Outdoors

Folk singer is joined by chorus of howling wolves in Colorado sanctuary

He’s standing in the dead of winter, singing a plaintive dirge about war, but Shawn James can’t help smiling.

And who could blame him? Midway through a rendition of A. A. Brody’s “American Hearts,” James and mandolin player Baker are joined by the wolves of Colorado’s W.O.L.F Sanctuary, who chime in with a chorus of howls that are equal parts heavenly and hair raising.

While touring in Fort Collins, Colorado, James and his band jumped at the chance to visit the sanctuary, and they brought along their instruments for a quick performance. They didn’t expect the wolves to join them, but considering the song’s opening lines, they had good reason to:

We were raised by wolves
And we are still wild
And we howl when the troubled wind blows

The pairing is guaranteed to give you goosebumps, so we can only imagine how James must have felt when the wolves began to howl.