Way Down Wanderers Performing at Happy Days Lodge

Often classified as bluegrass, the Americana band is hard to categorize due to their penchant of blending a multitude of styles together.

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(Image via Genta Tamashiro, courtesy of All Eyes Media)

The band consists of songwriters Collin Krause and Austin Krause-Thompson, jazz percussionist John Merikoski, classical upright bassist John Williams and banjo player Travis Kowalsky.

By LeKesha Parkman, Special Editions Editor

Looking for something to do on Oct. 30?

The Way Down Wanderers
is performing at 7 p.m. at Happy Days Lodge, 500 W Streetsboro St, Peninsula, OH 44264, on Wednesday Oct. 30. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Hailing from Peoria, Ill., the Wanderers will be featured in
Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s Concert Series and have performed across the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

Tickets are available at the
event website. General admission tickets are $21. Conservancy member tickets are $17. Students with valid ID tickets are $10. Children 10 and under are free.

Rolling Stone magazine has applauded The Way Down Wanderers as one of the best Americana bands in the USA and recommended them in a list of 
10 Artists You Should Know.

Performing an official showcase at the
Americana Fest in Nashville, Tenn., the band also earned honors from the review site American Roots UK and were finalists in the 2016 International Songwriting Competition.

Their live shows are “truly unique, communal experiences, with acoustic encores taking place out in the audience after each concert,” a
Conservancy website said. 

Two of the five band members, Austin Krause-Thompson and Collin Krause, are brothers-in-law and act as the main songwriters for the group.


“One of the things that inspires my songwriting is nature and natural things in a metaphorical way,” band member Krause-Thompson said. “Collin and I are really getting a feel for one another, the way we write together.”


Each member’s personal style and training varies from jazz to classical and even rock. 


Their song “All My Words” displays this distinctive sound by featuring their novel use of bluegrass, classic rock and reggae elements while conveying a spoken word vibe.