With over twenty years proudly behind them, The Henhouse Prowlers remain firmly focused on the road ahead, while harnessing relentless chops that would make even Billy Strings do a double-take.
Their performances continue to captivate, driven by a deep passion for both music and humanity. All four members bring a storyteller’s spirit, a gift for songwriting, and masterful musicianship—each feeding off the others’ energy to create something truly special night after night. Rooted in tradition yet unafraid to venture beyond it, the Prowlers occupy a rare space: undefinable yet consistently electrifying.
Their latest release, Unravel, showcases their refusal to be confined. Some tracks lean into a fresh Americana sound, while others pay homage to the timeless qualities of classic country and bluegrass. Across the album, their signature four-part harmonies resonate with even more depth and emotional clarity than ever before.
At every show, audiences can expect more than music—they can expect a story. The Prowlers have performed in 29 countries across five continents, collaborating with the U.S. State Department and their nonprofit, Bluegrass Ambassadors. These global experiences have broadened their perspective and deepened their mission: to use music as a bridge between cultures. For the Prowlers, the stage is not just a place to perform—it’s a platform to inspire connection and compassion.
The band recently shared a candid track-by-track breakdown of Unravel with Glide, where listeners can hear the stories behind the songs.
LOOK UP TO THE SKY
This song took several months to write. As the first line says, I don’t know what comes after this. That was about all I had written before my wife and I retrofitted a High Top Dodge Van with a bed, a few other homely comforts, and headed out on the interstate to find out what exactly was next. We traveled from Colorado, up to the Pacific Northwest, down through the Sierra Nevadas and back with several other destinations along the way with complete openness to whatever tomorrow would bring. We were in a place in our lives where we could have gone to the big city or the big country. As it turns out we found home to be where our roots already were. Right where we left it.
PALOMINO (Jake Howard)
When this song was written, I was in the throes of finishing up my college degree and touring full time. When you travel as much as a touring musician, songs about the road and wanting to escape day to day stresses arise. The protagonist of this song is leaving behind his troubles and hitting the road to find the quiet and serene peace you find when you travel to the more rural parts of this country.
I specifically remember the line “I’m counting fence posts/miles of wood and wire” being inspired by the Bluegrass band Wood and Wire out of Austin,TX. Not that their music had any direct inspiration to the words but the imagery of their name was like “woah buddy, I need to write a song that has those words in it.” I knew that myself and Carolyn Kendrick.
For this particular arrangement I knew I wanted a more sparse tune, where notes had more weight to them. I like that this band can rip a banger (songs that are tight and fast, a term the kids are using these days) in a set but we also need tunes that can speak to the softer sounds of this band. We have the capability to do both so why shouldn’t we.
LINE THE AVENUES (Ben Wright)
This song began as a tribute to my grandfather, a B-25 pilot from a small town in Indiana who served in North Africa during WWII. One early morning when I was a child, he woke me up to share his photos and stories, memories that stayed with me. As I wrote, the song grew beyond that moment, touching on the experience of a female rescue pilot during the Gulf War, and ultimately becoming a reflection on the enduring toll of war itself; on those who fight, and those who deserve to be remembered. Reading the headlines about a war and knowing people who fight in them are two vastly different things, regardless of what side you’re on.
HEADIN’ FOR A HEARTACHE
This song took some time to arrange and develop. We were frustrated with where it sat in our vocal ranges, uneasy with the feel, uncomfortable with the tempo… It was nearly axed from the album when some last minute, in-studio changes turned this into a song we all love. The chorus began as a warning to a friend who always seemed to find himself in relationships that ended with his heart broken. Fortunately I was wrong about this one, but the song doesn’t need to know that!
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
Sometimes relationships get too hard and someone walks away. The inability to reconcile generational trauma comes at a dear price. This song bemoans the loss of love many have experienced when they have a child who leaves at their own discretion, convinced it’s easier and better to just be apart.
