Jalan Crossland was born and raised in Ten Sleep, Wyoming. He attended Ten SleepHigh School before his family moved to Pittsburgh, where he attended David B. Oliver High School. Crossland became interested in music as a child, after hearing his uncle play the banjo. In 1997 he placed second in the Winfield National Guitar Fingerpicking Competition. In 1999 he won the first place title at the Wyoming Flatpick Championship. As a teenager he played electric guitar in a seriesheavy metal bands in Pittsburgh. When he was twenty, he and his girlfriend had a baby. He moved to Gillette, Wyoming to work as a sheepherder. He and his girlfriend ended their relationship and he left his job as a sheepherder. He then worked with country bands as a free-lance guitarist and had a day job in a mobile home factory in Casper. He quit the factory job and began pursuing music full-time.
Career
Crossland is a banjoist, guitarist, and vocalist. He released his first album, Poor Boy Shanty in 2000. In 2004 he released his second record, Moonshiner. In 2005 he formed the Jalan Crossland Band with bassist Shaun Kelley and drummer Pat Madsen. They released the albums Trailer Park Fire & Other Tragedies in 2006 and Driftwood Souls in 2010. The band took a hiatus in 2011 and Crossland released a solo album titled Portrait of a Fish. The band later reconvened and, in 2014, released the albumNo Cause For Despair. In 2017 the Jalan Crossland Band released the album Singalongs for the Apocalypse. Crossland was awarded Wyoming Public Radio's people's choice award for best Wyoming release of 2017. The Jalan Crossland Band disbanded later in 2017 after Kelley was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and Madsen moved to the East Coast. The band's final performance was at the Wyoming Outdoor Council’s 50th Anniversary and Community Fair in Lander. In March 2019 he released the album Greatest Efforts, a compliaton of 19 songs throughout his career that are considered fan-favorites. In 2013 Crossland was bestowed with the Governor's Arts Award by Matt Mead for his contributions to the arts in Wyoming. He is the second musician to ever receive the award. He was also named a "Wyoming Treasure" by the Wyoming Arts Council. In April 2019 Crossland performed at Miner Brewing Company’s Music Series in Hill City, South Dakota. He has been an opening act on tour for Robert Earl Keen. Crossland is set to perform at the 20th Beartrap Summer Festival at Casper Mountain in August 2019.
