Have you ever discovered a band a little too late in its career and wished you could go back and appreciate their earlier work as it was happening? Or at least see the tour supporting earlier albums so you could hear some old favorites live?
That’s my situation with a band that has become one of my all-time favorites, Drive-By Truckers.
The group, which for my money is the best damn rock ‘n’ roll band in America, released its opus “Southern Rock Opera” in 2001. If you haven’t given it a listen, I recommend doing so because it’s hands-down the best concept record of the 21st Century. I became a fan of the band around 2006. You can see the disconnect here.
I’ve always wanted to see “Southern Rock Opera” live and now I’m getting a chance because the band is going on a tour where they will play the record in full, along with several other classics from their catalog, beginning this summer. The tour comes to the Neptune on July 2 and tickets are on sale today.
Here’s a statement from DBT leader Patterson Hood regarding the tour:
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!
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 time we’ll ever do it so DON’T MISS IT! DBT-Southern Rock Opera Revisited 2024 Tour.
“It ain’t about the past.”
See you at the Rock Show!
