The Southern Rock Opera Revisited 2024 Tour

SEE DATES

DBT is thrilled to announce The Southern Rock Opera Revisited 2024 Tour.

It’s been 23 years since the release of the album that drastically changed our lives and 22 years since we performed it (more or less) straight through in near entirety. We’ll be hitting the road, Three Guitars blazing, and telling y’all a story.

It’s an album we spent years writing and learning to play and then recording (in the upstairs of a uniform shop in downtown Birmingham AL). It was initially released on 9/11/2001 (and later reissued by Lost Highway in the summer of 2002).

A lot has happened in the decades since it came out, both to the band and to the world we live in. We feel that the record, while somewhat timeless, also has a current timeliness to it considering the social and political issues of today. Instead of performing it as if it’s still 2000AD, we want to make it our own reflecting who we all are now in 2024.

It’s going to be intense, but also a hell of a lot of fun and this time we’re offering a very special Southern Rock Opera Revisited VIP Experience that includes a soundcheck party and some special SRO Revisited limited edition items. VIP tickets are on sale starting today at 1pm ET!

GET VIP TICKETS

We’ll be playing songs from the original release, plus a small handful of songs that pertain to its themes and points of view, plus a short encore set that will be different each night. It’ll be a different and very special show, and very likely the last times we’ll ever do it so DON’T MISS IT!

Drive-By Truckers is asking fans to place their ticket requests for all shows on the Southern Rock Opera Revisited 2024 Tour HERE by March 21 at 12pm ET. Confirmed requests will automatically be charged to the fan’s credit card and instructions on how to access tickets will be sent from Ticketmaster. VIP Experience packages go on sale today, 1pm ET. Public on-sale for all announced dates begin Friday, March 29 at 10:00 am (local). For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.drivebytruckers.com/shows

We will be announcing more exciting news around Southern Rock Opera soon, stay tuned!

“It ain’t about the past.”

See you at the Rock Show!
Patterson Hood (DBT)

THE SHIT! 2023 Works of Art that meant the whole world to me

A LIST BY PATTERSON HOOD

The Most Essential Music to me (in alphabetical order)

Caroline Rose - The Art of Forgetting

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Weathervanes

MJ Lenderman and The Wind - Live and Loose!

Wednesday - Rat Saw God

Will Johnson - No Ordinary Crown

Any of these records could easily top my list on most any year and them all coming out this otherwise, often horrid year, has been a blessing indeed.

Caroline Rose has long been a favorite of mine and this album takes their already explosive assets to some next-level place. Miami features some of my favorite lyrics of the year.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit topped his seemingly un-toppable 2013 masterpiece Southeastern with this collection that delivers on every fine promise he’s made since 2001. His fine band The 400 Unit might be the true successors to The Heartbreakers on that pantheon of finest backing bands.

MJ Lenderman is writing some truly next-level hilarious, heartbreaking, beautiful songs and his new “offhanded” live and loose release this year is even better than his studio album Boat Songs (which was my album of the year last year). (He has new studio album dropping soon).

Wednesday is my favorite band right now and back in August I saw them play one of my all time top 10 favorite sets, in a barn, at Pickathon. Karly Hartzman writes amazing songs that take southern narrative to some new and wonderful places. The band kicks total ass.

Will Johnson has been on my year end lists more times than I can count. It’d be embarrassing if it wasn’t so well deserved. Centro-matic was literally my favorite band for 14 years and this year he’s released a solo album that ranks right up with the best of their formidable catalog. Plus he gets massive extra points for name dropping Freddie Mercury, Danny Torrance and his wonderful mother into a song that somehow becomes the most beautiful four minutes and forty-five seconds of music I heard all year.

Please note that SZA - SOS is not on my list because I included it last year. Otherwise it would be. The same should be said for SG Goodman’s Teeth Marks, which was my other favorite album from 2022.

The Replacements - Tim (Let It Bleed edition) was truly the best reissue of the year. The new mix (by famed mixer Ed Stasium, who was originally supposed to mix it in 1985, but inexplicably didn’t) is the equivalent to removing a pillow that was in front of the speakers when you tried to listed to an all time favorite album. In this case one of my very favorite albums ever made, the one that most changed my life and the results are spectacular. Few things in 2024 brought me as much joy as blasting Little Mascara as loud as possible in my car and back of the tourbus.

 More Records I Loved:

Anohoni (and the Johnsons) - My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross Boygenius - The Album

Cat Power - Cat Power Sings Dylan

Califone - Villagers

Dean Johnson - Nothing For Me, Please

Eyelids - A Colossal Waste of Light

Gonzalez Smith - Roll Up A Song

Jerry Joseph - Baby, You’re the Man Who Would Be King

Kevin Morby - More Photographs (A Continuum)

Lydia Loveless - Nothing’s Gonna Stand in My Way

Margo Cilker - Valley of Heart’s Delight

McKendrick Bearden - Bright as the Mines Out

The National - First Two Pages of Frankenstein

Palehound - Eye on the Bat

Peter Gabriel - I/O

PJ Harvey - I Inside the Old Year Dying

Sufjan Stevens - Javelin

Tomberlin - I don’t know who needs to hear this...

Wilco - Cousin

Yves Tumor - Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume...

Song(s) of the Year:

Cast Iron Skillet - Jason Isbell

A Noiseless Noise - PJ Harvey

Chosen to Deserve - Karly Hartzman (Wednesday)

Of Passengers and Plight - Will Johnson

Knockin’ - MJ Lenderman

Miami - Caroline Rose

They Said So - Eyelids

Keep It on A Burner - Margo Cilker

I Could Be Happy - McKendrick Bearden

Not Strong Enough - Boygenius

20 20 Moons - Jerry Joseph

Tooth Ache - Lydia Loveless

Triumph - Kevin Morby

The Clutch - Palehound

What Now - Brittany Howard

The Mind is Not Your Friend - The National (featuring Phoebe Bridgers)

King of Oklahoma and When We Were Close - Jason Isbell

But, my favorite song this year is Cast Iron Skillet by Jason Isbell. He took what would already be my favorite type of song and wrote one of the best ones that I have ever heard. Truly a masterpiece and an all time favorite song.

With a documentary, his best solo album yet and an excellent turn acting in Scorsese’s most recent film, Jason Isbell is truly 2023’s Artist of the Year also.

Track / Band of the Year

A special shout out to Wednesday for Bull Believer, which on record is the song that articulated the way I’ve felt so much of these past few years better than anything I’ve been able to write myself. Live, it takes the catharsis of the record up ten more notches. I saw some great shows this year but the set I saw then play in a barn at Pickathon this summer easily ranks in my all time top ten live sets ever.

Live Shows

The aforementioned Wednesday show at Pickathon as well as MJ Lenderman’s set there.

Wilco at Keller Hall in Portland showed a legacy band that somehow is even better than ever.

I saw two amazing Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit shows this summer. Bang a Gong!

Eyelids at the (temporarily closed) Doug Fir Lounge, Motrik at Pickathon and a great new band called Glitterfox at Holocene in Portland packing the house on a Wednesday night.

Margo Price at Crystal Ballroom, Alejandro Escovedo (featuring our old dear friend Scott Danbom) at Mississippi Studio. Neil Young playing deep cuts on a beautiful summer night in southern Washington was sublime. He even played three songs from Sleeps With Angels. (!!!). And of course the almighty Patti Smith Group playing an outdoor show in downtown Portland in a 98 degree heatwave this past summer.

A special shout out to Pickathon, which (along with Newport) is the best festival I’ve ever gone to. We go every year if I’m in town.

Movies

There’s still a few I’m awaiting a chance to see but Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos) and Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese) will most likely hold up as my two favorite films this year.

I also loved Barbie (Greta Gerwig), Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan), Past Lives (Celine Song), May December (Todd Haynes), Asteroid City (Wes Anderson), Priscilla (Sofia Coppola), Showing Up (Kelly Reichardt, Maestro (Bradley Cooper) and the documentary film Turn Every Page about the relationship between Robert Caro (my favorite author) and his longtime publisher Robert Gottlieb (directed by Gottlieb’s daughter Lizzie Gottlieb).

Lots of great television but nothing blew me away more than Succession and The Bear, both of which was next level great.

I hope to write more in depth about these films and a few I am still trying to catch very soon.

Books

I didn’t read nearly as many books this year as I would have liked to but I really enjoyed Deliver Me From Nowhere by Warren Zanes which took a very deep dive into Bruce Springsteen’s masterpiece album Nebraska; and Michael Chabon’s 2016 novel Moonglow which I could barely put down and was sad to finish.

My wife and I started reading Heather Cox Richardson and her nightly Letter From An American every night during the pandemic lockdown. Her nightly letters offered a highly vetted look at each days news events (a nice break from all of the fake news and propaganda offered up by the likes of Trump and his Fox cronies) told from a historians perspective by one of the country’s foremost experts on American political and economic history. This year she published a new book, Democracy Awakening, which maps out where we are as a people and how we got here as well as a map towards protecting and strengthening our democracy. It’s a great read and a vital book for anyone who would prefer that our country not descend into fascism and tyranny. It became a well deserved New York Times Bestseller.

Another historian (who is also a friend) Julian Zelizer also wrote a bestseller called Myth America (co-written with Kevin M. Kruse) about lies and legends often told as history about our country and its story. An excellent read.

Maybe 2024 will see the completion of the fifth and final part of Robert Caro’s fifty year study into the life of Lyndon B. Johnson and the nature of power in our country. He started this project in the early 70’s after the success of his iconic The Power Broker and didn’t even get to his presidency until the fourth volume. I’ve read them all so far and they’re truly magnificent. He’s my favorite living writer and we’re all eagerly awaiting his final work which will take on Vietnam, The Great Society and Johnson’s short post presidency.

We’re also eagerly awaiting a new Willy Vlautin novel, which will undoubtably break my cold cold heart into a thousand tiny pieces. I hear rumors of a new Delines album also.

As I finish this, Waxahatchee who made my favorite album of 2020 just announced her new album Tigers Blood coming out 3/22/2024. Two days before my 60th birthday. Can’t wait (for the album at least).

Cheers! Here’s to 2024!
Patterson Hood (south and northwest)

THE COMPLETE DIRTY SOUTH

Y’all,

Back home and recovering from the March leg of the ‘Welcome 2 Club XIII Tour’ and HeAthen’s Homecoming. I was very happy about the tour, playing some great rooms and fantastic crowds. The band was in fine form and there seemed to be an excitement in the air that elevated everything. Homecoming might have been my favorite yet, with four very different and excellent shows, fantastic support and a record breaking Nuçi's Space Auction raising $66,362.44 for our favorite cause. (This doesn’t include the band’s donation which is still being sorted out).

Today we’re announcing the long awaited special director’s cut edition of The Dirty South.

The Complete Dirty South.

