By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times
The Wildwoods
In the heart of Lincoln, Nebraska, The Wildwoods emerged as a folk/Americana trio — a musical tapestry woven by the husband-and-wife duo, Noah Gose (guitar) and Chloe Gose (violin), alongside long-time friend and bassist, Andrew Vaggalis.
United by a passion for folk/Americana, the trio’s influences range from Watchhouse and Nickel Creek to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.
Their music, though comfortably under the folk/Americana umbrella, weaves intricate chord structures and emotional textures that defy genre boundaries.
The trio’s story is a symphony of exploration and connection, a journey that has taken them from venues in the Midwest to international stages, carving out a unique place in the folk landscape.
The band’s journey has taken it to the Philadelphia area this year – not once, not twice, not three times, but four times.
The Wildwoods headlined a show at the Ardmore Music Hall in March. Later, the trio headed to Philly – to Center City for a concert at City Winery in May. In July, the trio headlined at the Sellersville Theater.
Now, autumn is knocking at the door, and The Wildwoods are coming back to the Quaker City. On September 17, they will top the bill at The Fallser Club (3721 Midvale Avenue, Philadelphia, thefallserclub.com).
The Wildwoods are currently on a tour that takes up most of September and October. It is an album support tour for their latest release, “Dear Meadowlark.”
“We’re wrapping up the summer tour and getting ready for the fall tour,” said Chloe Gose, during a recent phone interview from her home in Lincoln, Nebraska.
“It’s sort of nerve wracking. It seems like it’s a never-ending tour. But we will stop at the end of October.
“For the winter, we’ll spend most of it at home. We’ll be working on a new batch of songs.”
Winter in Nebraska is a good time to spend most of it at home.
“Each of us works individually on songs,” said Gose. “Noah does all the writing. He’ll do the basic structure and then all of us add parts to it. It takes new shape as we continue.”
The Wildwoods’ music features the purity of real instruments — violin, acoustic guitar, upright bass, percussion, and even cello –coupled with homespun harmonies that are ethereal.
“I play violin and sing,” said Gose. “Noah and I work on a lot of lyrics together. Then, the three of us work a lot on the harmonies. There are a lot of three-part harmonies.”
The three band members have a long history together.
“Our moms were Catholic school teachers,” said Gose. “We grew up in the same neighborhood. Noah and I met when we were 14 and in middle school.
“We went to Catholic school – Pope Pius – and there was not a lot of funding for arts. Noah and I would play in class – Noah on piano and guitar and me on violin and guitar.
“We met Andy in high school. We were all in choir together. For a while, we were in a band with three or four others.
“After COVID, Noah and I did shows as a duo. Then, Andy rejoined in 2022.”
The trio has been going strong ever since.
“Noah and I went to the University of Nebraska,” said Gose. “I majored in music and psychology. Noah majored in music composition. After graduation, we went full-time with the band.
“We also taught music lessons in our home. We toured all of 2022 and then stopped teaching. We made albums all along. ‘Dear Meadowlark’ is our fifth.”
The Wildwoods’ album discography includes “Sweet Nostalgia” (2017), “Birdie & Goose’ (2017), “Across a Midwest Sky” (2019), and “Foxfield Saint John” (2023).
Then came “Dear Meadowlark” – a sparkling batch of songs by The Wildwoods, who were finalists in both the FreshGrass Band Competition and the Gems on VHS “Gems in the Rough” contest in 2023.
“Ben Brodin produced it at his studio –Hand Branch Studio in Omaha,” said Gose. “We’ve done all our albums with him.”
Brodin, who has worked with Conor Oberst, Pete Yorn, Azure Ray, Justin Townes Earl, Cat Piss and Orenda Fink, was a big contributor to “Dear Meadowlark.” In addition to being the producer, he engineered the album and played organ, steel guitar, and vibraphone.
“We’ve been recording with him since high school,” said Gose. “We started working with Ben because he was the house producer at Arc Studio in Omaha at that time.
“We recorded the new album in March 2024. We took eight songs into the studio and, at the last minute, added a couple more.
“We finished mixing in June 2024 and then sat on it for a while to wait for marketing. It was released in April 2025.”
The album has special meaning for the trio.
“Our last album, ‘Foxfield St. John,’ had songs that were inspired by our time on the road – the places we went and the people we met,” said Gose.
“The new album, ‘Dear Meadowlark,’ is more about our life in Nebraska. Our other albums were about travel and people.
“This album is a love letter to Nebraska. We wanted to create something for our home state of Nebraska – an appreciation of where we came from.”
Video link for The Wildwoods — https://youtu.be/sxJEEIpEv-U
The show at The Fallser Club will start at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $20.
Other upcoming shows at The Falser Club are Willie Porter on September 19 and The Naked Sun on September 23.
