The heartbreaking cowboy ballad is available now
Ian Munsick’s sophomore album White Buffalo captured the Wyoming native’s witty sense of humor across its 18 tracks, encompassing such tongue-in-cheek songs as “Barn Burner” and “Cowshit In The Morning.” Now, as he prepares to release five new tracks with White Buffalo: Introduce You To God, a deluxe version of the celebrated collection due April 5th, Munsick casts aside the comical wordplay and revels in heartbreak with the release of “Yippie-I-A,” out now.
“Cowboy ballads have always had a way of transporting me back to the sagebrush prairies of home. It’s high time I made one for myself,” declares Munsick. “In every one of them, you can hear the distant cry of the lone wanderer. But why does he cry? That’s exactly what inspired ‘Yippie-I-A’. I hope it breaks your heart like only the magic of music can.”
Written by Munsick alongside Phil O’Donnell and Carlton Anderson, and produced by Munsick and Jeremy Spillman, “Yippie-I-A” details a cowboy’s anguish and inability to cope with losing his spouse.
Munsick burst out of the gate in 2024, starting with the release the 18-song sophomore project. The first release from White Buffalo, the standout duet “Long Live Cowgirls” with Cody Johnson, hit No. 1 on SiriusXM’s The Highway Hot 30 Countdown, was named one of Amazon Music’s Best Country Songs of 2022 and recently received RIAA gold-certification alongside “Long Haul” off his debut album Coyote Cry; while Munsick’s solo version of “Long Live Cowgirls” impacted country radio last fall.
Last year also saw the release of White Buffalo: Voices of the West, a companion feature-length documentary that expands on the concepts of the album with the white buffalo representing a sacred symbol for the plains tribes of Native America, its return signaling prosperity and rebirth. Delving into conversations with Pro Buckin’ Horse producer and entrepreneur from the Blackfoot Tribe, Dougie Hall; rancher, horse trainer and actor from the Crow Tribe, Stephen Yellowtail; and cowgirl from the Blackfeet Nation, Sammy Jo Bird; Munsick explores the modern-day relationship between cowboys, ranchers and Native American tribes, and how they often rely on each other to live off the land out west. The nearly-hour film is now available on demand.
Munsick’s headlining run will continue through the spring, including a sold-out date at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre on June 5th. This summer he will join CMA Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson for her Country’s Cool Again Tour.
