Wyoming Country Music Star Ian Munsick Is Opening A Cowboy Bar In Deadwood

The first time Ian Munsick played at Deadwood Mountain Grand in South Dakota, he had a little question for the audience.

How many were from his home state of Wyoming?

“It was still pretty early on in my career, and I remember going on stage and there were 2,000 people out there, and they knew all of the words to my music,” Munsick said. “And I was just kind of blown away by that.

"And then I was like, ‘How many of you guys are from Wyoming?’ And half of the crowd raised their hands.”

That didn’t surprise Munsick too much when he really thought about it. Deadwood was also a “go-to” vacation spot for him when the Sheridan native was growing up. But it did plant a little seed in his mind that grew over the years. 

“Throughout the years, every time we play there, there’s always just a huge turnout from Wyoming,” Munsick said.

So, when he and his wife Caroline were shopping for a place to open a Munsick-themed restaurant, Deadwood ultimately became their choice for a new adventure, one that will be laced with not just good food and whiskey, but also good music.

The Ian Munsick Cowboy Bar & Western Grill will open at The Landmark Hotel and Casino, Deadwood’s largest historic structure at 35,000 square feet, Aug. 29 of this year. 

Munsick has been a rising star since his breakout 2013 hit “Horses Are Faster,” which was inspired by watching horses running around his parents’ ranch in Sheridan.

His single hit gold, even though it was an independent release, and he took himself to Nashville soon after.

Maintaining his Wyoming roots has always been important to Munsick, and with Deadwood’s strong Wyoming connections, he feels that a restaurant there will continue to serve his mission of bringing the West to the rest.

Munsick Will Continue To Live In Sheridan

Munsick told Cowboy State Daily he and his wife plan for the 2,600-square-foot bar to channel Wyoming’s best Cowboy bars, whether it’s The Mint in Sheridan, the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson, or any number of cool cowboy bars in between.

“When you walk in, do you feel like you’re going back in time?” Munsick said. “Do you feel like this is your bar when you walk in? Those are the things that we’re aiming to do, from all of the aesthetics that go into the tables and the chairs and the bar area and the flooring and the artwork on the walls to just the environment of the room. It should feel like you’re in the West.”

Munsick’s restaurant will have an unusual feature that most restaurants do not offer. That is an adjacent recording studio.

No, this doesn’t mean Munsick is moving from Wyoming. He and his wife Caroline have purchased a place near Sheridan where they live, and they plan to continue to live right there, Munsick said. 

“Right now, our primary focus is on the live performance venue that is there,” Munsick said. “The outdoor stage will hold a few hundred people and the indoor stage like 100 to 200. That will create opportunities for local artists to come play music there.”

Deadwood, Munsick added, is a great “routing spot” for musicians who are passing through during their summer Western tours. 

“I have just a ton of extremely talented friends and artists and songwriters who are going to be able to come and play that stage and just bring a whole new art to that town,” Munsick said. “Which I think will be really, really special.”

The recording studio, meanwhile, actually came from the Landmark Hotel’s general manager and owner, Gerard Keating. 

“He’s a big picture guy, and he has all these great ideas,” Munsick said. “So I know when he brought that up, it’s very much on our radar to install that in the hotel right next door, so whenever touring artists do come through or songwriters come to town to play the cowboy bar, they can stay at the Landmark and record an album or record a couple of tunes there and play the cowboy bar too. It’s kind of a win-win for everybody.”

Deadwood, Munsick added, is a great place to write music. He himself wrote portions of his recent song, “Caroline,” there, as well as several others. 

“Deadwood is one of the most inspiring places, just because of all the history, and you’re right smack dab in the Black Hills,” he said. “I’ve written quite a few tunes out there, and I know there’s going to be quite a few more written out there now that we have the bar out there, right?”

Music Made The Match

The deal came about as Keating was concurrently searching for a singer songwriter with a high profile, but one who wasn’t going to turn the space into just another tacky, Nashville-esque, Broadway-style bar, Munsick said. 

