Drive-by Truckers Share New Song 'The Driver'
The latest track from their upcoming 14th studio album, Welcome 2 Club XIII arrives on Friday, June 3.
By: Michael Major May. 17, 2022
Drive-By Truckers have announced today's premiere of "The Driver," the latest track from their upcoming 14th studio album, Welcome 2 Club XIII. An official lyric video is streaming now at YouTube. Welcome 2 Club XIII arrives via ATO Records on Friday, June 3. Pre-orders are available now.
A hypnotic introduction to the album's sprawling autobiography, "The Driver" kicks off Welcome 2 Club XIII with a darkly thrilling epic punctuated with lead-heavy riffs and Mississippi-bred singer-songwriter Schaefer Llana's unearthly backing vocals.
"Around the same era of Club XIII, I spent a lot of time driving around late at night when I couldn't sleep," says founding member/vocalist/guitarist Patterson Hood, "listening to music loud and often having a beer or two. Sometimes during those drives I'd have these epiphanies about what to do with my life - like listening to Tim by The Replacements not long after it came out and deciding to drop out of school to try and make this whole band thing work."
Welcome 2 Club XIII also includes the spirited, horn-blasted "Every Single Storied Flameout" and the album's swinging centerpiece, "Welcome 2 Club XIII," both available now at all DSPs and streaming services; the latter track - which pays homage to the Muscle Shoals honky-tonk where founding members Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley got their start - is joined by an official music video streaming now via YouTube.
Arriving as Drive-By Truckers enters its 26th year, Welcome 2 Club XIII marks a sharp departure from the trenchant commentary of The Unraveling and The New OK (both released in 2020). Produced by longtime Drive-By Truckers collaborator David Barbe and mainly recorded at his studio in Athens, GA, Welcome 2 Club XIII took shape over the course of three frenetic days in summer 2021 - a doubly extraordinary feat considering that the band had no prior intentions of making a new album.
Featuring background vocals from the likes of Margo Price, R.E.M.'s Mike Mills, and Mississippi-bred singer/songwriter Schaefer Llana, Welcome 2 Club XIII was recorded live with most songs cut in one or two takes, fully harnessing Drive-By Truckers' freewheeling energy. Songs like the softly stunning "Wilder Days" see the band - whose lineup also includes keyboardist/guitarist Jay Gonzalez, bassist Matt Patton, and drummer Brad Morgan - looking back on their formative years with both deadpan pragmatism and profound tenderness, instilling each song with the kind of lived-in detail that invites bittersweet reminiscence of your own misspent youth.
"Cooley and I have been playing together for 37 years now," Hood says. "That first band might have failed miserably on a commercial level, but I'm really proud of what we did back then. It had a lot to do with who we ended up becoming."
Drive-By Truckers are currently celebrating Welcome 2 Club XIII with a marathon live schedule, including top-billed festival dates, and North American, European, and UK headline tours. For complete details and ticket information, please visit www.drivebytruckers.com/shows.
Listen to the new single here:
DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS LIVE 2022
MAY
24 - Helsinki, Finland - Tavastia Club †
26 - Stockholm, Sweden - Berns †
27 - Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller †
28 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager Bio †
29 - Aarhus, Denmark - Train †
31 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle †
JUNE
1 - Berlin, Germany - Kesselhaus †
2 - Koln, Germany - Kantine †
3 - Antwerp, Belgium - De Roma †
5 - Raalte, Netherlands - Ribs & Blues *
6 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso †
7 - Brighton, UK - Chalk †
8 - London, UK - O2 Forum †
9 - Leeds, UK - Leeds University Stylus †
11 - Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street †
12 - Glasgow, UK - SWG3 TV Studio †
14 - Tilburg, Netherlands - 013 (Jupiler Zaal) †
15 - Paris, France - La Maroquinerie †
17 - Mendizabala, Vitoria-Gasteiz - Azkena Rock Festival *
19 - Eridge Park, UK - Black Deer Festival *
JULY
14 - Breckenridge, CO - Riverwalk Center
15 - Denver, CO - Levitt Pavilion
16 - Kansas City, MO - Knuckleheads
19 - Omaha, NE - Falconwood Park
20 - Minneapolis, MN - Utepils Brewing
22 - Des Moines, IA - Hoyt Sherman Place
23 - Dayton, OH - Dayton Masonic Center
24 - Kalamazoo, MI - Bell's Beer Garden
27 - Fort Wayne, IN - The Clyde Theatre
29 -S t. Louis, MO - Open Highway Music Festival *
30 - Maryville, TN - The Shed
31 - Wilmington, NC - Greenfield Lake Amphitheater
AUGUST
2 - Virginia Beach, VA - Elevation 27
4 - Deerfield, MA - Tree House Brewing Company
5 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
8 - Patchogue, NY - Patchogue Theatre
10 - Isle of Palms, SC - The Windjammer
11 - Isle of Palms, SC - The Windjammer
12 - Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre
13 - Pelham, TN - The Caverns
SEPTEMBER
17 -Louisville, KY -Bourbon & Beyond *
* Festival Appearance
† w/Special Guest Jerry Joseph
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