Charley Wagner is a singer/songwriter Longville/Grand Rapids in the Northwoods of Minnesota. Music and writing has been a passion and good friend since a young age. Working as an arborist most of his life, climbing trees around the world collecting stories and perspective he has decided to make his stories in song more of a priority. Creating original music that captures the human experience and reverence for nature, he hopes you find a connection. "A wise man once told me that the first half of your life you're living to learn, about mid life you make the switch to learning to live". So here we are.
photo credit @photographybynikkilee
Forge North is a five-piece, Americana folk-rock ensemble who forged their creative energy creating music in the potato shack of a blueberry farm in Longville. Their music and vocal harmonies form layers-on -layers, rings on a tree, circling and strengthening the core, bringing life to their songs. Known for their distinctive, full-bodied harmonies and textured, soulful sound, Forge North invites you to dance like no one is watching every show they do. Helmed by Charley Wagner, who soaks his hearty, rough-sawn mantras in warm, soulful grit, the band finds itself exploring peace and personal growth atop a sound best described as ‘what happened when Neko Case met Eddie Vedder.’ Tristan Schultz plants rows of bass lines atop Grant Raddatz’s anchoring groove. Matt Gutzmann tends to the fading art of the pedal steel while Garret Raddatz marinates with ambience and light from his keys. As Charley Wagner puts it, they are, “Thankful to do. Thankful to have done. Thankful for the chance, to sit, stand, or run.”
photo credit @thefervidmind
