Wyatt Flores on red dirt style, life lessons and playing at Wildlands Festival

By Jen Clancey DIGITAL PRODUCER

Editor’s note: Outlaw Partners is the publisher of Explore Big Sky and is the producer of the Wildlands Festival, which will host Wyatt Flores in August. 

Wyatt Flores is a 22-year-old Mexican-American singer-songwriter from Morrison, Oklahoma. He grew up around the red dirt tradition—a medley of folk, bluegrass, swing, Mexican influences and a heavy dose of rock and grit. Flores began 2024 by releasing his most recent single, “Milwaukee.” The year will be marked by the musician’s tour that will take him abroad later this spring. 

Flores will be playing at Wildlands Festival in Big Sky on Aug. 3, before headliner Dierks Bentley. Explore Big Sky’s Hoary Marmot podcast hosts Joe and Michelle Borden interviewed Flores about his music alongside EBS so that before Wildlands, fans can learn what Flores is all about. 

This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity. Please listen to Hoary Marmot’s episode, “Coming to Wildlands: Wyatt Flores,” to hear the full conversation, including how Flores and his team lost sleep in the re-recording of “Losing Sleep.”

Explore Big Sky: Have you been to Montana before? Or will Wildlands be your first time in the state?

Wyatt Flores: This will be my first time. I’m excited as all get-out to finally get up there. I’ve heard so many great things from, you know, other artists, but also friends that have had to go out there and do cattle sales and stuff like that. So I’m super excited. 

EBS: What else is on your list while you’re here?

WF: I haven’t really started digging in all that I want to do while I’m there. But I’m gonna start trying to figure out things that the entire band can do.

EBS: So your style is country red dirt style music. And that spoke to you when you started playing. Can you elaborate more on that?

WF: The red dirt style. It’s rock and roll mixed with folk … it’s hard to describe red dirt because there’s so many styles of it. And I don’t know, I feel like you can’t go wrong—if that makes sense—with whatever style that you choose. It’s real country. It’s got some classic country songs in there. And then it’s got mostly folk, up-tempo kind of rock, but it’s [red dirt’s] own sound. 

You know, it’s something you don’t get anywhere else … It’s rough. And that’s just what the state is, you know, Oklahoma. It’s—you don’t even have to scratch the surface on the history,  and it’s not pretty at all … It’s just the history of the state and everything that it’s been through. It just rolls straight into the music as well.

EBS: You just came out with a single last week, Friday [Jan. 26]. I’d be really interested to know about the writing process behind “Milwaukee.”

WF: Milwaukee’s writing process was just us having fun … It really just fell right into our laps, honestly. And I think that’s why the song’s doing as well as it is because there was no real struggle behind it. It was just meant to be that day. And honestly, it was me wanting to try and write a song for Graham [Barham], but Graham was trying to write a song for me and I think we hit that perfect mix of commercial country mixed with folk. 

EBS: There’s definitely a sense of ease in that song. So it makes sense that it started rolling, and then kept going. What made you choose that song to kick off 2024?

WF: I’d had it in my pocket since February of last year. And so I’ve been holding on to it for a hot minute … I was real tired of holding on to it. And I was like, now we got to record this. I wanted to kick off the year with a bang.

EBS: A few weeks ago, you played an encore on the bed of a pickup truck outside The Basement [in Nashville]. How did that feel doing that? And what possessed you to do so?

WF: Well, it was one of the things where we knew that we could sell it out. But we didn’t think that many people would show up. We had 200 people wrapped around after we’d already closed off and then I told them, “Hey guys, I know it’s cold. Y’all have been out here for a while waiting. I’m gonna do an encore after the show if y’all want to stick around or come back and we’ll do it right here in the parking lot.” 

There was another band that was coming in so we couldn’t go over time or anything like that. So we got done with the show. And then I told everyone inside that we’re gonna do it outside. We just hopped in the back of that truck. 

It was one of those moments where it’s like, this is what music is all about. It’s a moment of just being there, being present and enjoying it for what it is.

EBS: And that was in Nashville. You’re from Oklahoma. Other than those two places, where do you feel like you’re being you know, the most well-received? Who gets you?

WF: I mean, honestly, everywhere we’ve been. All the fans are nice—they’re the sweetest people ever. And they all tell me their stories. I end up relating to them more than they realize … And sometimes it feels like there’s a disconnect between fans and the artist. You know, they put you on a pedestal, but I don’t believe that I’m on a pedestal, I believe that I’m just the exact same as them. And I just have a skill of writing songs and putting out music. 

And I’ve been so lucky that I have the fanbase that I do, because with having them I don’t feel so alone in this world. And I think that’s the entire message that I’m after is trying to tell people that you’re not the only one that’s going through whatever you’re going through.

EBS: I’m really intrigued by your cover for your singles and album that you have. What’s the inspiration behind having skeletons going on these different adventures among flowers? 

WF: With this next bit of music that I’m working on, it kind of tells a story that I haven’t quite told yet. The reason that there’s the skeleton and everything else is because it’s odd for me. But this has been going on for like two, three years … I’ve had an odd satisfaction with the thought of death. I’ve been to so many funerals, and I’ve lost so many friends and family. It’s opened my eyes to realize that one day it all comes to an end, and what are you gonna leave behind? What are you going to do with your life? Are you going to make something worth it, and go out and live? 

So you have “Life Lessons,” which is all about taking the chance on whatever path you want to take and realizing that if you take the path less traveled … it’s filled with heartbreak, because it’s the pursuit of happiness. And the pursuit of happiness is not glamorous, until you get to the very end, and you have that slight bit of success and finally reach your goal … And you know, you need the yin and yang. And that’s the next thing that I’m working on—showing off the other side of where “Life Lessons” came from.

EBS: Thank you for sharing. So I love the song “Wildcat” and I have a couple of questions. Is that song about you? I’d love to hear the inspiration behind that song. 

WF: This is really funny, because whenever it finally released, a lot of reviews were like, “No, Flores was not good at playing football.” And I was like, no, no, not quite. 

I had written a song about me back in high school when I was the mascot for the Morrison Wildcats. And I was not good at football. But being the mascot was the coolest thing ever. Even though I was never on the field, I’d still get chewed out after a game and then had to sit on a smelly bus for the next two hours until we got back home. 

You’ll have to hear that one live. We have a lot of fun playing that one.

EBS: It seems like you’ve learned so much about yourself and about the industry. And your career is just getting off the ground. What are your goals?

WF: My goals right now are to finish what I’ve started. I can’t give any news on what is being done currently. But … once I’m done with this project and get everything that I want out of my head, I’m going to take a good long look at what I want from myself. My goal is just to figure out who I am. 

As a young adult. I’ve been focusing a lot on past things and digging into that. And I think I want to really be present for the future—soak up everything that I absolutely can, and learn. And sit down and start writing the next project.

EBS: Well, that was fun. Thank you for your time. 

WF: I can’t wait to finally meet y’all in person and see y’all up there.