Updated 10 am February 12, 2014
The Woody Pines Band brings their signature mix of blues, roots, ragtime, bluegrass, old timey, and country music all the way from their home in Nashville to the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center Thursday evening, Feb. 13, for a live concert. Local singer songwriter Jemima James will open for the band, backed by the Island band Good Night Louise.
The Woody Pines Band consists of lead singer Woody Pines on guitar and harmonica, Shawn Supra on standup bass, and the Island’s own Brad Tucker on lead guitar and backing vocals. The band’s Vineyard stop is mid-way on a tour that will bring them from Asheville, N.C., to Lexington, Ken., to the Vineyard, and then to Fall River for two nights at the Narrows on February 14 and 15. The group plays a private concert in Vineyard Haven on February 12, Mr. Tucker’s 34th birthday, the day before the M.V. Film Center show.
The Woody Pines Band has produced three albums and is currently working on their fourth. They have logged more than 8,000 touring miles in their van over the last year and have played in England and Ireland.
Mr. Tucker, a highly skilled and polished solo performer in his own right, led the progressive bluegrass Island group Ballywho and often performed blues, rock, and country as a solo act before casting off for Nashville to pursue a music career three years ago.
He grew up in West Tisbury, went to the West Tisbury School, and graduated from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in 1998. His father, the late David Tucker, played guitar and taught Brad some of his earliest licks when he was a pre-teen. He was raised on the sounds of legends Doc Watson, Blind Willie McTell, Bill Monroe, and Motown, and Chess Records artists. His early interest in blues and folk music took a slight detour into rock and roll during his mid-teens when local guitarist Judd Fuller gave him a Fender Stratocaster on a long-term loan.
Mr. Tucker developed an early interest in blues and traditional flat picked fiddle tunes, then classic rock, punk rock, back to bluegrass, and then came full circle to the ragtime-inflected sounds of Woody Pines. He will bring his 1950 Gibson ES-150 Charlie Christian model for this show.
Mr. Tucker said although there is a chance the group will play a second set at The Ritz in Oak Bluffs after the Film Center show, “If you want to be sure to hear us, you should go to the concert.”
The opening act showcases Jemima James, who has been writing songs and singing for 40 years. She has played with greats Michael Bloomfield and George Higgs, and her son is the singer/songwriter Willy Mason. Good Night Louise is a popular, mellow, Vineyard bluegrass and roots group.
Music: The Woody Pines Band, Thursday, Feb. 13, 7:30 pm, M.V. Film Center, Vineyard Haven. $15; $12 for M.V. Film Society members. Doors open 30 minutes prior. For more information and tickets, visit mvfilmsociety.com.
One of the photographs of the Woody Pines Band originally published online was removed from this article. The Times staff thought we had permission to use the photo, but we did not. The photograph should have been credited to Richele Cole.
