nightingale Rodeo and started writing together and touring the west coast.
In 2018, when my record finally came out, we moved to Nashville and found ourselves in a thriving americana scene. Between touring, we’d get together at a friend’s house on Wednesday nights and swap songs with the best writers East Nashville had to offer. People like Benjamin Tod, or Sierra Ferrell were regulars and we were blessed to be in their company.
Caitlin and I have been working on a record since the pandemic and are excited to release it under our new project, The Thistles. We recorded drums and bass at The Bomb Shelter, and I overdubbed the rest from hotel rooms, our home studio, green rooms and anywhere else we could set up a mic for an hour or two. We’re excited to share it with the world next Spring.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think there’s an easy road anywhere in the music industry. I’ve had to develop a variety of skills just to survive and it has always been a struggle. My songs have been licensed in films and streamed around the world and still I’ve had to maintain a day job for most of my journey. I remember some of my earliest tours involving greyhound busses, hitchhiking, and sleeping on strangers’ floors, all to play a handful of shows to empty rooms. We had a car die in Colorado, ending the tour early, only to have the same thing happen in the middle of the Nevada desert on the next run. Covid wrecked another tour somewhere in Arizona. When you’re an independent musician and you book, promote and fund everything by yourself, a canceled run can be a major setback. Even when everything goes to plan, it’s still brutal. Being a musician is not for the faint of heart.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. My sound can maybe be described as western gothic or americana. It’s frequently described as cinematic. I love to obsess over a turn of phrase, or a clever line. Somewhere down the road I got it in my mind that every song should live in its own little world and tell a story much greater than the sum of its parts. It should be a novel, but stripped of everything that isn’t the very essence of the story you’re trying to tell.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m putting out a record next year with my wife. It’s recorded, mastered and ready to go. I’ve made a lot of mistakes by rushing releases in the past. We’re taking our time with this one and plan to tour on it next summer. Watch out for it. I’ve also got a ton of songs that I recorded in hotel rooms while on the road. I may start releasing them as singles in the spring.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iainweigert
- Other: https://iainmicahweigert.bandcamp.com/