Long considered one of the most beloved of DBT albums, I have frankly always had a slight ambivalence about it. One that this new edition fixes and builds upon. Simply put, I think it has turned out phenomenal on every level and I am so proud to share it with the world, the way it was always meant to be heard and seen. Without going into all of the gory details from way back (that is all spelled out in the new expanded liner notes within) the album as originally released was missing several songs that were a big part of the story it told and the glue that kind of held the various narratives together. Even though Decoration Day came out a year earlier, The Dirty South was the true follow up to Southern Rock Opera, in that it further explored our home region with a deeper emphasis on the politics and crime as well as the mores of where we came from. This new version restores the original sequence plus fixes a few things that just weren’t quite right with the original release. I’m not one for looking back too often and well enough aware that sometimes the happy accidents make for a better album, but in these cases we tweaked a few things that had kept it from being all that it had set out to be while leaving the vast majority of it as it was, but with new mastering from the great Greg Calbi (Sterling Sound) that ties it all together.

And then there’s the packaging. Lilla Hood, who has done our graphic design since SRO still had all of the original art files and high def scans of Wes Freed’s fabulous art, she was able to put it all together now in a way we could have only dreamt of nearly 20 years ago and it is absolutely beautiful. She was working with Wes just days before his untimely passing last fall and he was stoked to know the great lengths we were going to spotlight some of his finest artwork ever. The 2 disc vinyl set is boxed with a beautiful book.

In a couple of weeks we will have our next leg of the W2CXIII TOUR, beginning in Florida and working our way north, then back south again before ending with a special appearance at Mountain Stage.

Along the way we’ll be playing Brown’s Island in Richmond, where we will pay special tribute to our beloved Wes Freed in his hometown, a long-awaited return to the 9:30 Club in Washington DC, Levon’s Barn in Woodstock and two nights at Bowery Ballroom in NYC. It’s going to be a very special tour with our dear friend Lydia Loveless opening most of the shows.

The first single from The Complete Dirty South is “Putting’ People on the Moon” (stream now), with a new, much improved vocal, mix and mastering. It’s a song that is unfortunately even more timely now than it was in 2004 and the new version is absolutely definitive. I’m pretty sure you will agree.

We can’t wait to see all of you out there on the road. Stay tuned for more announcements forthcoming.

See you at The Rock and Roll Show!

Sincerely,
Patterson Hood
DBT / The DBTs / Drive-By Truckers / Gomer Pyle Driver

PRE-ORDER ON STREAMING PRE-ORDER PHYSICAL COPIES

Welcome 2 Club XIII

Welcome 2 Club XIII, DBT’s 14th studio album, marks a sharp departure from the trenchant political commentary of their last three records.

A reckoning with the dualities of the things that make you alive and how they sometimes can kill you. A life affirming flashlight for the dark nights of one’s soul.

With guest appearances including Margo Price, Mike Mills and Schaefer Lllana.

The first single (and title track) is a tongue in cheek homage to a local dive that founding members Cooley and Hood played in their early days.

Disco lights and industrial carpet, they would occasionally play to a near empty room or open for a hair metal cover band.

As they say in the song “Our glory days did kinda suck”.

ORDER NOW!

Homecoming 2022 Postponed

Y’all,

With heavy hearts and some really pissed off feelings, we’re looking at the numbers out of Georgia and the rest of the USA and just can’t proceed with our plan to have Homecoming in two weeks.

We’re going to move HeAthen’s Homecoming to April 6-9, 2022.

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We will honor all tickets for new days - dates, and refunds will be available at the point of purchase.

It is our sincere hope these new dates will work for everyone, and we will resume our plans to Rock and Roll on a worldwide scale in 2022.

Again, we are very sorry for this and only hope that all of you stay safe and healthy out there so we can get together and turn 2022 into the year when things really turn around.

Sending love and best wishes to all of you. See you at the Rock Show.

Sincerely,
Patterson Hood and the DBT Family

See Tourdates

Drive-By Truckers - Southern Rock Opera at 20!

There was a six year timeline on the creation of Betamax Guillotine (as Southern Rock Opera was originally called). Beginning over a year before DBT was even formed. Writing it and figuring out how to play it (and how to play like that and attempt to sing like that) was like a game we played together as we did other things. We would talk about this crazy project to entertain ourselves in the van while touring behind Gangstabilly, Pizza Deliverance and the live Alabama Ass Whuppin’ albums. We slept on people’s floors and accosted them with this crazy idea (as they rolled their eyes or occasionally got excited about it). It was all in fun yet we were deadly serious about it. Total big fun to write and create.

Actually making it was a fucking nightmare. We were broke and in over our heads yet we instinctively knew that if we backed down or couldn’t follow through we were done for and it was all over. We had, perhaps intentionally, backed ourselves into a corner and to not deliver would mean that we were basically just full of shit.

By the time David Barbe began mixing it we weren’t even speaking to each other and he literally had to talk me out of quitting my own band one evening. Did I mention how broke we all were? I ended up homeless the summer before it came out, but fortunately my friend Jenn gave me a storage room to sleep in. I spent the last half of July and all of August working around the clock trying to get SRO released.

I booked a fall tour w 75 shows in 90 days and we put that sucker out ourselves on our tiny Soul Dump Records label.

On 9/11/2001.

The album that became Southern Rock Opera began as an idea for a screenplay, cooked up during a long road trip from Athens Georgia to Florence Alabama in a U-haul truck by myself and Earl Hicks. Earl and I had been friends back home for decades and he was in the process of moving to Athens. It was April of 1995 (or thereabouts) and the truck didn’t have a radio, so our rambling talk somehow morphed into this idea for a movie about the mythology surrounding a fictitious rock and roll band loosely inspired by stories I knew from growing up in Muscle Shoals and close friends who had worked with Lynyrd Skynyrd in the early days. We didn’t want to use the actual band story because they were famously hard to deal with and life is too short. One of us decided to call the fictional band Betamax Guillotine.

The screenplay made it about as far as a first draft outline before life intervened and we both got busy doing other things. For me the other thing included forming a band called Drive-By Truckers. If I had had any idea the band would have survived more than a few months, I might have been more careful with what I called it, but…

The band got busy fast. We hit the road and began touring like madmen, sleeping on floors and playing anywhere that would have us. Earl worked sound at various clubs in Athens and bought some mobile recording gear. He produced two of our albums along the way. Somehow the crazy screenplay idea morphed into the idea of doing a rock opera called Betamax Guillotine. Earl was going to produce and engineer it.

As we toured behind three albums, we worked feverishly on this crazy side-project idea, eventually deciding to make it under our regular band name. Along the way Earl joined the band but still committed to recording the album. We didn’t have a deal, so we couldn’t afford to record it in an actual studio but Cooley’s wife’s family had a uniform shop in downtown Birmingham that agreed to let us record there after hours. We recorded the album over two weeks in September of 2000, during a heat wave. It was hot and miserable and we weren’t exactly getting along, but somehow we managed to finish the basic tracks in the allotted time before going back out on the road that fall.

Earl refused a Production credit since he was in the band, but make no mistake, he definitely was a producer as well as the recording engineer. We finished out the fall tour, coming home broke as hell and barely speaking to each other. In January, we did overdubs (guitar solos, backing vocals, etc.) at Cooley and Ansley’s house in Atlanta.

Everyone else in the band was either getting divorced or breaking up with their significant others and the tension from all of that had grown into a rift within the band. By the time we went into Chase Park Transduction studio for David Barbe to mix the album, we were barely speaking. I’m not going to get into the particulars of all of that now, except to say that I take the lion's share of the blame for it and am glad that Barbe was able to talk enough sense into me to enable us to stay together to see it through to completion.

What is the release date of an album that had no distribution and seemingly no future?

In those days albums came out on Tuesdays, but since we didn’t have a record deal at the time, our album wouldn’t initially be going into any record stores. September 11th, 2001 was the day we were supposed to pick up our 5000 copies from the printer and take several hundred of them to our friend Byron Wilkes’ house for him to begin shipping them out to the fine folks who pre-ordered one. We had showcased for many labels at SXSW in the spring but only received one offer, from Capricorn Records, an offer so bad that it would have essentially bankrupted us, so we passed.

Instead, we inadvertently invented crowdsourcing, using this new thing called the internet to raise funds from fans and supporters to enable us to press 5000 copies of a double CD with a 24 page booklet full of artwork and text, plus buy a used van and hire our first publicist (Traci Thomas, who now manages Jason Isbell). My sister, Lilla Hood did the layout and package design, incorporating art work from Wes Freed along with contributions from other artists Kathleen Judge, Jeff Owens and Byron Wilkes, as well as liners and text into the package that we now all know so well. Since she lived in Birmingham, Lilla was able to find a suitable printer there. The plan was for her to pick them up and meet me halfway so I could get them to Byron to send out. We were beginning our tour which I had booked (75 shows in 90 days) in Murfreesboro Tennessee on the 12th.

I was staying with my friend Dick Cooper in Florence Alabama. Dick was helping me manage the band at the time and was about to leave on the road with us as our first ever tour manager. His roommate at the time was Shonna Tucker who was an excellent local musician (bass player). They lived out on Shoals Creek a few miles north of town, very close to where I actually lived with my parents as a teenager. Their pad was a rustic A-Frame house overlooking the creek, which due to TVA and Wilson Dam was bigger than many rivers.

Dick and Shonna lived there with another musician named Scott Boyer, who in the 70’s had led the band Cowboy (and who wrote the song “Please Be With Me” which had also been recorded by Eric Clapton and Gregg Allman). Their place was a crash pad for various other traveling musicians and I spent a lot of time that summer drinking cheap beer, tequila and whisky there, crashing on their floor and plotting DBT’s fall tour and new album release. Jason Isbell was an old friend of Shonna’s and sometimes he would drive down from Memphis and hang out. We had hit it off like gangbusters and would spend endless hours sitting around picking guitars and playing each other our songs.

I awoke to Jason knocking on the door saying the world was ending or something like that. I cancelled my drive to Birmingham and we all spent the day in a bleary haze watching the horrific footage on tv until late in the night. Numb from terror and sadness.

On the 12th, we called the venue in Murfreesboro and they said they would be open regardless and we were welcomed to play. We thought, perhaps it would make us feel a little better so Cooley picked up the CDs from my sister and I loaded up the van and we headed up for the first of what became well over 200 shows on the SRO Tour.

Once the record came out, we hit the road. New York was still smoldering when we arrived there to play at Brownies in October. We came in a day early to play a benefit for the family of a lost fireman at a small bar in the village where my newly ex-wife worked.

People seemed to like the album wherever we went but it hadn’t yet occurred to us that our lives were changing. We were just busy trying to get from town to town and hoping to have enough gas and food money to keep it moving forward. Our van blew out its transmission in Pittsburgh and we spent a week touring empty rooms in Ohio while paying for a rental van, watching our money deplete knowing we had over a thousand dollar repair bill coming. We finally coasted into Chicago for a show at the Hideout on literal fumes in our newly refurbished van, broke and hungry and hoping this wasn’t the end.

