Chris and Oliver Wood often enjoyed playing their music together at family gatherings. Now, that hobby has formed into a career for the two musicians, to form the band playing at Madison’s Majestic Theater Sunday night, The Wood Brothers.

“We were able to connect socially and musically; it was something special. We don’t get to see each other often. We just decided to start doing it,” guitarist Oliver Wood said.

“The Wood Brothers” hail from Boulder, Colo., where they spent their time as teenagers playing music together. Once they graduated, the two traveled in opposite directions: Oliver at University of California Santa Cruz and Chris attending the New England Conservatory of Music.

“We had these parallel music careers for years and years. … At some point we started getting together at family functions when we would see each other and play a little bit,” Oliver Wood said.

When the brothers were gathered in such a way, they took advantage of recording some material with equipment that belonged to Chris. After they had recorded a demo through networking, their musical talent eventually earned them a record deal.

“Our manager shuffled it around a little bit, and there was a media interest by this company called ‘Blue Note Records.’ It all happened quite quickly,” Oliver Wood said.

Since the duo signed its record deal, they have released four albums. Their most recent album, Smoke Ring Halo, was recently released in August and is available for purchase on iTunes.

Smoke Ring Halo stands apart from the performers’ previous albums for its use of a three piece stand. Although the brothers previously had other musicians accompany them, for their new album they hired a full time drummer, Tyler Greenwell, to join the group.

In addition to adding a drummer to the band, Oliver Wood said he believes the music on this album is of higher quality.

“With each album, Chris and I have become more collaborative as far as the writing goes,” he said. “I would simply say it’s the most collaborative album we’ve done.”

The brothers, and drummer Jano Rix, are now on tour and are joined by their opener Clay Cook, a member of the Zac Brown band. For the group’s performance Sunday, the brothers are combining a mix of their old songs in conjunction with their recently released music, specifically tracks from Smoke Ring Halo.

“There’s going to be a real mix of things. We are actually recording the whole tour, so we’re trying to play some new versions of old songs, and we’re hoping to put out a live album after the first of the year,” Oliver Wood said.

Over the years of traveling together, Oliver Wood said he can recall some memorable performances.

“We got to play at Carnegie Hall, which was amazing,” he said. “We got to play something not everyone knows about called ‘The Ramble’ at Levon Helm’s barn. … That was a huge pleasure and honor to play in front of him and with him and his band.”

As writers of their own music, the brothers have a variety of musical inspiration, including times of sadness along with family and relationships.

“Oftentimes I look back at songs that we’ve written, and some of them come from a real sad place. … In dealing with some kind of trauma or grieving, oftentimes you get really inspired to get that out of your system, and writing a song is a really good way to do that,” Oliver said.

Growing up, the duo had its fair share of musical influences as well. They found a lot of inspiration from their dad and his record collection.

“We listened to the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan, stuff like that when we were young. … We always listen to Ray Charles; that’s a huge influence,” Oliver said. “Nowadays we realize how much we influence each other and how much we are influenced by our peers.”

For the remainder of the year, the brothers will continue performances throughout different regions of the country. Oliver Wood said he really encourages music lovers to attend their concerts because they provide an opportunity to truly enjoy live music.

“There is no substitute for live music. People are so jaded now and used to having music at their fingertips. … It doesn’t feel like it’s a commodity anymore,” he said. “Go out and support live music.”

The Wood Brothers will perform at the Majestic Theatre Sunday, Oct. 2 at 8 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.majesticmadison.com