Moreland and Arbuckle announce they’re breaking up

This bit of news may leave quite a few Wichitans singing the blues.

After performing together for 15 years, Moreland and Arbuckle is officially breaking up, according to a Tuesday news release from the band’s label, Alligator Records.

The band’s founding members, Aaron Moreland and Dustin Arbuckle, decided to “amicably dissolve the band,” while playing any tour dates already on the schedule.

In the news release, Moreland, the band’s guitarist, cites a desire to spend more time at home with his family.

“I’ve had extraordinary opportunities playing music my entire life. The best shows have been the highest of highs,” Moreland said in the release. “After 15 years on the road, it’s time for me to focus on what’s most important—my family.”

Dustin Arbuckle and the band’s drummer, Kendall Newby, a 2012 addition, have plans to pursue other musical ventures.

The band, whose 2016 release, “Promised Land or Bust,” was nominated for a 2016 Blues Music Award for Rock Blues Album of the Year, have been perennial favorites in Wichita and the surrounding area.

“I want to express my tremendous gratitude to all the friends and fans who have supported us over the years,” Arbuckle said in the news release. “I plan to continue my career as a touring musician, so hopefully I will see all of them again in the future.”

In retrospect, Moreland perhaps hinted that this was the way the band was heading in a phone interview with the Eagle last September.

“It’s very taxing,” Moreland said of the band’s hectic touring schedule. “It’s not easy to maintain. We try to eat well and take care of ourselves, but it’s hard to travel that much and sleep in a different bed every night.

“It’s a lot of work but I’m not going to complain about getting paid to play the guitar and going to play,” Moreland also said in that interview. “It’s a huge sacrifice in a lot of ways, but it’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid, so I’ve got to keep chasing it as long as I have the opportunity.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2017 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Moreland and Arbuckle announce they’re breaking up."