The Wood Brothers Set To Headline The IBMA Bluegrass Live Festival

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Originally hailing from Colorado, and after charting their own separate musical lives for fifteen years, Chris and Oliver Wood decided to team up together in 2004 to create the brilliant roots-driven band, The Wood Brothers.

They would later go on to add multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix to the mix and for over twenty years have been creating a genre-defying sound that blends roots with Americana, bluegrass, folk, and jazz. The band has evolved into one of the most revered American roots bands in the country.

Returning to Chattanooga for the first time since June of 2024, The Wood Brothers will be a headlining act for the IBMA Bluegrass Live Festival on Friday, September 19th.

In 2018 the group was nominated for Best Americana Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards for their sixth studio album, One Drop of Truth. The group has also had multiple albums on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, with their album Paradise hitting number one.

Released on August 1st, their latest album, Puff of Smoke, is a mastery of the unique, genre-bending sound they have created while still maintaining their solid American roots.

In speaking with The Pulse, Oliver Wood suggested that the latest entry is in large part about this divisive culture we have going on right now in America and how, at our core, we are all lovers longing for connection.

This is most evident in one of the most powerful songs on the album, “Above All Others,” where he suggests, “The left and the righters, they're nothin' but tough,” before later going on to say, “Above all others, you got the lovers, and it's a wonder how we love to suffer, and we can't get enough.”

“This song, in a mocking and more cynical kind of way, is saying that you have all these different kinds of people, but ultimately they are all the same. We all want love and to be loved. I know that sounds corny, but we all want to be connected. When it comes down to it, we’re all lovers, and we can’t get enough. And there are a lot of ways that comes out. It comes out in anger and in sadness and in dreaming and in praying, but it’s all just for connection. I think that is a theme that comes up a lot.” Oliver mentioned.

The album is an excellent addition to their ever-evolving sound, which Oliver mentioned being very mindful of and being intentional in pushing the envelope a bit.

“It evolves because we want to enjoy it and want it to be challenging; we don’t want to do what we’ve already done. It’s a very conscious decision to make something different every time. Sometimes when making a record we don’t really know how we’re going to make it different; we just know we’re going to make different choices and use different instruments, or beats, or influences of musical styles. For this record we had ingredients that came from Latin and calypso music, things we haven’t used as much before. For us to be challenged and to enjoy the process, I think, helps us make good music.”

When asked about headlining the IBMA World of Bluegrass Live Festival this year, and with the festival typically leaning more towards traditional bluegrass, Oliver mentioned that bluegrass musicians are often improvisers and a mix of musical genres.

“Our goal is to mix those ingredients in different ways and come up with new ideas. I think in that spirit, Bluegrassers are improvisers. There is tradition there but also innovation. Honored to be a part of the festival, and whatever tradition means within the bluegrass community, I think it is fun to be a small part of it.”

Oliver also mentioned how excited he is to return to Chattanooga to perform, and detailed his extensive history with the city.

“I love just being along the river. We’ve often played the Walker Theatre, but we’ve also played a couple festivals there on the river. I remember going through Chattanooga in the early nineties, and it was a different place. It’s come a long way, and it’s a beautiful spot. I just love that town.”

The Wood Brothers