A Montanan You Should know: Wylie Gustafson

Wylie and the Wild West has performed at such prestigious venues as Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, the National Folk Festival, and the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.  Wylie and the Wild West have recorded 16 albums.  An accomplished cutting horse enthusiast, Wylie has won championships.  That shiny belt buckle he wears wasn’t won on eBay.

The most important thing my dad taught me… 

was how to yodel when you’re happy!

 Growing up in Conrad, I thought the world was… 

waiting for me to discover it.

If I could play my music with anyone, it would be... 

my brother Erik.

Nobody knows that I... 

wear women’s nylons under my Wranglers in the Hi-Line winter to keep warm. 

When I’m yodeling my songs, it feels like… 

I’m singing to the stars.

There is no better way to relax than… 

a day ride into Old Man Lake, Glacier Park to cast for Cutthroats.

If my cuttin’ horse, Whiskey, could talk, he would tell me…

to slow down.

My favorite place to play our music in Montana is… 

anywhere in Butte, the center of the universe when it comes to knowing how to have a good time.

If I had been born 100 years ago, I’d probably... 

fit right in.

The one thing my wife would like to change about me…

would be to take off my cowboy boots before I come into the house.

I can get pretty riled up when I see… 

an animal (especially a horse) mistreated.

The future of cowboy music is… 

totally reliant on change.  Without change we will not engage the younger audience and our songs will slowly become a thing of the past.

The last good laugh I had was… 

watching my 87-year-old father (Rib) ride my good cutting horse and then telling me afterwards “I got him trained for you”!

I know folks are having a good time when… 

they’re smiling and tapping their feet.

The only thing I’m really afraid of is…

becoming too old to embrace change.

The three words that best describe me are…

hard headed Swede.

I know a good horse when I… 

feel its heart.

Very few people have seen me… 

do my Angus Young (AC/DC’s guitarist) impression.

As a boy, I always thought I’d grow up to be…

a veterinarian like my father.

What I can tell you for sure about tomorrow is…

there is no certainty in it and it doesn’t do a bit of good to worry about it.  Carpe Diem!

Thank you, Wylie! ~ Distinctly Montana

Visit:  wyliewebsite.com