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The Wilders (2)

[a=The Wilders (2)] are an American roots band from Kansas City, Missouri consisting of Ike Sheldon (lead vocals, guitar), Betse Ellis (fiddle); Nate Gawron (bass), and Phil Wade (dobro, mandolin, and banjo). It’s not uncommon for a listener to mistakenly assume there’s a fifth member of the band on drums; The Wilders call this phenomenon the “Phantom Drummer,” a testament to the rhythmic energy and hard-driving beat of this four-piece string band. The Wilders have played to audiences across the US and beyond. In 2006, The Wilders were selected to perform at the Famous Spiegeltent at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where they were honored with the Herald Angel Award; additionally, they’ve made appearances at Merlefest, Wintergrass, Rockygrass, and Telluride festivals. In the summer of 2002, the band was featured with singer/songwriter Iris DeMent on Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” and a few years later performed live at the Kennedy Center. Their radio and television appearances range from National Public Radio’s Weekend Morning Edition, to appearances on the PBS syndicated show “Song of the Mountains,” and music specials on BBC television. The Wilders’ 2009 single "Bull Shoals" / "God Made Me (a Little Crazy)", was released by Takoma Park, MD-based Free Dirt Records as a limited edition 45 rpm. In 2008, The Wilders broke new creative ground with real-life murder ballad concept album Someone’s Got to Pay, which was awarded Best Alt-Country Album of the Year at the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards. Their previous full-length albums released by Free Dirt Records are Throw Down (2005), a collection of traditional and original country songs and fiddle tunes produced by Dirk Powell; Spring a Leak (2003), a boisterous bluegrass and honky-tonk album; and On the Wings of a Dove (2001), a mixture of well-known and obscure gospel music.