The Wooks

An award-winning bluegrass band inspired by the traditional as well as the unconventional, The Wooks have established a distinctive sound through original songwriting, exceptional musicianship, and outside influences ranging from jam bands to Southern rock. Their exhilarating third album, Flyin’ High, offers a refreshed lineup of the group, even though its members have been crossing paths with each other at music festivals for years. As the band’s guitarist and one of its three lead singers, CJ Cain has kept his home base in Lexington, Kentucky, throughout the evolution of the Wooks, which started as a low-key duo in 2014. The lineup now includes Harry Clark on mandolin and vocals, George Guthrie on banjo and vocals, and Allen Cooke on Dobro, with the latter three musicians based in Nashville. A few different bass players stay in rotation on the road, filling out the ensemble’s driving soundWhile their origin stories are diverse, all four members of the Wooks have forged a common bond that honors individuality and innovation. But with minimal shows to road-test the material on Flyin’ High, Cooke speaks for the band when he says he’s eager for fans to discover these new songs – on the album as well as the stage. “This band is definitely not a band that is set on keeping things to the way they sounded on the record,” he says. “We’re all about keeping these songs fresh and new-sounding as shows go on.”

Photo Credit: Carrie Wilson