Ever since Ashley Gearing and Andrea Young were kids, they each had a passionate love for music burning in their hearts. Raised in different parts of the country, the two first crossed paths after they moved to Nashville and got onto the circuit as working musicians. Before too long, they found themselves playing together in a few different bands… and their connection was immediate.
“We’ve been in a few different projects together,” Andrea Young said on a recent episode of American Songwriter’s Twitch show, Off The Record Live. “Together—or even when we’re apart—people would always say to us, ‘You are the wild card of this bunch!’ We just kept hearing that over and over again.” Jumping in, Gearing added: “aka the troublemakers!”
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So, when Gearing and Young decided that they oughta try to make a group of their own, the name was an obvious choice. “We just decided that that was the whole theme our foundation was based on, so we should just stick with it,” Young said. Explaining their philosophy, Gearing said, “We have a motto: ‘Good vibes all the time.’ I think it can be a really dangerous place to overthink yourself or overthink the creative process. For us, we like to consider it a little bit wild. We have a love for a wide range of music and genres, and we don’t ever want to be put in a box.”
With that in mind, Gearing and Young formed their duo: The Wildcards. Four months ago, they unveiled their first-ever track, a heartfelt ode to friendship and beverage-based catharsis titled “Pour The Wine.”
Sitting down with American Songwriter, The Wildcards not only gave an intimate performance of the tune, but spoke about the writing process that produced it, highlighting the meaning of their creative collaboration. They also gave the same treatment to their second single, “Light On,” which debuted earlier this month with American Songwriter.
Learn more about the duo’s impassioned journey by watching the full interview and performances below: