One Of Alternative Country’s Biggest Bands Got Their Start In Albany

Country music has been through a lot over the past few decades. We went from George Strait to Morgan Wallen in 30 years, and the sonic differences couldn't be clearer.

It's been on a pretty understandable path, but you can't expect everyone to follow the mold set by their contemporaries.

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Who is Wednesday?

Formed in 2017 in Asheville, North Carolina, Wednesday is the passion project of singer-songwriter Karly Hartzman. They made their fame as a "return to form" for country, focusing on acoustic guitar and steel pedal, which has since become the band's trademark.

As they continued growing, they began to implement aspects of shoegaze and 90s grunge, giving them a sound unlike anything else on the scene. Best way I can describe it is if Brooks & Dunn were the lead singers of Nirvana. Since 2017, they've grown into the leaders of Alternative Country, inspiring acts like MJ Lenderman, Waxahatchee, and Town Mountain.

Getting Their Start in Albany

On July 22nd, I got to see the band perform in Hudson, NY. It was (and I don't say this lightly) the best show I've seen all year. The band was incredibly engaged with the audience, and at one point told an anecdote about Upstate, NY.

In the middle of the set, Karly revealed that the very first show she ever played on stage was in Albany. It was a local scene benefit show with Prince Daddy & the Hyena, where every band covered Green Day tracks. Hartzman revealed that she performed Brain Stew, and she hated her performance so much that she vowed to never perform on stage again.

Thankfully... she didn't stick to that.