The Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site in Wyoming has inspired art and spirituality for more than 1,000 years. It’s a haven protected from the harsh Wyoming wind and surrounded by rugged cliffs, expansive sagebrush plains and rolling hills.
Archaeologists have found evidence of humans living there stretching back 10,000 years in this remote wilderness and believe the area has been inhabited by man continuously for these thousands of years who have left behind not only their artifacts, but their artwork.
A new generation of artists are now being inspired by the beautiful surroundings, including two young teenagers who are creating their music in the shadows of the same cliffs once inhabited by an unknown people thousands of years before. Liam and Layne Jordan are taking that music from the shadows to their growing audience both in-person and on-line.
Their inspiration, Medicine Lodge, is known worldwide for its petroglyphs (carved rock-art images) and pictographs (painted rock-art images) that had been rediscovered in the late 1800s by ranchers. These ancient images cover the face of a 750-foot-long sandstone bluff and are now preserved in the park.
The park itself is a favorite for outdoor enthusiasts who are wanting to unplug from the modern world and enjoy the hiking, all-terrain vehicle trails and fishing that the area offers.
Music Of Medicine Lodge
This isolated canyon serves as the musical inspiration for 14-year-old twins Layne and Liam Jordan, who have lived their entire lives in the remote Bighorn Basin. Like those that lived in the same area 10,000 years before, the teenagers are inspired by the beauty surrounding them to create their own unique blend of art in the form of songs.
“I'm super thankful to be able to have all these wide-open spaces,” Liam said. “Being cooped up inside limits your imagination when it comes to songwriting and playing music in general.”
Their dad, Brooks Jordan, is the superintendent of the park and the twins have grown up surrounded by the wilderness and history of the region. Cellphone service is sketchy, at best, and the nearest Walmart is three hours away.
Their mail is delivered to Hyattville 6 miles away, which boasts a population of 47 and the young teenagers travel 45 minutes each day to school in Ten Sleep. There they are active in sports, band and the Future Farmers of America.
Liam and Layne say they don’t mind the long commute each day because they love living in a home where they can just step outside and be in the mountains. It is this remote wilderness that has inspired them to write and produce their own brand of music, a blend of hard rock and country.
“If we lived in the city, we would have different things that we drew inspiration upon,” Lane said. “I think our music would be a lot different.”
Their home lies in the Medicine Lodge Canyon, a narrow gorge carved by the Medicine Lodge Creek, which runs through the area. The canyon walls are dotted with ancient petroglyphs, depicting scenes of Native American life, animals, and spiritual symbols, carved into the rock faces by indigenous peoples thousands of years ago.
“We like to spend time outside and play music,” Layne said. “We are really lucky to grow up in such a beautiful place. We take inspiration from the landscape around us and the colors and that helps us build the mood and tone for our songs.”
Playing Outside
The twins can just walk out of their door and be in the mountains and along a stream. Wildlife abounds and they take advantage of all the outdoor recreation, skiing in the winter and hiking and fishing during the summer.
“I play guitar and a little bit of banjo, and I play harmonica on some of our songs,” Liam said. “We were inspired by our dad to pick up the guitar in the very beginning.”
Their earliest memories are of their dad coming home at his lunch breaks when they were toddlers and playing his guitar for them. He had slowly stopped playing and the guitar was eventually buried in a closet, but apparently not forgotten.
When they were ten, they dug his guitar out and started plucking at the strings. Their dad began to show them the basics of playing and then, for their eleventh birthday, their grandmother gave them each their own guitar. Their music has continued to expand in other directions, including songwriting.
“Our first inspiration was hard rock, and this slowly evolved into the Grateful Dead and then into folk music,” Layne said.
The first song they wrote was born out of necessity. When they were 11 years old, the twins were preparing for their first musical festival in Ten Sleep and the manager of the show told them that a requirement of performing was to have at least one original song.
For this first try at songwriting, they wrote about their imaginary friends and titled the song, “Wooga Wooga.”
“We've never recorded it,” Layne said.
“Yeah,” his brother agreed. “If I'm being honest, it's definitely not our best song, but it's kind of where it all started.”
Their second song involved many revisions and edits before they were ready to go into a studio and record their music for a wider audience.