Instead, we had a line around the block for a sold out show that recharged us and propelled us forward for the rest of that leg of the tour. We were informed that SPIN Magazine wanted to write a feature on us and began making plans to play a show in Muscle Shoals during our first weekend off in a while so that Eric Weisbard (who had already called us the best underground band in America the previous year) could see us and interview us. There would be a photo shoot and everything.

The show in Muscle Shoals fell through, as the club closed down. Instead, we decided to do an acoustic house concert at Dick Cooper’s house for Eric and a few friends. Jason Isbell came down for the show to hang out and Rob Malone, who had been in the band since 1998 decided not to. The rest as they say is history.

By the following spring, we had sold nearly 10,000 copies of SRO from the back of the van. Labels were now interested and we ended up signing with Last Highway Records, which also featured on their roster such stalwarts as Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams and Willie Nelson. We were also over halfway into recording a follow up that had the working title of Heathens. It is now known as Decoration Day.

All of our lives were drastically changed by this ridiculous album. Before it came out, most people told us we were crazy. We already knew that, but we did believe in what we were doing and how we were going about it. It somehow made sense to us and as it turned out, seemed to capture some kind of mood of the people who heard it. It somehow seems to still resonate with people two decades later.

There is a lot I would have liked to do to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Southern Rock Opera. It is seriously in need of being remastered and I’d love to see it rereleased on vinyl with the artwork properly done. It might be fun to one day do some kind of live re-imagining of it all. Cooley says if we ever perform it live again, it should be on ice.

People often ask about bonus tracks but there really isn’t anything releasable. The few shows that got recorded from that era are either board tapes with ridiculously loud vocals since most of the rooms we played in back then had tiny PA systems and we were so damn loud, or live tapes where you can’t really hear the vocals at all. We had recorded two previous attempts at the album before the Birmingham recordings, but many of the best songs weren’t even written yet and honestly most of that stuff is still missing anyway due to the homelessness that I lived through in the summer of 2001.

I would love to see Wes’ art work and Lilla’s art design properly blown up to LP size with an expanded booklet. I’d love to hear Barbe’s original mixes remastered by the great Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound who has mastered the majority of our releases since. Maybe by 2026 that will be a possibility.

To me, it’s not nearly our best or my favorite but it might be the most interesting and it’s definitely the thing that (for better or worse) has defined us as a band and to some extent as people. I’m proud as shit of it and that we somehow managed to pull it all off. I was 36 when we recorded it and 37 when it came out. That was a long time ago.

I’ve mostly made peace with it all except that I’ll probably never make peace with being called a southern rock band. We just played one on tv once upon a time.

For now, DBT is doing what we’ve always done. Moving forward with only a passing glance towards the past. We’re hard at work completing our next album, which will be our 14th studio album. We have a ton of dates booked between now and next summer and no plans of stopping anytime soon. We’re finally (so far) able to get back on the road to do this thing that keeps us alive. We’ll probably be coming to a town near you before too very long. We hope to see you there.

Happy Birthday Betamax Guillotine and thanks for the career you’ve given us.

- Patterson Hood (DBT) - September 12th, 2021

NOTES:

Dick Cooper, who helped me manage the band during those crazy times (2001-2002) had previously worked with members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and tour managed Leblanc and Carr Band, who was the opening act on Skynyrd’s Street Survivor Tour in 1977. He arrived in Baton Rouge about the time that word was breaking about the plane crash. He had previously worked at the Birmingham Post Herald during the civil rights days before being run out of town by Bull Connor and settling in Muscle Shoals. We initially asked him to be a technical advisor for our album, but he ended up with a well-deserved producer’s credit. It was his idea for us to change the name from Betamax Guillotine to Southern Rock Opera.

We raised about $22,000 from our fans in order to release and launch SRO. We paid everyone back in full plus 10% the following summer. One of our investors was in the stock business and he told us that all of his friends told him he was crazy to invest in us. After 9/11, many of his investments tanked but he got his money back from us with the agreed upon interest. Shonna Tucker ended up playing bass in DBT from 2004-2011 and is currently a solo artist based in the Shoals area.

Rob Malone is currently a member of The Fiddleworms and the Rob Aldridge Band, both excellent bands based in the Shoals area.

Jason Isbell is currently a very successful solo artist and is expanding his reach into acting. He is based in Nashville. We are still very close friends.

Traci Thomas was DBT’s publicist for 14 years but now is a manager full time with clients that include Jason Isbell and John Moreland. We are also very close friends.

Lilla Hood is a graphic designer. Her company Hood Design is based in Birmingham Alabama. She still designs all of our official releases.

Scott Boyer and Byron Wilkes passed away a few years ago. Both are deeply missed. Lost Highway reissued Southern Rock Opera in the summer of 2002. It has sold well over 100,000 units.

We ended up touring behind the record for 2 1/2 years, playing several hundred shows in the US, UK and Europe. We only played it in its entirety about 25-30 times and haven’t since 2002.

Patterson Hood - DBT

On The Road Again

Y’all,

It gives me the greatest possible pleasure to announce a truckload of new tour dates.
After 15 months off the road, it’s time to gas up that tour bus and load up that gear and take this Rock and Roll out among the people again.

We’ve all had our vaccinations.
I’m begging all of you (that haven’t already) to please get those shots and lets do this right.
It’s easy and effective and the way forward towards getting our lives back.
We want our friends out there to be safe and healthy and also don’t want some widespread breakout to derail all of this again.

DBT is turning 25 next month.
We’ll be getting together in July to blow out the cobwebs as well as do a little recording of some new songs before heading out to play for you.
I have a feeling these will be some of the greatest DBT shows we’ve ever played and I hope to se all of you out there as soon as possible.

It’s Fucking Great to be Alive!!!
Patterson Hood
DBT

See Tourdates

Up All Night In Heaven

Read Patterson's rememberance of Bloodkin's Danny Hutchens, who left us in May 2021.

Up All Night In Heaven

Live at the Shoals Theatre

In June of 2014, Mike Cooley, Patterson Hood, and Jason Isbell reunited for a show at the historic Shoals Theatre in Florence, AL to benefit one of the Shoals’ favorite sons, Terry Pace.

We’re thrilled to announce that this legendary in-the-round performance was recorded and has now been mixed and mastered for your listening pleasure.

'Live at the Shoals Theatre' is now available to download on Bandcamp which is waiving its revenue share until tonight (11/6) at 11:59pm PT.

Cover art by Will Johnson

Buy Live at the Shoals Theatre

NEW ONLINE SHOWS!

21ST CENTURY USA

Y’all,

DBT is thrilled to release this new video of our song 21st Century USA.

I wrote this song during a rest stop outside of Gillette, Wyoming in January of 2018.
Its blending of the personal and political provided the breakthrough moment for me during the writing of the group of songs that made up our album The Unraveling.
The track was recorded that fall in Memphis (at Sam Phillips Recording Service) with additional added strings from Patti and Kyleen King.

Don’t miss Mike Cooley’s live stream show on NoonChorus this Wednesday night at 9EDT/6PDT.
Jay Gonzalez will be playing his NoonChorus show on Sat. the 26th (9EDT/6PDT) and I have some special surprises in store for mine next Wed. the 30th.

- Patterson Hood

Special Shows and Shirt for Bandcamp Day - Friday, Sept 4th

From midnight to midnight on Friday, Sept 4th, you'll be able to order DBT Homecoming 2017 Thursday + Saturday (sadly we didn’t record Friday) and FOR ONE DAY ONLY, you can purchase the exclusive new DBT VOTE shirt!

RECORD STORE DAY 2020

Y’all,

DBT is thrilled to announce our RSD 2020 release. A 7” 45 RPM delight (w picture sleeve from our own fabulous Wes Freed) of the previously unreleased title track “The Unraveling” sung by our beloved Bobby Matt. It is backed by Cooley’s song “Sarah’s Flame”.

Please support your favorite local record store.

“The Unraveling ... is Happening!”

Stay safe and see you soon.

The DBTs

2020 SHOWS POSTPONED

Due to circumstances around Covid-19, all 2020 dates have been postponed. We are working to be back in a lot of these places in 2021 and will be announcing new dates when appropriate. If you have tickets for upcoming shows please hold on to them and they will be honored rebooked shows in 2021. We can’t wait to be back out on the road and until then we hope everyone stays safe and healthy!

NEW ONLINE SOLO SHOWS!

Show will be up and re-run for 72 hours after live show.

Click Here for larger image PATTERSON / COOLEY SHOWS Wednesdays with Patterson Hood & Mike Cooley 6pm PT/9pm ET $15 for individual shows Special Packages! $65 for all 5 Patterson Hood shows $65 for all 5 Mike Cooley shows $125 to purchase all 10 shows in advance DATES: Aug 5 – Patterson Hood – Heathen Songs #7: The New OK Aug 12 – Mike Cooley – Q&A show Aug 19 – Patterson Hood – Heathen Songs Aug 26 – Mike Cooley Sept 2 – Patterson Hood – Q&A / Request Line show Sept 9 – Mike Cooley – Q&A show Sept 16 – Patterson Hood – Betamax Guillotine (Southern Rock Opera creation myth) Sept 23 – Mike Cooley Sept 30 – Patterson Hood – Q&A / Request Line show Oct 7 – Mike Cooley – Q&A show For Mike Cooley Q&A shows please send questions to askmikecooley@gmail.com (along with show date) and he will work your questions into his setlist and answer as many as possible on the show. For Patterson Hood Q&A / Request Line shows send questions and requests to PHrequestshow@gmail.com (along with show date) and he will create his set list around your requests and answer any questions. Please try and get all questions and requests in a few days before the show to be considered.

Click Here for larger image JAY GONZALEZ SHOWS Saturdays with Jay! 6pm PT/9pm ET $8 per show Special Package! $20 for all 3 Jay shows DATES: Aug 15th - all request show - Power pop, New Wave & British Invasion Sept 12th - Musical Variety Show (featuring Jay’s Mess of Happiness solo album played straight through with guests) Sept 26th - all request show - Singer/Songwriter, Sunshine Pop and A.M. Gold For Jay Gonzalez Request shows, please visit www.jaygonzalez.com to submit a request. Please try and get all questions and requests in a few days before the show to be considered.

 

Obviously, there’s nothing on Earth like the experience of live music in person, but during these horrific times, playing for you from our living rooms, dens or attics is the best we can do. We’ll be digging deep to find ways to make it as special and personal as humanly possible.

 

Finally, just wanting to send out a personal hope to each and every one of you that you are staying safe, healthy and hopefully as sane as possible.
I’ve certainly never experienced anything like this in my lifetime and my hope is that we can all stick together (separately) and get through all of this.
Everyone I know is having horrific troubles with all of this and those are mainly lucky ones who aren’t sick.
Much love to everyone out there.

 

I can’t wait to see you at The Rock Show!
Patterson Hood
DBT

Y’all,

It pains us greatly (more than you can imagine) to have to postpone shows we’ve all been looking forward to for literal months.

