Photo by Shervin Lainez
Today, The Wood Brothers share “Pilgrim,” the first single and opening track off their new studio album, Heart Is The Hero, due April 14 on Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers. A jaunty, acoustic-driven number, the song is a call to presence on life’s long and winding road. Its lyric offers inspired words of wisdom: “A soul’s gotta walk, like a pilgrim he stops to smell every flower on the path, I better slow down ’cause a soul can’t travel that fast.”
“A song like ‘Pilgrim’ is all about slowing down and paying attention,” explains Oliver Wood. “I’d heard somebody compare being a pilgrim to being a tourist. If you’re a tourist, you’re just distracted and partying. It’s a different intention than a pilgrim. A pilgrim, the way I think about it, is somebody on a spiritual mission, smelling every flower on the path and really letting your soul catch up with you. It’s that ‘being still’ thing and trying to be present. It’ll get you further in terms of being happy then hauling ass, swiping, scrolling and consuming all of the time.”
Like the entire album, “Pilgrim” was recorded completely analog to 16-track tape. The Wood Brothers’ intention for recording in this manner was not for audiophile purposes, but instead to give themselves limitations—essentially less is more. The band wanted to capture performances that had the spirit and magic that occurs between its three members during their acclaimed live performances instead of perfecting and ultimately sanitizing the music with infinite options afforded by the modern recording process. This approach ties back to themes of being in the moment and trusting your heart that run through the entire ten-track collection.
The Wood Brothers just last week completed a West Coast tour with sold-out shows in San Diego, Bend, Seattle and Portland. Brothers Oliver and Chris Wood, along with Jano Rix, get back on the road at the end of February with dates across the Northeast and Southeast followed by a Spring tour that extends across the Mountain States, Great Plains, and Texas. In May, The Wood Brothers embark on a 20-date summer tour in the Midwest and Northeast with special guests Shovels & Rope. Tickets for all shows are on sale now at woodbros.com.
“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,” adds 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.”
Heart Is The Hero is currently available to pre-save/pre-order on vinyl, CD and digital formats here.
THE WOOD BROTHERS
Tour Dates
2/24 – North Little Rock, AR – Simmons Bank Arena ^
2/25 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center ^
3/1 – Lexington, KY – Lexington Opera House
3/2 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre
3/3 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom
3/4 – Ithaca, NY – State Theatre
3/6 – Westerly, RI – The United Theatre
3/8 – Harrisburg, PA – XL Live
3/9 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center (Sold Out)
3/10 – Winston-Salem, NC – The Ramkat
3/11 – Chattanooga, TN – Walker Theatre
4/11- Scottsdale, AZ – Virginia G. Piper Theater – Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts
4/12 – Flagstaff, AZ – Orpheum Theater
4/14 – Beaver Creek, CO – Vilar Performing Arts Center
4/15 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom
4/17- Salina, KS – The Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts
4/18 – Fayetteville, AK – JJ’s Live
4/20 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
4/21- Tilmon, TX – Old Settler’s Music Festival
4/22 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater
4/23 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
5/10 – Peoria, IL – Premier Event Center *
5/11 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed *
5/12 – Minneapolis, MN – Utepils Brewing Co. *
5/13 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theater *
5/15 – Akron, OH – Goodyear Theater *
5/16 – Cincinnati, OH – Taft Theatre *
5/18 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern *
5/19 – Raleigh, NC – North Carolina Museum of Art *
5/20 – Washington, DC – The Anthem *
5/21 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre *
6/7 – Portland, ME – State Theatre *
6/8 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner *
6/9 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 *
6/10 – Accord, NY – Arrowood Farms *
6/11 – Fairport, NY – Perinton Center Park Amphitheater *
6/13 – New Haven, CT – College Street Music Hall *
6/15 – Charlottesville, VA – Ting Pavilion *
6/16 – Williamsburg, VA – Virginia Arts Festival’s Williamsburg Live *
6/17 – Pittsburgh, PA – Mountain View Amphitheatre *
6/18 – Grand Rapids, MI – venue TBA *
6/24 – Greenfield, MA – Green River Festival
8/18-20 – Wellston, MA – Hoxeyville Music Festival – Wellston, MI
^^ w/ The Avett Brothers & Turnpike Troubadours
* w/ Shovels & Rope