LOVE AND WAR
The musical riff played at the beginning was written in the Amsterdam airport after a European tour with the band. I was sitting around waiting for my plane to show up and ended up writing two or three song ideas and this was one of them. I held onto the riff for another couple months until talks of this CD came up. The line “All is fair in love and war” was the lyrical prompt for this song and the riff had some darker undertones in it so I thought the lyrics should fit that vibe. I can’t remember where I heard the line “All is fair in love and war” but I keep a notebook full of one liners that I hear on the road that I think would be cool for a song.
The song isn’t bluegrass but is fun to play with this instrumentation! I still kick myself for having to play and sing this at the same time, it’s a doozy.
THREE SEASONS
The angle of the shadows that are created by your window change ever so slightly everyday, eventually returning to the same position after a year has passed. Witnessing this over the course of a year inspired this song. The seasons are also a symptom of our world’s axis on a tilt. Three Seasons signifies the seasons of life from the perspective of death or rebirth. This song is for anyone with seasonal depression who just wants March to be over already!
SPACE MAN
This playful and goofy song that honestly came together in about 10 minutes. There was a story in the news this past year about 2 astronauts who spent 286 days in space and it got me thinking, “what would I think about Earth/home after being gone for so long?” Not sure how this tune ended up being more lighthearted after such a serious question but glad it did. This one was fun in my head while I was writing it and fun after we hit the last note recording it!
While we track songs for albums we are aware of how they might fit into our live sound. The idea with the groove of this song was to have something a little different that the boom-chuck bluegrass sound that we all know and love. Different grooves are important for set lists and how our music is delivered in a live setting and it’s cool to picture how these tunes will be played on stage.
POOR BOY LIKE ME
Co-writer Rick Lang told me the story of how his untamed and penniless young self returned home only to meet the girl of his dreams. If ever there were two people truly meant to be together, it is Rick and his wife Wendy. Their story makes for a feel-good song that’s a lot of fun to play! They’ve been married over 50 years now – and who would have guessed the wild life that Rick led up to that point!?
CLIMB THAT MOUNTAIN
A storm was growing over the passage through Montana into Idaho. There was radio chatter about closing the highway but nothing certain yet. The van was heavy, with pretty fresh tires, but the polar vortex was vortexing like mad. It was hard, almost impossible to see at times, and by the time we were halfway up, the road disappeared under snow pack. Our path changed, but the road remained like a guiding spirit, underneath. On this many hour journey, there was a brief 20 seconds that felt like 20 weeks as the van’s back tire grabbed an ice divot and sent us into a fish tail. As I regained control and straightened out, I wrote this song.
HONEY WILL YOU BE MINE
I was honestly surprised when producer Stephen “Mojo” Mougin dropped this song in the list of songs he wanted on the album. One of the first few collaborations between myself (Jon) & Rick Lang, we had both kind of cast it aside, not thinking it would have a future. I’m grateful that Mojo and the band saw something in this song that Rick and I had clearly overlooked. It’s a bittersweet tale of a lifelong love and you may want to have some tissues handy by the last couple verses.
LAND OF CONFUSION
When Jon brought this song to a pre-production session for the album, we realized Chris (mandolin) and Jake (guitar) had never heard it before, which highlights the slight generational gap in this band. Despite that difference, we all agreed quickly that the song is powerful, timeless and continues to reflect the world we live in.
Producer/engineer Stephen Mougin, of Dark Shadow Recording, adds: “I was a little shocked at Jon’s suggestion, but the more I listened to the tune and digested the lyrics, the more it made sense. I suggested they approach it with all four vocalists, much like they tackle many of the foreign language pieces in their repertoire. Sharing leads and offering different voices to the song showcases the power of many, while highlighting the unified message. This is the world we live in and these are the hands we’re given. Use them and let’s start trying to make it a place worth living in.”
Check out The Henhouse Prowlers live this summer- check here for Tour Dates.
