Two videographers from Laramie, Wyoming, are making waves in the country music scene with their innovative YouTube channel, Western AF. Founded by Mike Vanata and Brian Harrington, the channel offers a platform for emerging country artists to gain much-needed exposure.
Initially, Vanata and Harrington created impromptu videos of friends’ musical performances, simply sharing these moments online. However, their channel took a significant turn in 2019 when a video of Canadian artist Colter Wall performing “Cowpoke” at the Bar Nunn Airport Hangar went viral. The video quickly amassed millions of views, currently standing at 12.78 million.
The unexpected success not only provided a modest financial boost from YouTube advertising—enough to cover some gas for further shoots—but also led to a crucial decision: the channel’s name. Despite initial disagreements over whether to include a curse word in the title, the unique name “Western As F***” ultimately played a role in securing performances from notable artists like Colter Wall.
As Harrington recounted, Wall’s change of heart came after learning the channel’s distinctive name, which he found appealing.
