The Wood Brothers Announce New Album, Summer Tour Dates
The Wood Brothers have announced their eighth studio album, Heart Is The Hero, will be released on April 14th. The trio of Oliver Wood, Chris Wood, and Jano Rix took a different approach from their last effort by recording analog straight to 16-track tape. As such, it strips their sound down to their elemental core, the band says.
“I’m looking forward to going on the road with these new songs from Heart Is The Hero and seeing how they evolve from night to night when performed in front of audiences,” says bassist Chris Wood. “The recording process for this album was completely different from our last one, Kingdom In My Mind, where we had all the time in the world to experiment, tinker, and shape performances. For those sessions, I was living in Nashville close to Oliver and Jano, but I’ve since relocated to Canada, so our time to record together this time around had to be extremely focused and intentional. I think those limitations actually added something special. The end results feel raw, honest, immediate, and vulnerable, more so than any other record we’ve made to date.”
The themes on the album’s ten tracks focus on presence, grace, and faith. Its first single is the title track which sums it up, according to vocalist/guitarist Oliver Wood.
“The chorus of the album’s title track says, ‘the heart is the hero of every song.’ By no means was it intentional, but much of the material we were writing for this record seemed to come full circle to the idea of trusting in your heart in matters that you can’t control. Those words seemed to illustrate so much of what we were feeling—that heart and spirit guides us through this world,” explains Oliver Wood. “Even by recording completely analog, we had to commit to feeling the performances and have faith in what the three of us were creating together instead of trying to make things perfect by letting technology or overthinking things get in the way.”
The Wood Brothers are currently in the midst of a winter and spring combo, but they’ve also announced 20 dates between May 10th in Illinois to June 18th in Michigan. See below for their full itinerary.
The Wood Brothers 2023 Tour Dates:
| Date | Location | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 31 | Solana Beach, CA | Belly Up Tavern ^ (Sold Out) |
| Feb 1 | Solana Beach, CA | Belly Up Tavern ^ (Sold Out) |
| Feb 2 | Ventura, CA | Ventura Music Hall ^ |
| Feb 3 | Oakland, CA | Fox Theater ^ |
| Feb 4 | Stateline, NV | Bally’s Lake Tahoe Casino Resort ^ |
| Feb 6 | Santa Cruz, CA | Rio Theatre ^ |
| Feb 8 | Bend, OR | Midtown Ballroom ^ |
| Feb 9 | Seattle, WA | Neptune Theatre ^ (Sold Out) |
| Feb 10 | Portland, OR | Revolution Hall ^ (Sold Out) |
| Feb 11 | Portland, OR | Revolution Hall ^ |
| Feb 24 | North Little Rock, AR | Simmons Bank Arena ^^ |
| Mar 1 | Lexington, KY | Lexington Opera House |
| Mar 2 | Detroit, MI | Majestic Theatre |
| Mar 3 | Buffalo, NY | Town Ballroom |
| Mar 4 | Ithaca, NY | State Theatre |
| Mar 6 | Westerly, RI | The United Theatre |
| Mar 8 | Harrisburg, PA | XL Live |
| Mar 9 | Rocky Mount, VA | Harvester Performance Center (Sold Out) |
| Mar 10 | Winston-Salem, NC | The Ramkat |
| Mar 11 | Chattanooga, TN | Walker Theatre |
| Apr 11 | Scottsdale, AZ | Virginia G. Piper Theater - Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts |
| Apr 12 | Flagstaff, AZ | Orpheum Theater |
| Apr 14 | Beaver Creek, CO | Vilar Performing Arts Center |
| Apr 15 | Denver, CO | Mission Ballroom |
| Apr 17 | Salina, KS | The Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts |
| Apr 18 | Fayetteville, AK | JJ’s Live |
| Apr 20 | Tulsa, OK | Cain’s Ballroom |
| Apr 21 | Tilmon, TX | Old Settler’s Music Festival |
| Apr 22 | Houston, TX | The Heights Theater |
| May 10 | Peoria, IL | Premier Event Center * |
| May 11 | Chicago, IL | The Salt Shed * |
| May 12 | Minneapolis, MN | Utepils Brewing Co. * |
| May 13 | Milwaukee, WI | Riverside Theater * |
| May 15 | Akron, OH | Goodyear Theater * |
| May 16 | Cincinnati, OH | Taft Theatre * |
| May 18 | Atlanta, GA | The Eastern * |
| May 19 | Raleigh, NC | North Carolina Museum of Art * |
| May 20 | Washington, DC | The Anthem * |
| May 21 | Knoxville, TN | Tennessee Theatre * |
| Jun 7 | Portland, ME | State Theatre * |
| Jun 8 | Boston, MA | Roadrunner * |
| Jun 9 | New York, NY | The Rooftop at Pier 17 * |
| Jun 10 | Accord, NY | Arrowood Farms * |
| Jun 11 | Fairport, NY | Perinton Center Park Amphitheater * |
| Jun 13 | New Haven, CT | College Street Music Hall * |
| Jun 15 | Charlottesville, VA | Ting Pavilion * |
| Jun 16 | Williamsburg, VA | Virginia Arts Festival’s Williamsburg Live * |
| Jun 17 | Pittsburgh, PA | Mountain View Amphitheatre * |
| Jun 18 | Grand Rapids, MI | venue TBA * |
| Jun 23 | Greenfield, MA | Green River Festival |
| Aug 18-20 | Wellston, MA | Hoxeyville Music Festival |
^ w/ Taylor Ashton
^^ w/ The Avett Brothers & Turnpike Troubadours
* w/ Shovels & Rope