Due to the unprecedented situation we all find ourselves in right now, it would be irresponsible and possibly detrimental to everyone’s health and happiness to proceed as planned and DBT will be postponing all dates from March 12th-April 4th. We will work on rescheduling as many as humanly possible for as soon as this shit is over so hang on to your tickets. We will have more information on rescheduled dates and on the run from April 16th-May 2nd in the coming days.

The Unraveling… is Happening!

New album out today.
Armageddon’s Back in Town World Tour 2020 beginning in 2 weeks.
HeAthen’s Homecoming, NYC, Philly, DC, Beyond.
Time to find the joy in blasting through the darkness.
An Exorcism of the demons of our current time.
A call to resist. A call to raise your fist. 
A call to "Love each other Motherfuckers!" (as Patti said).
 
Saturday afternoon, Cooley and I will be hanging out and talking to David Fricke at Rough Trade in Williamsburg.
2pm. Songs and conversation.
 
HeAthen’s Homecoming is all Sold Out but still tickets left for the first leg of the tour.
With special guests Buffalo Nichols. 
 
Thanks to all who have been rallying your support during these crazy days and nights.
See you at the Rock and Roll Show.
DBT 

Y’all,
Happy 2020! The Unraveling is… Happening.
Let’s do this shit.

This weekend we return to Colorado for a show at The Fox in Boulder (been a really long time since we played there) and 2 nights at the Gothic Theatre in Denver.
These are the first shows of the decade and the beginning of the Armageddon’s Back in Town World Tour 2020.
Let’s fuck shit up for real.

"Thoughts and Prayers" is the 2nd single off of our new album and we have a new lyric video out now.
The track is premiering today in Billboard with an interview.
This is a song we have been playing live for a bit. I honestly would prefer for it not to be timely at all.
It is however, a beautiful track and something that absolutely has to be said.

So far the reviews of The Unraveling have been stellar. MOJO gave it 4 Stars and made it the Album of the Month.
No Depression has made DBT the Artist of the Month for January.
The album comes out on January 31. You can pre-order it now. Can’t wait for you to hear it all.

Cooley and I will be celebrating the release of the album with a live in-store at Rough Trade in Brooklyn on February 1. Our friend David Fricke will be hosting the event and doing a Q&A with us for it. We’ll surely play some songs in the intimate setting for all who show up and sign records after.

Finally, can’t wait to launch this tour. After our SOLD OUT 3 night stand at the Fabulous 40 Watt Club (HeAthen’s Homecoming 2020, our 20th year doing it) we’ll be heading North. Then West and all points in between. The UK/Europe Tour looks to be our most epic ever.

Join our Resistance and let’s make 2020 a much better year and do something to celebrate.
Love each other, Motherfuckers!
See you at the Rock and Roll Shows.

Sincerely,
Patterson Hood (DBT)

Drive-By Truckers have announced the release of their much-anticipated new album. THE UNRAVELING arrives via ATO Records on Friday, January 31, 2020. THE UNRAVELING is heralded by today's premiere of the bracing new single, "Armageddon's Back In Town," available now for streaming and download. The track is joined by an official lyric video streaming now. Digital and physical pre-orders are now available.

WATCH "ARMAGEDDON'S BACK IN TOWN"

Drive-By Truckers' 12th studio album and first new LP in more than three years – the longest gap between new DBT albums – THE UNRAVELING was recorded at the legendary Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis, TN by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Matt Ross-Spang (Jason Isbell, Margo Price) and longtime DBT producer David Barbe. Co-founding singer/songwriter/guitarists Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood both spent much of the time prior doing battle with deep pools of writer's block. "How do you put these day to day things we're all living through into the form of a song that we (much less anybody else) would ever want to listen to?" says Hood. "How do you write about the daily absurdities when you can't even wrap your head around them in the first place? I think our response was to focus at the core emotional level. More heart and less cerebral perhaps."

The songs that eventually emerged are among Drive-By Truckers' most direct and pointedly provocative, tackling the myriad horrors of our new normal through sincere emotion and unbridled heart. Indeed, "Armageddon's Back in Town" takes a whirlwind joyride through the whiplash of events we collectively deal with each day while the concluding "Awaiting Resurrection" dives headfirst into the despair and pain roiled up by these troubled times.

"The past three-and-a-half years were among the most tumultuous our country has ever seen," says Hood, "and the duality between the generally positive state of affairs within our band while watching so many things we care about being decimated and destroyed all around us informed the writing of this album to the core.

"While a quick glance might imply that we're picking up where 2016's AMERICAN BAND album left off, the differences are as telling as the similarities. If the last one was a warning shot hinting at a coming storm, this one was written in the wreckage and aftermath. I've always said that all of our records are political but I've also said that ‘politics is personal'. With that in mind, this album is especially personal."

The remarkable songcraft found on THE UNRAVELING receives much of its musical muscle from the sheer strength of the current Drive-By Truckers line-up, with Hood and Cooley joined by bassist Matt Patton, keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Jay Gonzalez, and drummer Brad Morgan – together, the longest-lasting iteration in the band's almost 25-year history. The LP also features a number of special guests, including The Shins' Patti King, violinist/string arranger Kyleen King (Brandi Carlile), and North Mississippi All-Stars' Cody Dickinson, who contributes electric washboard to the strikingly direct "Babies In Cages."

Hailed by Stereogum as "perhaps the greatest extant American rock and roll band," Drive-By Truckers will mark THE UNRAVELING with an epic world tour, to be announced soon. In the meantime, the band is set for a series of upcoming live dates, including a two-night-stand at Englewood, CO's Gothic Theatre (January 17-18) and the annual HeAthen's Homecoming, a three-night extravaganza marking the 26th anniversary of Hood's first visit to Athens, GA's world famous 40 Watt Club (February 13-15). In addition, both Hood and Cooley will spend December traveling on solo concert tours. For updates and ticket information, please visit the official Drive-By Truckers tour page.

HOMECOMING 2020 ANNOUNCED!

This year's dates and linepu have been announced! Drive-By Truckers at 40 Watt Club, February 13 + 14 + 15, Athens GA

FAN CLUB PRE-SALE: Wednesday, November 13th @ 10am LOCAL

ON-SALE: Friday, November 15th @ 10am LOCAL

SUPPORT:

Feb 13: The Dexateens

Feb 14: Camp Amped Band / Grand Vapids

Feb 15: Jerry Joseph and the Stiff Boys

See y'all HeAthens there!

The Company We Keep

Y'all,

As most of you know, DBT has the greatest fan base in the world. The fine folks at Three Dimes Down inspire us to work extra hard at being worthy of such fine folks spending their hard earned money and time. Their contributions to our beloved Nuci's Space has helped countless people in our incredible Athens community and we're all beyond moved.

Now they have put together this wonderful, and somewhat over the top book as a love letter to our music and the family that has formed around it as well as the venue, town and people who have made HeAthen's Homecoming what it is.

I spent an hour looking through it (it will take far longer to actually take it all in) while staying with Dr. Contovasilis and family and I was moved to literal tears. I don't know if anything like this has ever existed in any other band's community but I was blown away by the enormous amount of work and love that obviously went into its creation. It has made me want to strive even harder to be worthy.

I urge you all to check it out. The proceeds go to Nuci's Space and their mission of suicide prevention and musical artistic resource. You can order one at https://thecompanywekeepbook.com.

The HeAthen's Homecoming has grown to four nights this year and is looking to completely sell out. We feel beyond blessed.

Happy Holidays and see you at The Rock and Roll Show.

Sincerely,
Patterson and the DBT Family

November DBT tour + December Solo dates + Homecoming 2019 announcement!

Y'all,

I have this weird trait where I can remember strange random things vividly.
Minute details of forgettable things, set list quirks from specific dates of random shows.
I saw Springsteen for the first time on 2/13/81.
First time I ever heard Pink Floyd's "Money" was sitting in back of Ann Coldiron's Oldsmobile around the time of my 9th birthday on my way out to McGee Town Alabama.
Etc.

I set foot in The 40 Watt Club for the first time on Feb. 13th 1994.
It was the first time I had ever been to Athens and I saw Counting Crows opening for Cracker that night.
(Show was SOLD OUT and I didn't have a ticket, but they ended up letting us in anyway. Don't try that shit now though).

The 25th Anniversary of that date corresponds with what is (probably) the 19th Annual HeAthen's Homecoming.
We're going to celebrate that (and so much more) by having a special show on Wed. Feb. 13th 2019 - Adam's House Cat headlining with the incomparable Jay Gonzalez opening.
It'll be an early show with Jay playing at 9pm and AHC on by 10:30 so people can plan their late night festivities accordingly.
The AHC shows last month went fantastic and we just had to do it all once again.
(If you haven't already done so, make sure you grab the yellow vinyl of "Town Burned Down". It Kicks Ass!)

We're thrilled to announce the lineup for this year's HeAthen's Homecoming at The Fabulous 40 Watt Club:

Thursday Feb. 14 - we'll kick off our Valentine's Celebration with Don Chambers opening . His new album is Fantastic! Don't Miss.

Friday Feb. 15 - DBT will be joined by our dear friends from Portland Oregon: Eyelids. They opened for us last time we toured Europe and have a great new album.

Saturday Feb. 16 - we'll have The Camp Amped Band kicking things off, followed by a special set by Linqua Franqa. She is totally Badass and we're super excited to have her do her thing. (By day she is known around town as Athens / Clark County City Commissioner Mariah Parker and she's a badass there also.)

Last year's HH is a tough act to follow, but I think we're up to the job and hope you'll be there to help us make it all happen.

In addition to Homecoming we are thrilled to be about to hit the road one last time this year, kicking it off with 3 nights in Birmingham AL at Saturn! The first show is November 6^th, (Election Night!!!) and in celebration we have teamed up with #iVoted and the first 50 folks to show up with a photo of themselves outside of their polling place will receive free entry to the show! After that we head to Nashville where both Lilly Hiatt and T. Hardy Morris join us for shows and continue on with T. Hardy Morris through Arkansas, Oklahoma and finish up in Texas with one show in Dallas and two nights at Scoot Inn in Austin! We can't wait!

Now more than ever, Fight The Power and See You at The Rock and Roll Show.

Sincerely,

Patterson Hood (DBT)

Nov 6 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn
Nov 7 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn 
Nov 8 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn 
Nov 9 - Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom * 
Nov 10 - Nashville, TN - Cannery Ballroom ^
Nov 13 - Little Rock, AR - Revolution Music Room ^
Nov 14 - Tulsa, OK - Cain's Ballroom ^
Nov 15 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater ^
Nov 16 - Austin, TX - Scoot Inn ^
Nov 17 - Austin, TX - Scoot Inn ^

* w/ Lilly Hiatt
^ w/ T. Hardy Morris
 

GET YOUR HOMECOMING TICKETS!

