About
In a musical landscape seemingly obsessed with pushing artists into boxes, The Russlin’ Bears offer a unique challenge to their listeners. The Bears have been described, though perhaps never accurately, in many different ways over the years. “Folk-rock”, “alt-country”, and, much to the chagrin of its members, “Mumford and Sons soundalike” are all labels that have been attached to the band by fans eager to make sense of what exactly it is they are hearing.
Truthfully, nothing sounds like The Russlin’ Bears, and The Russlin’ Bears don’t sound like anything but themselves. The brainchild of Russell Wideman, Charlie Gilchrist, and Eric Howson, The Russlin Bears were formed in Peterborough, Ontario in 2022 with the goal of introducing Wideman’s uniquely heartfelt, viscerally introspective, and paradoxically groovy (mostly) acoustic compositions to the wider world outside their living rooms.
The band didn’t take this task lightly either. For over two years Wideman, Gilchrist, Howson, and frequent collaborator Colton Russell laboured over Wideman’s compositions as what Wideman playfully referred to as an “indoor band”. The Bears played their first show in June of 2024, and have shown no sign of slowing down or stopping since, having recorded an album engineered and mixed by Electric Alchemy Recording Studio in November of 2025 which is slated for release sometime in 2026.
The Russlin’ Bears are currently performing as a three-piece, with Wideman on guitar and vocals, Howson on bass guitar and vocals, and Gilchrist contributing to the vocal load in addition to playing a wide variety of folk instruments such as the mandolin, banjo, and harmonica.
