Wood Brothers to perform at Bishop Bar

Family folk rock band the Wood Brothers will perform at the Bishop on Halloween night, presented by Spirit of ’68.

Brothers Oliver and Chris Wood from Boulder, Colo., perform with guitar bass, harmonica and vocals.

The brothers “simmer, swing and soar, shifting moods and time signatures with aplomb,” according to their website.

Drummer Tyler Greenwell and other guest players often assist the band.

Grammy-nominated producer-engineer-mixer Jim Scott, who has worked with Johnny Cash, Tom Petty and Lucinda Williams, has worked with the Wood Brothers in the past.

The brothers developed their musical skills during a 15-year separation period, during which Oliver briefly attended the University of California Santa Cruz before dropping out and following fellow musicians to Atlanta, according to the website.

“I was learning how to be a working musician,” Oliver said on the website. “I didn’t yet have aspirations to be an artist.”

He eventually secured a spot in the band Tinsley Ellis, honing his skills as a musician, according to the website.

Later, Oliver formed the band King Johnson with his friend Chris Long.

Chris Wood headed to the New England Conservatory of Music, developing his skills on bass and studying with jazz luminaries such as Geri Allen and Dave Holland.

In the early ’90s, Chris met John Medeski, with drummer Billy Martin, and formed the trio Medeski Martin & Wood.

King Johnson opened for MMW in Winston-Salem, N.C., in 2001.

In 2006, the brothers released their first album, “Ways Not to Lose.”

The Wood Brothers toured in 2010 with Zac Brown, who served as executive producer on album “Smoke Ring Halo.”

“The Wood Brothers are never far from the musical currents that formed their musical impulses in the first place,” according to the website.

“It may be, in Chris’ formation, part influences and part blood. But it’s all magic.”

— Makenzie Holland