After introducing fans to the wild, untamed beauty of the American West on White Buffalo, Wyoming native Ian Munsick is ready to dive even deeper into his world with his third studio album, Eagle Feather.
Out now via Warner Music Nashville, the 20-track project pays tribute to the people and places that shaped Munsick while deepening his exploration of the landscapes, communities, and traditions that fuel his music. White Buffalo introduced lessons of prosperity and rebirth while Eagle Feather represents honor, strength and wisdom.
The Meaning Behind The Album Title
Munsick explained to Country Now that he was inspired to name his next project after the native symbol when he was adopted into the Crow tribe and gifted an eagle feather during his debut at the iconic Red Rocks amphitheater. Since his previous two albums were also named after animals, and this one represents what he calls “the pinnacle of my career,” the title made perfect sense.
“Toward the end of our show, I got adopted into the Crow Native American tribe and they gave me an eagle feather as a gift of becoming a part of their culture. Growing up in Wyoming, that’s just a very big honor for me and just for being an ambassador of the West. So I came up with the title just out of honor for them and for the honor of Western culture as a whole,” he explained.
Once he had the title, the music followed closely behind with lyrics that celebrate the spirituality of the Eagle Feather, which is an item that only a Native American can own or be gifted, according to Munsick. He then connected the rarity of the symbol to the uniqueness of love—and the idea of giving your one and only heart to someone special.
“When I had that idea, I was like, ‘Man, I just don’t know how many co-writers are going to understand this thought.’ But I had a day with Stephen Wilson Jr. and I just know how unique his writing brain is, and I figured that he would be able to wrap his head around that concept,” he pointed out. “I told that to him and he started to just strum and we wrote that probably in an hour. It’s definitely a pretty unique structure for me. There’s a lot of imagery and repetition, which I think that is just kind of cool for it to not be the same formula that’s written over and over again on Music Row.”
The Wyoming native went on to showcase moments of personal growth obtained through real-life experiences when writing 18 of the songs, the other two being outside cuts. Many of his ideas stem from his home state, however the creativity is brought to life in the studio in Nashville, where he now lives with his wife, son, Crawford, and his soon-to-be-born daughter.
Exploring Outside Cuts
Music City has given Munsick the opportunity to work with some of the best writers and musicians in the world. Sometimes, that also means getting to write with fellow singer/songwriters like Caitlyn Smith and Stephen Wilson Jr., both of whom are credited on this record.
The two rare outside cuts that made it onto the album are “Drink Around” and “Horses Not Hearts.” Before these songs, Munsick had only recorded one other song that he didn’t write, so he wasn’t used to having people write tracks with him in mind. However, he admits it was a “really cool experience” seeing the talented songwriters bring his mission to life even when he wasn’t in the room.
“We weren’t really looking for anything in particular, but when I heard ‘Horses Not Hearts’ for the first time, I was really like, man, there’s no way that these guys just kind of wrote this randomly. They had to have been like, alright, we’re going to get a to cut. And I called them and I was like, ‘Hey guys, did you write this me or just kind randomly?’ And they’re like, ‘no, we wrote it because we heard that you wanted one more song.’ I was like, ‘damn, well, this is going to be on my album.’ That was kind of a no brainer.”
He went on to discuss his connection to the other outside cut, “Drink Around,” saying, “I always like to have a little bit of humor and lightheartedness to balance out the more heavy, nostalgic, spiritual anthems that I also have. So when I heard a ‘Drink Around,’ pretty much it just got stuck in my head the first time I heard it. I was like, man, I cannot get this thing out of my head, and I’ve only heard it one time. I have to record that.”
Snagging Lainey Wilson As A Duet Partner
The project, which was produced by Munsick, Jared Conrad and Jeremy Spillman, also features two duets – “God Bless The West” ft. Cleto Cordero and “Feather In My Hat” ft. Lainey Wilson.
Munsick and Wilson have become major supporters for each other over the course of the eight years they’ve known each other. He got the chance to watch her career reach new heights first-hand while serving as support on her past tours. Their collaboration came to be during a stop in New York when Munsick presented the Louisiana native with two different tracks. While she fell in love with both of then, “Feather In My Hat” ultimately stuck with her the most.
“I think that ‘Feather In My Hat’ just really resonated with her because one, she wears one in her hat. So that was kind of a no-brainer, but also she recently found the love of her life with Duck, and I obviously have a great wife in my wife Caroline. So I think that she was able to really feel that love and that specialness and not just being a trophy for somebody, but being the wings on their back. So that one, just very, very honored to have her on there.”
Bringing The Project Full Circle With ‘Prairie Lament’ Interludes
Interlaced between the songs are three tracks that range from 40 seconds to a minute, including “Prairie Lament i,” sitting as the very first top of the project, “Prairie Lament ii” in the middle and “Prairie Lament iii” at the second to last song.
“This is the first album that I’ve made that I really feel like before we started to record it, we really had an idea of what the album was going to be. So we were able to create an actual album and not just throw a bunch of tracks out and call it an album. We were able to really make a cohesive project. And I think that a big part of that is having those threads throughout it to connect it together,” he explained.
“I have had the music written for that a couple of years ago, but I could never really find the lyrics. But ‘Prairie Lament,’ I felt like was just kind of this classic 1800s kind of idea that your longing for the Prairie, but also how ruthless the Prairie is, and just tying that kind of old school theme with how you die a little slower in Wyoming and the place that you love. To me, I think it makes the album a little bit more cohesive.”
Sharing His Mission With The World
It’s safe to say that Ian Munsick’s mission of bringing the West to the rest has had a major impact on music lovers all over the world. So with the release of Eagle Feather, he gets to continue to carve out his lane in the industry by carrying on the traditions of the western way of life and always being true to himself.
“I’m just very, very proud of what we’ve been able to build and I think that this next album will just to continue to build that,” he shared.
Ian Munsick is currently headlining his spring 2025 Horses Are Faster Tour featuring a rotating lineup of support including Colby Acuff, Avery Anna, Chayce Beckham, Bayker Blankenship, Kashus Culpepper, Hudson Westbrook and Jake Worthington. Later this year, he’ll join Cody Johnson for several dates.
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