By Allison Peck
Listen to the full interview with Chloe Gose of The Wildwoods on our Kubota Podcast
NORTH PLATTE — Lincoln-based folk/Americana trio The Wildwoods are bringing their latest album, Dear Meadowlark, to western Nebraska next month after a busy year of national and international performances.
Chloe Gose, one-third of the band, joined Allison Peck by phone to talk about the group’s recent momentum and their upcoming March 14 show at Pal’s Brewing Company in North Platte.
Formed by husband-and-wife duo Noah and Chloe Gose and longtime friend Andrew Vaggalis, The Wildwoods have built a following around tight three-part harmonies, acoustic instrumentation and storytelling rooted in Nebraska life.
Their newest album, Dear Meadowlark, has earned critical acclaim and a nomination for Album of the Year in the No Depression reader’s poll. The release follows appearances at AmericanaFest, NPR’s Mountain Stage, Audiotree Live and festivals overseas, including Celtic Connections in Scotland.
“We’ve had a really busy and great year,” Gose said.
Despite the recent travel, the band is currently home in Lincoln, writing new music and preparing for a busy summer touring season.
The concept behind Dear Meadowlark grew out of time spent away from Nebraska.
“When Noah and I graduated college, we immediately just started touring full time,” Gose said. “For the first time in our lives, we were away from home for a super long period of time. We really got to experience what it felt like to miss home.”
She said touring changed how they viewed Nebraska.
“After years of touring and always being away from home, it’s kind of given us a new appreciation for the place that we were raised,” Gose said. “It’s such a slow-paced way of life here, but I think the beauty is in the simplicity of living here.”
The album draws inspiration from small-town living and summers spent near Valentine, including time at Smith Falls. Nature imagery — open roads, fields, rivers and sky — runs throughout their music.
“That’s our love,” Gose said. “Nature and the open road and Nebraska.”
The Wildwoods’ sound developed organically over the years. Noah Gose serves as the band’s primary songwriter. He and Chloe met in middle school and have been writing music together since they were 14. Vaggalis joined after high school as the band began touring more seriously.
“It makes things very easy creatively,” Gose said. “All three of us are just super close.”
The trio keeps their instrumentation simple, focusing on acoustic guitar, upright bass and violin, with harmonies carefully arranged but still rooted in their live sound.
One of the band’s biggest milestone moments came with their appearance on NPR’s Mountain Stage.
“That has been a dream of ours since we started playing,” Gose said, calling it a full-circle moment after earlier playing a small show across the street from the venue.
Now, The Wildwoods are returning to Nebraska stages, including North Platte.
“Our music is very soft and calming,” Gose said. “We like to tell a lot of stories and jokes throughout the night, just to balance the somberness of the music.”
The band often closes its set with “Postcards from Somewhere,” a song Gose described as a love letter to family and friends back home.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. March 14 at Pal’s Brewing Company, with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available online at thewildwoodsband.com.