“I’m not sure exactly who introduced us, but Caroline heard about it through our agent, that he was looking to open up a cowboy bar,” Munsick said. “So, we got to talking about the Wyoming connection there and our history of playing Deadwood and always being able to go and sell out the Mountain Grand for the last few years.”

Talk is good, but the proof this time was in the music. Once Keating heard Munsick’s music, the deal was sealed. 

“And having Caroline just being so brilliant at branding and interior design and just making sure this bar is actually a cowboy bar and not just another touristy, tacky Western bar (is key),” Munsick said. “I think this is just the perfect partnering for Gerard and for us.”

The space so far is looking amazing, Munsick added. He and Caroline were just there Wednesday, checking on things.

“There’s going to be an amazing patio in the back with a fire pit and an awesome stage for people to play,” Munsick said. “And there’s going to be Big Buck Hunter and the Golden Tee and hopefully some pool tables and a great kitchen as well.”

Big Buck Hunter is a coin-operated shooting video game where players shoot at large male bucks, elk or moose, while avoiding female animals across various hunting treks and bonus rounds, while Golden Tee is a popular video golf game.

Munsick added that he’s taking pains to ensure the restaurant will be kid friendly, so that the entire family can enjoy the experience. 

New Music Moves

Munsick’s new restaurant isn’t the only big career move the nationally popular musician has been making. 

Last year, the star parted ways with Warner Music Nashville and has since signed with a new label, Triple Tigers Records.

“Our partnership with Warner was incredible,” Munsick said. “Being a new young artist, it really made me feel like I had finally cracked into the music industry because when the biggest dog in town wants to be your label, it’s a huge compliment.”

Much was achieved during that partnership, Munsick said, including a platinum and a gold record. 

“But the thing we were just not able to achieve was radio airtime or hits or charting of any kind,” Munsick said. “That was the main reason I wanted to go with a label, because when you do a record deal,  you are giving up a lot of ownership of your music, and the tradeoff is that hopefully they’re able to get you on the radio and increase your exposure.”

Munsick and his wife Caroline, who is also Munsick’s manager, thought long and hard about making a change. 

“They very graciously allowed me to get out of my deal, because I still had two more albums there,” Munsick said. “But they totally understood, and they were just a great partner. I’m very blessed to have had them and to be able to walk away.”

New Red Rocks Performance, With Ned LeDoux

Triple Tigers has a much smaller number of artists on their label, and Munsick believes this will work better for his style.

“There’s only 10 or 20 people at the whole label, which feels a lot more at home for a guy like me, who grew up on a ranch in Wyoming,” Munsick said. “When you go with a major there’s hundreds of employees, and it’s easy to get lost there. This just feels like home and they’re going to allow me to just do the thing I love which is maintain creative control over my music.”

Munsick has already released his first single with Triple Tigers, a song called “Geronimo,” which Munsick said has been doing very well on tour so far, getting great responses from his audience. 

“I think that has a couple million streams right now, and we have a lot more music coming down the pipe, which I’m very excited about,” he said. “My new album will be out later this year, and it’s going to be the best album I’ve ever made, hands down. I can’t wait for people to hear it.”

Munsick’s next tour dates near Wyoming include June 27 in Libby, Montana, and Aug. 25 for a repeat Red Rocks Amphitheatre performance in Colorado. Joining him at Red Rocks will be another Wyoming favorite son, country star Ned LeDoux. Munsick said he’s particularly pleased about that pairing.

“Obviously the LeDoux name is just so important for the culture of the West and also just for country music as a whole,” he said. “So for me to be able to bring Ned on as one of the openers, I feel like his music, will just hit so hard and I’ve known for a long time now — we’ve become pretty good pals — every time they hit the stage, I can’t help but just watch them and be enamored by the kind of music they play and the energy in which they play it. It’s very inspiring for me as an artist to be able to play alongside Ned and his band.”

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.