Wilder Woods Releases ‘Be Yourself (Stripped)’ Single

Singer/songwriter Bear Rinehart, aka Wilder Woods, releases “Be Yourself (Stripped)” today from his acclaimed album Fever/Sky out on Dualtone Records. Today Rinehart offers a stripped-down version of the single “Be Yourself,” which highlights his soulful voice as he gently pleads with a partner for honesty.

On Fever/Sky, Bear Rinehart (also known as the frontman for Grammy-nominated, chart-topping band NEEDTOBREATHE) explores a different creative outlet outside of the larger group dynamic. Wilder Woods offers Rinehart the opportunity to experiment and grow with different sounds, styles and textures, while also embracing new challenges along the way.

He shares, “I’m giving myself the freedom to do what I want to do and say what I want to say. This isn’t the kind of journey where I’m worried about the places I’m headed or the places I’ve left; it’s a journey where I’m just happy to be in the car, driving forward.”

With a song that’ll hit you in all the right places, the soulful and rootsy Wilder Woods shoots for the stars on the stripped down “Be Yourself” and absolutely succeeds. A beautiful song, Woods’ vocals wrap around well crafted lyrics and melody, complete with harmonies that enhance the richness of the tune. Bravo.

“Be Yourself (Stripped)”

 
He strikes a new balance between cathartic roots-rock and contemplative, cinematic moments with Fever/Sky, his second album as Wilder Woods. Rinehart unveiled the solo project in 2019, releasing a self-titled debut record of nuanced neo-soul. Fever/Sky covers different territory, with Rinehart refocusing his attention not upon the horizon ahead, but upon the road itself. Recorded with old friends and new collaborators, it’s a personal record about enjoying the modern moment, stacked high with soulful R&B textures, heartland hooks, and the willingness to chase the muse into unexplored places.

Wilder Woods, his solo debut, focused on new beginnings: the advent of fatherhood, the launch of a new project, and the updated branding of a longtime bandleader who’d decided to expand his artistry. With Fever/Sky, he just wanted to celebrate the parts of himself that made him most proud. “Once I finished a song, I didn’t ask myself which project it fit into,” he explains. “It was more about, ‘What feels like a personal statement?’ While making the first record, I felt like it had to be so different than anything I’d done before. I didn’t worry about that with Fever/Sky. The songs weren’t the difference. I let the musicians and collaborators that I surrounded myself with be the difference.”

Those collaborators included producer Cason Cooley and guitarist Tyler Burkum. “I’d already made some little demos — short ideas involving a song’s verse and chorus — and I wanted to flesh them out fully with writers I trusted,” Rinehart says. “I don’t think I could’ve made the record without a team, nor would I have wanted to. When you’ve been in a band your whole life, you get used to building music together and feeding off one another’s contributions. I approach every project like that. I’m not some genius in the corner, dreaming everything up.”

Working alongside Cooley and Burkum, Rinehart began turning his homemade demos into larger sketches of the record he intended to make. “We wanted something to show the other players what we were going for, and we organically built everything from there,” he explains. Emphasizing authentic performances over technical precision, he then recorded Fever/Sky with musicians like drummer Aaron Sterling, bassist Tony Lucido, and My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel. The goal wasn’t virtuosity, it was the proper communication of each song’s message, from the return-to-nature theme of “Heartland” to the self-love encouragement of “Be Yourself.”

Wilder Woods U.S. Tour Dates
April 6 – Harrisburg, PA – Club XL Live*
April 7 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live*
April 8 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair* SOLD OUT
April 10 – Albany, NY – Empire Underground*
April 11 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom* LOW TICKET ALERT
April 13 – Washington, D.C. – Union Stage* LOW TICKET ALERT
April 14 – Raleigh, NC – Lincoln Theatre* LOW TICKET ALERT
April 15 – North Charleston, SC – High Water Festival
April 17 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theater* LOW TICKET ALERT
April 18 – Knoxville, TN – The Mill & Mine*
April 20 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl* LOW TICKET ALERT
April 21 – Birmingham, AL – Iron City* LOW TICKET ALERT
April 22 – Atlanta, GA – Center Stage* LOW TICKET ALERT
April 23 – Miramar Beach, FL – Moon Crush Festival
April 25 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall* LOW TICKET ALERT
April 26 – Indianapolis, IN – The Vogue*
April 28 – Madison, WI – Majestic Theatre* LOW TICKET ALERT
April 29 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater* SOLD OUT
May 1 – Kansas City, MO – Madrid Theater & Café*
May 2 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theatre* SOLD OUT
May 4 – Austin, TX – 3Ten^ SOLD OUT
May 6 – Dallas, TX – The Echo Lounge* SOLD OUT
May 11 – Seattle, WA – The Crocodile Showroom**
May 12 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom**
May 14 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent**
May 16 – West Hollywood, CA – The Roxy**
July 8 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks^^
Sept 10 – Chattanooga, TN – Moon River Festival
*Abraham Alexander support
**Ida Mae support
^with Alex Lambert support
^^supporting The Avett Brothers

For a full list of tour dates see Here