Wednesday February 13  - 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA
Adam's House Cat with special guest Jay Gonzalez (no DBT)
ON SALE NOV 2 - Click Here
 
Thursday February 14  - 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA
Drive-By Truckers with special guest Don Chambers
PRESALE 10/31-11/2 - Click Here
ON SALE NOV 2 - Click Here

Friday February 15  - 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA
Drive-By Truckers with special guest Eyelids
SOLD OUT

Saturday February 16  - 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA
Drive-By Truckers with special guests Camp Amped Band and Linqua Franqa
SOLD OUT

VERY LIMITED BUNDLE - TICKETS FOR ALL FOUR NIGHTS
SOLD OUT  

LOST RECORDINGS UNEARTHED! ADAM'S HOUSE CAT RECORD TO BE RELEASED

Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers formed Adam's House Cat in the Muscles Shoals area of Alabama in 1985. Their songs and friendship became the foundation on which DBT was built. Their one and only "lost" album from 1990 was remixed by David Barbe, mastered by Greg Calbi and is now available for the first time xwith archival photos and extensive liner notes from Patterson Hood. FIND OUT MORE!

Jittery Joe's Coffee and Drive-By Truckers Introduce Cups of Dawn

Jittery Joe's Coffee Roasting Company is partnering with Athens, Georgia band Drive-By Truckers to release a special blend of coffee, Cups of Dawn. Get some now!

"Drive-By Truckers is thrilled to be doing a new coffee with Jittery Joes," says Patterson Hood, Drive-By Truckers co-founder and singer-guitarist. "Trucker Speed was such a success a few years ago that they've conspired with us to create Cups of Dawn, a delightful city's medium roasted blend perfect to launch you into a brighter day. Cans designed by long time DBT artist Wes Freed and a portion of the money to Nuci's Space. There's no resisting that."

"We are so excited to be partnering once again with the Drive-By Truckers," says Michael Ripps, President of Jittery Joe's Coffee. "They continue to build on an enduring legacy, one that is a cornerstone of the rich history of music in Athens."

Cups of Dawn is a custom blend of Guatemala Finca Ixlama, Guatemala Adisque, Brazil Machado, and Mexico Chiapas. The final product is a smooth cup of coffee that has a subtle, sweet chocolate body and a smoky, nut finish. Cups of Dawn hydrates the palate making it a refreshing, morning coffee.

"When you think of Drive By Truckers, you think 'Now that is Rock n Roll!' When you drink their new coffee, you'll think 'Now that is a cup of coffee!'" says Charlie Mustard, Jittery Joe's Roaster. "Whether you are chasing distant stars out of the dark or into the light, it will keep you on your path."

Cups of Dawn comes in a limited edition keepsake can featuring a custom illustration by Wes Freed. For years, Freed's illustrations have become the visual equal to the Drive-By Trucker's music having appeared on countless posters, t-shirts, stickers, and every album cover since the critically acclaimed Southern Rock Opera.

For more information about Jittery Joe's Coffee, please visit Jittery Joe's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jitteryjoes or follow Jittery Joe's on Twitter at @JitteryJoes or on Instagram at JitteryJoesCoffee.

About Jittery Joe's Coffee

Founded in Athens, Georgia in 1994, Jittery Joe's Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster that selects and roasts only the highest quality arabica beans from around the globe. Jittery Joe's Coffees are available at 20 Jittery Joe's cafes in the Southeast, specialty grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, and through their online store.

For more information, visit the Jittery Joe's web site at www.jitteryjoes.com.

New Song, The Perilous Night (order now) and new tour dates

Y'all,

No rest for the wicked as they say. 
Just released our new song and video for "The Perilous Night". I wrote it this summer in the wake of the horrific events in Virginia and the White House's shameful response. I talk all about that and more in an interview with Stereogum that also came out today.

Jay Gonzalez is hitting the road this month with his band and our friends Eyelids for an east coast tour. 
Cooley and I both have some solo dates after Thanksgiving. (Filters optional but recommended).
Tour dates for all can be found on our SHOWS page.

Our new song will be released in December on our favorite medium, a 7" 45 with The Perilous Night on one side and our live version of What It Means (recorded this past summer at the Newport Folk Festival) on the other, we're very proud of it. Preorder it here, one lucky person who preorders through our website will also get a test pressing of the 7” with their order. Portions of the proceeds from the sale of the 7” will go to benefit Southern Poverty Law Center.

 

A bunch of dates in January/February as well as our annual Heathens Homecoming at the 40 Watt in Athens GA have also recently been announced.  We are really excited about this run and will be rested and revitalized and ready to Rock and Roll. Especially excited to play a bunch of dates with the fabulous Lilly Hiatt and her kickass band. If you haven't already gotten her record, get on it. It's definitely on my Top 5 for 2017 and some of the best songwriting I've heard in several years. Tickets for all dates are available on our website.

Today is Election Day in many places. Make yourself heard. Resistance starts locally. It's not just political, it's personal. 

Here's to a safe Veterans Day. 
See you at The Rock Show!
Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)

WHAT IT MEANS - LIVE

Today, the Drive-By Truckers have released a new digital single for "What It Means" recorded live at this summers Newport Folk Festival. It was the highlight of a powerful, energized set - and a crowning moment in the past year of the bands life, touring behind the politically charged (and critically acclaimed) American Band in Trump's America. Patterson Hood tells Rolling Stone: "When we recorded [the album] they hadn't even had the first primary yet. We were writing about this dark time that I honestly thought was going to get better." It's a fantastic piece, well worth reading: http://www.rollingstone.com/country/news/drive-by-truckers-what-it-means-hear-live-performance-w506168

Listen to "What It Means (Live at Newport Folk Festival)" and the moving introduction by Hood on Spotify. You can also find it on iTunes.

NEW VINYL SINGLE - The track will also appear on a new double-A side 7" single which ATO will release later this year. PRE-OREDER HERE! It will be backed with a new track entitled "The Perilous Night" which Patterson wrote in the wake of Charlottesville and which the band recorded last week in Athens, GA. They'll be performing that song (and many others!) on tour this fall:

9/29 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
9/30 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse
10/3 - Lexington, KY - Manchester Music Hall
10/4 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
10/5 - Jersey City, NJ - White Eagle Hall
10/6 - Port Chester, NY - The Capitol Theatre
10/7 - Arrington, VA - The Festy Experience at Infinity Downs Farm
10/8 - Charleston, WV - Mountain Stage at The Clay Center
10/13 – Denver, CO – Whisky X at Colorado Air & Space Museum

See you at the Rock Show!!

DBT TALKS 'AMERICAN BAND' WITH CRAIG FINN OF THE HOLD STEADY

DBT are releasing a revealing, never-before-seen interview filmed at NYC's famous Electric Lady studios with longtime friend Craig Finn of the Hold Steady that discusses the making of American Band and the twenty-year history of Drive-By Truckers. Watch all three parts below!

Drive-By Truckers will also be the musical guest on Conan on January 16th, performing "Ramon Casiano", a song that has been called "a muscular piece of Muscle Shoals punk" by NPR Music.

"With songs about gun violence and race relations, the Southern rockers release their most politically-charged record yet," said Rolling Stone. "American Band comes from the very distinct perspective of a group that remains burdened by, and reckoning with, its own bloody Southern history."

The album was also mentioned on the 2016 year-end lists of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Paste and Entertainment Weekly and was named The Bitter Southerner's #1 album of the year.

TINY DESK CONCERT

Had the honor of performing a Tiny Desk Concert recently. Thanks to All Songs Considered and NPR Music for having us. You can watch the video here.

HOMECOMING 2017

Y'all,

It's with great pleasure that we announce next year's annual DBT HeAthen's Homecoming at the fabulous 40 Watt Club in beautiful downtown Athens GA. Dates this year are February 16-18, 2017.

This year's support is:
Thursday - Thayer Sarrano
Friday - Camp Amped Band & Trae Crowder (The Liberal Redneck)
Saturday - The Hernies

Tickets go on sale starting tomorrow Oct 18th via our fan ticketing and Friday Oct 21st via the venue. As usual proceeds from these shows go to benefit Nuci's Space. Please know that hotels around this time are booking fast in Athens so if you plan on coming please plan accordingly. While a few hotels are already sold out due to events at UGA there is still a lot of other hotel options as well as many great AirBnb options. In addition, we also have a limited block of hotel rooms held for fans at the Hotel Indigo at a special rate of $149/night. You can boom by either 1) calling the hotel reservations directly and referencing " Drive-By Truckers Fan Block " or the group block code: "DBT". 1-866-808-1483 OR 2) go to Drive By Truckers Fan Block - click "book now" and enter your dates: 2/16/17-2/19/17. We expect these rooms to go fast so don't wait too long!

Thanks again for everyone helping to make American Band our first ever Top Ten Album and the Darkened Flags Tour such a great time.

See you HeAthens at The Rock Show!
Patterson and the DBT's

FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE

THE HIGHWAY KIND: Patterson has written a short story that is included in the collection, released October 18. Grab one from your local independant bookstore or buy it from Avid, our beloved local store in Athens, GA.

A BEAUTIFUL HERE: Linda Phillips lived through the unspeakable grief of losing her 22 year old son Nuçi to suicide and became the founder of Nuçi's Space, a non-profit artist resource center dedicated to helping musicians cope with brain illnesses and suicide prevention. She has written this wonderful book about her experience. I was honored to write the forward and highly recommend it to everyone. It is beautifully written and truly inspirational.
- Patterson Hood (Writer, performer and Drive-By Truckers co-founder)

RAMON CASIANO - NEW VIDEO

Today we are unveiling yet another video from the exclusive live video series that we filmed earlier this summer at New York City's legendary Electric Lady Studios, for the song Ramon Casiano. Additional tracks from the Electric Lady session will premiere in the coming weeks - please check back here for regular updates.

CBS This Morning: Saturday

Drive-By Truckers visited CBS This Morning: Saturday to perform three songs and sit for an interview with CBS News Senior Correspondent Anthony Mason.

NPR's First Listen Live

October found the band in Patterson's new hometown of Portland OR for two incredible shows at the Wonder Ballroom. While we were in Portland we stopped by the Oregon Public Broadcasting studios to perform AMERICAN BAND in its entirety live as part of NPR's First Listen Live series. The performance has been archived at NPR Music and opbmusic.org.

DBT at Electric Lady Studios

We had a day off in NYC this summer, so we went into Electric Lady Studios to lay down a few different takes of the new songs. Here's the first in a series we'll be rolling out!

