One of the best parts of Yellowstone — aside from those steamy Beth and Rip moments — is the Paramount Network series’ music. Music supervisor Andrea Von Foerster selects some of the best country music and Americana songs to capture the spirit of the show, which stars Kevin Costner as John Dutton, a Montana rancher trying to hold on to one of the biggest cattle ranches in the U.S. The popular series, created by Taylor Sheridan, is gritty, sexy, heartbreaking, and edge-of-your-seat thrilling, and, fittingly, so is its music.
Von Foerster opened up on the Yellowstone podcast with host and series star Jefferson White about why she gravitates toward a certain kind of music for the soundtrack. Specifically, red-dirt country and Americana, including songs by Colter Wall, Shane Smith and the Saints, Tyler Childers, Whiskey Myers, Hailey Whitters, Blackberry Smoke, Lainey Wilson and more.
“Red-dirt country, for anyone who doesn’t know, is typically Texas and Oklahoma. Americana and country, and songwriting in general, and there’s such a strong sense of storytelling in both states, and we tend not to use sort of deep south country because it’s a little more name-checky, and sort of party… and we don’t want to name a bunch of cities that are not in where we are.”
She explained that she and Taylor Sheridan are constantly texting each other about music that could be on the series and finding new voices everywhere, from social media to submitted tapes. She also loves using musicians with a background in ranching and the rodeo because their stories reflect the landscape of the series and help serve some of the specific scenes. Bottom line, Von Foerster and Sheridan have done an amazing job bringing the show to life through its music, and in the process, have provided rising artists with a bigger platform than they could have ever imagined.