Today, singer/songwriter Bear Rinehart, aka Wilder Woods, is releasing his new single “Be Yourself” featuring the acclaimed duo The War & Treaty, who are currently nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Bear originally wrote the song as a letter to himself and a salve for his self-described imposter syndrome as he eyed his second Wilder Woods album, an individual pursuit outside of his multi-platinum-selling band, NEEDTOBREATHE. With their soaring vocal performance, The War & Treaty push the song’s meaning to that of a beautiful and trusting partnership, exemplified by their own iconic romance.
Watch the “Be Yourself” video featuring The War and Treaty HERE and listen via DSPs HERE.
About the pairing, Wilder Woods shares, “It’s an honor to partner with The War & Treaty on the release of ‘Be Yourself.’ Their effortless harmonies breathe an exciting new life into this song’s timeless message about unconditional love.” Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter of The War & Treaty say, “This song is an anthem for the entire world to simply Be Yourself. No front, no faking it till you make it. You are worthy. You are good enough. Be Yourself! Working with Wilder Woods was like working with your brother. We loved every minute of it."
The original version of “Be Yourself” is the most popular song on Wilder Woods’ 2023 release, FEVER / SKY, which earned raves across the board and spawned the Triple A Radio hit “Maestro (Tears Don’t Lie),” which crested at #11 on Mediabase’s Adult Album Alternative chart. The album has garnered over 15M streams on Spotify alone, with featured placements on playlists New Music Friday, Run Wild, Fresh Folk and more.
Press accolades include:
“... introspective and a moving, passionate collection which hopefully results in more of the same.”– American Songwriter
“... Rinehart anchors the joyous cacophony in his music with a sense of confidence and empathy."– No Depression
"Soulful Americana indicative of Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats." – Saving Country Music
With Wilder Woods, Bear Rinehart (also known as the frontman for Grammy-nominated, chart-topping band NEEDTOBREATHE) explores a different creative outlet outside of the larger group dynamic. Wilder Woods offers Rinehart the opportunity to experiment and grow with different sounds, styles and textures, while also embracing new challenges along the way. "Wilder Woods is a passion project," he says. "That's the way it has to be. You have to love doing something like this — and learn from it, too — in order to keep doing it. There's a lot of ways to make music, but for me, all of it is a tool to communicate with people.”
