Jalan Crossland is an American bluegrass,

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

, and

alternative country Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...

singer-songwriter and musician.

Early life

Jalan Crossland was born and raised in

Ten Sleep, Wyoming Ten Sleep is a town in Washakie County, Wyoming, United States. It is located in the Bighorn Basin in the western foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, approximately east of Worland and west of Buffalo. The population was 260 at the 2020 cen ...

. He attended Ten Sleep High School before his family moved to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

where he attended David B. Oliver High School. Crossland became interested in music as a child, after hearing his uncle play the

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

. In 1997 he placed second in the Winfield National Guitar Fingerpicking Competition. In 1999 he won the first place title at the Wyoming Flatpick Championship. As a teenager he played electric guitar in a series of heavy metal bands in Pittsburgh. Jalan’s son, Dylan Crossland, was born in 1990 and passed away in 2015. Jalan worked with country bands as a free-lance guitarist and held a day job in a mobile home factory in Casper. He quit the factory job and began pursuing music full-time.

Career

Crossland is a banjoist, guitarist, and vocalist. He created and recorded on his own label, Boom Chicken Rekkerds. He released his first album, ''Poor Boy Shanty'' in 2000. In 2004 he released his second record, ''Moonshiner''. In 2005 he formed the Jalan Crossland Band with bassist Shaun Kelley and drummer Pat Madsen. They released the albums ''Trailer Park Fire & Other Tragedies'' in 2006 and ''Driftwood Souls'' in 2010. The band took a hiatus in 2011 and Crossland released a solo album titled ''Portrait of a Fish''. The band later reconvened and in 2014, released the album ''No Cause For Despair''. In 2017 the Jalan Crossland Band released the album ''Singalongs for the Apocalypse''. Crossland was awarded Wyoming Public Radio's people's choice award for best Wyoming release of 2017. In 2013 Crossland was bestowed with the Governor's Arts Award by

Matt Mead Matthew Hansen Mead (born March 11, 1962) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 32nd List of governors of Wyoming, governor of Wyoming from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

for his contributions to the arts in Wyoming. He is the second musician to ever receive the award. He was also named a "Wyoming Treasure" by the Wyoming Arts Council. The Jalan Crossland Band disbanded later in 2017 after Kelley was diagnosed with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

and Madsen moved to the East Coast. The band's final performance was September 22, 2017 at the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s 50th Anniversary and Community Fair in Lander. In March 2019 he released the album ''Greatest Efforts'', a compilation of 19 songs throughout his career which are considered to be fan-favorites. Shaun Kelley died in September 2020.

Discography

Solo albums

* ''Jalan Crossland'' (1997) * ''Poor Boy Shanty'' (2000) * ''Moonshiner'' (2004) * ''Portrait of a Fish'' (2011) * ''Greatest Efforts'' (2019)

Jalan Crossland Band

* ''Trailer Park Fire & Other Tragedies'' (2006) * ''Driftwood Souls'' (2010) * ''No Cause For Despair'' (2014) * ''Singalongs for the Apocalypse'' (2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crossland, Jalan Living people American alternative country singers American banjoists American bluegrass guitarists American bluegrass musicians American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Country musicians from Wyoming Folk musicians from Wyoming Guitarists from Wyoming People from Washakie County, Wyoming Year of birth missing (living people) Singer-songwriters from Wyoming