Music

Country Music Outlaws Head Home For Helix's Wheatstock

By Aaron Scott (OPB) and Elayna Yussen (OPB)
Aug. 11, 2017 8:31 p.m.
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Tylor Ketchum (center) and his brothers (including Jason, right) have been playing Wheatstock since they were kids. Now they return as headliners.

Tylor Ketchum (center) and his brothers (including Jason, right) have been playing Wheatstock since they were kids. Now they return as headliners.

Aaron Scott / OPB

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Music runs thick in Tylor Ketchum's family. Growing up in Helix, Oregon, he formed a band with his younger brothers, before making his way to Boise in search of a broader music scene. He called on his brother Jason and two Idaho music veterans, Flip Perkins and Johnny "Shoes" Pisano, to form the band Tylor & The Train Robbers, hearkening back to their relative, Black Jack Ketchum, an infamous 19th century train robber.

After performing their Texas-inspired blend of outlaw honky-tonk and Americana around the Northwest, Tylor & The Train Robbers released their debut album, “Gravel,” in May.

On Aug. 19, they return to Kechum's hometown in eastern Oregon for the homegrown music festival Wheatstock. They've played eight of the last nine years and are excited to return for the 10th anniversary to headline a full day of rock, folk and country acts.

"We get to come home and show everybody what we've been doing all year, and show everybody how much we've progressed," said Ketchum, when "State of Wonder" caught up with him and the band earlier this year in Pendleton, after a show at the Great Pacific Wine and Coffee Company.

Hear the conversation by clicking on the audio player above.

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