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\n\tAt last month\u2019s Earl Scruggs Music Festival<\/a>, the Wood Brothers<\/a> might have seemed a tad out of left field for a gathering dedicated to the late bluegrass picker. And yet, the same could be said whenever the trio is on a bill at a jam-band show, jazz night, or some blues club. But that\u2019s the beauty of the roots-rock act: The Wood Brothers encompass the essence of any genre thrown their way.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBluegrass [is] an amalgamation of different traditions, as is a lot of jazz,\u201d singer-guitarist Oliver Wood tells Rolling Stone <\/em>backstage at Scruggs. \u201cAnd in the big picture, that\u2019s kind of what we\u2019re trying to do. What makes us happy is to take these different traditions and mix them together.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSitting backstage with Wood is his brother, bassist Chris Wood, and multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix. Initially, the siblings formed a duo in 2004, with Rix coming aboard in 2011. Before that, the brothers were already well-established in other bands: Oliver in Atlanta-based blues\/funk outfit King Johnson, Chris as part of Brooklyn jazz fusionists Medeski, Martin & Wood.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI think the blessing and the curse is that we started so late,\u201d Chris says. \u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of maturing since then, learned a lot, and got my ass kicked in plenty of ways. But at least we weren\u2019t kids getting together and starting a brother band.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSince their inception, the Wood Brothers have created a unique artistic world that combines Oliver\u2019s deep love of rock, blues, and folk with Chris\u2019 passion for jazz, classical, and improvisation, all aligning with the steadfast anchor of Rix\u2019s percussive talents and sonic curiosity.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cYou evolve as a human, you evolve as a musician, you evolve as a band,\u201d Oliver says. \u201cWe always talk about how no matter how weird we get \u2014 or want to get \u2014 in the studio, it still sounds like us. We are still us, and the core of us has been around for a long time. It\u2019s not going to go away. It\u2019s really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe intricate, musical prowess and creative freedom within the Wood Brothers is apparent on their latest album, Puff of Smoke<\/em>. The record is signature Oliver, Chris, and Jano cooking up a vibrant, melodic stew \u2014 part big-tent soul revival, part joyous dive into the abyss of whatever itch each member is wanting to scratch.<\/p>\n