Art born from seeming contradiction has a particular way of penetrating the subconscious. “Lovers Will”, the 2024 single and "Ramble", the 2026 single from Eastern Washington horse trainer / songwriter Nate Ostrander, are eminently engaging and full of nuance. Guided by the singular vision of the landlocked yacht-rock impresario Donnie Emerson, the tunes bloom from your speakers like the soundtrack to an interdimensional speakeasy. A heady combination of woozy psychedelia and blue-eyed soul, born from a land where hypnotic guitar melodies weave seductively through the syncopated rhythmic foundation. As the old saying goes, don’t judge a psych-rock visionary by his Carhartt and callouses…

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Born into a family equally enthralled with all things musical and equine, Ostrander grew up with a musician father and an extended family of horse trainers. “My dad was a musician in a cover band for 16 years professionally” says Ostrander. “I remember him sitting on the couch practicing songs, playing guitar, and singing for hours. I loved it. He started to teach me a bit here and there. Once I showed enough interest, he and my mom decided to get me a guitar of my own.” Money was tight, and one birthday they gave young Nate a small box. “I thought to myself, ‘A guitar can’t fit in this box!’. I unwrapped it, revealing dollar bills taped all over the inside. There, at the bottom, was a picture of Eddie Van Hallen’s guitar. It was all they could manage, but it was a start.” That gift kicked off a few years of saving up, and eventually a lime-green Epiphone was his.

A high school obsession with R&B would lead to enrollment in Spoke Falls Community College, and a degree in Commercial Music and Audio Engineering. While there, Ostrander landed a job with the multi-station Citadel Radio Broadcasting Company. His talent for the work apparent, he was soon made a part of the engineering team. After graduation, he was hired by two of the largest Eastern Washington live pro sound companies and also taught guitar at a popular school in Spokane. Living the dream, he would go on to produce live sound for hundreds of shows and give thousands of lessons.  

At the same time, Ostrander was satisfying the need for the footlights by playing in some of the bigger cover bands on the Coeur d’Alene resort circuit. Inspired to create his own art, he took the initial steps into writing original music. Eleven years later, his debut LP Break Out was finally released. “The original music scene in Spokane isn’t great” he tells. “Cover bands were where it was if you wanted to make any money being a musician.” Wanting to refine his solo acoustic act, Ostrander spent hours watching his friends Donnie and Nancy Emerson perform.

Eventually, though, Ostrander realized that there was something missing in his life. Although the journey into music had been an adventure, he had fallen away from one of his first loves; horses. So, he decided to start his own training company, Two Eyes Horsemanship. To say things went well would be an understatement. He became so busy that he no longer had time to run live sound or give lessons, so he shifted his music focus to live performance and songwriting.

Meanwhile his friend Donnie Emerson was enjoying breakout success with the rediscovery and re-issue of the 1979 album he’d recorded with his brother Joe, Dreamin’ Wild. Soon enough fate brought the two of them together in the acoustic room of a local music store. They played a few tunes together, and Donnie brought up the idea of working together.  

Fast forward to the fall of 2024, and we find Ostrander and Emerson in the studio, tracking “Lovers Will”. In addition to production, Emerson engineered the track, and played drums and Rhoades piano, and sang backup vocals. “My songs tell a story”, says Ostrander. “The lyrics are not just rhymes, or poetry, but tales of my experiences in song form. I hope my music helps people connect to something real inside themselves, that they may have forgotten about.”

So, today we find Nate Ostrander living his best life, straddling two worlds and excelling at each of them. There will always be more horses to train, and more songs to be written. Ostrander and Emerson continue to craft songs together and released Nate's newest single, "Ramble", in the winter of 2026. Expect more from Ostrander in the coming months.