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS UNVEIL AMERICAN BAND

ACCLAIMED NEW ALBUM PREMIERES TODAY EXCLUSIVELY VIA NPR MUSIC: FIRST LISTEN

UPCOMING MEDIA APPEARANCES INCLUDE CBS THIS MORNING: SATURDAY ON OCTOBER 1ST

LIVE PERFORMANCE OF AMERICAN BAND IN ITS ENTIRETY TO BE BROADCAST FROM OREGON PUBLIC BROADCASTING STUDIOS ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5TH AS PART OF NPR'S FIRST LISTEN LIVE SERIES

NORTH AMERICAN TOUR ROLLS ON THROUGH MID-NOVEMBER

AMERICAN BAND ARRIVES EVERYWHERE NEXT FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30TH

(New York, NY) Drive-By Truckers have teamed with NPR Music to present the First Listen premiere of their extraordinary new album, AMERICAN BAND. The eagerly anticipated collection is streaming now in its entirety, exclusively via NPR Music: First Listen. AMERICAN BAND arrives in stores and online retailers everywhere next Friday, September 30th.

Drive-By Truckers will make a number of high profile media appearances in support of the album's release, including an October 1st visit to CBS This Morning: Saturday set to feature a three-song performance and interview with CBS News Senior Correspondent Anthony Mason. The band will then travel to Portland, OR for an exclusive performance of AMERICAN BAND in its entirely, to be broadcast live from the Oregon Public Broadcasting studios via NPR Music and opbmusic.org as part of NPR's First Listen Live series on Wednesday, October 5th at 7 pm ET/4 pm PT.

AMERICAN BAND has already begun accruing early praise, including a 9-out- of-10 rated rave from The Line of Best Fit headlined "Drive-By Truckers' Eleventh LP Is The Righteous, Resigned Album America Needs In 2016." "It's a small gift," wrote NPR Music's Ann Powers, "within these challenging days, that one of the nation's best bands has made what very well might be its greatest album."

"Filthy and Fried," the most recent track release from AMERICAN BAND, is accompanied by a lyric video featuring animated art by the band's longtime collaborator Wes Freed also featured in the gatefold of the new album's red vinyl edition (available for pre-order now at the official Drive-By Truckers Store). "Filthy and Fried" is streaming now at Drive-By Truckers' official YouTube channel.

Hailed by Stereogum as "perhaps the greatest extant American rock and roll band," Drive-By Truckers will celebrate AMERICAN BAND with an epic headline tour continuing into late- November (see itinerary below). Support on all dates through October 15th comes from Lydia Loveless. Tour highlights include two-night stands at Portland, OR's Wonder Ballroom (September 30th and October 1st ), San Francisco, CA's The Fillmore (October 6th and 7th ), and Los Angeles, CA's Teragram Ballroom (October 11th and 12th ). Additional dates will be announced soon – for updates and ticket information, please visit the official Drive-By Truckers tour page.

For more information, please visit drivebytruckers.com, www.facebook.com/drivebytruckers, twitter.com/drivebytruckers (@drivebytruckers), and atorecords.com.

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS RELEASE LYRIC VIDEO FOR "FILTHY AND FRIED"

Drive-By Truckers have released a lyric video for their new song, "Filthy & Fried," the third offering from the group's soon-to-be released masterwork American Band. Long-time collaborator Wes Freed created the art for the video; lyrics appear over an animated version of the painting seen in the gatefold of the vinyl version of the new album.

"We had finished recording American Band and were about to mix it when Cooley wrote 'Filthy and Fried,' and we all fell in love with the song and felt like it should be included in the album," says Patterson Hood. "That weekend, DBT was about to do our annual HeAthens Homecoming shows at the 40 Watt Club in Athens GA. We had planned on recording the shows and David Barbe had his mobile recording rig set up so we cut the song live on stage during soundcheck. Two days later we began mixing the album."

On the song's meaning, Hood explains, "We are undergoing a huge dynamic shift in male/female relationships and all of the accompanying push back. His song touches on that among many other things."

"You've come a long way baby," says Mike Cooley.

What It Means

Y'all,

We are proud to launch a second track off of our forthcoming album American Band.

"What It Means" is a song I wrote a couple of years ago protesting the Ferguson decision and the Trayvon Martin killing. Unfortunately, the song is still timely today. I hope and pray that one day it won't be.

CHECK OUT THE PREMIER AT ROLLING STONE HERE

We are also thrilled to announce the 2nd leg of the Darkened Flags Tour with dates in the southeast around election time. The opener will be our friend Kyle Craft. He is totally badass and you're gonna love what he does. We sure do.

SEE TOUR DATES

American Band is coming out on September 30 from ATO Records.

See you at The Rock Show.
Patterson Hood
DBT

AMERICAN BAND

Y'all,

We are beyond thrilled to announce the release date of our new album American Band. 

We are launching a PRE ORDER and our friends at NPR are posting a first taste so you can get a little sample of what we've been up to.

 

"Surrender Under Protest" is a Mike Cooley composition that is unlike any DBT song we've ever recorded, yet somehow sounds unmistakably like us. In a way, that's pretty indicative of the album as a whole.

 

These are crazy times and we have made a record steeped in this moment of history that we're all trying to live through. We've always considered ourselves a political band, even when that aspect seemed to be concealed by some type of narrative device i.e. dealing with issues of race by telling a story set in the time of George Wallace or class struggles by setting "Putting People of the Moon" in the age of Reagan.

This time out, there are no such diversions as these songs are mostly set front and center in the current political arena with songs dealing with our racial and cultural divisions, gun violence, mass shootings and political assholery. Once again, there is a nearly even split between the songs of Cooley and myself, with both of us bringing in songs that seem to almost imply a conversation between us about our current place in time.

American Band is a sort of rock and roll call to arms as well as a musical reset button for our band and the country we live in. Most of all, we look at it as the beginnings of some conversations that we, as a people very much need to begin having if we ever hope to break through the divisions that are threatening to tear us apart. 

Drive-By Truckers are celebrating our twentieth anniversary as a band in an election year where some people are trying to define what it is to be American. Definitions based on some outdated ideology of prejudice and fear. We are loudly proclaiming that those people don't speak for us. America is and always has been a land of immigrants and ideals. Ideals that we have often fallen short of achieving, but it's the striving that has given us whatever claims to greatness we have had. That's what America means to us and "We're an American Band'.

American Band - the eleventh studio album by Drive-By Truckers
Coming September 30th, 2016 from ATO Records.

And don't miss the Darkened Flags 2016 Tour, beginning in August.

See you at The Rock Show,
Patterson Hood
DBT

American Band LP + 7"
Standard Weight Red LP limited to 5000 copies
+ one sided 7" (black vinyl). 
Includes download card of full album. 

** First 2,500 pre-orders will receive red vinyl. Red vinyl will be available ONLY through the Drive-By Truckers webstore and US indie shops **

Don't miss special add-on items that you can get only with the pre-order, including a t-shirt and tote bag!

Trucker Speed Coffee

Jittery Joe's Coffee Roasting Company is partnering with Athens, Georgia band Drive-By Truckers to release a special blend of coffee, Trucker Speed.
Get Trucker Speed Coffee

"Drive-By Truckers are thrilled to be collaborating with Jittery Joes," says Patterson Hood, Drive-By Truckers co-founder and singer-guitarist. "We've been fueled by their delicious coffee for 20 years now and are excited to unleash Trucker Speed to the rest of the DBT nation."

"Athens has such an amazing and rich history of music", says Michael Ripps, President of Jittery Joe's Coffee. "We are so excited to be partnering with the Drive-By Truckers, whose enduring legacy is part of this great city."

Trucker Speed is a blend of coffee originating from Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Nicaragua. All of the beans are wet processed and roasted at different levels varying from a smooth medium to a deep, rich Full City. The final product is a well-balanced and sweet coffee with a smoky, nut finish.

"Like the blue plate specials at roadside diners lining our country's highways, this blend is meant to be instantly familiar and comforting," says Christian Hampton, Jittery Joe's Roaster. "There's just enough brightness to perk you up when you need it but it's smooth enough to drink all day."

Trucker Speed comes in a limited edition keepsake can featuring a custom illustration by Wes Freed. For years, Freed's illustrations have become the visual equal to the Drive-By Trucker's music having appeared on countless posters, t-shirts, stickers, and every album cover since the critically acclaimed Southern Rock Opera.

For more information about Jittery Joe's Coffee, please visit Jittery Joe's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/jitteryjoes or follow Jittery Joe's on Twitter at @JitteryJoes or on Instagram at JitteryJoesCoffee.

About Jittery Joe's Coffee
Founded in Athens, Georgia in 1994, Jittery Joe's Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster that selects and roasts only the highest quality arabica beans from more than 16 countries. Jittery Joe's Coffees are available at 17 Jittery Joe's cafes in the Southeast, specialty grocery stores, restaurants, hotels, and through their online store.

For more information, visit the Jittery Joe's web site at www.jitteryjoes.com.

Patterson Hood - Year End - 2015

This was an outstanding year for music, arts, literature and film.

Almost any film in my Honorable Mention list would normally be a Top 5-10 album in almost any other year in recent memory and at least 5-6 of the top ten could easily win Album of the Year in most years.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR - Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

Kendrick has only made 3 albums and 2 of them have been album of the year for me.
If "Good Kid Maad City" was a cinematic vision of street redemption, "TPAB" is an epic exploration of race and status and trying to keep it all together when everything gets a little too crazy. Sometimes even good things can kill you. Wildly ambitious and potentially trainwreck embarrassing, KL keeps it together and created a true bonafied masterpiece. One that wildly rewards repeated listens and closer inspection. It's my favorite record so far this decade and one that I can place alongside London Calling and White Album and other decade toppers.
The best writing of any album in years and truly worthy of examining in the same way we study great books like this year's "Between The World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates.

BEST ALBUMS 2015 (in alphabetical order by artist):

2015 presented such a wealth of incredible music that any one in my top 20 would normally be a top 5 record. It's overall the finest year for records since 1984 and 1980 (2 of the best years of my lifetime).

Alabama Shakes - Sound and Color

The Athens Alabama quartet somehow skipped making their sophomore record and followed up the gold debut with a very mature 3rd or 4th release that saw them growing by leaps and bounds and leaving behind any traces of ever being called retro again. On standout track "Gemini", Brittany and Co. sound like they could be Sly Stone's Godchildren.

Courtney Barnett - sometimes i sit and think and sometimes i just sit

A stunningly clever and fun record from everyone's sweetheart crush of 2015. Bummed I never got to see her live, but I'm sure she'll be around for a while so here's hoping next year.

Beach House - Depression Cherry

A band I'd heard about a lot about but never really listened to until I stumbled on this playing at my favorite record store. They followed it up with another one two months later that's nearly as good.

Deerhunter - Fading Frontier

My favorite southern band and would be my record of the year in almost any other year. Deerhunter is one of my favorite bands period. I love all of their albums and this one is one of their best yet.

D'Angelo - Black Messiah

(actually a 2014 release, but it came out at last minute and spent most of the year on my turntable). One of the absolute best live shows I have ever seen and an album that keeps on getting better with every repeat listen.

Father John Misty - I Love You, Honeybear

Another one that might be a record of the year most years (his last one was my favorite of 2012). Stunning songwriting and the best sense of humor in the biz.

