Tour Dates

Jul. 28, 2024 Saint Paul, MN
Aug. 4, 2024 Milwaukee, WI Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co.
Aug. 7, 2024 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
Aug. 8, 2024 Wakeman, OH Riverdog Retreat
Aug. 9, 2024 Wellsboro, PA Deane Center-Performing Arts
Aug. 10, 2024 Jessup, MD Edith May’s Paradise
Aug. 11, 2024 Dover, DE Sunroom Songwriter Series
Aug. 14, 2024 Cambridge, MA Club Passim
Aug. 15, 2024 Exeter, NH The Word Barn
Aug. 17, 2024 Pine Plains, NY The Stissing Center
Aug. 30, 2024 Lincoln, NE Lincoln Children’s Zoo
Sep. 1, 2024 Seward, NE Junto Wine
Sep. 5, 2024 Greenleaf, WI LedgeStone Vineyards
Sep. 6, 2024 Alma, WI Big River Theatre
Sep. 7, 2024 Menasha, WI Heckrodt Wetland
Sep. 8, 2024 Madison, WI The Bur Oak
Sep. 13, 2024 Lititz, PA Lititz Shirt Factory
Sep. 15, 2024 Jenkintown, PA Jenkintown Festival
Oct. 5, 2024 Fort Collins, CO Bluebird Music Festival 2024
Oct. 6, 2024 Boulder, CO Gold Hill Inn
Oct. 16, 2024 Manteo, NC Bluegrass Island Festival 2024
Oct. 18, 2024 Buford, GA Cloudland Vineyards and Winery
Nov. 10, 2024 Garrison, IA Farmer’s Mercantile Hall
May. 2, 2025 Brookfield, WI Sharon Lynne Wilson Center

West of the Twin Cities, Excelsior is one of the few cities in the metro that was an actual town before it became a suburb. There is a small town feel to this city of 2,000 with walkable neighborhoods, a lake-front park leading to a four-block downtown full of antique and clothing stores, restaurants, ice cream parlors and the 318 Cafe tucked in the corner of a historic lumber building that once had a rail line just outside it’s door, but now there is a converted bike trail.

On weekdays, the 318 is a place to get your morning cup of joe. On the weekends, they open in the evening to serve dinner and host live music. Friday, The Wildwoods graced the stage.

From Lincoln, Nebraska, The Wildwoods are a Folk/Americana trio consisting of Noah Gose on acoustic guitar, Chloe Gose on violin and Andrew Vaggalis on the upright bass. Two of the members share the same last name and it has always been a question at shows as to their relationship. Chloe told of an interaction she had at the merch table when a lady asked her if she and Noah were friends, siblings, or a married couple.

“All three,” Chloe responded.

The Wildwoods might have lost a sale with Chloe’s joke, but it became apparent throughout the evening that they did not take themselves too seriously, even as they hemmed close to the traditions of the roots of American music.

Chloe and Noah are in fact married. They formed a duo in high school, then added Andrew after all three graduated from college.

Noah started off the evening with a story about accepting an invitation to a bluegrass competition even though they were not a bluegrass band. But no matter, they traveled through the night from Wisconsin to Massachusetts and played the only song they knew that they thought could be a bluegrass song: Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” (They didn’t win.)

The trio has fared much better when entering competitions in their own musical genre. They have been finalists in the FreshGrass Music Festival Band competition and “Gems in the Rough” on VHS. They have released three albums and have traveled the country, developing a harmonious sound that is nearly perfect and 100% pleasing with songs like “Pickin’ Cherries,” “West Virginia Rain” and an ode to a river in their home state, “Sweet Niobrara.”

They also played a few covers: “Our House” by Crosby, Stills and Nash and “Home” by Edward Sharp and The Magnetic Zeros. Then, a sentimental moment with “Songbird” by Fleetwood Mac, a song requested by Chloe for it was her parents’ wedding song and they had driven from Lincoln to attend the show.

I imagine it was well worth the trip.