In a world that's moving increasingly toward a pay-for-play model for artists to get exposure, the importance of alternative media and the growing exposure they provide are becoming more and more critical to that success. In the independent country and Americana space, one of those leading the charge is YouTube channel Western AF.
Founded in 2007 in Laramie, Wyoming, by Mike Vanata and Brian Harrington, the platform has grown into one of the genre's biggest influencers and tastemakers. It has nearly 300 videos and over 212,000 subscribers from artists such as Colter Wall, Sierra Ferrell, Charley Crockett and The Red Clay Strays.
Together with similar channels such as RadioWV and GemsonVHS — the latter of which Western AF's founders consider a major influence — they've worked to not only platform independent musicians but also distill an appreciation for the land and American spirit as well. Their intentionally shot videos showcase everything from picturesque ranches with roaming buffalo and mountain ranges to the downtown metropolises that have come to replace them.
One artist frequently featured on the channel has been Lost Dog Street Band's Benjamin Tod. In total, the Western Kentucky native has five videos posted to the channel — and none more impactful than last year's performance of "Wyoming," which has since accumulated over 2.1 million views. Very much a leader of the underground country scene in his own right, Tod has gone on to form a tight bond with Vanata and his team due to their humility, detail-oriented approach and appreciation of the music.
"Western AF is now driving culture," Tod asserts to Wide Open Country. "Look around the younger side of the industry and you can see up-and-coming artists directly influenced by the impact of what they have captured. I am extremely proud to be a part of it, and it makes all the difference in the world for the next generation to see archetypes they can establish within themselves that are strong and healthy."
In addition to having a great appreciation for the work that Western AF does, Tod says he's developed a tight friendship with Vanata that led to his favorite moment recording with the team on his song "Lifetime of Work."
"There was something so special and intimate about it," recalls Tod. "We wandered into an abandoned warehouse, just the two of us, to record it. Mike and I have become each other's therapists to an extent, and every time we're alone we get deep together. At the end of that video, we hugged — and that's the essential moment that encapsulates the care, respect and love for what each other does."
One of the artists who've grown most alongside the Western AF brand has been Willi Carlisle, who has 10 videos on the channel to date. Those are led by "Cheap Cocaine," which has over 1.6 million views despite him being hung over and worried it wasn't good enough to use at the time.
"It just goes to show you don't know everything about your own work," says Carlisle. "We trust our guts a lot more now. The working relationship I've gotten with these videographers is so cool in that we've all kinda gone from talented amateurs to pros and done a lot of growing together. I learn something new every time we work, but that lesson sticks with me. All energy, even angry energy, can be good."
Fresh off the release of his album Critterland, Carlisle says he first connected with the Western AF crew in the midst of a run of shows headed back east from Vancouver. Arriving in Laramie a day before his gig, he ended up lingering at a local watering hole that Vanata frequented. Before long, the two met and hit it off, eventually meeting again the next day to record their first video together.
"Western AF is leading the charge," explains Carlisle. "When culture journalists get laid off, when everyone has a voice on the internet, it's great to have a curatorial entity that's also a talented filmmaker's artistic project. Mike and the WAF team are like poets with their cameras, understanding perspective and qualities of light on a level I can't understand at all. They intuitively understand what makes a good song, too. Lord knows, the music industry has never been a meritocracy, but in the attentional economy it's amazing to have guys that go deeper, develop their own firmly held beliefs and then live them."
Another fixture on Western AF has been California-based rancher and musician Desiree Cannon, who's had two videos posted to the channel, the most recent being "Radio Heat" from her new record out now via Gar Hole Records. A mix of country, pop, punk, hip-hop and classical sounds, Cannon's music contains a profound sense of place, something that is also very prominent in all of Western AF's videos.
"Western AF is very much like an archive of contemporary American music," describes Cannon. "They've recorded a lot of friends and heroes of mine like Kiki Cavazos, who I think is the best country singer-songwriter that there is in my lifetime. It's really special the way they document not only the music but also the land and the history that ties the two together."
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