Wild Rivers, Anna Graves

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Justin Broadbent

The three members of Wild Rivers around a car.

Wild Rivers

media release: On Feb. 21, platinum-selling indie trio Wild Rivers shared a new version of their 2024 confessional single, “Simp Song,” featuring Grammy-nominated artist Madi Diaz. The song was originally released on their October LP, Better Now.

Khalid Yassein from the group explains the track’s origins and the kismet collaboration, "I remember I saw Madi Diaz play in 2021, and after the show, I drove home and grabbed my guitar, instantly needing to write a song. I was completely inspired, and struck by how ruthlessly honest yet beautiful her songs were. I remember watching her and thinking to myself… that’s truly one of the great songwriters we have right now. Fast forward to last year, I met Madi through a mutual pal (I played it as cool as I could). I’d just moved to Nashville and we found out she literally lived on my block. Since then, we’ve become great friends, neighbors, walking buddies, and collaborators. When I sent her the record to see if she might consider singing on a song, she picked out this one specifically. I was hoping that she would… It's the kind of confessional ‘scared to say this out loud’ song that she does so masterfully. We talked about the idea of the song – giving way too much of yourself to someone who might not deserve it. We ended up writing another verse that weaved her story into it, and I think it’s absolutely beautiful."

Last year, Wild Rivers, Khalid Yassein [guitar, vocals, keys], Devan Glover [vocals], and Andrew Oliver [lead guitar, synths] released their companion albums, Never Better and Better Now, which were co-produced by the band and Gabe Wax (Soccer Mommy, Adrienne Lenker). The records dive into the complicated, confusing, and unknown realities of life in their twenties and the personal growth they’ve found through it all. They were released to critical acclaim, including praise from the Associated Press, Consequence, Rolling Stone, and CBS Saturday. Last week, Never Better was nominated for a 2025 JUNO Award for Adult Alternative Album Of The Year. It is their second nomination and follows Breakthrough Group of The Year at the 2023 JUNO Awards.

Wild Rivers have a gift for penning introspective lyrics and genre-fluid melodies that transmit wisdom beyond their years. Since their 2022 album, Sidelines, which landed at #9 on the U.S. Spotify Debut Album Chart, they have supported The Chicks and Noah Kahan on tour, seen their 2020 break-out single “Thinking ‘Bout Love” be certified Gold in Australia and Platinum in Canada, sold-out headline North American and European tours, and earned over 950 million streams with 4 million monthly listeners. Next up, Wild Rivers will head to Australia for a sold-out headline tour before returning to Canada and the US in April.