Photo by Will Morgan Holland
In the music world, you don’t hear of much emigration from Brooklyn. For the past decade, it’s been a hotbed for musicians, but count Keegan DeWitt out. The Oregon native found himself in Brooklyn trying to balance both his job and music against the high cost of living. “I found myself putting 50% effort into both that job and my music,” he told American Songwriter, so he packed up and headed for another music Mecca: Nashville.
There, he was able to make music his full-time job. DeWitt started out by scoring films, earning buzz from the SXSW Film Festival and the New York Times, and composing allowed him expand his musical scope. But the songwriting bug soon bit after meeting several multi-instrumentalists in Nashville. After performing around the country under his own name for a few years, DeWitt decided to form Wild Cub in 2012 with his Nashville friends. Earlier this year, the quintet self-released their debut, titled Youth. Indie label Mom + Pop decided to give the record a wider push after lead single “Thunder Clatter” started charting in Britain a few months ago.
Wild Cub recently stopped by KUTX’s tent backstage at ACL Fest 2013 to perform a few songs. While on record the band uses synths and dance beats, they play to their melodic strengths in a stripped-down setting, bringing new shades to “Thunder Clatter.”
