The Woven Project

The Woven Project is a dark country and folk music group from Denver, United States, active from 2001 onwards. It works as a flexible collective rather than a fixed line-up, and its music is described through alternative folk, experimental rock, indie rock and progressive folk.

Line-up and structure

The group’s line-up includes Neil Keener, David Eugene Edwards, Chuck French, Gary “Ordy” Garrison and Daniel McMahon. In practice, it performs with changing combinations of players, from a duo through to a larger ensemble, depending on the setting.

Music and approach

The Woven Project builds songs around a collaborative, shifting arrangement style. Its material can be performed completely unplugged and acoustic or in a full electric format, and the songs develop as different musicians add parts and leave their mark on the sound.

Origins and development

The project begins in mid-March 2009, when two friends start making music together with a rejection of the standard rock-band format. The idea is to create songs in a collective way, with others joining in if they want to contribute. The name The Woven Project grows out of that approach, and the early material develops into folk-tinged songs.

Live activity

Early performances include a show at a local deli/bar, where the group performs to a packed intimate venue and receives comparisons with Radiohead, Tom McRae and The Unbelievable Truth. It then plays higher-profile regional gigs, including the Cosmos stage at Middlesbrough Music Live, sharing bills with Goldheart Assembly, Beth Jeans Houghton and Mike Heron.

The group also plays in Leeds, Newcastle, Sunderland, Manchester, Durham and London, and supports Jesca Hoop, King Creosote, Grand Archives, Goldheart Assembly, Stornoway and The Unthanks. Its festival appearances include Middlesbrough Music Live, Stockton Riverside Fringe, Tall Ships Festival in Hartlepool, Willowman in North Yorkshire and Solfest in Cumbria.

Recognition and profile

The Woven Project places 12th out of 658 bands in a Greenman Festival poll, despite operating without financial backing, corporate sponsorship, management or a record label. It also builds a substantial online following and later signs with Mad Hatter Agency for live media performance representation from January 2010.

Guest musicians and contributors

Other musicians associated with the project include Brian Batey on guitar and vocals, Brian Barnes on accordion, harmonium, melodica and glokespeil, Liz Vandervelden on additional vocals, Daniel D'Arcy on guitar and additional percussion, and Nigel Crinson on guitar, cello and bass. Guests and contributors include Andy Rowe on cajon and percussion, Ed Leighton on ukulele, Laura Smith on violin, Georgia Seddon on piano, additional vocals and percussion, Kenny Napper on bass, Tony Waite on engineering and producing, and Andy Wain on producing.

The group also receives praise from musicians and listeners including Neil Clark of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, who comments on its sound, and Goldheart Assembly, who remark on its tunes.