The Woodsheep

2015–2016: Formation

The Woodsheep was originally founded by Andrew Preston and David Tackett in 2015. The two met in college at Morehead State University. After years of self-producing anti-folk records, Preston, native to Van Lear, Kentucky, was featured by The International Bluegrass Music Association for his song, "The Mountain Wayfarers" as part of the international songwriting showcase in 2015.^[1]

In March 2015, the duet began working on cover songs for a college open mic night. Almost immediately, the duo began performing through the region. Shortly thereafter, they began to expand their folk roots to include experimental, blues, jazz, and electronic elements. The initial recordings were made with a Blue Yeti USB microphone at odd hours of the morning and in between classes in a small practice room at the university. On a whim, Preston hired classmates Matt Holleran and Melissa Caskey to record bass and drums for the record. After performing a few small shows with the two, they were added to the official lineup.^[2]

Watching Mars, their debut album, was completed in full on Preston's laptop. They recruited Jesse Wells to master the record at The Kentucky Center for Traditional Music, and quickly released the record on June 2, 2016.

2016–2017: Watching Mars

After releasing Watching Mars, The Woodsheep toured through the region, performing at venues around Appalachia as the original acoustic duet, aside from a few electric shows that included Caskey and Holleran. In April 2016, they joined with frontwoman of Pearl and the Beard, Jocelyn Mackenzie, for another show for suicide awareness organization, Active Minds.^[3] They began collecting show dates, leading to an impressive list of over 150 North American tour dates in their first year.^[4] Their first single, "Live Simply" made its way to independent radio across the United States alongside a music video.

After accruing a small fanbase in various major cities throughout south-eastern Appalachia, The Woodsheep completed an east-coast tour throughout 2017, including popular venues like Sidewalk Cafe in New York City and The Purple Fiddle in Thomas, WV. They also announced a follow-up record to Watching Mars to be released later in the year, citing the new indie rock direction in their 2017 single, "Perspective of a Winter Leaf" as inspiration.^[5] In July 2017, they toured The People's Republic of China to promote Appalachian music.

2017–Present: Sleeping Under Stars

Originally citing a release date of December 2017, the band scrapped many of their original ideas. Preston recorded, engineered, and produced the entire album at the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music's studio. The entire rhythm section of the new album was recorded live in a single day.

The band announced the release of the new album, Sleeping Under Stars, for May 2018 after a successful fundraising campaign. The album included the primary quartet, as well as a slew of of other musicians. A music video for the first single, "Lost", was release in April 2018, showcasing a departure from the country-influenced style of Watching Mars in favor of theatrical jazz and pop folk orchestrations, highlighting Caskey's vocal.

On May 11, 2018, Sleeping Under Stars was released to the public, followed by an international tour through China, Ireland, and The U.K.

With the increasing focus on Preston's songwriting, Tackett's departure in August of 2018, and the inclusion of a wide array of touring musicians, the band shifted to a collective format. Currently, Preston is leading the group on an Appalachian homecoming tour, focusing on re-creating the theatrics of Sleeping Under Stars, and sharing songs collected overseas.

Albums

Singles