WMR2505 Salt Lake City duo Isaac Geslison (on banjo and guitar) and Brielle Petrie (mandolin and vocals) bring over five years of collaboration to their debut album Stomping Cactus Volume I (June 1, 2025) . Their mission is clear: write entirely original music that feels rooted in the old-time and bluegrass traditions, but with fresh energy and originality that makes it accessible to today’s listeners.

Every track is an exercise in creative reverence—imagining what early folk artists might craft if they were composing now. The result is a sound deeply inspired by the likes of Doc Watson, John Hartford, and the storytelling ethos of Bob Dylan, intertwined with a contemporary sensibility akin to Watchhouse, Mighty Poplar, and Molly Tuttle. Their sophisticated arrangements—layered fiddle, tight harmony, interlocking strings—combine with raw, rhythmic drive to create music that feels alive, authentic, and exciting.

Tracks such as “Rambling Home” deliver momentum and longing via a fiddle-led groove, “Old Hollow Road” unfolds with rich, harmonic storytelling, and “Keep the Lantern Lit” steadies into a heartfelt ballad honoring tradition. Beyond crafting songs that avoid mainstream pop clichés, Stomping Cactus aims to elevate Utah’s acoustic scene—positioning Salt Lake City alongside Austin and Nashville as a home for vibrant, everyday folk music culture.

Isaac and Brielle’s songwriting reveals a deep empathy for place and story, while their performances add grit and emotional clarity to each phrase and arrangement. Their vocal interplay, banjo and mandolin work, and deliberate production choices result in an album that bridges past and present in a way that feels both nostalgic and new.