The Peoria-based roots pop band Way Down Wanderers brings its 10th anniversary tour to Bloomington's Castle Theatre on Dec. 16. In the last decade, the group has put out three albums and a couple EPs, hit nearly every state in the U.S. and played in Canada and the U.K.
Co-lead singer and songwriter Collin Krause said 10 years has brought a lot of growth and joy with fans. It's also brought parenthood. Krause welcomed a daughter six months ago.
“I definitely feel more in touch emotionally. I mean, after you have a baby, you know, everyone tells you, it's like your heart is just gonna grow. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, but it's really true. You just can't quite describe this type of love that you have that you just didn't know you could possess. It's an emotional thing to become a parent. I'm definitely excited to see you know what writing comes out of it,” said Krause.
Krause’s brother-in-law, Austin Krause-Thompson, the band’s co-lead songwriter and singer, has had three children over the span.
“It's just been incredible to foster the relationship between the two of us, but also see it pass onto our kids and kind of see them playing together. That's a special thing. To have the support from the other guys in the band as both of us become parents just means a lot to us,” said Krause.
The 10th anniversary tour showcases the Wanderers standards, with a difference. Krause said some songs, like "Blue Sky" and "The Robin" from their first EP, are getting a second take and a second love.
“We've added a little jam breakdown section in the Robin. I think it's a kind of an arc to the set. So it's kind of fun to go back and see this immature song I wrote when I was 16. We can perform it a lot better, just being better artists over 10 years. I wouldn't write the song the same way now, but it signifies the place in time that I was at during the song and it's kind of a nice reminder of the past,” said Krause.
The subject matter for the songs also has matured over the life of the band.
“As artists, we tend to write about what we're experiencing in the moment," said Krause. "It's always changing. Just a heightened sense of what's going on in the world, not just writing about me and what I'm going through. I'm just trying to find inspiration in places that I might not have before.”
One such song came out in the 2021 release, “More Like Tomorrow.” It’s called "Parkside Drive."
“I started touring super young, started drinking really young, did that for a long time, and discovered I needed to quit. I started running all the time to break that routine and that habit. I wrote this song called 'Parkside Drive' about my experience of, of quitting alcohol and getting more in touch with myself. That song is really emotional for me,” said Krause.
The band has been sitting on a new album. It’s not yet out. Krause said they will feature at least one song from it at the upcoming Castle concert.
“One thing that was different on this record is we ended up self-producing the whole thing, which we hadn't done before. We'd always booked a studio for a set amount of time and got the whole thing done in like two weeks. This time we did most of it ourselves at a friend's house in a very informal studio environment. It allowed us to take a whole year to work on the record together, and build something special and different for us,” said Krause.
A song he wrote for the upcoming release is one he's pleased to get to perform with one of his mentors, Andy Hatfield. It is about Krause’s uncle who "randomly passed away unexpectedly."
“That brought feelings of dealing with how temporary things are. I wanted to capture that into a song,” said Krause.
The band has a busy touring schedule lined up for 2024. Krause said the Castle Theatre is a special venue for him, noting he kind of grew up there.
“They took a chance on us when we were really just nobody. We probably didn't sound very good. We were just a bunch of teenagers and they let us open for The Giving Tree band 10 years ago, and it was the first show we played with our drummer ever,” said Krause. “We're grateful for the support in central Illinois.”
A duo, the Burney Sisters, from Columbia, Missouri, will open for for the Wanderers.
“The harmonies are just outrageous. Some of the best singing together I've ever heard. I love singing harmony. Getting to hear other singers just do the harmony, singing and blending, so perfectly always inspires me to try and get better as a band and, and just sing more together,” said Krause.
He said the Way Down Wanderers hope to have their new album out by March or April of 2024.
