William Stanley "Bear" Rinehart III (born September 6, 1980; also known by the stage name Wilder Woods) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who is a founding member and lead singer of the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band,

Needtobreathe Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The group first gained fame for their Christian themes, eventually reaching crossover success. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, ...

. In 2019, he announced the launch of a solo career under the name Wilder Woods. His debut solo album was released on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in August 2019. His sophomore album, ''FEVER / SKY'' was released on

Dualtone Records Dualtone Records is an American record label specializing in folk, Americana, and indie rock. It was founded in 2001 by Scott Robinson and Dan Herrington. The company is run by Robinson and the label's president, Paul Roper. Albums are distribut ...

in March 2023.

Career

In April 2019, Rinehart began releasing music under the name Wilder Woods, starting with the songs "Someday Soon" and "Sure Ain't". The stage name comes from the names of Rinehart's two oldest sons, Wilder and Woods. His eponymous debut solo studio album was released in August 2019 by Atlantic Records. The album debuted at No. 20 on ''Billboard''

Emerging Artists The Emerging Artists is a music chart released weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine listing the most popular developing musician, music artists. The chart uses the same formula as the all-encompassing Artist 100, ''Billboard'' Art ...

and No. 2 on

Top Heatseekers The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

. The album single "Supply & Demand" peaked at No. 19 on the

Adult Alternative Songs Adult Alternative Airplay (also known as Triple A or Triple A Airplay, and formerly Adult Alternative Songs and Triple A Songs) is a record chart currently published by ''Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs on adult album alternative radi ...

chart. In December 2019, Norwegian DJ

Matoma Tom Stræte Lagergren (born 29 May 1991), professionally known as Matoma, is a Norwegian Disc jockey, DJ and record producer. Early life Lagergren was born in Åsnes Municipality, Norway. He started playing the piano as a child. During that p ...

, Michigan-born producer Petey Martin, and Wilder Woods debuted the single "Keep It Simple". An acoustic version and remix with Rayet followed in 2020. In February 2021, Rinehart independently released "sink our love now (work tape)" under his Wilder Woods moniker. The demos "man made weather" and "heavenly light" debuted in the following months. In April 2021, Rinehart released ''the work tapes ep'' which included the three songs. Rinehart recorded each of the demos by himself in his home studio in Franklin, Tennessee. Preceded by the singles "Maestro (Tears Don't Lie)", "Get It Back", and "Patience" in early 2023, ''FEVER / SKY'' released in March 2023 through Dualtone Records. The lead single, "Maestro (Tears Don't Lie)" peaked at No. 12 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. The album was dedicated to Rinehart's third son, Waters. Most of the album's songs were written in Rinehart's home while touring was paused during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Prominent contributors included producer Cason Cooley and guitarist Tyler Burkum. A headline tour of the United States followed in April to May 2023. Songwriting for Rinehart's third Wilder Woods release, ''CURIOSO'', began in 2023 with several collaborators and co-writers. In September 2024, "Hide Anymore" and "Devil In My Eyes" were released as the first singles from the album. "Time On My Hands (feat. Jim James)" and "Offering (feat. Anna Graves)" were released in October and November 2024, respectively. The album is scheduled to release in February 2025. Rinehart has been a featured artist on a variety of songs for acts such as

American Authors American Authors, formerly known as the Blue Pages, are an American rock band originally from Boston, based in New York City, that consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Zac Barnett, bassist Dave Rublin, and drummer Matt Sanchez. Guitarist an ...

. As a member of

NEEDTOBREATHE Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The group first gained fame for their Christian themes, eventually reaching crossover success. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, ...

, Rinehart was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Personal life

Rinehart is married to Mary Reames, with whom he has three sons. Rinehart was an accomplished

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. A teammate of quarterback and current

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

head coach

Billy Napier William Hall Napier (born July 21, 1979) is an American football coach currently serving as head coach at the University of Florida. From 2017 until 2021, he was head coach at the University of Louisiana, amassing a 40–12 record in four season ...

, the pair set numerous school records together at

Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...

between 1999 and 2002.

Discography

Albums

As Wilder Woods

As a member of Needtobreathe

*''

Daylight Daylight is the combination of all direct and indirect sunlight during the daytime. This includes direct sunlight, diffuse sky radiation, and (often) both of these reflected by Earth and terrestrial objects, like landforms and buildings. Sunlig ...

'' (2006) *'' The Heat'' (2007) *''

The Outsiders The Outsiders may refer to: Literature and stage * ''The Outsiders'' (novel), a 1967 novel by S. E. Hinton * ''The Outsiders'' (musical), a 2023 musical based on S. E. Hinton's novel * ''The Outsiders'' (play), a 1911 play by Charles Klein * ...

'' (2009) *'' The Reckoning'' (2011) *''

Rivers in the Wasteland ''Rivers in the Wasteland'' is the fifth studio album by American Christian rock band Needtobreathe, released on April 15, 2014, through Atlantic Records, Curb Records and Word Records. The album was produced by the band along with Kevin Augunas, ...

'' (2014) *'' Hard Love'' (2016) *'' Out of Body'' (2020) *''

Into the Mystery ''Into the Mystery'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Needtobreathe, released on July 30, 2021, through Elektra Records. Background Following the 2020 release of their seventh studio album, '' Out of Body'', and the early-2021 r ...

'' (2021) *''

Caves Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock ...

'' (2023)

Singles

As Wilder Woods

Music Videos

References

External links

Wilder Woods official websiteNeedtobreathe official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rinehart, Bear Living people 1980 births American male singer-songwriters American rock guitarists Furman University alumni Atlantic Records artists Furman Paladins football players