Jo Jo O and the Woods, may be from Lacombe, but they are bringing a little bit of England back to them for their first Lethbridge show, Oct. 2 with the Silkstones at the Slice.
“We’re usually a duo,” observed lead singer Jo Jo O’Donoghue who is joined by guitarist Rylan Woods.
But for this quick Alberta tour, including stops in their home town of Lacombe, Red Deer, Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge, they will be joined by Isle of Wight musicians lead guitarist Keir Hicks, bassist Max Battista and drummer Andy Barker.
The trio will be supporting them on their tour in support of their new CD “MoonChild,” though they don’t appear on the CD.
“We recorded another CD with them when we were in England. But we recorded this one here with Nich Davies, drummer and producer and Kurtis Cockerill on bass. But they couldn’t join us on this tour because they are touring with other people,” O’Donaghue continued.
They usually play in the United Kingdom and Europe.
“Though we we’re from Lacombe, We both have dual citizenship. Mine is Irish and Rylan’s is English, so that opens a lot of doors for us,” she said.
“We’ve taken advantage of that. Otherwise, if you tour the U.S., you need to get visas. Audiences are so passionate there. There’s more people there and the distances are shorter,” she said.
“We played Spain and audiences there are so passionate. Going out to shows is more a part of their culture. So they might not be there to hear you, but they really listen,” she observed.
“They’re a gritty blues rock band. We’re a little more polished. So they made us a little more gritty and we made them a little more polished,” she said.
So they decided to spend six months playing with them in and around the Isle of Wight including getting to play the massive Isle of Wight Festival with people like Van Morrison and the Killers performing.
“That festival is like the Woodstock on England so it was amazing to be part of that,” she enthused.
They also recorded a CD with them while in England.
“But we won’t be playing any of those songs. They’re in the vault. We’re focussing on this album,” she said, describing the music as blues rock.
“We take a little from all kinds of music. We started as a an alternative folk duo, this album is more polished pop and rock and the next will be blues,” she observed.
“It’s really been a wonderful experience,” she said.
“We like folk and rock and blues, so this is a combination of all of these things we like,” she added.
“This CD has a really nice, polished sound,” she said, adding she is looking forward to visiting Lethbridge for the first time in this band.
“This is my first time in Lethbridge with this band. Though I was in Lethbridge years ago in a punk band,” she said, adding she is excited to introduce this project to audiences.
“We hope people will show up and put it in their ear holes,” she said.
The show starts at 9 p.m.
