Austin band Farmer’s Wife is quickly on the rise and most recently released their latest single called “Mildew.” The band chats with ORB about tour life, inspiration, and new music.
What started as the underground band Sludge has turned into the indie sensation Farmer’s Wife, a dark fairy tale, Bubblegrunge band based in Austin, TX. The band’s first single “Greg Abbott’s Maxi Pad” has over 1M streams on Spotify, putting them on the map. Last year the band traveled across the US for their headline tour and to open for Cloud Nothings.
Farmer’s Wife won ‘Best New Act’ at the Austin Music Awards, followed by receiving an official dedicated holiday (August 29th). This past Sunday (1/19/2025), the group kicked off their co-headline Texas tour with INOHA and openers Grocery Bag. The band also releases their new single and accompanying music video, “Mildew” on January 17th. Last year, the band released singles “Boheme” and “Season of the Witch,” and fans can expect more new music soon.
Watch the music video for “Mildew”:
ORB: What was it like playing a national tour with Cloud Nothings compared to the local shows you started out playing, and what should fans expect for this Texas tour?
Jaelyn: We’ve played so many Austin shows. It was nice to experience the discomfort of playing in front of an audience who most likely hasn’t heard your music. All of the first time nerves were being felt again and it was empowering to conquer that every night. It was insightful to tour with a band who has so much experience with touring, they were also so kind! It was nice to be around a band that has done so many things we’ve dreamed of doing. They’re so chill and humble about it.
Jude: It was an exhilarating experience. It was special to get to tour with such great musicians, and playing in new cities, while sometimes scary, is always a treat! Local shows tend to be the same fans, which is amazing and we love to see familiar faces always! But getting to expose our art to new listeners, it was a very rewarding experience!
ORB: Do you have a favorite memory from tour last year?
Jaelyn: I loved visiting a state park on one of our off days. Getting to share time together like that as a band always turns out to be some of my favorite parts of tour.
Jude: I’m a big homebody, so coming out of my shell by traveling made for a lot of fun, new experiences. Being with bandmates who I’m comfortable around in new environments is a good way to experience new places, just exploring new cities with the band was fun, from the Albuquerque aquarium to seeing the Liberty Bell, it was great to be around the people I love in places I’ve always wanted to visit!
ORB: Are there any artists who do a completely different style or genre of music from Farmer’s Wife, but still serve as inspiration?
Jaelyn: We’re inspired by a lot of movies and horror movie imagery if that counts.
Jude: I’m a big Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor fan. I don’t think that’s really the feel of our music, but the eerie yet raw style of his music, even his soundtrack work in movies like Challengers or The Social Network, while not direct inspirations, definitely influence how I and we approach music as storytelling or as an eclectic medium.
Horror movies, Karen Dalton, Playboy, Old Navy, Ross (dress for less), TSA Pre-Check, Tractor Supply Co.
ORB: Which of your songs do you wish could be used in a movie, and what would happen while it played?
Jude: “Bones” is one of my personal favorite songs in our catalog, I’m also a big horror movie fan. Seeing that song show up in something like a slasher movie montage is going on would be cool! Michael Meyers or Pearl going crazy with that song playing would just warm my heart.
I imagine “Mildew” playing on the radio of an old Volkswagen beetle, driving cross country after the biggest heartbreak of your life.
What should fans expect in the future? Are you considering or working on an album?
Jude: Our most recent release, Mildew, I think foreshadows the direction our music is moving in. To anyone who has seen our live shows, you can expect more energy and noise to appear in future releases. We’re trying to integrate the live feeling into our recordings. An album is a big dream of ours!
More music, more touring, more money, less problems.
Check out Farmer’s Wife and stream their music on all platforms.
Catch Farmer’s Wife in a city near you, get your tickets here.
I am an Austin, TX-based photographer and filmmaker. I moved from Houston to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where I graduated in 2022. I'm a lifelong music lover and spend tons of time attending shows and making music. Some current favorites are Sophie May, Farmer’s Wife, and K. Flay.
