Colorado band works hard at redefining, reinventing its music
By Kyle Kirves
Wood Belly live shows
Friday, March 22, at Globe Hall in Denver, with Clay Rose and Before the Sun
Thursday, April 18, at Palisade Bluegrass Bash
Friday, April 16, at the Caribou Room in Nederland, with Chain Station
“We put a lot of work into every single song,” says Chris Weist, guitarist and one of the founders of Colorado-based band Wood Belly. “We really want them to be as memorable and as awesome as they can be. We turn over every stone, every possibility. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of love.”
It’s a craftsman-like ethos that pervades the group – whom I hesitate to call a bluegrass or even “newgrass” band, despite their origins at the 2015 Rocky Grass Festival.
“We play a lot of bluegrass instruments,” Weist continues, “but we’re not trying to fit into that traditional sound. We've even gone further than what those labels suggest.”
Consider, for example, many of the songs on Wood Belly’s latest record, “Cicada” (October 2023).
“With Cicada, we embraced a lot more of an electric sound. Not out of disrespect for bluegrass at all,” Weist says. “It’s really just about trying out new things and new possibilities and expanding the canvas.”
“Cicada,” the band says, germinated quickly in two session-based batches. Brennan Mackey, bass and vocals, who was new to Wood Belly at the time, says the creative process was a joy to be a part of.
“It was fun to see how they work and work with them,” he says. “We kind of found the common thread or middleground where we could all meet.” The result was a layered recording with a sense of live flair and the kind of beautiful hodgepodge that can only come through organic collaboration.
A streaming favorite from “Cicada,” “Pockets of Gold” is emblematic of that concept.
“That one is a pretty long, slow rocker,” Mackey says. “A kind of power rocker. It’s like a Pink Floyd song. It’s a pretty strong departure from our previous sound.”
Bluegrass meets Pink Floyd? That, to me, sounds like a natural fit for Colorado audiences.
In terms of songwriting inspiration, Wood Belly has found it in many places. Recently, the band finished some new studio work on the West Coast, taking in the California vibes for an experimental piece sourced from an interesting concept.
“We did a really cool project with a group called Song Confessional,” Weist says. “They set up these confession booths at shows, like Mishawaka, where people could just go in and confess some story that happened in their life. Then they hand that off to a band and you create and record a song based on that story. I think it turned out super cool and the song, called ‘Late Bloomer,’ ended up being really great and a nice departure from the stuff you’d find on ‘Cicada.’”
The Golden State suffused the new tunes with more of a laid back feel. “We’ve always written things here in Colorado, so writing on the beach is very different from writing here,” Mackey says. “And then to take that energy into the studio. It just felt like everybody was cooking. Really running on all cylinders. Just really a chilled out experience, which was very memorable.”
California dreamin’ aside, Wood Belly knows that Colorado is a special place in terms of venues and the band concurs that Colorado audiences are a treat to play for. “It’s one of the few places in the country where you can do this as much as we do, "Weist says. People are always willing to come out, in all kinds of weather, and still bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the show. They’re not just fans. They are the people that we want to hang out with.”
Judging by the attendance and accolades the band continues to enjoy, that feeling is mutual. With a repertoire that both embraces and defies expectation and convention, Wood Belly continues to create music for kindred spirits who share in the joy of musical exploration.