Concert Review: The Wood Brothers in Birmingham, AL
Being the semi-obscure, folk music lover that
I am, I naturally jumped at the chance to see
The Wood Brothers at WorkPlay, a venue in
Birmingham with a casual, bluesy atmosphere.
Having never heard of the Wood Brothers, nor
their opener The Rigs, I was curious to see if I
could like them as much as my other favorites
in this genre like The Avett Brothers and Amos
Lee.
The Rigs came out first and stole my heart
immediately. They looked more like a hipster
garage band, which actually appealed to me
more than if they had a traditional look. When
they began to play, the hearts of the musicians
took over. They are very talented musicians
with a fun vibe in both their interaction with
the crowd and with their music. The band
credited Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers for
making their newest record possible.
The shift of the audience was evident when
the headlining act took the stage. Applause
INSIGHT
and whistles resounded in the full venue.
There was standing room only as people
seemingly appeared out of nowhere crowding
in to see the coming performance. With
an upright bass, an acoustic guitar and a
melodica, The Wood Brothers captivated me
with a hauntingly beautiful song entitled "The
Muse", which is also the name of the band's
album released in 2013. With its nostalgic feel
and movement of the music, it begins the
take the listener back in time to memories of
their own. "Paradise", which was the album
released in October of this year, is sure to be
a fan favorite. "Paradise" delivers with songs
such as "Singin' To Strangers" and "Heartbreak
Lullaby", which will not disappoint the seekers
of rich lyrics and organic sounds.
For more information on these talented artists,
check out The Wood Brothers at thewoodbros.
com and The Rigs at digtherigs.com
Dawn Hedgepeth
December 2015 37