Fall Launches The Barns at Wolf Trap 2011/2012 Season

Fall Welcomes the Launch of The Barns at Wolf Trap 2011/2012 Season with the Progressive, Family Influenced Sounds of The Wood Brothers and the Soulful, Rootsy Chris Smither

The Wood Brothers

with Special Guest: Clay Cook

Friday, October 7, 2011 at 8 p.m.

$20

The Wood Brothers

Arriving to launch the 2011/2012 season at The Barns at Wolf Trap are the dynamic Wood Brothers, a family affair featuring Medeski, Martin and Wood's Chris Wood and brother Oliver. An interesting tale that precedes their appearance is a musical reunion after a 15-year period during which each brother explored their own unique and divergent path. Chris is best known as one-third of the hugely-followed and influential Medeski, Martin & Wood and spent the majority of his time throughout the '90s and early 2000s performing in front of massive crowds on an international scale. Oliver developed a sound obsession for the guitar and migrated off to Atlanta where he immersed himself in the local scene, formed the band King Johnson, and cultivated a strong repertoire of original songs.

Now with four albums and one live EP to their name, the Wood Brothers find themselves on a clear path towards success, having toured with the Zac Brown Band throughout 2010, with a subsequent singing to Brown's Southern Ground record label. Wolf Trap is pleased to welcome them in their Barns debut.

Clay Cook

Best known his work as a multi-instrumentalist in the Zac Brown Band, Clay Cook is one of the industry's hardest working musicians. He's toured and recorded with some of the most popular acts of the past two decades, including John Mayer, Shawn Mullins, Sugarland, and the Marshall Tucker Band. He's widely credited as one of the strongest singer/songwriters to emerge from the Atlanta music scene, boasting co-writing credits for the John Mayer hits "Why Georgia," "No Such Thing," "Love Song for No One," and "Neon." This month he'll begin a multi-city tour as support for The Wood Brothers, featuring new material plus songs off his solo records, The Year/Grew Up and On Mountain Time.

Chris Smither

Saturday, October 8. 2011 at 8 p.m

$25

A native of New Orleans, Chris Smither has built a reputation among his fans and peers as one of the finest blues and contemporary roots musicians of the past three decades. Smither's 13th album, Time Stands Still, is the second on his own Mighty Albert label and features a poetic representation of the good and bad times, as well as the demons he had to overcome to get to where he is today. The album's success has booked him an international tour spanning from late September to May 2012. Always performing as a one-man show, Smither's Signature Sound was shaped from the early influences of legendary blues guitarists Eric Von Schmidt and Mississippi John Hurt. This sound is showcased on Smither's recent live release, 2011's Lost and Found.

Following the release of 1971's Don't it Drag On, Smither developed a longstanding working relationship with Bonnie Raitt, with a cover of Smither's "Love Me Like a Man" appearing on her second album, Give It Up. Raitt has since made it a signature song of her live performances and it has been included on several of her live albums. She has openly expressed admiration for Smither's songwriting and guitar playing, once calling Smither "her Eric Clapton."

Tickets can be purchased by calling 1 (877) WOLFTRAP; or online at www.wolftrap.org

For more information, call The Barns at Wolf Trap at (703) 938-2404 or our general information line at (703) 255-1900.