Will “Mustang” McGee shows another side of his musical personality on his new debut solo album, Horseplay, out now via Color Red.
Best known as the bassist for Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country, McGee started plotting his solo debut back in 2020. Since then, he has been busy traveling the country playing 150 shows a year with his Cosmic Country bandmates. Needless to say, it took substantial effort and dedication just to find the time to record his own music, but after five years, the project has finally come to fruition.
Fans of Donato’s twangy brand of psychedelic, jam-infused country may be surprised by the smoother, soulful sounds of Horseplay—but they certainly won’t be disappointed. The album captures the spirit of Memphis soul legends like Al Green and Rufus Thomas but with a modern rock ‘n’ roll edge. Recorded at Memphis’ legendary Royal Studios with McGee’s old band, Forest Fire Gospel Choir, the album also features blues guitar torchbearer Christone “Kingfish” Ingram on one track and Donato (playing a Fender Stratocaster instead of his signature Tele) on another.
“It was awesome to include them,” McGee told Slide&Banjo. “I’m so lucky Daniel and I have formed a great friendship and collaborative arrangement. I asked why don’t you come down and play on this song. He hopped in his Ford Ranger and drove straight to Memphis. We did a couple hours of tracking, and he drove back to Nashville that night.
“We tried to get him out of his comfort zone,” McGee added. “We were trying to control the twang factor of the song. We thought sonically the Stratocaster took us into a different zone. As far as I know, it’s the only time I’ve seen him record on a Stratocaster. I remember posting the video and people were like Daniel on a Stratocaster. Now I’ve seen everything!”
Donato expressed admiration for his bandmate, praising McGee’s broad range of talents: “Mustang has an ability to do what very few accomplished bassists can do. He can write, compose and improvise. It’s already hard enough to play bass well. He has his own unique style on his instrument, and his new album reflects his unique style imbued through several other forms. Not bad for Horsin’ around.”
Still, the spotlight belongs to McGee. His lead vocals are rich and soulful—commanding yet restrained—and are beautifully supported by arrangements from Grammy-winning producer Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell.
Horseplay is available now digitally and on vinyl. Stream the album below or on your preferred platform, and click here to order it on vinyl via Color Red.
Mustang McGee – Horseplay