After opening for Shania Twain at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival in July, the Wild Palominos, from Montmagny, Quebec located 80 kms east of Quebec City, are excited to bring their brand of neo-traditional country flair to Calgary.
Formed in 2021, The Wild Palominos consist of singer Félix Guimond, Olivier Tanguay on drums along with lead songwriter and guitarist Jérémy Boulet.
“At first, we felt that it was just the beginning of a small project,” says Boulet. “Turns out we play music, do albums and play outside of Quebec.
To date the band has produced several singles and they recently released their first full-length album, Wilder, in March 2025. The record boasts songs that include a dance-club beat, a Latino vibe, a swampy blues groove as well as heartfelt duet with Andie Therio, a country artist also from Quebec. There’s a lot of mixing of genres, but the overarching sound that powers their sound and style is country music.
“As Wilder is our debut album, we tried different things so it can speak to more people,” says Boulet. “There’s one person who’s going to like one song, and others are going to prefer maybe a slower song. We put a lot of different songs in there, and it talks about our diverse influence.”
Boulet adds, “The story of Wilder is like chasing freedom, chasing the dream of making music and exporting that music outside of Quebec.”
Country music and more
Describing themselves as a “neo-traditional country band” Boulet says, “We obviously have the influence of traditional country music, and we want to add a modern twist to that. The new traditional is like a churn that brings the old and the new together, and we like that middle-ground.”
While Boulet is the primary songwriter, he makes sure co-members Guimond and Tanguay contribute their own flavour to the songs.
“Often it’s me that brings an acoustic version of a song to Félix, then we work on the vocal melody and Olivier brings influences from other genres,” says Boulet.
While the band originates from Quebec, Boulet says that they currently have no plans to write songs in French, opting to stick to English lyrics in order to connect with a wider Canadian audience.
One prominent feature of their songs is the use of the pedal steel guitar. Typically used as a secondary instrument in country music, the Wild Palominos often bring it to the forefront. Boulet says while they like the energy of the electric guitar, the pedal steel brings out the tradition in country.
Main stages and future endeavours
In July The Wild Palominos played the main stage opening for Shania Twain at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival in Prince Edward Island, which saw over 60,000 attendees.
“Performing on the main stage was like a dream,” Boulet says about the experience. “We learned a lot. These big stages may be new for us, but that is where we want to be and we want everybody to know that’s where we belong.”
The next big stage the Wild Palomino are soon to perform on is at Country Thunder Alberta on Saturday, August 16, with a smaller show the night before at the King Eddy on August 15. Both events are in Calgary.
After their summer tour wraps up, the band will be returning to the studio in January with two fresh singles already recorded.
“We’re working on a new album,” says Boulet. “And working really hard to put these songs together, which is one of the best things about writing music — I love this feeling, to take time to create.”