Ready to Strike Up the Band

The instruments to be played by the roots music group The Steel Wheels are in place and ready to be picked up once members of the band take the stage. The image was made at the GAR Hall in Peninsula, Ohio, a venue the band has played at numerous times in recent years.

Hanging With The Steel Wheels

Members of The Steel Wheels hawk shirts and albums following their concert in Carmel, Indiana. They are (from left) Eric Brubaker, Kevin Garcia, Brian Dickel and Trent Wagler.

I recently attended a concert in Carmel, Indiana, performed by the American roots music group The Steel Wheels.

They played as part of the Concerts for a Cause series at the Lucas Estate.

It was the seventh time I’ve seen this band perform in the past two years and the first time I’ve seen them play outside Indiana.

Trent Wagler is the lead singer for the Steel Wheels.

The band ends its concert with one of its signature songs, “Rain in the Valley.” They are (from left) Brian Dickel, Trent Wagler, Eric Brubaker and Jay Lapp.

Sing Them Like a Folk Song

The Steel Wheels recently rolled into Akron, Ohio, to play on a Saturday night at Musica, a live music venue downtown.

They have performed in Northeast Ohio in various venues, but this was their first performance in Akron.

They are (from left) Brian Dickel on the bass; Trent Wagler, lead singer and principal song writer on guitar and banjo; Eric Brubaker on the fiddle; and Jay Lapp, who plays guitar and mandolin.

During the concert the group performed Sing Me Like a Folk Song and other ditties from their latest album Wild as We Came Here.

The American folk roots band will be back in Northeast Ohio on April 14 when they play at the GAR Hall in Peninsula, which is where I first saw them perform nearly a year ago.

Playing His Music For Tips

I have a thing about photographing street musicians. They make for some interesting images and I’d bet there are some interesting stories behind why they are playing on the street and not in some venue that charges admission.

Some probably are not good enough to play for pay but music is their passion and they play to hustle tips. It has to be a hard life.

There are probably other reasons why they are on the street and not playing Carnegie Hall starting with the fact that not every musician is going to be able to rake in the big bucks from expensive stadium tours and buku record sales.

You have to be able to market yourself and that takes time, effort and talent that the typical street musician probably doesn’t have. You also have to have some luck.

But they enjoy entertaining so playing on the streets is a way to do that. Maybe they make more money from tips than I know.

This guy is playing his saxophone by the Mississippi River in New Orleans.

The Leader of the Band

Trent Wagler tunes a banjo as The Steel Wheels prepares for a concert in December at the King Arts Complex in Columbus, Ohio.

Wagler is the lead singer and primary song writer for the American roots music group that is based in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

The band performed in Columbus toward the end of its last national tour to promote is album Wild as We Came Here, which was released in May 2017.

It was the second time I’d seen The Steel Wheels perform this year, the first having been in May at the GAR Hall in Peninsula, Ohio.