The Steel Woods are an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

group. from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. Their debut album, ''Straw in the Wind'', was released in 2017. The band has cited influences such as

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

and

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

, and have toured in support of artists such as

Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd ( ) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Ju ...

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album '' Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerab ...

Jamey Johnson Jamey Johnson (born July 14, 1975) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to BNA Records in 2005, Johnson made his debut with his single " The Dollar", the title track to his 2006 album '' The Dollar''. He was dropped from ...

Cody Jinks Meredith Cody Jinks (born August 18, 1980) is an American outlaw country music singer and songwriter. His breakout 2016 album, ''I'm Not the Devil'', reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Country Albums chart, while a number of other albums such as ...

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country singer and guitarist. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place o ...

, and

Blackberry Smoke Blackberry Smoke is an American rock band from Atlanta. The lineup consists of Charlie Starr (lead vocals, guitar), Richard Turner (bass, vocals), Brit Turner (drums), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals), and Brandon Still (keyboards). In 2020, they a ...

. Founding member and guitarist Jason "Rowdy" Cope died on January 16, 2021.

History

The Steel Woods were cofounded by Wes Bayliss, Jason "Rowdy" Cope, and business partner Derek Stanley. Cope was the creative lead of the band as well as its

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

ist, songwriter and co-producer, while Bayliss is a multi-instrumentalist, lead singer and co-producer. Bayliss grew up in

Woodland, Alabama Woodland is a town in Randolph County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 184, down from 192 in 2000. It incorporated in 1967. Geography Woodland is located at (33.373655, -85.395700). The town is located along Alabama ...

, playing music in his family's gospel band and learned to play harmonica, mandolin, and guitar. In 2007, he moved to

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...

, where he experimented further on different instruments. Cope began to learn guitar at the age of 11 in his hometown of

Black Mountain, North Carolina Black Mountain is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,848 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named for the old train stop at the Black Mountain Depot ...

. He later worked as a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based musician before moving to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

in 2007 and joined

's band. In his nine years with Johnson, Cope co-wrote "Can't Cash My Checks" and helped Johnson make the

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated "

That Lonesome Song ''That Lonesome Song'' is the second studio album by American country music singer Jamey Johnson. Initially released to digital retailers in 2007 without the promotion of a record label, the album was physically released on August 5, 2008 (see ...

" (2008) and "

The Guitar Song ''The Guitar Song'' is the third studio album from American country artist Jamey Johnson. It was released in the United States on September 14, 2010 through Mercury Nashville. Background ''The Guitar Song'' is the follow-up to Johnson's criticall ...

" (2010). In the early days of The Steel Woods, Bayliss and Cope spent a lot of time fishing and writing what would eventually evolve into the bands first studio album, ''Straw in the Wind'' (2017) released on

Thirty Tigers Thirty Tigers is an American entertainment company which offers music marketing, distribution, and management services to independent artists. It is based in Nashville. History The company was founded in 2002 by David Macias and Deb Markland ...

/Woods Music. The album featured a guest vocal appearance by

Lindi Ortega Lindi Ortega (born May 28, 1980) is a Canadian country singer-songwriter from Toronto, Ontario, who had lived in Nashville, Tennessee then moved to Western Canada in 2017. She spent nearly a decade as an independent artist in the Toronto music ...

, and

Brent Cobb Brent Cobb (born August 1, 1986) is an American country music singer-songwriter and artist. Cobb has released four studio albums and one EP. His most recent album, ''Keep ‘Em on They Toes'', was released on September 28, 2020. "Providence Can ...

also contributed as a songwriter. On June 10, 2017, it reached number 42 on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Independent Albums chart. In the subsequent years, the band toured with fellow

Southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...

artists

Cody Johnson Cody Daniel Johnson (born May 21, 1987) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He self-released six albums, including ''Gotta Be Me'', which debuted at number two on ''Billboard''s Country Albums chart, before releasing his first major- ...

Whiskey Myers Whiskey Myers is an American Southern rock/country group from Palestine, Texas composed of Cody Cannon (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), John Jeffers (lead guitar, slide guitar, lap steel guitar, vocals), Cody Tate (lead and rhythm guitar, voca ...

, and

as well as inspirations such as

and

. They recorded their second album, ''Old News'', in

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

at the site of an old church during a break in their touring schedule. The album was released on January 18, 2019. Cope died in January 2021. The band's third album, ''All of Your Stones'', was released in May 2021.

Personnel

Wes Bayliss – guitar and vocals * Jason Cope – guitar (d. 2021) * Johnny Stanton – bassist * Tyler Powers – guitar * Isaac Senty - drummer

Discography

Albums *''Straw in the Wind'' (2017) *''Old News'' (2019) *''All of Your Stones'' (2021) *On Your Time (2023)

References

External links

Spotify

Apple Music

Pandora

Google Play Music
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steel Woods, The American country rock groups Musical groups established in 2016 2016 establishments in Tennessee Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee

History

Personnel

Discography

See also

References

External links