Starting 15 years ago, The Crane Wives, an American indie band, went on their first tour, and now they are about to start another on the April 14. Going from Tennessee to Washington, this tour will likely continue to showcase some of their most popular songs alongside their most recent album: “Beyond, Beyond, Beyond.” The Crane Wives have amassed over 1.3 million monthly listeners and have toured not only within the United States but also across Canada and the U.K., despite their humble beginnings.
These humble beginnings started in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the two main vocalists, Kate Pillsbury and Emilee Petersmark, first met in college and later worked together at the same job. Petersmark herself said, “that shared misery really helped a lot in bringing us together as friends, and then the next logical step obviously was to play music together.”
The two musicians self-released their first EP, “Rabbit” in 2014 and named themselves The Crane Wives, both as a memento of the Decemberists’ album “The Crane Wife” and, more prominently, the Japanese folk tale about a poor sailor and an injured crane. As said by Pilsbury, “The crane is a symbol of creativity and passion and idealism. The wife is an archetype of partnership and supportiveness and pragmatism. We aim to balance those qualities in our music and ourselves.”
What started as a duo later became a quartet when Dan Rickabus joined as a drummer, and Ben Zito brought not only his bass but also a set of management skills to the band. Though what they originally believed to be a far-off dream started to become reality as they raised money from fans and tours, reaching further into the community. Now, they have listeners coming from across the world, from the Philippines to Brazil.
With their newfound confidence from pursuing solely music, the band continued to produce album after album, eventually leading to two Christmas EPs and their first live album, “Here I Am: Live from the Listening Room.” This album included old songs now sung live and new songs that had never been heard before.
From there, they continued experimenting, straying further from the typical folk genre they first became known for, saying, “We try not to define ourselves with what has to fit within the genre.” Their “Coyote Stories” album first showcased this more experimental sound, including electric and jazz elements. Further on into their career, they pulled influence from classic rock, bluegrass, catchy pop, and epic prog-rock suites.
In a past interview, Petersmark and Zito said they knew their music had evolved from their first album to their newest, but they believed it was a natural progression, with more freedom to play with sounds and lyrics than previous albums. “I just feel like as musicians,” Petersmark said, “if you’re growing, if you are inspired, then you’re not going to be making the same stuff over and over again.”
This appeared to be an inspired decision as their newest album, which fell furthest from their original style, accrued over seven million streams on Spotify alone. With six full-length albums and over 600 shows played across the U.S., their next tour is already predicted to be a huge success and the next big leap for the band. And who knows, maybe their next album will be right around the corner.
