Wild Ponies Release New Single “Love You Right Now”
Nashville-based duo Wild Ponies have unveiled a new single called “Love You Right Now,” co-written with fellow Nashville-based artist, Nora Jane Struthers. The song is the latest from their forthcoming LP, Dreamers, out on August 23. The band (Doug and Telisha Williams), and their partner Laura, are foster parents registered in the state of Tennessee – a role that is not for the faint of heart. This song was inspired by their experience. With its counterbalance of mournful pedal steel and sing-song storytelling to the beat of a bouncing baby, “Love You Right Now” details the challenges of the foster system in America; it serves as a tribute to Laura and son River.
“The foster system is broken. It’s brutal. It’s one of the hardest things we’ve ever done,” they say. “It’s also one of the most rewarding. During the pandemic, all three of us worked hard to become certified foster parents and open up our home. It’s one of the most Zen experiences you’ll ever have. You realize that no matter what, no matter where these kids will wind up, you can’t hold back on how much you love them and connect with them. You have to go all in.”
“Love You Right Now” follows the release of lead single, “‘Hurt Your Heart,” a love song about the wholesome, polyamorous, Americana dream.
Over the last two decades, the band has released five albums, hosted the long-running “Wild Ponies Happy Hour” radio show on Nashville’s WSM, led nine annual distillery tour Trail Rides for fans and friends, and garnered devoted musical audiences all over the world. Their live shows, which have often totaled into the hundreds per year, are notoriously personal. Whether it’s Doug and Telisha with their acoustic guitar and upright bass, respectively, or a full rock ‘n’ roll outfit with drums and electric guitar, everyone is welcome at a Wild Ponies show and in their community.
Their new album, Dreamers, is the result of living, loving, and dreaming. Recorded and produced by singer-songwriter Brandy Zdan, with co-writes with Chely Wright, Ben Glover, and Nora Jane Struthers, and featuring guest musicians The Sea The Sea (Chuck and Mira Costa) and Nashville pedal steel legend Fats Kaplin, Dreamers is Wild Ponies’ most ambitious record yet. These 11 songs explore what exists beyond the traditional nuclear family and detail the joys and heartbreaks they’ve experienced as part of their journey to build the life – and family – they wanted.
Years ago, on tour in Germany, a fan asked Doug and Telisha a question that stuck with them: Where are your dreams now? Not what are your dreams, but where. “Our dreams are everywhere, buzzing around like energetic bees,” they explain. “They’re deep in the earth, sprawled and gnarly like the roots of an ancient Catawba tree. They live in and out of our own bodies, making their way to the backyard in the most unconventional way and pulling to stand only minutes after being born. At times, our dreams are hard to wrangle — a wild pony on the Carolina coast wandering the dunes.”
These dreams have manifested in song, captured in musical gallops and emotional wallops. By growing both their nuclear family and wider community, especially in LGBTQIA+ spaces, Doug and Telisha have come to the realization that time may be finite, but love is infinite. “Our understanding of love has changed. It’s expanded. It’s huge and vast and so hard to hold. It spills over in ways it couldn’t have before — the way Iris topples over and laughs with her whole body at the sound of a few strums of a guitar. Or the way River croaks out a tiny whisper of ‘more hug’ before going to bed,” Doug and Telisha say. “Singing together on a dusty stage, feeling our voices do that thing that we don’t understand but that feels so good and weaves them into one. Looking out over a little crowd of people to our partner, Laura, with Iris strapped to her chest. She’s squatting down with her arms around River, and they’re smiling back at us. Our little family. Our big family. That’s where our dreams are now.”
Pre-save Dreamers HERE, and be sure to follow Wild Ponies at the links below for the latest news and updates.
You can connect with Wild Ponies through website wildponies.net, Facebook @Wild Ponies, Instagram @wildponiesmusic, YouTube @WildPonies, BandCamp @Wild Ponies, and Spotify @Wild Ponies