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.”
WATCH "THE DRIVER" OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO
PRE-ORDER WELCOME 2 CLUB XIII
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.
WATCH “WELCOME 2 CLUB XIII” OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
LISTEN TO “EVERY SINGLE STORIED FLAMEOUT”
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.
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
