Tracker Pixel for Entry

Midwest roots

Music | December 5th, 2018

Hornung-Midwest Roots-photograph by Chris Casella 0

When Iowa born roots musician William Elliott Whitmore describes his latest album “Kilonova,” he likens it to a mixed tape, it’s all covers ranging from Magnetic Fields to Captain Beefheart, Jimmie Driftwood and more. He said the songs that he chose are the kind of songs that you want to share with others and from a songwriter’s perspective, songs so good he wished he would have written them. Though the album consists of covers, Whitmore’s earthy baritone comes through making the songs his own.

“I grew up in a household with a lot of music around. My folks had a great record collection. My old man played guitar and my mom played the accordion and piano. My dad gave me his old Sears and Roebuck acoustic when I was 12 or 13 and a book of chords.” He went on to say, “From there I started learning popular songs as well as old country tunes.”

He eventually inherited his grandfather’s banjo and once he left his hometown of Montrose, he found a foothold in the Iowa City DIY scene.opening for hardcore acts as a one-man country band.

Whitmore doesn’t spend nearly as much time on the road as he once did. He and his wife live on the same 32-acre farm he grew up on. He jokes that when it comes time to hit the road he becomes a little “barn sour.” Barn sour being a term for a horse that gets too used to spending time in the barn. He said, “I have a huge subsistence food plot, a couple of horses, and chickens.” When the time comes to tour his neighbors are kind enough to watch the place.

If there’s a word that could describe Whitmore it would be genuine. For the first five minutes of our 40 minute interview, we shared midwest colloquialisms and chatted about the weather.

When asked what his favorite song on the album was, he admitted that he favored his cover of Magnetic40-minute Field’s “Fear of trains.” He admitted that it nearly chokes him up when he plays it and chalks it up as one he wished he wrote.

Unfortunately, William Elliott Whitmore’s upcoming show at Fargo Brewing Company is sold out, it wouldn’t be the first time and it definitely won’t be the last. There’s a good reason Fargo loves William Elliott Whitmore. He oozes midwest charm and swells with midwest pride. In an interview we did in 2016 he said, “ I've always felt that folks here in the "flyover states" have had to work a little harder to make an impression. Luckily hard work comes naturally to most of us.”

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.com Ten North Dakota communities will participate in the nationwide No Kings Day of Peaceful Action on October 18. The grassroots movement is a nonviolent protest against President Trump’s…

By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu I would like to recognize some of the scholarly Germans from Russia from Canada and USA shared on the GRHC website. There are additional names not included here. If you have suggestions…

Friday, October 31, doors 8 p.m. show starts at 8:30 p.m.The Aquarium above Dempey’s, 226 N. Broadway, FargoThe annual Aquarium Halloween Cover Show is back and it is stacked. And this time there are a limited amount of presale…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com At the end of September, downtown Fargo said goodbye to another old friend; the Spirit Room closed its doors, marking the end of an era. The Spirit Room room has been a fixture downtown for the…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comAnother public health crisis besides guns: lack of empathyThe Sisters of Charity have finally had enough of their Trumper boss, Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. One of the most…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gion and Nichole Hensenrickgion@gmail.com The wait is finally over. Those who have visited Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Cafe lately know about the recent major additions and renovations that have taken place over the past…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comNoémie Merlant, working from a script she wrote with Pauline Munier and her “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” collaborator Celine Sciamma, directs herself in “The Balconettes” (the…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Gallery 4 downtown recently celebrated its 50 year anniversary, making it one of the longest consecutively running galleries in the country. With different membership tiers, there are 17 primary…

Press release“Shakespeare with a sharpened edge.” To launch its 2025 – 2026 season, Theatre NDSU is thrilled to team up with Moorhead-based organization Theatre B to perform a co-production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com When we are sick, all we want is a cure. You go to the doctor, they give you a pill, you take it for a bit, then you are cured. It happens. But unfortunately, it is not always the case. …

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.comMoral accountability and the crisis of leadership  As a recovering person living one day at a time for the last 35 years, I have learned not to judge others because I have not walked in…