The Steel Wheels returns to Cedar Rapids at CSPS Hall

It always feels like a sort of homecoming for Steel Wheels when the Americana band returns to Cedar Rapids.

"A lot of that has to do with our original bassist (Brian Dickel), who grew up in Kalona, Iowa," singer-songwriter Trent Wagler said. "We've spent some time in that area. We have some memories playing The Mill. That little venue had so much history and so many good vibes. I was just looking at some old footage of us playing the Mill back in 2010. It brought back some really good memories. That part of the Midwest has its own flavor. There's the prairie, corn fields and it's Greg Brown country. We always look forward to coming back."

When the Steel Wheels return Wednesday to CSPS Hall, expect a healthy amount of tunes from “Sideways," the band's latest album.

After a spin of "Sideways," it's evident that the group's 13th release was inspired by tough times that required resilience.

"Songwriting for me is a reflection," Wagler said while calling from his Harrisonburg, Virginia home. "I look back at what I've been writing since it's all about where I've been."

Where Wagler was during the writing of "Sideways" was at home sequestered since it's an album inspired by the pandemic. So the title is appropriate. "We were all obviously living through some weird times," Wagler said. "It was actually super weird. It's still wild to think about how we just stopped and we had isolation to deal with."

Wagler was writing songs but music wasn't all that was on his mind while in lockdown. The welfare of his two teenagers was priority since Wagler was sensitive enough to realize how difficult that period was for high school students. "It was difficult watching my kids try to make sense of that time," Wagler said. "Adults had the advantage of living through 'normal experience.' We knew what we were going through wouldn't last forever. But it was a time that was tough for kids. They don't have the same perspective as adults."

So Wagler was doing some heavy lifting as a parent and it impacted his writing in a positive manner. Some of the "Sideways" songs, such as "At Long Last" and the title cut are some of the deepest tunes in the Steel Wheels canon. The amalgam of folk and bluegrass tunes are introspective and provocative.

The band's post-pandemic material is a bit of a departure.

The Steel Wheels, which also includes guitarist-mandolinist Jay Lapp, fiddler Eric Brubaker, drummer Kevin Joaquin Garcia and bassist Jeremy Darrow, will preview songs from an upcoming but as yet untitled album at CSPS.

"The new songs are some of the poppiest stuff we've ever recorded," Wagler said. "It has some nods to the Beatles and some of my other favorite bands from when I was growing up. Counting Crows was my jam, and there are some songs that have that (Counting Crows singer-songwriter) Adam Duritz sound in there. Other bands from that era that inspired me are Nirvana and R.E.M. And then we go the other way at times like when Eric plays a Led Zeppelin lick on the fiddle on one of the new songs. There's also some songs that have a Tom Petty feel."

Expect an eclectic set when The Steel Wheels return. "I love that we have the ability to play a wide and diverse night of music," Wagler said. "We're excited about the new songs like ‘Banjos for Everyone,’ which is a cheeky song that was recorded around two mics. And then we have this sweet little rocker called ‘Mainstreet Haven’ that's a nod to my high school in Haven, Kansas. We're in a good place right now. The new songs reflect that just like the songs from ‘Sideways’ reflected where we were when we were stuck in that weird spot during the pandemic."

The Steel Wheels recently celebrated its 20th year as a live band.

"We just crossed the two decade mark playing a gig under our name," Wagler said. "To be making music and playing live for 20 years is a major accomplishment in the weird world of music."