Wide open landscapes: Songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov takes inspiration from living in the Southwest with 'Appaloosa Bones'

Mar. 9—Gregory Alan Isakov is in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for a stop on his current tour.

In the hours before the show, Isakov takes some time for himself to properly get his head around the show.

It's common practice for the singer-songwriter as he's been on the road for months.

"The tour's been great," he says. "We were in Australia and New Zealand prior to the start of this leg."

Isakov will bring his "Appaloosa Bones" tour to the Kiva Auditorium on Wednesday, March 13. Opening for him will be Elephant Revival's Bonnie Paid.

Isakov released "Appaloosa Bones" on Aug. 18, and has since been on tour. The album is his fifth full-length album.

Isakov's music combines indie and folk, featuring instruments such as the guitar and banjo. He is widely known for the songs "Words," "The Stable Song," "Big Black Car," "If I Go, I'm Goin" and "San Luis."

"I was working on the album for about four years," he says. "I recorded about 40 songs. Making a record for me is like cutting and writing verses. There needs to be a bunch of music or space for me. Tracking is fast. A lot of the time is spent getting out of the studio and making those connections with people through music."

Isakov doesn't think of himself as a perfectionist when it comes to music, as he's constantly questioning himself.

"I'm not a harsh editor," he says. "I get really real with myself. There are tons of mistakes in my music. I'm not looking for perfection. My compass is emotive. I want to take you someplace and that's the coolest thing about music."

When it comes to weaving together a set list, Isakov is intentional with each choice.

"We're always pulling out songs on a daily basis," he says. "We work really hard on interludes between songs. There are certain songs that don't translate to the live setting well. Some songs are so boring live."

Over the years, Isakov has gotten more comfortable on stage — especially seated shows.

"I used to be terrified of playing seated shows," he says. "I used to call them eyeball shows. Now I love them so much because I feel like the whole room relaxes together."

"Appaloosa Bones" is produced by Isakov and Andrew Berlin. The album was recorded at Isakov's farm outside of Boulder, Colorado.

"I set out to make a folky, small lo-fi rock 'n' roll record. And then the songs kind of told me, 'No, this is what it's going to be.' And so I said, 'OK,' and after a while, I was just holding onto the reins, waiting to see where it was going and how the material worked," he says. "What I found was a collection of songs that brought me back to when I was starting out playing with the band — traveling a lot in the van, playing throughout the Southwest and West. These wide open landscapes had this quietness and expansive deepness that grounded me and evoked a lot of the curiosities I was drawn to when I started writing songs."

Isakov realizes how lucky he is to find balance between running his farm and making music.

"I'm not a performer by nature but it's turning out to be a place that I love," he says. "Being a grower was something I was doing way before I started music. It's always nice that I can jump between both of the things that I love."