Tedeschi Trucks Band
Tedeschi Trucks Band, a "fiercely soulful" and "sprawling, howling 12-piece band that swings just as hard as it rocks," performs at the Tivoli in Chattanooga on Saturday, Jan. 28, with special guest opener Jack Pearson.
Review for Tedeschi Trucks Band:
For Tedeschi Trucks Band, 2016 was the 12-piece juggernaut’s most impressive and successful year to date. Loaded with triumphant follow-ups and notable firsts- from headlining the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to performances in seven countries abroad and multiple-night sell-outs in major cities across the U.S., including a six-night stint at New York City’s Beacon Theatre, to a second annual “Wheels of Soul” summer amphitheater tour- the group played more shows and sold more tickets than in any year of their six-year history; not to mention releasing their third studio album, Let Me Get By, produced by Derek Trucks with songs written for the first time as an ensemble.
After wrapping their fall/winter tour schedule of West Coast and Midwest dates, the band closed the calendar, fittingly, with a 3-night sold-out run of shows in singer- guitarist Susan Tedeschi’s hometown of Boston. Increasingly, as well, Tedeschi and husband Trucks have been in demand outside of the group, including Tedsechi’s duets on releases from both Eric Church (Mr. Misunderstood) and John Prine (For Better, Or Worse), with the couple performing in Los Angeles at a tribute concert for B.B. King and Derek’s appearance on Eric Clapton’s live set, plus as a guest on the wildly popular WTF with Marc Maron podcast, scheduled to air Dec. 22. Even this year’s most historic World Series provided a viral video moment, as Trucks jammed post-game in Chicago with Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and actor Bill Murray.
The slate for 2017, including the band’s own Sunshine Music Festival in January, is filling in rapidly. Growing audience demand for the group means another round of multi-night stands in Chicago, Washington DC, and Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium to warm up the winter before the band returns to Europe for a string of Spring shows. A summer reprise of the Wheels of Soul 2017, a third installment of the amphitheater tour headlined and curated by Tedeschi Trucks Band promises, once again, to feature top flight collaborations between bands night after night.
A relentless touring machine, with another live album potentially in the pipeline, Tedeschi Trucks Band’s performances have become legendary. An ever-growing repertoire of band originals and covers of classic rock royalty have dazzled fans and critics alike.
In between stretches on tour, the group continues to focus on writing as a collaborative unit, working on new material in their Swamp Raga studio at band headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla. Down-time for Tedeschi Trucks Band is shrinking, and that’s just how Trucks likes it. “I don’t want to let up. I feel like there’s more good music right around the corner,” said the guitarist. “You have to keep going after it when it’s so close.”
Tedeschi Trucks Band is unlike any other group performing in modern rock music. A 12-piece ensemble of multiple vocalists, horns, and drummers, the band is led by the husband-and-wife team of guitarist Derek Trucks and guitarist-singer Susan Tedeschi. This Grammy-winning group, with four critically-hailed and commercially successful albums to its credit, is known worldwide, as well, for their unforgettable concert appearances that mix rock, blues, jazz, and soul into ever-changing set lists. Tedeschi Trucks Band is a true collective; a rarity in rock-and-roll that harkens back to a golden age of live music, nightly pushing the boundaries of group dynamics and improvisation to inspiring and amazing new heights.