Drive-By Truckers reached their 20th anniversary as a band this year, right amidst the most volatile election cycle in recent memory. For a Southern rock band, such tumultuous times could prove difficult to navigate, but for their 12th album, DBT chose to face the challenges head on. American Band, due out September 30th from ATO Records, promises to be their most advertently politically minded record to date, one “steeped in this moment of history that we’re all trying to live through.”
In a press release, the band’s Patterson Hood said the album is about how “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 Definitions based on some outdated ideology of prejudice and fear.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.'”
On the first single from the album, “Surrender Under Protest”, vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Mike Cooley repurposes an old slogan for the Lost Cause of the Confederacy to directly address the recent controversy surrounding the Confederate flag. Inspired by the removal of the battle flag from outside the South Caroline Statehouse falling the tragic murder of nine African Americans during the Charleston church shooting, Cooley makes the case for moving on from hateful traditions while maintaining pride. “Compelled, but not defeated,” goes the chorus. “Surrender under protest, if you must.” Take a listen below via NPR.
Drive-By Truckers will embark on the American Band tour in support of the forthcoming album, kicking off August 20th at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater. Find the complete schedule beneath the album art and tracklist for American Band, which can be pre-ordered here.
American Band Album Art:
American Band Tracklist:
01. Ramon Casiano
02. Darkened Flags on the Cusp of Dawn
03. Surrender Under Protest
04. Guns of Umpqua
05. Filthy and Fried
06. When the Sun Don’t Shine
07. Kinky Hypocrites
08. Ever South
09. What It Means
10.Once They Banned Imagine
11. Baggage
Drive-By Truckers 2016 Tour Dates:
07/13 – New York, NY @ Lowdown Hudson Music Fest
07/17 – Alta, WY @ 12th Annual Targhee Fest
08/19 – Aspen, CO @ Belly Up
08/20 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater *
08/27 – Lexington, KY @ Moontower Music Festival
09/16 – Toronto, ON @ Toronto Urban Roots Festival
09/17 – Fredericton, NB @ Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival
09/23 – Kansas City, MO @ Crossroads #
09/24 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue ^
09/25 – Sioux Falls, SD @ The District ^
09/28 – Missoula, MT @ The Wilma ^
09/29 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at The Market ^
09/30 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom ^
10/01 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom ^
10/02 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater ^
10/05 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades ^
10/06 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore ^
10/07 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore ^
10/08 – Lake Tahoe, CA @ Montbleau Resort Casino ^
10/11 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom ^
10/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom ^
10/13 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern ^
10/14 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Fremont Theater ^
10/15 – Scottsdale, AZ @ Livewire ^
* = w/ Yonder Mountain String Band and Special Guests Preservation Hall Jazz Band
# = w/ Son Volt (trio)
^ = w/ Special Guest Lydia Loveless
