Article Contributed by Dreamspider Publicity
Published on 2026-05-06
Photo Credit: Steph Heath with Smiling Eyes Media
John Mailander’s Forecast independently releases Little Wheel // Hope Looming on May 8. This three-track EP includes a timely cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Little Wheel Spin And Spin,” an original instrumental, “Hope, Looming,” and a third short ambient instrumental sample piece.
Forecast is a Nashville-based collective of visionary musicians led by John Mailander [pronounced my-lander], the acclaimed multi-instrumentalist, performer, producer, composer, educator, and recording artist.
As a band, they traverse adventurous improvisations, singular collaborations, and genre-bending, joyful musical explorations. Forecast features Mailander on fiddle, piano, and electronics; Ethan Jodziewicz on upright and electric bass; Chris Lippincott on pedal steel guitar and Wurlitzer; Dean Miller on tenor saxophone; Mark Raudabaugh on drums and percussion; and Jake Stargel on acoustic guitar.
This marks their latest release since 2025’s full-length album, Let The World In. The EP was recorded live at Southern Ground Studio by Dan Davis on February 24 with assistance from Hank Bachara; mixed by Daniel Rice at Gravity Boots Recording; and mastered by Mike Monseur.
Featuring special guest Kristina Train on lead vocals, “Little Wheel Spin And Spin” was written by Buffy Sainte-Marie and first released in 1966.
Mailander says:
“The lyrics speak for themselves, but this is about the war machine and the heartbreaking cycles of history repeating. Unknowingly, we recorded this two days before the US entered war with Iran. It's chilling to me how relevant these lyrics are today. I think our version, and Kristina's delivery, of this message is felt with a renewed urgency, anger, and resistance, as we are still in these cycles 60 years after the song was first written. We turned it into a jam vehicle for group improvisation.”
“Hope, Looming” is an original instrumental inspired by post-rock artists Mailander loves, namely Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Ros.
He says:
“I love the ‘in-between’ emotions these bands are able to convey, the way only music can express those grey areas. I've wanted to write something in this world for a long time to put through the Forecast lens, and this EP felt like the right incentive to finish the piece. The goal here was for a slow, dynamic building group piece that conveys a glimmer of hope on the horizon. In this way, to me, this is the B-side to the heaviness of ‘Little Wheel’ — light within the darkness and the hope for a peaceful future through our collective voices.”
Thematically tying the EP together, “(turnstile)” is an effected sample of a turnstile in a train station superimposed against a short synth improvisation around the harmony of “Little Wheel Spin And Spin.” It closes out the 13-minute-and-18-second set on a somewhat unsettling yet hopeful note.
Little Wheel // Hope Looming arrives on most streaming platforms May 8, 2026.
Listen to Little Wheel // Hope Looming
More About John Mailander:
Along with “conducting” the Forecast, Mailander is also a member of Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers, currently on tour throughout the United States. His playing can be heard on albums by Billy Strings — including the GRAMMY-winning album Home — as well as Noah Kahan, Dermot Kennedy, Sam Grisman Project, Joy Williams, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Lucy Dacus, Molly Tuttle, Joe K. Walsh, Chatham County Line, and many more.
As a touring musician, John has worked closely with artists including Billy Strings, Mighty Poplar, Lindsay Lou, Sam Grisman, Peter Rowan, Keller Williams, Bella White, Sierra Hull, Tony Trischka, Jacob Jolliff, Ruth Moody, Maya De Vitry, Sam Burchfield, Lee Ann Womack, Rev. Jeff Mosier, and others. He also played fiddle for the premiere of Steve Martin & Edie Brickell’s musical Bright Star in New York.
As a member of Bruce Hornsby’s Noisemakers, Mailander has shared stages with artists including John Scofield, Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride, Sam Amidon, Amos Lee, and The Wood Brothers.
As an educator, John has been on staff at preeminent music camps including the Swannanoa Gathering, Puget Sound Guitar Workshop, and Augusta Heritage Center Bluegrass Week. He teaches private lessons both in-person and online. His first instructional book, A Fiddler's Guide to Moveable Shapes, was published in Fall 2017. John is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
Mailander began playing music at age 10 in San Diego in 2001 and attended Berklee College of Music from 2009 through 2013. After releasing a solo progressive bluegrass album in 2014, he moved to Nashville in 2015 and began work on the debut Forecast record in 2017.
Mailander explains the project was created “as a way to explore new instrumentation and compositional themes that had always called to me in some ways more than bluegrass (inspired by film scores, Pat Metheny Group, Brian Blade Fellowship, Phish, etc.).”
John plays instruments by Jonathan Cooper, Russell McCumber, and Northfield Mandolins. He also highly recommends Earthquaker Devices, Chase Bliss Audio, Source Audio, Bartlett Fiddle Mics, and Alchemist Brewing.
John Mailander is currently on tour with Bruce Hornsby & The Noisemakers.
More Forecast dates this fall →
www.johnmailander.com/shows
For more information and updates:
www.johnmailander.com
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