John Mailander’s New Forecast EP Glistens & Moves

John Mailander is a beautiful musician and human. His Forecast project is the epitome of what (I believe) so many of us yearn for and can appreciate as artists ourselves. At least its something I yearn for myself. A platform, a collective of musicians and artists orbiting Mailander as the central connection point, the glue, that holds brilliant and poignant arrangements together. He has cemented himself as a conduit, a lighting rod, for creativity and the true splendor that can result when exceptional artists enter a space together and just create.

There is something difficult to pinpoint about John’s music, but it elicits a visceral response in me. It moves me. It forces me to ponder the art. To hit replay at the end of a listen. To strive for more of what this art feeds to me and in a day where our social feeds are brimming with AI slop and misinformation, John’s work is such a gorgeous and needed reprieve from the constant overwhelming din and visual bombardment. His newest work under the Forecast banner is just 3 (maybe 2 and a 1/3?) songs, but it still elicits those feeling of joy and sentimentality and ardor and an ever so slight cutting emotion of melancholy that just plain makes me FEEL. This is what music is supposed to do to you. This is what art is supposed to do to you. My only criticism is it doesn’t give us enough of this beautiful sonic jubilation. Magnificent.

Just listen to it today and see for yourself.

John Mailander – Fiddle, Piano, OP-1, Samples, Electronics
Ethan Jodziewicz – Upright, Arco, and Electric Basses
Chris Lippincott – Pedal Steel Guitar, Wurlitzer
Dean Miller – Tenor Saxophone
Mark Raudabaugh – Drums and Percussion
Jake Stargel – Acoustic Guitar
Kristina Train – Lead Vocal on “Little Wheel”, Spoken Word

Produced by John Mailander.

Recorded live on February 24th, 2026 by Dan Davis with assistance from Hank Bachara at Southern Ground Studio in Nashville, TN.