Will Johnson - Swan City Vampires

Centro-matic was my favorite band and I mourned their demise like losing a close friend. That said, Will's new solo record may be his finest record since their 2003 masterpiece "Love You Just The Same". A gorgeous reflective and primal journey through Will's turbulent last couple of years that saw the loss of his beloved mother and band.

Sufjan Stevens - Carrie and Lowell

Another amazingly beautiful record, his autobiographical horror story about his childhood and very troubled mother brings me to tears every time I listen to it. The year's best late night hang.

Kurt Vile - B'lieve I'm Going Down (extended version)

Another one that could and should be Album of the Year most years (his "Smoke Rings" album was my 2011 pick). This is my favorite album yet from KV. One of the rare times when the extended version is even better than the regular one.

Wilco - Star Wars

My favorite studio album yet by one of the greatest bands of our time. Off the cuff and loose and wildly inventive and fun. Great cover also.

WAY BEYOND HONORABLE MENTION:

Beach House - Thank Your Lucky Stars

Released only a couple of months after Depression Cherry, this one is nearly as good and I probably play it more often.

Brent Best - Your Dog Champ

The Slobberbone frontman (and one of the all time great Rockers I've ever known) finally unleashed his long awaited solo record and it's a stellar collection of songs as well as one of my favorite things he's ever done.

Craig Finn - Faith in the Future

Craig's 2nd solo record finds him in fantastic form with a record that easily holds its own with anything he's ever done. "Christine" is easily one of my very favorite songs of the year.

Decemberists - What A Terrible World, What A Wonderful World

Another excellent record by the long running Portland OR band. This one featuring wonderful guest vocals by the always stunning Kelly Hogan.

Donnie Fritts - Oh My Goodness

Funky Donnie Fritts strips it down and makes the record I always wanted to hear from him. Perfectly understated production by John Paul White and Ben Tanner. "Errol Flynn" may be an all time favorite song now.

Fernando - Leave The Radio On

One of Portland's best kept secrets, its high time for the rest of the world to know how great Fernando is.

Hardy and the Hardknocks - Drownin' on the Mountaintop

Athens GA's Hardy Morris follows up his stunning solo debut by bringing out the band and turning it up. All with excellent results.

Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free

My old compadre follows up his masterpiece "Southeastern" with this slightly less personal but nonetheless excellent record. The peaks are as good as anything you'll hear in any year.

Jay Gonzalez - Bittersuite

Jay is one of my closest friends but also one of the greatest talents I've ever met and this 13 minute song cycle is truly a marvel. AM pop never sounded better but as it progresses it takes on a depth that cuts very deep. It takes leaving you wanting more to an extreme, but don't flip it over.

Joey Kneiser - The Wildness

Excellent group of songs from the Glossary frontman. He just keeps getting better. These songs get better with each listen.

Mamie Davis - Holding The Big Chicken Now

Mamie is a senior in an Athens GA High School and a veteran of Nuci's Space's beloved Camp Amp program who you're gonna hear a lot more from. Fantastic songs and a voice as big as Georgia. She was just accepted into Belmont College and only beginning. Check this record out.

Sleater Kinney - No Cities to Love

SK is back and as great as ever with this sonic blast of big bad rock. It definitely left me wanting more and hopefully there's more to come.

Best Single of 2015 : "The Blacker the Berry (The Sweeter the Fruit)" - Kendrick Lamar

STUNNING SONGS:

Pedestrian at Best - Courtney Barnett
Depreston - Courtney Barnett
Aunt Ramona - Brent Best
Christine - Craig Finn
The Charade - D'Angelo (D'Angelo and The Vanguard)
Make You Better - The Decemberists
Snakeskin - Bradford Cox (Deerhunter)
Errol Flynn - Donnie Fritts
Bored in the USA - Father John Misty
I Went To The Store One Day - Father John Misty
Copper Canteen - James McMurtry
South Dakota - James McMurtry
Children of Children - Jason Isbell
Speed Trap Town - Jason Isbell
24 Frames - Jason Isbell
&$%@#! - Jay Gonzalez
Shenorock Lane - Jay Gonzalez
Heaven Only Wants Us Once We're Dead - Joey Kneiser
King Kunta - Kendrick Lamar
The Blacker The Berry - Kendrick Lamar
Hood Politics - Kendrick Lamar
How Much A Dollar Costs - Kendrick Lamar
That's Life (I Almost Hate To Say It) - Kurt Vile
Pretty Pimpin - Kurt Vile
Fourth of July - Sufjan Stevens
Should Have Known Better - Sufjan Stevens
Blue Bucket of Blood - Sufjan Stevens
The Watchman - Will Johnson
Over My Head - Alabama Shakes
Gemini - Alabama Shakes

Best Book I've Read 2015 - Between The World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

ALSO LOVED:

Small Backs of Children by Lydia Yuknavitch

Petty by Warren Zanes
I'm going to give extra shout out to this book, as beyond being an exceptional rock star bio, it captures the inter-band dynamic and the band/family dynamic better than any book I've ever read on the subject. The fact that Warren is both a fan and a peer also gives it an extra perspective dimension. Plus its an exceptionally great read. I couldn't put it down.

Unfaithful Music (and Disappearing Ink) by Elvis Costello

M Train by Patti Smith

The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders and Lane Smith
Saunders has become one of my favorite authors and this is an illustrated children's book that I love as much as my kids. It continues his delving into class struggles, but in a form that younger readers can grasp.

Best Live Show - D'Angelo and the Vanguard - Crystal Ballroom, PDX

Runners Up:
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - Schnitzer Theatre, PDX
The Decemberists - Edgefield, PDX
Elvis Costello and the Imposters - Schnitzer Theatre, PDX
Alabama Shakes - Red Rocks, Morrison, CO
Will Johnson - McCormick Mansion, PDX

Wonderful Films:

Brooklyn - John Crowley
The Hateful Eight - Quinton Tarrantino's 8th film (in 70mm)
Joy (new film by David O Russell)

Can't Wait:

New PJ Harvey album (in March)
The Revenant - new film by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Carol - new film by Todd Haynes
Hamilton - Broadway hip hop musical inspired by biography of Alexander Hamilton

Wonderful Reissues:

Son Volt - Trace
Bruce Springsteen - The Ties That Bind (The River)
Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series Vol 5

Missing in Action - Frank Ocean

Finally:

This year I moved to Portland Oregon with my family after 21 years in Athens Georgia (and 30 years before that in Alabama). It was bittersweet moving so far away from so many loved ones, but it also felt right for myself and my family for reasons I can't quite put into tangible terms other than to say it felt like a calling and a gut instinct thing and following such things has always been my way of living my life and I couldn't find any reason to not continue doing so at this juncture. It was hard, scary and at times emotionally brutal, but also extremely rewarding, especially artistically. I have written more this year than in well over a decade. Not just songs, although I essentially wrote two albums worth of those so far, but also a short story, an essay, an op-ed, and several other pieces that are still in some weird limbo of revelation.

I have been overwhelmed by kindnesses shown to me on both sides of the country and quite a few in between. Athens extended months of tearful farewells. They probably wanted to take some of them back when we returned for a visit two months later and will even more so when we return again in a few weeks for HeAthens Homecoming. Our band is still based there and will always be. I'm sure some are saying "How can we miss you if you keep coming back?"

Portland put out an extra large welcome mat and has extended hospitality and love in overwhelming dosages, making a bunch of rednecks feel so at home in this beautiful town with it's cool theatres and gorgeous views. I have found the locals to be kind, very friendly and quite rugged. Rain will not deter them and they don't carry umbrellas. We drove up to Mt. Hood on Xmas day and when the rain turned to ice we had our first experience with snow chains and some complete strangers took pity on us and helped us put ours on or I would still be crouched out there trying to figure out what the hell to do with them. They could have easily laughed (and hopefully did anyway) but they swarmed our car and had us on our merry way. (Actually, my wife would have eventually figured it out, but that's another sad tale).

Since we've been here we've seen the hottest summer on record (it was over 100 degrees the first 12 days we were here and folks here don't tend to have air conditioning), the wettest month in recorded history (this month in fact, which broke the all time record in the first 22 days) and The New Yorker welcomed us to Oregon with their much-read terrifying article about the impending 'Big One" that they say will kill us all.

And then, finally, there's Elliott Smith.

Sad confession, I kinda missed him when he was around. I spent the 90's in a very different head space and missed most of the cultural and musical icons of that era (with a few notable exceptions). I was trying to put together my band and fully immersing myself in old country, old soul, new hip hop, bands I met on the road and everything Athens GA. I bought a lot of music during that era, but very little of it was new or in any way contemporary (other than hip hop). I think I heard Elliott Smith sing on the Oscars and kinda dug that song in the movie, but never really scratched the surface of what he was doing. Then sadly, he was gone.

I moved to Portland and his presence was everywhere. Friends here knew him and the songs were steeped in the town and the town steeped in his music. I asked several friends (a couple of whom resided in Athens) where I should start and they all said "anywhere, you'll want them all anyway." So that's essentially what I've been doing. I am blown away by the scope and consistency of his work and more than a little annoyed with myself for letting it take so long to know about it. Guess that's one of the beautiful things about records. Even though he's now gone, his records are still alive and well and such a treasure to be able to get to know them at this time when I'm in a place to appreciate them even more than when they were new, although I know that I would have totally fallen for these songs if I had heard them at any other point in my life.

Have a safe and wonderful 2016. We have some great things in store and definitely hope to see you at The Rock Show.

Sincerely,
Patterson Hood

HOMECOMING 2016

Y'all,
I'm thrilled to announce the 2016 HeAthen's Homecoming shows.
They will be Thursday, February 11th - Saturday, February 13th.
They will, as always, be at The Fabulous 40 Watt Club.
A portion of the income will go to Nuçi's Space.

This year the Thursday show will again kick off with The Camp Amped Band.
This has become an annual tradition and this year looks to be one of the best yet.
Next up will be Monsoon. They are one of the best of the bumper crop of great young bands in Athens. They're going to blow the doors off of the place. (Sienna from Monsoon is a former camper at Camp Amped. Supercool.)

On Friday night we will have a set from Dave Marr and his killer band.
Many might remember Dave from The Star Room Boys, one of our favorite bands back in their day. Dave took a very long hiatus and now is back with a great new album and fantastic band. Don't Miss This!
This will be followed by a short set from Will Johnson, who is playing both Friday and Saturday nights, by himself and perhaps a guest or two (or more).
He will be spotlighting songs from his amazing new album "Swan City Vampires".

On Saturday we will have a set from Five Eight.
5-8 was one of the best bands ever to come out of Athens and in recent years have been playing some of the most incredible shows ever (with their classic original lineup) showcasing songs from their recently reissued masterpiece "Weirdo" as well as their upcoming new release that could end up being their best album yet.
Don't Miss This!

