Wood Belly - with Trouble Town

Something downright mystical is happening on Colorado’s Front Range.

The very roots of traditional acoustic music seem to sprout from the dirt, shaking their dust into the winds of change, to be breathed in and become the soul of musicians who craft their songs here.

Such is the music of Wood Belly, a musical collective of Chris Weist (mandolin), Tom Knowlton (guitar), Chris Zink (dobro), Aaron McCloskey (banjo) and Taylor Shuck (bass). A Wood Belly song has its own lyrical persona and masterful arrangement; rooted in bluegrass tradition and planted solidly in contemporary innovation.

The band has been garnering attention since the release of their 2018 debut album Solid Ground, which was followed by a win at the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Band Competition (earning them a main stage performance slot at the 2019 festival), as well as an IBMA Momentum Band of the Year nomination.

Wood Belly released its second album, Man on the Radio in January of 2020 capping an impressive stretch of writing and releases. The new 13-track collection was recorded at Swingfingers Studio in Fort Collins, CO with Grammy winning producer Sally Van Meter and engineer Aaron Youngberg, and features special guest fiddler Jeremy Garrett of The Infamous Stringdusters on several tracks.

The band first started to get together in 2015 and the music fell into place immediately. The instrumentation and rhythmic drive of the band is like a tree trunk centered in bluegrass with branches that uninhibitedly reach out in many directions.

There is a powerful focus on songwriting, with influences from multiple genres. Wood Belly, like other bands in the Newgrass or Grassicana realm, is rooted in tradition but refuses to be confined. Their sound is authentic, passionate and always entertaining.

Every member of the band writes and they take a collaborative approach to sculpting a song once the basic structure is in place, refining and editing until a seamless arrangement reveals itself.

Opener:  Trouble Town