Will Wood Crushes Show at Mr. Smalls Theatre in Pittsburgh!

The “Mr. Wood is Dead” Tour by the artist Will Wood stopped in Millvale, PA on June 20th 2025. The venue was Mr Smalls theatre on the main stage and it was packed. Many in the audience were dressed up, knew what seemed like inside lore to the artist and definitely had a good vibe. 

I really dug the merch used for the tour. The Will Wood and the Tapeworms, Everything is a Lot hoodie and t-shirt were really cool. I’m a big fan of the album cover, so it worked great on a shirt too.

To prep for the concert, I listened to the album on Spotify.  My first impression was that the songs were very theatrical in my mind. So I knew when I had the opportunity to see them in person, I had to go in fresh because I felt like the audio recordings didn’t give the artist justice to his performing ability. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised. 

His performance was eclectic.  There were lots of horns, some jazz, some sad folk tunes, and lots of political messages. I definitely enjoyed the wackiness of the crowd and the overall vibes.  Everyone was themselves and could be who they are, which feels very comforting to me. 

There were two openers at the show that I dig. “Endless Mike and The Beagle Club” who is a local Pittsburgh artist.. With a very similar style to that of your classic folk punk music, messages mixed with the feelings of awkwardness and being an outcast in the world. I quickly became a fan of this super cool music, and artist. He’s an artist with a good message speaking up about what he believes in. 

The second opener hails all the way from Scuntthorpe, England and is called “ The Ruen Brothers”. They are a very interesting group because their style is very much influenced by American 50’s Rock n Roll, with some old school country added in. While their style is inspired by classic American genres: they still pay homage to their English roots.  They even covered a song by The Stranglers titled Golden Brown, which is a British song from 1981. 

Overall, The 3 hour and 15 minute concert was very fun and well run. The organizers did not spend too much time between acts. The pauses between songs were either filled with funny moments or a message, or were needed for an instrument change. All the acts performed well, and were well received.  Even though each act had their own unique style, the openers synced well  with  Will Wood as the headliner.

Photo Gallery by Drew Simko

Review Article by Joe Fetzko