Ian Munsick

A little known or acknowledged fact about country music is that when the genre first started gaining attention, it was originally categorized as Country & Western music.

Though the format at large has generally moved further away from the latter half of that moniker, there are a select few artists who still have "western" proudly emblazoned on their craft.

One of the true cowboys leading that charge is none other than Ian Munsick.

Born to a ranching family in the beautiful surroundings of Sheridan, Wyoming, he grew up tending cattle.

Starting at age 9, though, once the sun went down, he and his family band, the Munsick Boys, would play around town. From those first few performances, a fire was sparked inside of Munsick that told him music was his destiny.

During his formative years, Munsick was like a sponge, soaking in everything from bluegrass beloved by his father to the pop masterclass of the Beatles. He quickly began writing his own songs, drawing from a wide array of genres, including pop, rock, country and hip-hop.

He followed his dream all the way to Music City at the age of 18, where he enrolled in Nashville's prestigious Belmont University. His eponymous debut EP arrived in 2017, which included his iHeartRadio Rocky Mountain Song of the Year-winning single 'Horses Are Faster.'

From there, it was off to the races.

Munsick landed a deal with Warner Music Nashville soon after, yielding his debut album, Coyote Cry, which produced his second iHeartRadio Rocky Mountain Country Music Award for Song of the Year with standout track 'Long Haul.'

Serving as a picturesque introduction to the luscious locked cowboy that we now know and love, Munsick's debut effort offered up a whimsical blend of spacious, roots-pop that also showed off his distinctive tenor.

However, if Coyote Cry marked the dawn of western pop-laced country, then his 2023 record, White Buffalo, was the glorious sunrise.

Bringing classic Western influences to center stage, White Buffalo effectively breathes fresh Rocky Mountain air into country music as Munsick transports listeners to the wide natural expanses of Wyoming, while also tipping his hat to the Native American culture with which he's also been in close proximity to.

Including his stampeding duet with Cody Johnson, 'Long Live Cowgirls,' the record notches 18 tracks that tell tales of romance and ranch life, as well as features hard-working anthems with honkytonk hooks and mountain-time odes that are laced with an ever-present screeching fiddle.

In just a matter of years, Munsick has begun to pioneer a new brand of country that maybe isn’t so new after all. Perhaps a better way to put it is that, with Ian Munsick, western country is being reborn and reimagined.

In a sea full of songs about beer, trucks and doing country stuff, Munsick rises above the rest with the sole mission of “bringing the West to the rest.”