Wild Ponies, the acclaimed East Nashville-based band, helmed by singer-song-writing duo Doug and Telisha Williams, will be coming to Grateful Fred’s, Cafe D’Art in Formby on Monday 16th November, in support of latest album Things That Used To Shine. They’ll also be previewing new songs from their upcoming album, due for release in 2016.
Wild Ponies are unafraid to cross boundaries, determined to carry on a heritage that’s been decades in the making. That independent streak also holds true for Doug and Telisha Williams, who take the band’s name from the small-but-mighty animal that roams their native Virginia highlands.
Now based in Nashville, the married duo’s music draws on old-time tradition while embracing the fierce spirit of the songwriters who inspire them – Hazel Dickens, Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams, to name a few. On tour, Doug swaps out acoustic and electric guitar, while Telisha plays upright bass. Often supported by a drummer, Wild Ponies’ dynamic live shows are assertive and engaging.
Their most recent album, Things That Used to Shine (2013), produced by Ray Kennedy (Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith), made a strong showing on the Americana Music Association airplay chart, and also marked the debut of the band’s evocative name – prior to Wild Ponies, they’d simply been billed as Doug & Telisha Williams.
Inspired by the desire to celebrate the universal beauty of love in all its forms, Wild Ponies, released the pro-equality anthem Love Is Not a Sin earlier this year, accompanied by a companion video featuring fan-sourced footage of people and their loved ones. The song will likely turn up on the band’s forthcoming, as-yet-untitled 2016 L.P. and is one of a handful of new tunes they will be road testing on the upcoming tour.
When they’re off the road, Telisha trains for long-distance races and paints as a form of self-expression. Doug also runs, and has started writing fiction again when he’s not renovating their charming home in East Nashville. Looking ahead, the duo have recently recorded their next album, due out in 2016, while their biggest goal is still to sing on the Grand Ole Opry.
The past few years have been filled with hundreds of shows and thousands of miles for Doug and Telisha. They’ve travelled from Florida to Oregon and Michigan to Texas, hitting 47 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces. They’ve played with some of their most beloved heroes – Lucinda Williams, Darrell Scott, Charlie Louvin, and Joe Ely – and been on stage at Anderson Fair, The Birchmere, The Carolina Theater, Godrey Daniels, Madison Square Park and Floydfest.
No matter how far they roam, Doug and Telisha always find their way back “home”. A place that holds tight to the intricacies and contradictions of life in the south today. A place where old time religion, superstition, rundown bars, gravel parking lots and boarded up factories tell stories that wind up being songs. A place where in just one set, Doug & Telisha can still send audience members to their feet in applause, to their knees in prayer, and back to the bar to buy another beer.