A Strong Foundation

Brothers team up for bluesy, folksy, jazzy collaboration

The Wood Brothers' father was a folk musician. Chris Wood received classical training on the bass guitar. His brother Oliver Wood toured for years with a blues band.

When combined, it sounds like an American story, and it sounds like Americana music.

FYI

Fayetteville Roots Festival

Highlights from the various events taking place during the annual Fayetteville Roots Festival, which begins Thursday and continues through Sept. 1. For a full schedule of events, visit fayettevilleroots.c…. Admission prices vary.

Today

9 a.m. — Songwriting workshop by J. Wagner, FPL

Noon — Live taping of KUAF’s “Ozarks at Large,” FPL

5 p.m. — The Secret Sisters, Fayetteville Town Center

6:45 p.m. — Willie Watson, Town Center

7:45 p.m. — Darrell Scott & Tim O’Brien, Town Center

8 p.m. — Old time street dance, Maybelle Music

9 p.m. — The Wood Brothers, Town Center

10:30 p.m. — Tony Furtado Trio, George’s

10:30 p.m. — Sad Daddy, Maxine’s Taproom

11:30 p.m. — Two step lessons with Shannon Wurst and J. Wagner

11:30 p.m. — Hurray for the Riff Raff, George’s

Saturday

8:45 a.m. — Peter Lippincott, Fayetteville Town Center Plaza

11 a.m. — Workshop: Food in Jars, Town Center plaza

11:45 a.m. — Water Liars, Town Center plaza

1:45 p.m. — Anthony da Costa, Town Center plaza

4 p.m. — Anais Mitchell, Town Center

5 p.m. — Smoky & The Mirror, Town Center

6:45 p.m. — Crazy Chester Award Presentation

7 p.m. — Jay Farrar, Town Center

8 p.m. — Hurray for the Riff Raff, Town Center

8:30 p.m. — Shawn James, Maxine’s

9 p.m. — Lucinda Williams

10 p.m. — David Ramirez, George’s

10:30 p.m. — Water Liars, George’s

11 p.m. — The Vine Brothers, George’s

11:30 p.m. — Ben Kweller, George’s

Sunday

11 a.m. — Brunch at Greenhouse Grille

1 p.m. — Gospel workshop with Birds of Chicago, Maxine’s

2 p.m. — Anais Mitchell and Anthony da Costa, FPL

3 p.m. — “Tales from the South” live taping, FPL

5:30 p.m. — David Ramirez, George’s (VIP Party)

7:15 p.m. — Smokey & The Mirror, George’s (VIP Party)

8:30 p.m. — Steve Poltz, George’s (VIP Party)

9:30 p.m. — The Birds of Chicago, George’s (VIP Party)

10:30 p.m. — Jackstraw, Maxine’s

Monday

2 p.m. — Rebecca Loebe, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

3 p.m. — Raina Rose, Crystal Bridges

4 p.m. — The Birds of Chicago, Crystal Bridges

FAQ

Fayetteville Roots Festival

WHEN — Through Monday

WHERE — Various venues, mostly in Fayetteville

ADMISSION — $15-$17 for daily late-night passes for George’s Majestic Lounge; main stage passes sold out

INFO — fayettevilleroots.c…

Both brothers found fame with other groups -- Oliver as a guitarist in blues rock band King Johnson and Chris in the genre-bending experimental roots group Medeski Martin & Wood. The brothers first officially teamed up for a recording when they released "Ways Not to Lose" in 2006 as The Wood Brothers. The two musicians, joined by multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix on drums and percussion, now make the brother band their primary project. The Wood Brothers will headline tonight's activities at the Fayetteville Roots Festival's main stage. They also performed a late-night set last night at George's Majestic Lounge. That gig was also part of the ongoing Roots Festival, which continues through Monday.

In the wide spectrum of music in the roots or Americana genres, fewer lean into the blues than lean into other traditional American styles such as bluegrass and traditional songwriting.

"Our father was a folk musician, and some of the traditional folk inspiration is there. But so is Ray Charles, Bobby Bland and Buddy Guy," Chris Wood says by phone after a songwriting session in Nashville, Tenn.

And while that makes them somewhat of an anomaly on the traditional music scene, it was a good fit for the brothers. Just like playing together is now.

Chris says the partnership happened at the right time. The brothers needed to learn independently for the current combination of sounds to work. Not to mention the timing of it all.

"The way this happened was very organic. It happened at a time in our lives where we had the space to make it work," Chris says.

It's something they're still hard at work on, and Chris recently moved to Nashville to be closer to Oliver, making the collaboration process that much easier. Chris says the band hopes to begin recording later this fall, with a new record to be released sometime next summer.

NAN What's Up on 08/29/2014

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