The Wood Brothers w/ Shovels & Rope at Utepils Brewing

The Wood Brothers have learned to trust their hearts. For the better part of two decades, they’ve cemented their reputation as free-thinking songwriters, road warriors and community builders, creating a catalog of diverse music and a loyal audience who’ve grown alongside them through the years. That evolution continues with Heart is the Hero, the band’s eighth studio album. Recorded analog to 16-track tape, this latest effort finds its three creators embracing the chemistry of their acclaimed live shows by capturing their performances in real-time direct from the studio floor with nary a computer in sight. An acoustic-driven album that electrifies, Heart is the Hero is stocked with songs that target not only the heart, but the head and hips, too.

It has been more than ten years since Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent released their debut album O’ Be Joyful, and that decade has seen the release of six full-length albums, three collaborative covers albums (Busted Jukebox Volumes 1-3), a curated music festival in their hometown of Charleston, SC (High Water), a musical film (Shovels & Rope: The Movie) and countless dynamic live performances all over the planet.

This event is part of Live at Utepils, an outdoor concert series presented in partnership with SMA.

Live at Utepils (pronounced “OOH-ta-pilz”) takes place in the parking lot of Utepils Brewing, a full scale European-style craft brewery and taproom, nestled on the banks of Bassett Creek between the Harrison & Bryn Mawr neighborhoods of Minneapolis.

The Wood Brothers have partnered with American Friends of Canadian Conservation so that $1 per ticket will support The Nature Trust of British Columbia (NTBC) in their efforts to conserve ecologically-rich wetlands and protect irreplaceable land from development. Every $1 donated will be matched by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with $2 so more endangered wetlands can be saved. If you’d like to learn more, please visit conservecanada.org.