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Cleto Cordero Talks “Landslide” & Yellowstone

The six-piece Flatland Cavalry can certainly rock out when they want to, but they also know that sometimes it’s the softer, gentler songs that make people want to lean in and listen.

That’s a lesson the group’s leader, Cleto Cordero, learned first-hand when he was just starting out as a professional musician in the oil-rich area of West Texas known as the Permian Basin. He grew up in Midland and as a young man played gigs at Dee’s Bistro in nearby Odessa. His audience was people who were also eating dinner or enjoying drinks and conversation, so he had to figure out what kinds of songs worked, and what didn’t. His rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” was usually a winner. 

Cleto Cordero’s “Landslide” Take

“That song seemed to really get people to put their forks down, look up from their meal, and pay attention,” says Cordero, who has fronted Flatland Cavalry for 10 years now. “You could tell that they were feeling it or it made them think of something.”

Stevie Nicks poured her soul into writing “Landslide” nearly 50 years ago, but the charismatic Cordero goes a long way toward making it his own. With his clear-voiced, passionate delivery and delicate backing from his fellow Cavalrymen, it has emerged as a fan favorite at Flatland concerts and is now their newest single. They have just released two versions—a studio recording plus a live take captured at Nashville’s hallowed Ryman Auditorium.

Cordero, who is the band’s principal songwriter as well as its lead singer, says he doesn’t care where a song comes from as long it helps him connect with listeners.

“At the end of the day, Flatland is built on songs,” says Cordero.“Whether I wrote the song, or someone else did, I just like putting songs out there in the universe that make people feel stuff, and that one always seemed to do the trick.”

He also loves the idea of introducing such a great song to a new generation of fans. As another bonus, “Landslide” flows smoothly in concert into one of his group’s biggest songs, “A Life Where We Work Out,” which was recently certified as their first gold record.

Flatland Cavalry’s Steady Climb

While Cordero grew up in Midland, he hooked up with his bandmates while attending Texas Tech University farther north in Lubbock. His own family’s hispanic roots reach down to a border town in southwestern Texas called Redford.

He listened to a lot of country music growing up, mainly what was on the radio, and later grew to embrace many of the legendary Texas singer-songwriters that preceded him. He cites Randy Rogers and Jason Boland & The Stragglers as influences and also appreciates the lyrical craft of icons like Robert Earl Keen, Guy Clark, and Townes Van Zandt. These inspirations might give insight into Flatland Cavalry’s Americana-flavored approach that’s led by Cordero’s finger-picked acoustic guitar and is heavily accented with violin. Helping him to create their signature sound are band members Jason Albers, Jonathan Saenz, Reid Dillon, Wesley Hall, and Adam Gallegos.

The Yellowstone Boost

A big step up for them was what was essentially a featured role in the phenomenally popular TV series Yellowstone. In a Season 5 episode called “The Dream is Not Me,” Flatland Cavalry’s gorgeous “Mountain Song” was front and center—all four minutes of it.

“We didn’t know for sure until a day or two before that they were going to use it,” Cordero recalls. “I was hoping that they would because I felt the song was perfect for it, but I didn’t expect them to use the whole song.”

The wider exposure brought lots of new fans to Flatland and reinforced to Cordero just how powerful a song can be. Many people have reached out to him personally to say how much the song has moved them. In some cases, it brought them the comfort they needed after the loss of a loved one.

Flatland Cavalry’s Future

With more big things on the horizon, Flatland Cavalry may very well look back on 2024 as their breakout year. They have huge audiences under their belt after opening for the likes of Luke Combs and Parker McCollum and will see their own name at the top of the bill on a tour that starts this fall. They headline at Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre in October with their sights set on New Year’s Eve at the massive Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.

Despite the challenges of playing much bigger spaces to much bigger crowds, Cordero hopes to always be able to create an intimate vibe—just like he did in those early days playing solo in Odessa.

“We want to make it feel like there are 12 people in the room instead of 12,000, even if it’s just for one song,” he says.

Connect With Flatland Cavalry 

Learn more about concert dates and Flatland’s upcoming projects by visiting flatlandcavalry.com. During your visit, be sure to catch their two separate versions of the classic “Landslide” and more music from their first decade together.