The Rose Bowl Tavern is planning to host The Wildwoods, a folk trio from Lincoln, Nebraska, this Thursday. The Daily Illini interviewed band member Chloe Gose about their upcoming performance.
Chloe Gose and her husband, Noah Gose, formed The Wildwoods in 2012 when they were fourteen years old. The couple played together in high school and college before touring full-time.
The duo has had many members join them over the years, with as many as six or seven members at one point.
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the band was forced to cut back to the original two members until their bass player, Andrew Vaggalis, joined them as a full-time member in 2022.
Chloe Gose described the band as Americana and even chamber folk due to the use of string arrangements in their music.
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“We were kids when we started; our music has evolved and matured over the years as we’ve grown up together,” Chloe Gose said. “I think the songwriting has become a little more sophisticated. The main thing is our music is a lot more harmony-based now, so we focus a lot on three-part harmony.”
The trio released their latest album, “Dear Meadowlark,” in April 2025. They were inspired by their home state and what it means to them as a group.
“It’s different from our other albums because those are about being away from home and different places we’ve visited while touring,” Chloe Gose said. “This one is more sentimental because, from touring throughout the years, we’ve come to appreciate what home means and just being here when we’re able to.”
Chloe Gose stated her favorite track from the album was “Sweet Niobrara,” a song about the Niobrara River that runs through Nebraska.
“It’s spoken to so many people in different ways because I think it reminds people of small-town living,” Chloe Gose said. “Even people that live in big cities are reminded of family and friends that live in small towns, or maybe they grew up in a small town and moved away.”
The Wildwoods find a great deal of inspiration from their tours across the country and the people they meet along the way.
Chloe Gose mentioned that the trio is inspired by other artists, including Paul Simon, The Beatles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
“We find a lot of inspiration from different artists, old and new — artists that we just discover or artists that we’ve been listening to throughout our whole lives,” Chloe Gose said.
Chloe Gose mentioned how the experience of collaboration has changed greatly due to the fluctuation of members in their group.
“Noah and I do a lot of the collaborating together,” Chloe Gose said. “Even when we had a lot of other members, we would bring what we worked on together to the group, and then everyone would add their own flavors and flairs.”
Now working with just three members, Chloe Gose explained how Vaggalis works closer with her and her husband, Noah Gose, while creating new songs and harmonies and adding from their own perspectives.
The Wildwoods’ upcoming performance at the Rose Bowl Tavern will be the second time they’ve visited both the Champaign-Urbana area and the tavern itself.
“It was when school wasn’t in session,” Chloe Gose said. “The crowd wasn’t the biggest, but we had fun with the people that were there (Rose Bowl).”
Aside from their latest album, The Wildwoods plan to release a Christmas EP this November and another album next fall.
Chloe Gose is excited to share the band’s love for their hometown on their continued tour across the country. She is anticipating a larger crowd at the venue now that the band is playing during the school year.
“It’s cool to see how something you create for a purpose will mean something to someone in a different and impactful way,” Chloe Gose said.
