The Wood Brothers

Mike Judy & ORH Concerts Present

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 • Doors 7pm • Show 8pm • $25 Reserved • $17 Advance • $19 Day of Show • All Ages

w/ Lera Lynn

Two brothers decide to form a band, adapting the blues, folk and other roots?music sounds they loved as kids into their own evocative sound and twining their voices in the sort of high?lonesome harmony blend for which sibling singers are often renowned. While that’s not a terribly unusual story, the Wood Brothers took a twisty path to their ultimate collaboration. Indeed, they pursued separate projects for some 15 years before joining forces.

With supple assistance from drummer Tyler Greenwell and a fleet of gifted guest players – not to mention Grammy?nominated producer?engineer?mixer Jim Scott (Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Lucinda Williams) – the brothers simmer, swing and soar, shifting moods and time signatures with aplomb. As ever, Oliver’s lived?in, expressive voice and urgent fretwork bounce off Chris’ propulsive stand?up bass lines, in?the?pocket harmonies and ghostly harmonica phrases.

In 2010, the Woods and drummer Greenwell hit the road with roots?rock phenom Zac Brown. “It was about the best opening?band situation I can imagine,” Chris says of the tour, which sometimes put the Wood Brothers before crowds of 20,000 – many times larger than the usual audience for their headlining gigs. “Zac was really great; he’d come out and play with us during our set, and invite us out to join in during his.” Oliver notes that he and his brother “learned a lot by watching Zac and his band.”

Brown also wooed the Woods over to his own label, Southern Ground; he served as executive producer on Smoke Ring Halo.

And so the two brothers continued pursuing the musical adventure they’d begun in childhood. For although their paths diverged for many years, and they forged very different careers in disparate places, the Wood Brothers are never far from the musical currents that formed their musical impulses in the first place. It may be, in Chris’ formation, part influences and part blood. But it’s all magic.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 5:22 pm and is filed under Past Shows. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.