Southern rock from deep in the Steel Woods

When a fan recently told the Steel Woods guitarist Wes Bayliss that he was born in the wrong era, Bayliss laughed. “I said, ‘I’m from the future,’ ” Bayliss joked.

Perhaps Bayliss’ mind is in the future since he has always been a student of the past, especially when it comes to music. The Steel Woods’ brand of Southern rock is influenced by Lynnyrd Skynyrd and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, among other Southern recording artists.

The Steel Woods, which will perform Saturday at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox, recorded a spirited cover of one Petty’s best deep cuts, “Southern Accents.” “There’s a southern accent, where I come from/ The young ‘uns call it country/The Yankees call it dumb/I got my own way of talkin’.”

“I love the lyrics to that song,” Bayliss said while calling from Nashville. “Tom Petty nailed it.”

When the passionate Bayliss belts out the rich imagery from Petty, the song feels like a Steel Woods song.

“Tom Petty was one of the greatest writers ever,” Bayliss said. “We loved recording that song. ‘Southern Accents’ is not just a great song but we get it. It connects with us and it connects with a lot of people.”

The same can be said for much of the Steel Woods’ canon. The Nashville based band hits with visceral Southern rock that is propelled by shards of reality. “Our songs come from a real place,” Bayliss said. “We make honest music. It’s relatable. Not that I’m paying that much attention to music today but a lot of what I hear is not from a real place. But we draw from our experiences and what you hear comes from just us.”

The Steel Woods just finished its first album, “On Your Time,” without guitarist Jason “Rowdy” Cope, who died in January 2021. Bayliss and Cope met in 2016, became fast friends and formed the Steel Woods.

It’s been difficult for Bayliss since the tandem co-wrote most of the songs from the group’s first three albums, 2017’s “Straw in the Wind,” 2019’s “Old News” and 2021’s “All of Your Stones.”

“It’s been a lot different making this record without him,” Bayliss said. “We had to make adjustments. It was never a question of whether to continue on or not. We had to press on and figure things out. Rowdy and I wrote so many of the songs for the first three records. I learned a lot from him. A lot of times he would come in with an idea, a half-written song basically, and I would help him finish it off. It feels like he’s still with us. I just can’t ask what to do next. We have to figure out where we go from here and we did with this album.”

The Steel Woods, which also includes bassist Johnny Stanton and guitarist Tyler Powers, will play a couple of new songs when the band plays at the Fox. “But we’re not going to give it all away,” Bayliss said. “We’re probably going to release a song a month. That’s the way things are done today. Then we’ll put out the album.”

Some of the new tunes are inspired by Bayliss’ children, who are between 7 years of age and 1. “I write about not driving too fast and watching how you spend your money,” Bayliss said. “I wrote what they don’t take from me, they’ll have to learn on their own. You change the way you write when you have kids.”

Bayliss also changed the way he writes without Cope. “That’s the way it went but I think he would be proud of us and where we are and this record,” Bayliss said. “You have to move forward in your life. That’s one of the messages for my kids and those who come out to our shows.”