Eddie 9V x The Steel Wheels

Eddie 9V has an endless stockpile of cool stories – and you’ll find twelve of them on his most recent studio album Saratoga, released in November 2024 on the fabled Ruf Records label. A thrilling mix of Southern soul, blues, rock, and funk, Saratoga proved to be a gamechanger: a road trip-ready record filled with razor-sharp observations, vintage textures, and raw humanity. It also marked a major career milestone: Eddie 9V’s soulful sound began reaching hundreds of thousands of new fans across the globe.

Now signed to Easy Eye Sound — the Nashville-based label founded by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys — Eddie 9V is preparing to release a brand-new album in 2026. And the momentum keeps growing. Since Saratoga dropped, Eddie’s monthly listeners on Spotify have exploded from 8,000 to peaking at over 800,000.. Songs like “Halo,” “Saratoga” and “Love Moves Slow” have become SiriusXM Spectrum-certified tracks, gaining steady spins and major audience love.

The Steel Wheels - 2025 Album Short bio

After two decades on the road and nine studio albums, The Steel Wheels mark their 20th anniversary with a self-titled record that captures the band at a creative peak. Since their formation, the group—which includes Trent Wagler (vocals, banjo, guitar), Eric Brubaker (fiddle), Jay Lapp (mandolin, guitar), Kevin Garcia (drums, percussion), and Jeremy Darrow (bass)—has grown from a harmony-driven acoustic ensemble into a dynamic folk rock band. Blending those roots with a spirit of exploration, The Steel Wheels combine energy, humor, and tender restraint into a cohesive, deeply personal work.

The journey began close to home. At their 2024 Red Wing Roots Festival in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Wagler connected with producer D. James Goodwin (Goose, Bonny Light Horseman, I’m With Her), who had recently relocated to the area. He invited the band to his new studio, The Isokon, where they recorded live in one room during a snowy winter. That immediacy is felt throughout the album—from the sunlit hooks of “Easy,” which questions the cost of constant convenience, to “Go Back,” which explores joy and sadness as intertwined emotions, and “Keep On Dancing,” a gentle reminder to slow down and be present.

Twenty years in, The Steel Wheels remain driven by curiosity and craft. They are a band still growing, still pushing forward, and still finding new ways to connect through song.

After two decades on the road and nine studio albums, The Steel Wheels mark their 20th anniversary with a self-titled record that captures the band at a creative peak. Since their formation, the group—which includes Trent Wagler (vocals, banjo, guitar), Eric Brubaker (fiddle), Jay Lapp (mandolin, guitar), Kevin Garcia (drums, percussion), and Jeremy Darrow (bass)—has grown from a harmony-driven acoustic ensemble into a dynamic folk rock band. Blending those roots with a spirit of exploration, The Steel Wheels combine energy, humor, and tender restraint into a cohesive, deeply personal work.

The journey began close to home. At their 2024 Red Wing Roots Festival in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, Wagler connected with producer D. James Goodwin (Goose, Bonny Light Horseman, I’m With Her), who had recently relocated to the area. He invited the band to his new studio, The Isokon, where they recorded live in one room during a snowy winter. That immediacy is felt throughout the album—from the sunlit hooks of “Easy,” which questions the cost of constant convenience, to “Go Back,” which explores joy and sadness as intertwined emotions, and “Keep On Dancing,” a gentle reminder to slow down and be present.

Twenty years in, The Steel Wheels remain driven by curiosity and craft. They are a band still growing, still pushing forward, and still finding new ways to connect through song.