The framework for country band the Lost Trailers has been around ever since guitarist and songwriter Stokes Nielson and a high school friend of his from Atlanta, keyboardist/vocalist Ryder Lee, released the independent CD The Story of the New Age Cowboy. It worked out so well that Nielson took the songs to the Nashville bar circuit, playing with Lee, a drummer, and a bassist as Stokes Nielson & the Lost Trailers, a name that was spawned from the fact that their tour trailer had been stolen twice (and once more when the Lost Trailers' established lineup was playing together). In 2000, Nielson, who was also working as a DJ for a Nashville radio station, had the chance to interview Willie Nelson for his show, an opportunity he used to give a demo copy of their work to Nelson. The country music legend so much liked what he heard that he invited them to play at his annual Fourth of July picnic in Texas.