Led by free-wheeling frontman Miles Nielsen, The Rusted Hearts have been wowing audiences for years with the diversity of their sound, the tightness of their 4-part harmonies, and the quality of their songcraft. Equally comfortable in a compact 3-minute pop song and an epic 10-minute jam, the band has toured incessantly since their inception in 2011, amassing an army of hardcore followers that have dubbed themselves the Rusted Herd. Their new album “OHBAHOY” finds the band venturing into a sphere of Americana that feels both familiar and excitingly new. Tight drums, rich guitar tones, gorgeous woodwinds, and sweeping harmonies provide the perfect complements to Nielsen’s immense storytelling gifts and impeccable vocals. The album’s name comes from an imaginary friend Nielsen had growing up, a fitting reminder as we get older to hold tightly to the noble ideals of freedom and creativity that seem so natural to us as children.

Middle Western was formed out of a long friendship and discussions the various members had while playing on each others’ recordings and the occasional band show organized as a way to play and sing songs written and recorded by other members. The band is made up of singer/songwriter and Anti Records artist William Elliot Whitmore on bass guitar and vocals; singer/songwriter/session keyboardist and founder of legendary Iowa roots music label, Trailer Records, David Zollo on keyboards and vocals; Chicago multi-instrumentalist Stephen “The Kid” Howard (James McCartney, Pinebender, Mississippi Heat) on electric guitars; Stevie Doyle (The Hoyle Brothers) on electric and slide guitars; and in-demand Iowa City drummer Brian Cooper on percussion. The fact
that members live in Chicago (Doyle, Howard;) rural Iowa City (Cooper and Zollo;) and rural southernmost Iowa (Whitmore;) Middle Western brings together the influences and talents of its members to create something at once unique and familiar. Mixing New Orleans piano stomps, Crazy Horse-era guitar epics and proto-garage boogie, Middle Western is at work on their debut record, at Lone Tree’s Flat Black Studios, with Luke Tweedy engineering and mixing, and a summer 2017 release planned.