When six friends from Texas Tech University began running around Texas and Oklahoma playing shows, there was little expectation they would turn their dreams into reality. Ten years later, Flatland Cavalry is one of the most respected bands in country music, with frontman Cleto Cordero being one of the most imaginative and clever songwriters.
Their first EP, Come May, left an immediate impression on music with hits like “No Shade of Green,” “Summertime Love,” and “Missing You.” While Turnpike Troubadours dominated the red dirt/Oklahoma scene, Flatland developed a youthful and energetic sound that invited a new generation of listeners and opened them up to a world of music with visionary songwriters and musicians. With their foot on the gas, they went directly into their debut album Humble Folks, and the lead single, “A Life Where We Work Out (with Kaitlin Butts),” which grew to be their biggest hit across all streaming platforms. Written by Cleto Cordero, the song exemplified his ability to express countless emotions with the listener through his words, and his unique voice elevated the words to another level.
They followed it up with their sophomore album Homeland Insecurity and the singles “War With My Mind” and “Sober Heart of Mine;” these efforts elevated Cordero into country music’s elite songwriting class. Throughout 2020 and into 2021, they struggled with various pandemic restrictions to create their third studio album, Welcome to Countryland. The 14-track record may not have been able to harness the original energy that fans felt when they first discovered the band Humble Folks, but they still put together a project that filled a void in the genre during the pandemic.
“We’ve been at this now for 10 years, so I feel like everyone’s a better musician, and everyone’s grown in their ways,” Cleto said. “Each time we try to make a new album, we try to make a new thing and not refurbish or recreate what we’ve done already.”
With this newfound stardom, they were presented with many new opportunities to display their music to an audience mile-wide. In 2022, they were presented with a chance to display their music to an audience that may never have gotten the chance. In a season 5 episode of Yellowstone, their track “Mountain Song” ran in the background while John Dutton and company woke up for the day ahead of them at a campsite. Longtime fans of the band felt a sense of pride that the world was finally beginning to understand and appreciate the masterful minds that are Flatland Cavalry.
“It feels great, I feel like we’ve had a lot of luck with Yellowstone,” Cordero said. “It helps bring life to a lovely song.”
After Yellowstone, they were given a few more opportunities to create songs for The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Twisters. With stardom around them on both soundtracks, fans could discover them from a new angle. Songwriting for movies, as opposed to cutting songs for an album, was a new challenge for the group but certainly not one they would shy away from.
“As a practice, I just try to write whatever song I hear, and then it’ll find its place if it’s supposed to. If you’re writing for an album, you have at least themes and emotions, so you know where to look. 99% of the time for movies, it’s the other way around; you just write what you feel and if it finds the project great, and if not, you move on,” Cordero said.
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Growing together as a band for ten years is an accomplishment any group should be proud of. With those 10 years together, they build trust, which may not have been possible in the band’s early days. Now that they’ve grown and matured as bandmates, they can trust each other to take on different parts of the creative process and support one another. With drummer Jason Albers and guitarist Reid Dillon looking to take steps into songwriting, the band members are all taking on different roles and learning to grow as a band. All bands go through change and have different members come and go over the years. When Adam Gallegos came into the picture, his value was immediately recognized as a multi-instrumentalist, playing keys, guitar, banjo, and wherever else the band needed. This talent and ability to shift towards the band’s needs has helped Flatland Cavalry evolve over time.
“There’s a reason we’re still together. Everyone encourages one another to be the best they can be. So we try to help each other do just that,” Cordero explained.
With ten years behind them, Flatland Cavalry seems to have climbed to the top of the red-dirt country music world. They have maintained the youthful energy they all shared in their college days. Fans who may have been too young to enjoy Turnpike Troubadours in their prime look up to Flatland Cavalry as their beacon of hope that traditional country music from Texas can still be played in the mainstream and appreciated by so many.
