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The Wood Brothersw/ The Bygones
June 18, 2024
5pm doors // 7pm show
Summer Stage at Tree House Brewing Company | South Deerfield, MA
For more information on Summer Stage concerts, please visit the FAQ page: https://treehousebrew.com/summer-stage-faqs
Join us outdoors at Tree House Brewing Company Western Mass for an incredible performance with...
The Wood Brothers
https://www.thewoodbros.com
The Wood Brothers have learned to trust their hearts. For the better part of two decades, they've cemented their reputation as freethinking songwriters, road warriors, and community builders, creating a catalog of diverse music and a loyal audience who've grown alongside them through the years. That evolution continues with Heart is the Hero, the band's eighth studio album. Recorded analog to 16-track tape, this latest effort finds its three creators embracing the chemistry of their acclaimed live shows by capturing their performances in real-time direct from the studio floor with nary a computer in sight. An acoustic-driven album that electrifies, Heart is the Hero is stocked with songs that target not only the heart, but the head and hips, too.
"We love records that come from the era of less tracks and more care," explains co-founder Oliver Wood. "When you use a computer during the tracking process, you have an infinite number of tracks at your disposal, which implies that nothing is permanent, and everything can be fixed. Tape gives you limitations that force you to be creative and intentional. You don't look at the music on a screen; you listen to it, and you learn to focus on the feeling of the performance."
Throughout Heart Is The Hero, those performances are matched by the visceral storytelling and songwriting chops that have turned The Wood Brothers into Grammy-nominated leaders of American roots music, even as their music reaches far beyond the genre's borders. The strippeddown swagger of "Pilgrim" underscores Oliver's reminder to slow down and experience each moment as an interactive observer, rather than a passive tourist. A similar theme anchors "Between the Beats," where Oliver draws upon a meditation technique — maintaining one's focus on the space between heartbeats — to reach a new level of presence. The gentle sway of country soul gem "Rollin' On," featuring horns by Matt Glassmeyer and Roy Agee, expounds on the timehonored tradition of love as the guiding light through darkness, while "Mean Man World" finds Chris Wood singing about his responsibilities as a father whose young daughter is poised to inherit an uncertain future. "Line Those Pockets" is a universal call for mercy and understanding over materialism. "Everybody's just trying to be happy, so put your money away; line those pockets with grace," the band sings in three-part harmony during the song's chorus, which emphasizes compassion over cash as the world's true currency. Together, these songs offer a snapshot of a spirited, independent-minded group at the peak of its powers, always pushing forward and seeking to evolve beyond what's come before.
"There's still acoustic guitar, upright bass, and percussion on this album — things people use all the time — but we're always thinking, 'How can we make this sound like us, but not like something we've already done?'" Oliver says. "Sometimes, the only way to do that is to get weird."
That sense of exploration pumps its way through Heart is the Hero like lifeblood. Arriving on the heels of 2019's Live at The Fillmore, 2020's Kingdom In My Mind, and Oliver Wood's solo album Always Smilin' — all of which were released on Honey Jar Records, the band's independent label — Heart is the Hero is bold, bright, and singularly creative, a fully realized collective effort ultimately greater than the sum of its parts. Perhaps that's to be expected from a group whose willingness to experiment has earned acclaim from Rolling Stone and NPR, as well as an annual touring schedule of sold-out music halls and theaters on both sides of the Atlantic. Ask The Wood Brothers, though, and they'll tell you to expect the unexpected.
"We are never satisfied if we are not searching for new musical recipes," says Jano Rix, nodding to the uncharted territory that Heart is the Hero covers. Chris Wood agrees, adding, "We are one of those bands that isn't easily categorized. We know what our strengths are, but we can't help but push the envelope, as well. It's too much fun."
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The Bygones
thebygonesband.com
It’s human nature to look back, and to try—in whatever haphazard fashion—to make sense of that which has gone by. For Joshua Lee Turner and Allison Young, it’s a question not only of what should be relinquished, but also what might be worth taking with you.
