Turning the Page

On May 7 last year, the Steep Canyon Rangers took the stage in front of an audience of thousands gathered at Pack Square Park in the heart of Asheville, North Carolina, for the group’s “Free For All” concert.

Later in the performance, Rangers lead singer/guitarist Woody Platt took to the microphone with a slight tear in his eye—to acknowledge not only the special moment at hand, but also to come to grips with the realization that it would be one of his final performances as a member of the band.

“You know, I didn’t realize before the show that it was going to be my last Asheville appearance with the Rangers,” Platt reminisced. “I was just so focused on the event, the fundraising we were doing with it, and just the general sort of community togetherness that emerged. And, right as we were walking out onto the stage, someone leaned over and said, ‘Man, this is your last Asheville show.’”

A native of Western North Carolina, Platt formed the Grammy-winning Americana/roots band in 2000 while a student at UNC-Chapel Hill. What started initially as a traditional bluegrass entity morphed itself into one of the finest, most sought-after string bands in all of American music—something championed by legendary entertainers Steven Martin and Martin Short, who the Rangers have backed as the duo’s musical group for many years now.

However, in the aftermath of the pandemic and complete shutdown of the live music industry in 2020, Platt took the rare downtime from touring to reflect on the last two decades with the Rangers, all of the physical and emotional miles traveled with his musical brothers.

What resulted was his recent decision to step aside from the Rangers, to give a tip of his hat to his former bandmates on their hard-earned, shared success, and to turn his attention to what he feels is the next, meaningful step for him—a solo career, coupled with much-needed quality time at home with his family.

What does it mean to be able to explore a solo career at this juncture of your life?

After 23 years with Steep Canyon Rangers, I really can’t imagine my life without music. This new exploration of other musical avenues has been an exciting, challenging, and sometimes terrifying endeavor.

In my case, there’s quite a lot to be said for the freedom to record, perform, and travel on your own terms, and at your own pace. I never really had plans to focus on a solo career, but after my decision to step away from touring with the Rangers, new opportunities have presented themselves.

Currently, my musical focus has two angles—an Americana-style duo with my wife, Shannon Whitworth, and traditional bluegrass music.

Tell me about the duo dynamic between you and Shannon, and how it unfolds onstage for you, compared to being part of a band dynamic? And, with performing alongside her, what does that space and moment feel like for you?

It has been incredible to focus on music with Shannon. She’s such a great artist who has been playing and performing for as long as I have and we are now—for the first time—able to play and create together. Shannon has been a prolific songwriter throughout her career, so we’ve been able to go back and reimagine many of her songs together, while working on new material.

Since the birth of our son in 2015, she’s done very little touring, [and] it’s really exciting to see her back in musical motion. It’s quite a bit different to play with your wife as opposed to a band of brothers like Steep Canyon Rangers. Some days we’re really fluid and connecting and it’s truly awesome to rehearse, and other days we get all the instruments out and never play a note.

I think [Shannon and I] both really enjoying the musical journey together, and are sensitive to protect the fundamental passion that we both share for the art. Onstage, the dynamic is fun and loose—we tend to treat each show like it’s our living room.

Now that you’ve had some time to reflect and distance yourself from the decision to step away from the Rangers, what’s been the biggest takeaway for you, personally and professionally, when you look back at that extensive chapter of your life?

I wouldn’t change a thing about the journey with Steep Canyon Rangers. The developmental period was so exciting, when all we needed was enough money to buy fuel to make the next show, all the way to the later years, winning a Grammy Award, playing the big festivals and touring with Steve Martin. I look back at it with pride, and am still very interested and excited to watch and enjoy the successes of the Rangers.

As for me and the “where-to-from-here” question, I want to embrace the music with Shannon, and am excited to play Bear Shadow Festival, MerleFest, and others. We hope to record an album in early 2023, which will be a very exciting time for our family. Also, I want to play and record more bluegrass music with some of my musical heroes, which I’m also focused on. I have released one song already and have a few more nearly ready.   

In truth though, my biggest goal is to be home more, spend more time with my son and wife, spend more time in the river, and enjoy Western North Carolina.