The Wood Brothers have announced their upcoming eighth studio album, Heart is the Hero, will arrive April 14th via Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers. The band has also added 20 new dates to its spring tour with support from Shovels & Rope.
Heart is the Hero was recorded analog to 16-track tape—a rarity in the age of digital recording. Brothers Oliver and Chris Wood and honorary sibling Jano Rix showcase their superb songwriting with a collection of ten stripped-down, acoustic-driven tracks that highlight their chemistry as a trio of seasoned performers. The album’s first single will arrive in February.
“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,” said Oliver Wood. “Those words seemed to illustrate so much of what we were feeling—that heart and spirit guides us through this world. 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 – Heart Is The Hero Trailer
The release of Heart Is The Hero falls in the midst of The Wood Brothers’ spring tour, which includes dates in the Mountain States, Great Plains, and Texas. To this, the band has added 20 additional shows around the Midwest and Northeast in May and June. Special guests Shovels & Rope are set to provide support for the newly announced dates. Click below to view a full list of tour dates.
“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,” said 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.”
An artist presale for tickets to The Wood Brothers’ newly announced spring tour dates will begin tomorrow, Thursday, January 26th at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets will then go on sale to the general public on Friday, January 27th at 10 a.m. local time via the band’s website. Pre-save and pre-order Heart Is The Hero on vinyl, CD, and digital formats here. Scroll down to view the album artwork and click below to reveal the tracklist.
The Wood Brothers New Tour Dates – On-Sale 1/27
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 *
* w/ Shovels & Rope
The wood Brothers Complete Tour Schedule
1/31 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern ^ (Sold Out)
2/1 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern ^ (Sold Out)
2/2 – Ventura, CA – Ventura Music Hall ^
2/3 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater ^
2/4 – Stateline, NV – Bally’s Lake Tahoe Casino Resort ^
2/6 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theatre ^
2/8 – Bend, OR – Midtown Ballroom ^
2/9 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre ^ (Sold Out)
2/10 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall ^ (Sold Out)
2/11 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall ^
2/24 – North Little Rock, AR – Simmons Bank Arena ^^
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
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 *
6/23 – Greenfield, MA – Green River Festival
8/18-20 – Wellston, MA – Hoxeyville Music Festival – Wellston, MI
^ w/ Taylor Ashton
^^ w/ The Avett Brothers & Turnpike Troubadours
* w/ Shovels & Rope
Click to view full list of tour dates.
Heart Is The Hero Tracklist:
1. Pilgrim
2. Heart is the Hero
3. Worst Pain of All
4. Far From Alone
5. Between the Beats
6. Line Those Pockets
7. Mean Man World
8. Rollin’ On
9. Someone for Everyone
10. Kitchen Floor