DBT is really fired up for this year's HeAthen's Homecoming.
I can't wait to see all my Athens friends. The band will have just returned from our upcoming shows in Mexico and spotlighting songs from our recent live box set "It's Great To Be Alive!" and perhaps pulling out some hidden gems and showcasing some brand new songs.

In the meantime I want to thank all our friends who came out to our shows in Chicago and Madison this past weekend, we had a blast! We continue on the road playing in Bloomington IL tonight and then on to Chattanooga on Thursday and closing out the year with two nights in Nashville at the wonderful Cannery Ballroom! We are looking forward to it and hope to see some of you there. As always, ticket and show info is available at www.drivebytruckers.com.

See You at The Rock Show.
Patterson Hood
(Drive-By Truckers)

Due to production delays, the ship date for both the It's Great To Be Alive Deluxe LP+CD set & This Weekend's The Night LP has been pushed back. All pre-orders placed at the DBT store will now be shipped on or before November 9th and product will be hitting stores shortly after. We are truly very sorry for the delays but unfortunately this is a risk you run with manufacturing vinyl, especially such a large scale project as this one. Please know we are doing everything we can to get these out to you as quickly as possible. We will keep you updated on estimated dates for the product to be in stores and appreciate your understanding and patience. Deluxe 3-CD set and digital downloads of This Weekend's the Night and It's Great To Be Alive will be available online and in-stores on 10/30.

It's Great To Be Alive!

Drive-By Truckers are thrilled to announce that our long awaited live album, recorded over three nights at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco, will be released on October 30th, 2015 and you can start pre-ordering today!

We put together a few versions for different wants and wallets. It was an amazing weekend in San Francisco. We hope you'll love what was captured.

VINYL AND CD VERSIONS:

1. "It's Great To Be Alive!" (Deluxe vinyl + CD)
Bundled up in a specially designed deluxe box this set documents the Drive-By Truckers career-spanning 3-night run at the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco.
INCLUDES: 5 LPs + 3 CDs + 4 mini concert posters by Wes Freed + 16-page LP-sized booklet with liner notes by Patterson Hood
Order "It's Great To Be Alive" (Deluxe vinyl + CD)

2. "It's Great To Be Alive!" (Deluxe CD-only)
This set documents the Drive-By Truckers career-spanning 3-night run at the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco.
INCLUDES: 3 CDs + Liner notes by Patterson Hood
Order "It's Great To Be Alive" (Deluxe CD only)

3. "This Weekend's The Night: Highlights From It's Great To Be Alive!" (Standard vinyl)
Features a "best of" selection of tracks from the Drive-By Truckers 3-night run at the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco.
INCLUDES: 2 LPs + DL code
Order "This Weekend's The Night" (Standard vinyl)

DIGITAL VERSIONS:

1. Deluxe // 35 tracks - "It's Great To Be Alive!"

2. Standard // 13 tracks - "This Weekend's The Night"

EXTRAS:

Standard version pre-order ("This Weekend's The Night") via iTunes or the DBT online store comes with grat singles from the album via email on the following dates: 7/28, 9/21, 10/5 & 10/19

Deluxe version pre-order ("It's Great To Be Alive!") comes with grat singles via email on these dates: 7/28, 8/10, 8/24, 9/7, 9/21, 10/5 & 1019.

Purchase From:

DBT Online Store:
It's Great To Be Alive (Deluxe vinyl + CD)
It's Great To Be Alive (Deluxe CD only)
This Weekend's The Night - Highlights From It's Great To Be Alive! (Standard vinyl)

Other Outlets:
iTunes Amazon CD Amazon MP3 Google Spotify

Robert Newton "Newt" Carter

Y'all,

We are heartbroken to report that our dear friend, comrade and family member, Robert Newton "Newt" Carter has passed away.

Newt was a great musician and soundman among many many other talents.
He was also a larger than life presence in our touring company for several years.
Over the next few weeks, I'm sure that everyone will be sharing all kinds of amazing Newt stories and many of them will be true. He cut a wide swath through this life he lived and we are all the better for having known him. In the time I knew I him I learned to always expect the unexpected. He was a hilarious man with the greatest deadpan delivery ever. We shared some big adventures and many laughs.

I'm sure that we will be soon announcing plans for a memorial of some sort and we will do our best to keep everyone posted.

It's all still sinking in. We all knew that Newt had survived cancer. He had basically fought off a death sentence and lived to tell about it for the better part of a decade. I didn't really know him back then, but when he told me about it a couple of years ago, again, it was with that nonchalant delivery that you would use to describe a trip to the store. In retrospect, I guess he hadn't seemed quite right of late and we all worried about him, but he was secretive about his condition till the end. This made today's news all the more shocking, yet also makes perfect sense in keeping with the Newt we all knew and loved.

We will all certainly be raising many a glass to his honor in the upcoming days. He's a left quite a void but I'm sure he'd prefer for us to be laughing at the many joyous and hilarious memories he left us with.

We love you Newt! R.I.P.

Sincerely,
The Drive-By Truckers Family

The Dirt Underneath (Returns)

Y'all,

Back in 2007, Drive-By Truckers did a series of shows that we called The Dirt Underneath. It was conceived as an acoustic tour, but over time it sort of morphed into more of a halfway acoustic tour. We sat down (most shows) and definitely re-arranged and reinvented songs, pulled out songs that usually don't get played much in our regular show, had more banter and story-telling and a generally different vibe and approach from the DBT Rock Shows that we are known for.

It also gave us a chance to work on new material. At that point we were preparing to go in and record the album Brighter Than Creation's Dark and The Dirt Underneath gave us a chance to workshop and showcase many of those songs as a 'work in progress' in front of a friendly crowd.

The tour was a great success and a lot of fun and we have always talked of doing it again, but it's just never been the right time or situation. Until now.

We are going out in April with the same approach. It will be a fun change of pace for us and hopefully a fun and different thing for Y'all. We hope to pull out some different songs and toy with some old favorites in a different way and as I said, hopefully work up some new ones along the way. I know that BTCD greatly benefitted from that tour and as we're in the early stages of writing and thinking of what comes next, this seemed like a great time time to pull out some chairs and maybe a lamp or two and invite Y'all to a traveling living room for a couple of weeks.

Who knows what will come of it?

As always, thank you for your long time support and see you at the dig site.

DBT

Patterson Hood Screens 'Network'

The Modern School of Film and the Carolina Theatre of Durham in Association with Guitartown Present Film: Acoustic with Patterson Hood of Drive-By Truckers. Patterson will be screening the 1976 film 'Network' at the Carolina Theatre on Monday, April 13th at 7 pm. Tickets go on sale March 12 at 10 am. More details, including ticket info here. Please stay tuned to Guitartown on Yahoo Groups, Facebook and Twitter for the latest on this and other Guitartown Presents events. If you're unfamiliar with Guitartown, you can learn more about us in this article from Candid Slice that ran last year on the occasion of our 15th anniversary. You'll recognize at least one familiar face (maybe more) in the top photo accompanying the article.

Y'all,

Guess 2014 is in the homestretch now and it's been a good one overall in DBT World. Thanks again to all who have come out to shows, bought our records and otherwise supported our band this year. We've had a pretty amazing time and we're gearing up to end it with quite the bang.

Next week we are traveling to San Francisco to play a three night stand at The Fillmore. One of the world's most amazing venues in one of the world's most beautiful cities. We are beyond psyched to end our year of touring there. All three nights will be opened by the unbelievably great Sturgill Simpson. His album is one of the best of the year and we're beyond honored to have him sharing our bill that weekend. Tickets are moving fast and it's gonna sell out so don't get left behind.

We are planning quite the blowout for these last shows of the year. David Barbe is flying out with his super-talented son Henry to record the proceedings for that long awaited DBT Live Album we've been wanting to do for 14 years now. We've been prepping and planning for months and the time is at hand.

After next weekend, the Rock Show will be a little bit more scarce for a while as we're planning on doing some different things for a while next year. DON'T MISS!!!

IN OTHER NEWS:
Pre-orders are up now for the English Oceans - Deluxe Edition which features the acclaimed most recent album plus the DVD of Black Ice Verite', our live performance of the album back in February when it snowed and the whole state shut down, except for us, because we're crazy. It also includes a bonus disc with 3 acoustic performances from the Bonnaroo Hay Bale Session and 5 tracks recorded at The Fabulous 40 Watt Club last Valentines Day Weekend.

For vinyl aficionados, we have Black Ice Verite' including the vinyl version of the Live 8 song collection and the DVD of the Live Performance.

If you order these through the DBT Store by Nov. 17, you will automatically be entered to win one of two autographed test pressings of Black Ice Verite' Live 8 song collection.

Most of you have probably heard about the massive Nuçi's Space fund drive going on revolving around the Reconstruction of the Steeple. It's a an Indiegogo fund drive that will renovate the beloved (and endangered) R.E.M. Steeple and provide funds for Nuçi's Space and their many life changing and life saving services. READ MORE HERE!

Killers and Stars was my first solo album. I recorded it in early 2001 and it was released on CD back in the summer of 2004 but until now has never been available on vinyl. That has finally changed as New West Records released it on vinyl with new liner notes on Nov. 4. It's a rather lo-fi recording but the vinyl version really does sound so much warmer and better and I'm really proud to finally have it out. Ill be selling it at my upcoming solo shows.

In December, Cooley and I will both be hitting the road playing some solo dates. Neither of us have played many solo shows this year and it will be a pleasure to go out and play some intimate shows, play some songs and tell some stories. We hope we see you there.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and See You at The Rock Show!
Patterson Hood
Drive-By Truckers

Y'all,

It was great being back out last weekend. Three really fun shows.
LOCKN' was one of our favorite festival shows of the year.

We are thrilled to announce the English Oceans Deluxe Edition CD and Black Ice Vérité DVD and LP coming on Tuesday November 18, 2014.

Some of you might remember, we recorded a live performance of our latest album last February at The Fabulous 40 Watt Club. All hell broke loose, weather wise, but The Show Went On and our friend Jason Thrasher caught it all on film. The end result is a film we're really all proud of, running through the new songs in front of a small crowd at one of our favorite rooms on Earth.

The Black Ice Vérité LP (and bonus CD on the Deluxe Edition) is a collection of 8 songs recorded live, three acoustic performances from The Hay Bale Session we recorded the morning of our Bonnaroo performance, and 5 tracks from this year's HeAthens Homecoming Weekend in Athens GA. A few old songs, a few new songs and a few very different versions. Available on Glorious White Vinyl (with DVD of Black Ice Vérité included).

The English Oceans Deluxe Edition CD/DVD includes the album, our most acclaimed work in years, along with the DVD of Black Ice Vérité and a CD of the Black Ice Vérité Bonus Tracks.

Tickets are on sale for our DBT - English Oceans Fall Tour 2014.
We're playing some amazing rooms with some fantastic bands and hope to see you there.

Thanks to everyone, for making this one of the best years in our history.
The best is yet to come!

See You at The Rock Show!
Patterson Hood
Drive-By Truckers