The Steel Wheels grow "Wild"

Produced by Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive, Elephant Revival) in his rural Maine farmhouse turned recording studio, all four band members -Trent Wagler (banjo, guitar), Eric Brubaker (fiddle), Brian Dickel (upright bass), and Jay Lapp (mandolin) - recorded for about 10 days. This will be their ninth release.

The band started in 2004 with Wagler, Dickel, and Brubaker studying at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., about an hour from Charlottesville. (All four members of the band grew up in Mennonite families.) Wagler and Dickel were in a punk/alternative band until acoustic music lured them.

Wagler soon started writing songs and learned flat-picking. Dickel learned how to build guitars. They briefly played as a duo before Brubaker joined on fiddle. Lapp eventually came on board after getting to know the band from the local folk circuit. In 2010, following a variety of EPs and LPs, the ensemble officially branded itself as The Steel Wheels, a tip of the hat to steam-powered trains, industrial progress, and the buggies of their Mennonite lineage.

Tour dates are:
March 15 - Nashville, IN - The Pines
March 16-17 - Kansas City, MO - Folk Alliance
March 18 - Broken Bow, NE - Kinkaider Brewing CO
March 19 - Des Moines, IA - Des Moines Social Club
March 20 - Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
March 21 - Kalamazoo, MI - Bell's Brewery
March 22 - Columbus, OH - The Refectory
March 22 - Fayetteville, AR - George's Majestic Lounge
March 23 - Little Rock, AR - South on Main
March 26 - Baton Rouge, LA - Dyson Listening Room
April 7 - Lewisburg, WV - Carnegie Hall
April 8 - Poughkeepsie, NY - Hudson Valley Bluegrass Association
April 9 - Cazenovia, NY - The Nelson Odeon
April 28 - Charlottesville, VA - Jefferson Theater
April 29 - Decatur, GA - Eddie's Attic
April 30 - Wilkesboro, NC - Merlefest
May 4 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
May 5 - Lawrence, KS - The Bottleneck
May 6 - Wichita, KS - Orpheum Theatre
May 7 - Hastings, NE - The Lark
May 8 - Cedar Rapids, IA - CSPS Hall
May 10 - Minneapolis, MN - Dakota Jazz Club
May 11 - Chicago, IL - Old Town School
May 12 - Goshen, IN - Goshen College
May 13 - Cleveland, OH - GAR Hall
May 27 - Galax, VA - Blue Ridge Music Center
June 7 - NYC - City Winery
June 8 - Cambridge, MA - Club Passim
June 9 - Chestertown, MD - Garfield Center
June 10 - Annapolis, MD - Rams Head
July 14-16 - Red Wing Roots Music Festival
July 29-30 - Floyd Fest