Sonically, the pair are intimately acquainted with the past; their collective background spans extensive knowledge of Jazz and Classical, a twinkling affinity for Golden Age musicals, nostalgia for the big bands of the ‘40s, reverence for the politically charged singer-songwriters of the ‘60s, and a warmth toward the dewy indie rock of the early 2010s. To the eye, these wildly diverse influences are tough to conceive as a singular musical sensibility. But to the ear, The Bygones have no issue, binding eclectic contexts into luminous indie folk, equal parts emotional poignancy and pop pleasure.
Allison grew up in an Appalachian pocket of Tennessee—“I’m basically from Dollywood,” she says— the mountain-making, moonshine-swigging sounds of Bluegrass and Americana coloring the soundscape. In the house, her parents opted for Ella Fitzgerald, The Beatles, Electric Light Orchestra. Her mother played piano, which Allison took up at age three. “And then I got into musical theater when I was eleven. My mother had me audition for the part of Annie, if you can believe it,” she says, her red curls bouncing. Meanwhile, Josh was in the Midwest, ingesting the Jazz and Classical selection of his own parents, singing Gregorian chants in a Catholic church (his first job), and teaching himself guitar—“like every other thirteen-year-old boy,” he jokes. For him, instruments were language enough, no lyrics necessary. He found profound satisfaction in the complex art of interpretation, performing instrumentals and covers which he shared on YouTube.
Josh was invited to play in a Simon & Garfunkel tribute tour around the same time that Allison was uploading her own version of “Scarborough Fair” to social media. Coincidence became a connection point, and the pair began following each other online. Josh was living in New York City, but on the day his tour came through Nashville, they planned to meet and record together, just as soon as Allison finished her interview for a job in music publishing. On such separate paths, neither anticipated this impromptu session would become the way forward.
The duo’s cover of Willie Nelson’s “Crazy” gathered massive enthusiasm online as well as the fervent demand of one UK promoter that they tour overseas. They accepted the invitation and rushed to record an EP to have something—anything—to play for audiences, audiences which sold out venues and applauded The (yet-to-be-named) Bygones with standing ovations before they even strummed a note. “It didn’t make any sense,” Josh says. “We weren’t a band yet.” But to see The Bygones live is to comprehend the hype. Allison’s stylish, luminescent presence and vocal finesse, Josh’s astonishing technical aptitude, and the palpable joy in their onstage dynamic create a live show experience that demands multiple encores.
The circumstances which bore The Bygones seem supernatural; rather than a band asking the world to listen, the world asked these two musicians to be a band. But there is nothing more palpably natural than the love these two artists have for music. It is an effervescent force, intrinsic to their conceptions of self. Josh says, “Music is like a hole in the ground, and as a child I was given a tiny shovel to dig, and the further I dig, the more interesting and rewarding it becomes. It’s endless.” Allison adds, “There’s nothing more wonderful than when a song resonates with someone, and you know you’ve made one person in this world feel a little less alone.”
In 2023, the duo began working on their debut album. The thirteen tracks encompassing The Bygones revolve around relationships—romantic, platonic, and familial—and the marvelously varied facets of each. On the upbeat and edgy “Stars Turn Cold,” love sizzles and fades to a frustrating end. On the infectious and zagging “Waste A Day,” love is the resplendent, ultimate source of contentment. Allison grapples with the failure of a loved one to see her for who she is on “If You Wanted To,” her beautifully bare vocal as delicate as a flower petal, lilting with fragility. Josh assumes the weight of his partner’s suffering on “Asteroid Day,” his intricate guitar arrangement emanating the tensions and tendernesses that come with sharing life. Each track is a fearlessly frank take on a different corner of companionship, and in this sense, The Bygones is a collection of love songs to love itself.
There’s an invigorating light across The Bygones’ philosophy—about music, and about life. Josh says, “There’s goodness in every decade of music. And there’s goodness in every season of life. For us, it’s about finding what’s golden in the past and bringing that forward.” He adds, laughing gently “We’re both very earnest people, and very optimistic.”
In the case of these Bygones, it’s an easy delight to let them be.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Summer Stage at Tree House Brewing Company Western Mass, 1 Community Pl, South Deerfield, MA 01373-7328, United States,South Deerfield, Massachusetts
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