Waldemar Makes National TV Debut On CBS Saturday Morning

In support of their self-released debut full-length album Ruthless, Waldemar performed on CBS Saturday Morning on Saturday, June 10. It was the Eau Claire, WI indie group’s debut national television appearance and featured the five-piece showcasing standout tracks, “Ruthless,”“Summer Rain,” and “Limbo.” Watch HERE

The Saturday Morning Session displays the band’s soaring vocals and harmonies, powerful and catchy indie rock songwriting, and dynamic emotional range through five-plus minute arrangements. Watch the group perform all three songs here.

Waldemar – named after frontman Gabe Larson’s grandfather, a hard-laboring Midwestern farmer – exemplifies an acceptance of personal heritage and an understanding of the difficulties we inherit and share. Years ago, at a creative crossroads following a band breakup, Larson found inspiration in the tenacity of his once-struggling ancestor and used it to forge his path forward. With his brother, he transformed a rundown horse barn on his property into a professional recording studio, then meticulously wrote, recorded, scrapped and rewrote the 11 songs that make up Ruthless. 

Throughout the five-year studio and album construction process, Larson worked manual labor jobs installing floors, fixing roofs, painting houses, and driving school buses to fund his passion and support his growing family. The story is a living metaphor – rather than abandon those things that needed repair, Larson and his collaborators tirelessly worked to remake them and find a way to instill personal meaning. 

Ruthless is the relentless vision of a musician perfecting a sound, the cascades of guitars, synths and vocals washing over a listener like rivers polishing stone, like grit on grains of wood. In a Midwestern setting that gave rise to so many other American dreams, Waldemar’s debut album is a testament to the power of struggle – that we are made by what we make.