Layne, left, and Liam Jordan onstage at the Nowoodstock music festival in Ten Sleep. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
For their 11th birthday, Layne and Liam Jordan were given their first guitars from their grandmother. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
Layne and Liam Jordan explore their backyard with their mother. Raised in remote Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site where their dad works for Wyoming State Parks, the boys find the inspiration for their music in the nature surrounding them. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
Twin songwriters and performers Layne and Liam Jordan are inspired in their art by the nature around them. This is the view looking west from just outside their home in the Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
Layne and Liam Jordan find inspiration for their songs in the nature surrounding them in their rural home and fishing on the banks of the Nowood River. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
Liam and Layne Jordan perform at the Ten Sleep Fourth of July street dance. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
A typical day hike for Layne and Liam Jordan near their home in the Bighorn Basin. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
Liam and Layne Jordan perform at the Oyster Ridge Music Festival in Kemmerer. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
Layne, left, and Liam Jordan, both 13, onstage at the 2024 Culturefest in Worland. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
Liam Jordan playing guitar by the campfire in the Bighorn Mountains in summer 2024. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
Liam, right, and Layne Jordan, both 13, playing outside at a haystack near their home in the Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site in the Bighorn Basin. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
Liam Jordan elk hunting with his dad in the Bighorn Mountains near their home in Wyoming. (Courtesy Jordan Family) 
The cover art for Layne and Liam Jordan’s first album, “Don’t Slow Down.” (Courtesy Jordan Family)
Writing Songs
Most of the time, the twins work together on their songs with their motto being, two minds are better than one.
“Usually it's my brother writing the lyrics and coming up with a melody,” Liam said. “I help out with some of the things that he's more specialized in just to gain some more experience on it. And then I write the lead guitar riffs and the solos.”
Over the past few years, the duo have come up with the perfect blend for their musical performances. Layne is the lead singer and plays rhythm guitar, and Liam is the lead guitarist and sings some backup.
They have played nearly 50 different live shows since that first show in Ten Sleep and continue to add original songs to their play list. Their current favorite song is one that Layne named “Don’t Slow Down” which has received over five thousand organic downloads on YouTube and is popular at all their live gigs.
“I just really like the lyrics and the message,” Layne said. “The cover art is of a dirt road right behind our house. The lyrics say don't slow down, don't speed up and I was really thinking that you have to enjoy life in the moment. Don't try to think about the future. Don't try to think about the past.”
The lyrics Layne wrote were inspired by literally playing outside on their guitars. He and Liam were standing outside in their yard, strumming on their guitars, and talking about lyrics. He looked at the road and the words, ‘don't slow down’, popped into his head.
“It's just a lot of inspiration from the world around us,” Layne said. “I went right inside and started writing, but it took me maybe a few more days to complete it. And then my brother came up with a riff.”
This song has became their main song for their first album, available online on their website. It is also a standard one that they play at all their live gigs. The words capture the heart of what these teenagers experience daily in their rural home, far from suburbs and the big city.
They say life is a highway
But I think it’s not
It’s more like a two track
Covered in grass and rocks
But I’m just gonna say
It’ll be a bumpy ride
And whatever we do
I’ll be on your side
Traveling The Road Ahead
Since they were 11, Liam and Layne have played in front of thousands of people from weddings to street dances to conventions. Their largest audience to date was at a Future Farmers of America (FFA) convention in front of 1,200 of their peers. Their YouTube audience has grown as well with nearly 25,000 views within the past year.
Since their first performance at the Ten Sleep Brewery, they have traveled all over the Cowboy State performing every weekend during the summer. Their fans have come to expect a rendition of their signature original song, “Don’t Slow Down” as well as a variety of cover songs such as “Island in the Sun” by Weezer, “Something in the Orange” by Zach Bryan and “Seven National Army” by The White Stripes.
They don’t have time for stage fright as they hone their skill and learn to play up to the crowd, eliciting whoops and yells as the audience participates in their music.
During these coming winter months, in between performing at a fundraiser against human trafficking in Sheridan, the twins will be working on their second album. They are recording more original songs to share with their growing audience who enjoy their folksy tunes and youthful enthusiasm.
“We are working on five songs and we might do a cover this time, which would be pretty cool,” Layne said. “We're excited for the future and what it might hold.”
As they work on their new album and book future gigs for the summer, Liam and Layne Jordan will be spending as much time as possible in the outdoors, finding the inspiration for future songs in their backyard at the Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site.
Contact Jackie Dorothy at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
