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There are some shows you circle on the calendar the moment they’re announced. For me, The Wood Brothers returning to the Ryman Auditorium on March 5, 2026 is one of them.
It’s hard to imagine a more fitting room for their music. This will mark the fifth time the Grammy-nominated trio has headlined the Mother Church, and it comes with serious weight: the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Ways Not To Lose. Two decades in, that record still feels like a mission statement — rootsy, restless, and refreshingly human.
They’ll be touring behind their latest studio album, Puff of Smoke, an 11-track collection that leans into joy and mindfulness in uncertain times. Songs like “Witness,” “The Trick,” and the title track shimmer with the band’s signature blend of grit and grace — loose but intentional, playful yet profound. It’s music that breathes, and there may be no better place to experience that kind of dynamic range than the Ryman’s wooden pews and cathedral acoustics.
This anniversary night will also feature The Luckiest Horns, with several songs from Ways Not To Lose getting the full-bodied treatment. Longtime friend Katie Pruitt is set to provide direct support, adding another layer of Nashville soul to the evening.
Nashville isn’t just another tour stop for The Wood Brothers — it’s home. Their relationship with the city deepened in 2013 when they recorded The Muse at Zac Brown’s Southern Ground Studios. Oliver and Chris Wood relocated here soon after, followed by Jano Rix, and the band began working out of The Studio Nashville, which they’ve lovingly dubbed their “creative clubhouse.” While Chris now lives outside Vancouver and Rix calls Vermont home, Oliver Wood still resides in Nashville, and the band continues to treat Music City as its central hub.
There’s something poetic about celebrating 20 years in a room that reveres history as much as the Ryman does. As Oliver Wood has said, playing the Ryman is always a special honor — the intimacy, the vibe, the weight of the artists who’ve stood on that stage before.
On March 5, expect reflection. Expect spontaneity. Expect that loose-tight magic The Wood Brothers do better than almost anyone.
–Jerry Holthouse
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