I first met Fred Wickham at the old Coda venue here in Kansas City as the lead guitar player for Country Band The Naughty Pines. I subsequently learned of and became a fan of his band Hadacol and now the Fred Wickham Caravan.
Hadacol was around in the late 90s and early 2000s with Wickham, bassist Richard Burgess along with Wickham’s brother Greg. They recorded two critically acclaimed albums and toured extensively across the nation. The music critic writing for Salon Magazine once called the band’s brand of country “so tough they don’t have to prove it.”
An attorney by day, Fred has never abandoned his role as a generative/working musician in the Heartland.
The Fred Wickham Caravan now blends country, soul and rock and roll into a sound that fits nicely under the Americana umbrella. Comprised of some of Kansas City’s finest roots musicians, the Caravan originally formed to support Wickham’s 2017 solo release Mariosa Delta. Produced and recorded by the late, great Lou Whitney in Springfield, Missouri, the album received widespread critical acclaim both nationally and abroad. No Depression called Mariosa Delta “a sparkling gem of an album…a great record, part document, part tragedy, all heartbreak,” while PopMatters said the album was “reminiscent of rambling folk and country legends like Dylan and Cash.”
For the Caravan record recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Town without Soul, Wickham and Burgess have recruited some of their favorite musicians and best friends to form a six-piece band capable of jumping from one musical style to the next while maintaining a sound that is all their own. Guitar legend Marco Pascolini lends his unmistakable stylings on electric and pedal steel guitar. Cowboy Bart Colliver, Kansas City’s most soulful keyboardist, adds accordion and great harmony vocals. Matt Brahl, one of KC’s finest drummers and an old friend who actually played with Wickham and Burgess during the final days of Hadacol, jumped right in after original drummer Sam Platt departed. Rounding out the ensemble is Wickham’s son, Fred Jr., who had become an accomplished mandolin player while no one was watching.