Creative Loafing Tampa Bay put it best, “Jordan Foley’s voice is a vibe in itself, but it becomes a full-on force when coupled with his band, The Wheelhouse, which muscles up a sound that’s emerging as one of the freshest coming out of Orlando’s Americana scene.”

After the release of Jordan’s debut solo album, Give to Get a Day, he soon realized while performing these songs live that they needed a bit of a boost. He heard a full band behind him while performing, and so he devised a plan to put together a band. The name “The Wheelhouse” came from the fact that so many people who saw Jordan play live would tell him, “You should sing this song because it’s totally in your wheelhouse.”

Early versions of the band consisted of local musician friends Jordan made over the years. He set up a group chat with anyone and everyone who was interested in playing music with him. When an opportunity arose to play a full-band show, Jordan would take to the group chat and see who was available. Over time, this grew difficult for Jordan to rally everyone together before each show to rehearse the songs, sometimes with folks who had never played them before. It was a fun experience, but he soon realized if he’s going to take having a band seriously, it needs to have consistent band members.

The first musician to officially join the band was bassist Cristian Faustmann. He and Jordan met at a show where Cris was a fill-in bassist for another local band. They got to talking and hit it off really quickly, and so Jordan asked Cris if he’d consider joining the band. Cris gave a quick “yes” in response, and Jordan asked him to wait a bit while he put together the rest of the group. In due time, Jordan added Kevin Greene (Run Raquel, Oklahoma Stackhouse), a good friend of his and one who was dubbed “Orlando’s favorite drummer,” not just because he’s a fun time but he also plays in multiple local bands at once. The third member was Jordan’s friend and fellow singer-songwriter Elizabeth Ward singing harmonies and playing tambourine.

The last piece of The Wheelhouse puzzle was a lead guitarist. Jordan initially had someone lined up to join, but one fateful night while he was opening for his favorite songwriter, BJ Barham of American Aquarium, and was formally introduced to Tyler Hood (Kinky Rhino). They immediately hit it off like long lost best friends, and Jordan had to tell his first option that he met his match. Once Tyler joined, Jordan Foley & The Wheelhouse was officially born.

In 2019 alone, the band hustled and played 20+ shows all over Florida. They shared bills with the likes of Zach Williams of The Lone Bellow, Austin Lucas, Josh Card, Kyle Keller, Mike Dunn, and Hannah Harber & The Lionhearts. Once the pandemic hit in 2020 and 2021, the band’s momentum was halted, and both Kevin Greene and Elizabeth Ward stepped away to focus on their own music careers. But in time, The Wheelhouse prevailed and was able to add their very good friends Mikey Guzman (Every Which Way, Joy Wagon) on keys and Matthew Wassum (Steps of Odessa, The Welziens) on drums.

On Jordan & The Wheelhouse’s sound and live performance, Orlando Weekly’s Bao Le-Huu writes that they “are on a whole other plane. Hearing his vigorous, stirring voice on its own is a moving thing, but seeing it flanked and given full wings by a five-piece ensemble is a splendor. His supporting cast is stocked with quality players and singers. Together, they make for a country-rock outfit that’s lush, articulated and muscular.”

Over the course of the band’s existence, Jordan Foley & The Wheelhouse has spent time harnessing their trademark sound that pairs exquisitely with Jordan’s songwriting. Their genre is considered Americana since you can hear vast influences from 60’s-70’s classic rock, Southern rock, country, blues, soul, and alternative. They have a six-song album on the horizon in 2023 that was produced by Thomas Wynn (Thomas Wynn & The Believers, Hannah Harber & The Lionhearts) and is a project they’ve been working on for over two years. Keep on the lookout for Jordan Foley & The Wheelhouse’s new music. Painted Lady Records is very excited to have them on board and confident they’re about to take off!