Heart is the Hero Tour 2023: The Wood Brothers live at the Georgia Theatre!

In the late nineties, there was a jazz fusion/acid jazz/jam band/soul jazz group named Medeski, Martin, & Wood (MMW) that caught my attention and quickly became one of my favorite modern jazz groups. On bass for MMW was Chris Wood who I considered one of the premier bass players in the modern jazz genre. Fast forward a few decades to 2004 with the formation of The Wood Brothers by brothers Chris Wood (upright bass) and Oliver Wood (acoustic and electric guitars) with Jano Rix (multi-instrumentalist). Grammy-nominated The Wood Brothers music is considered folk rock/roots rock/blues rock/Americana with a twist of gospel and some elements of jazz (thanks to Chris’ time with MMW). The Wood Brothers have released nine (9) LPs with Heart is the Hero being the latest release (April 14, 2023).

Incidentally, on June 21st, The Wood Brothers announced a winter tour entitled Heart is the Hero Tour 2023 that would begin on October 18th in Marietta, OH at The Peoples’ Bank Theatre and conclude December 8th in Charleston, SC at the Charleston Music Hall. Lucky for Athens, GA, the Georgia Theatre made the cut on the night before the last tour date on December 7th. This would be my first time seeing The Wood Brothers and I was excited to see them finally perform live. This tour stop just so happened to occur on the same evening as the downtown Parade of Lights in Athens, GA. to add a little holiday festivity to the mix.

The Wood Brothers revealed that for this tour they would bring special guest The Watson Twins out on tour with them for their sixteen (16) shows tour to close out 2023. The Watson Twins are an Americana/indie folk band that formed in 2006 and consists of sisters Chandra and Leigh Watson. The Watson Twins have released six (6) LPs, one (1) collaboration LP with Jenny Lewis, two (2) EPs, five (5) singles, and one (1) compilation. The Watson Twins version of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” is incredible and I was crossing my fingers that they would play this at the Georgia Theatre.

Their latest release, Holler, was produced by Grammy nominee Butch Walker and released to rave reviews on June 23rd on Bloodshot Records. The Watson Twins started off the evening for the excited and eager crowd who braved the traffic of the Parade of Lights traffic with “The Palace” which is off their latest release. “Honky Tonk Heart”, “Hustle and Shake”, and “HOLLER” were three of my favorite songs that The Watson Twins performed during their fiery set.

Check out The Watson Twins setlist from this evening below:

·         “The Palace”

·         “Southern Manners”

·         “Honky Tonk Heart”

·         “My Name”

·         ‘Hustle and Shake”

·         “Devil in You”

·         “Two Timin”

·         “HOLLER”

Head over to The Watson Twins' official store and show them some love today!

The Wood Brothers took the stage at the historic Georgia Theatre, and you could hear the crowd roar as they cheered on the band. The Wood Brothers have a loyal fan base that travels very well when they tour. The Wood Brothers have developed a knack for sharp songwriting, adding their ability to weave intricate storylines and be musical virtuosos in the Roots music/Americana scene has cemented them as fan favorites. On this memorable evening at the Georgia Theatre, The Wood Brothers performed an exceptional set chock full of groovy songs for the fans. The Wood Brothers effortlessly performed songs such as “Pilgrim”, “Line Those Pockets”, “Little Blue”, “American Heartache”, and the crowd’s favorite sing-along “Luckiest Man”.

You can follow this link to The Wood Brothers' Official Store and show them some support. Although The Wood Brothers might be done touring in 2023, they already have some tour dates scheduled for Europe and the United States in 2024. Check them out below:

FEB 3 SAT                            Oran Mor                                                                            Glasgow, United Kingdom

FEB 4 SUN                           Deaf Institute                                                                     Manchester, United Kingdom

FEB 5 MON                         The Bodega                                                                        Nottingham, United Kingdom

FEB 6 TUE                            Lafayette                                                                             London, United Kingdom

FEB 7 WED                          Exchange                                                                            Bristol, United Kingdom

FEB 9 FRI                              TivoliVredenburg - Pandora                                         Utrecht, Netherlands

FEB 10 SAT                          Elbphilharmonie                                                               Hamburg, Germany

FEB 27 TUE                         Rialto Theatre w/Rainbow Girls                                     Tucson, AZ

FEB 28 WED                       The Sound at Del Mar w/Rainbow Girls                      Del Mar, CA

FEB 29 THU                        The Fonda Theatre w/Rainbow Girls                            Los Angeles, CA

MAR 1 FRI                           The Fillmore w/Rainbow Girls                                        San Francisco, CA

MAR 2 SAT                          The Fillmore w/Rainbow Girls                                        San Francisco, CA

MAR 5 TUE                         The Center for the Arts w/Rainbow Girls                    Grass Valley, CA

MAR 6 WED                       Arkley Center for the Performing Arts w/Rainbow Girls       Eureka, CA

MAR 7 THU                        Revolution Hall                                                                  Portland, OR

MAR 8 FRI                           Moore Theatre w/Rainbow Girls                                   Seattle, WA

MAR 9 SAT                          Wild Buffalo w/Rainbow Girls                                        Bellingham, WA

APR 3 WED                         Southern Theatre                                                             Columbus, OH

APR 4 THU                          Ryman Auditorium                                                          Nashville, TN

APR 5 FRI                             Old National Centre - Egyptian Room                      Indianapolis, IN

APR 6 SAT                           Clyde Theatre                                                                     Fort Wayne, IN

APR 7 SUN                          Orpheum Theater                                                             Madison, WI

APR 10 WED                      Englert Theatre                                                                 Iowa City, IA

APR 11 THU                       Madrid Theatre                                                                 Kansas City, MO

APR 12 FRI                          Minglewood Hall                                                              Memphis, TN

APR 13 SAT                         The Pageant                                                                      St Louis, MO

APR 20 SAT                         Moon Crush 2024                                                             Miramar Beach, FL

 

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